New Album Release Date
December 10, 2010 06:08 AM
Hi guys.
Today we're somewhat blitzing the news of Eisley's mysterious Album #3... through an eblast, Trolleywood, fb, twitter, etc. - a widget/player/DL page featuring the final mixed/mastered version of "Ambulance". Click the pic-link below to get it.
It's been a long time in coming, right? Hope you're as excited as we are. Pushing lots of buttons at the same time. I'll come back and ad more to this post. Like maybe a bigger version of the cover. I just wanted to get it out the same time we blast everything else! Ahhh!!!! Thanks.
bd
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more soon
Eisley/Equal Vision Records
November 04, 2010 05:25 AM
Two Trolleywood posts inside of a week. What in the WORLD! It's a new record.
Get it?
We realize this news is long over-due... and for this special audience, we should probably avoid asking you to hoot & holler with us (we seriously drug you guys through the drudgery and drama for too long) but ~ we feel this brings closure to all of that. Eisley will be releasing a new record in March and you will have and hold and hear it. The writer also now vow's that most of you will love it.
By now you've probably read the press release w/ EVR excerpts; some of you might have read the exclusive Dallas Observer bit w/ Sherri and even seen the little video clip that EVR made to announce the news. In case you didn't and this is where you're getting your news, I will now include those media bytes:
or - the pdf: http://www.eisley.com/pictoids/Eisley-101104-EqualVision.pdf
Equal Vision Records Site/News, etc. - http://bit.ly/ahs9YW
Here's what was edited out of EVR's quote - only in Trolleywood:
Says Equal Vision A&R representative Francesca Caldara, "All of us at Equal Vision Records are proud and excited to be welcoming Eisley to the family. Eisley's personal connection with their fans is truly inspiring, and we have always done our best to maintain a family vibe with our artists, so working with them -- a literal family -- has been very natural from the beginning. When we first got the email from Eisley's management indicating that they were interested in sharing music and possibly working together, there was - to be frank - a bit of a 'holy crap, is this email real?' moment. We were all familiar with Eisley; some of us were fans since high school or college. We are very much looking forward to working and growing with them, and we cannot wait for everyone to hear the album."
Our Thoughts - All we can say is - the people are young, cool, smart, they're located in Albany, NY - away from all the hustle bustle of the big city; there are tree's (!), coffee shops - (like Tyler), they love what they do, they're small but have years of experience and depth from working with tons of great bands... and have released tons of records. Oh, and they believe in the physical CD... they love good packaging (!!).
So... the new team, including our publicist from Paradigm (worked with them for years [booking] but now they're doing our PR also) are savvy, seasoned... relational. They high-5'd each other at the NYC show when you guys erupted into applauce when Stacy introduced Ambulance. The band is excited and everyone is on a first name basis. All systems go.
Also - they have quite a viral fan base. Fans of their bands are very into the label... so I expect you guys to reciprocate. 
Dallas Observer Post Yeah Dallas! Thank you 'Observer'.
EVR Video Clip
I warn you. It's cute. Here's the full blog:
Back Story Glimpse
What we think - We think some of you might think: "wait... a hard core/punk roots label?". Yep. Somewhat. I'll explain. But first, understand, we reached out to plenty of majors and big-deal indies. Several labels were interested and tied us up for months. Nothing made sense. I did, however, become an expert at deciphering straight talk from BS. Mostly - labels angered me: "I'm sorry, we don't take submissions on the phone (click...bzzzz)"... or how about this one: "boyd, we love the record and would love to come to the show tonight to see what you guys are up to but NY's first pitch is at 8:00pm... when did you say Eisley go on?"... or how about this: "yes, we love the music but have some ideas of our own... are you open?".
Nothing made sense - Nothing was right. We even talked to a few majors; it felt like... when Marty McFly kissed his mom. I could write a book on this one topic but it's getting late. Fast forward >>> I kept hearing the name "Equal Vision Records" from friends, random strangers, bands. One such band member told me that their biggest dream for their band was to one day be signed to "Equal Vision Records".
Indie is indie - So I looked them up on-line one afternoon; I thought, whatever - "I know Circa Survive... they're melodic... rock... and they were just signed up to Atlantic. Collin loves that band... hmm... I see they have a resident indie folk band... cool; wait... I"Dear and the Headlights"?! I like this band; Portugal the Man is a name I've heard (woah, also signed to Atlantic; this label is legit)"... so I sent a simple message through their website. Just so you'll know, labels have those web portal communication modules so they don't have to get emails or answer them. The stories I could tell. But EVR answered; within a few minutes... with great enthusiasm... requesting new music.
10 emails and 2 weeks later their A&R and publicist were hanging out with us in Tyler, Texas eating BBQ, staying up late, going to our favorite places, laughing with us, drinking coffee with us, etc. Maybe the rest is history.
Interesting fact - EVR is one of Max's (Max Bemis, Sherri's husband in Say Anything) favorite labels. I found this out AFTER we were already talking. fyi - EVR signed "Save the Day" and worked their most successful record. Chris (STD) is Max's best friend and sang a Beatle cover song at Max's & Sherri's wedding. Also, little known fact - EVR tried to sign Max when he was just a kid out of highschool before he was really sure what he wanted to do.
I seriously have to get to sleep. Lemme wrap this up.
Record Release
I have a rough schedule. I can't talk about it yet because it's not locked in. There are contingencies. But I can tell you we're looking strongly at end of Feb. beginning of March. I mean this literally, not figuratively or otherwise.
I am working on artwork for the CD. So there. It's real.
Love you guys. If I haven't said it enough... I'll say it now: Thankyou for hanging in there with us. Thank you for going to shows, responding, relating... for being patient.
bd
[whut]-UP Date
October 29, 2010 05:14 AM
Hey everyone. It seemed time for an update (don't laugh). As some of you know, I am not out with the band on this tour so - if anyone is frustrated with me for not posting updates, cool... I probably deserve it.
Other than the many amazing images you guys (and how-do-u-say: fans?) are sending me from shows, I have no media and nothing to report (or do i?). I do get heaps of texts from the band and am working intensely hard on a myriad of fun things; I can at least ramble on about nothing to uphold my 8 year tradition here in Laughing City (technically Trolleywood for newer followers).
Over the past several years it's been tough reporting news. I suppose we could have aired our business with greater frequency, especially given the relationship, but to be honest (news alert, boyd is going honest), we pretty much said all we could say; all there was to say. I felt stress every time I sat down to craft words for you guys... even today, this holding pattern (waiting on news, sitting on news) dissuades me from typing.
All of that to say - I do have more to say but I just decided to not care whether I have anything to DL or not; I'm tired of having to hold back or curb or say/do what is expected. I'm going to talk about whatever I want. But first I'm going to create accurate captions for these images:
Sherri belts out a wild cougar cry instead of lyrics.
Garron thumps his axe... in a Submarine.
Eisley now tours in a Mac Truck.
Two windows on each side of the the mammoth transport allows for tinted light and perfect African Violet growth.
Lil' bro Collin studies chord chart to play his new LaRose Tele'.
Everyone smiling.
Stacy has soulful moment (*ref.).
Weston bites down on spider found crawling on floor tom.
Sherri's enraptured moment causes time to stand still.
I'ves never seen this band before so I don't know how to comment.
Chauntelle grows 10 feet during her vocal performance.
Chauntelle looks awesome riding her new electric unicycle.
Stacy - sounding it out... one correct spelling from winning the "B". (get it? spelling B)
Eisley opens up for Niche'l Bach in Atlanta.
Chauntelle trades her old head for an expensive New York model's head.
Sis' Christie belts out the chorus of her famous cover song: "Born Free".
Weston see's another spider on his rack tom; contracts bad case of: a-rack-niphobia.
Chauntelle becomes jealous of vocal parts and sends a scowl-blast at Sherri who responds with a painful shriek.
Stacy wears leather buckle-booties stolen from a dead pirate.
Zombies enter the club. This was snapped moments before the attack.
Sherri the school-girl shrinks as Thom Yorke's guitar grows.
Gorgeous Fender Rhodes shows wear & tear after refurb' in 2002
Lighting director flipped the grey scale switch and a beautiful payne's grey floods the stage.
Chauntelle makes emotional connection with fluorescent, red dot on her Taylor guitar.
Sherri smiles. Only 5 days till she see's Max.
Label News The good news is - we're going to announce all of this stuff while the band is out on tour; I actually know the date (taunt, tease). Guess I could have summed up this entire post with this one little paragraph. What fun would that be?
Look, I'll just say this right now... I know that signing with an indie label isn't big audacious news. I also know that most of you only care about the record getting into your hands... label/shmabel. I get that... and this is the best way for that to happen. I just don't want it to come off like some big fan-fare, but it is a big deal to us.
Because I'm caffeinated and it's late and I want to talk to my little, tiny subjects... I am going to see if I can enlighten you by harnessing the power of my ginormous, dry globs of matter that spin wildly about the music biz' day and night. 
lol. Heaven help us; I have mere thimbles full of knowledge.
Live Touring - Chauntelle called me tonight after their show. Somehow we ended up talking about a conversation she had with 2 fans outside the bus. The fans were expressing their concern for their favorite bands... "how will they survive with cd sales continuing to decline?" Chauntelle sorta told them (in her own Chauntelle words) - "survival centers around touring, not cd sales".
I've never once thought about talking about this but the misconception intrigued me. I guess I've always assumed was common knowledge. In order for bands to keep doing what they're doing, warm bodies have to come to shows (at the very least). It's not too complicated but it I'm not sure how obvious it is so I'll 'xplain it in simple terms:
If bands can't tour they're pretty much screwed. Bands survive by 1.) the money they make from playing shows ("settlements" or guarantees negotiated by band's agent with promoters) and 2.) the merch money they make from selling at those shows. Sure, CD's can be sold - like merch on the road. If you're on a label, you'll make a little mark up on them... if you're independent, you can charge more & make the profit... like with a T-shirt. We all know there are options for on-line sales, iTunes, etc. I am addressing a different issue here.
So - if a band can't tour, they basically become (for lack of a better word/phrase) a garage band. It would mean they have a shrinking market presence and have lost their ability to earn enough income to continue being a band. Not saying you're not legit if you can't tour. You can record and have fun making music.
But back to touring: in order for XYZ band to continue to tour, warm bodies have to fill up venues. If warm bodies cease fill up those venues, things become complicated... in a spiraling down way. The promoter of said show still has to pay XYZ band a guarantee. What happens the next time XYZ's agent tries to book a tour? Right... he won't want to roll the dice again. Get it? (of course u do)
Some could say a ticketing slum for any band is just a case of survival of the fittest. Popular bands bring out warm bodies. If a band loses their fan base and are unable to grow new fans, well - there u go. I'm being a little cynical.
Basically, without numbers (warm bodies paying club/promoter costs + band guarantee's), those guarantee's ($) go down or cease to exist. Opportunities are curbed, bands can't earn enough income to tour, they become beached in their home towns, they do local shows for awhile and then die. That sounds terribly glum. Please know I was trying to make it graphically clear. There could be any number of outcomes with any number of ways around the problem. And I'm not talking about Eisley. I am talking about reality.
Personalizing it - We've worked really hard to stay busy, work hard, produce/move forward, tour, stay connected since the dark end and extended black out (ensnaring, still pending release) re: our previous 'situation' (what the hell... our previous label) but you can't not (Texas dubble-negativ') put out a record in 3+ years in this marketplace and not suffer a setback. The spin-doctors are pushing the 'next big thing' on every page of every publication . But enough whining; Eisley is super pumped, shows are doing pretty amazing considering we've had no record out and haven't done a National headlining tour since Spring '08.
Bottom line: fans directly impact the longevity of their favorite bands and their ability to keep making music by going to shows. When fans stop coming, they are sentencing that band to a slow death. Or - you can flip it: when a band ceases to have enough appeal to draw fans out to shows, they are causing their own slow death. We can talk about CD's some other time. I'm not doing a good job holding my dry eyelids open. We can talk about this through comments if you want.
Upside - Here's how a band can reverse the curse: put out an amazing new cd, do something stand out - make a video, hire a PR agent, put a new song on-line, appeal to their base, sign to a label, get a break, get on a sound track, get radio play, get someone important to believe in them, open for some big-A band, be great... (just to name a few).
What about signing? I can only give you what's floating around in my head. I could be wrong and am often wrong but here are my thoughts - today.
Label vs No Label - There are plenty of views out there on this subject. You have your indier-than-thou folk (sure, sometimes depending on the subject we're in this camp) saying, "we don't need no stinking label. We manufacture our own cd's, sell them at shows, sell digital on itunes, etc.".
I've said it before and I'll say it again - to go completely indie at the moment (today, this market, not 5 years from now) is to put on a cloaking device, to step behind a curtain, to pull the matrix plug out. You'll find your band of rebels battling it out in some dank engine room with computers and wires and pipes (add bursts of random steam from unknown pressurized orifices for effect).
However - the Music Industry is real. It is flesh and blood. It is comprised of agents, managers, promoters, publicists, labels (A&R's, marketing / sales / presidents / street teams / artists / new media peeps, etc.), publishers, producers, engineers, entertainment lawyers, talent buyers, business managers, broadcast people, radio people, videographers, digital people, studios, bloggers, critics, manufacturers, distributors, organizations (Grammy's, VMA's) on and on.
Do I get tired of some it's norms, parts, rules, traditions, purveyors, decision makers, award/merit givers, radio monopolies? Yes. But if you want to dance... you have to do it with these people. On your own, you're likely to sit it out.
People will disagree with me. Fine. If you're freaking Radio Head, you don't need a label. Even if you're small, you might opt to do most of it yourself. For the most part, I'm talking about bands who either don't have the personnel to start their own label (complete with all the expertise, credentials, tenure, ability to finance or cover all of these critical roles) or just plain don't WANT to do it.
Whether a label plays a big role or a small role, they tend to be the connector... the interface, the hub, the junction box that helps plug you in to all of these various portals (they push you out on the dance floor).
If you sign with the right label and build great relationships with cool people who understand your band and your music, you end up with a very important partner. Sure, they make some of the $ off your cd but remember, they paid for you to record it, they paid to get it manufactured... they paid for new media/on-line advertising, print advertising, radio, video, co-op, press/publicity!
If you want to do all of that yourself and finance it and still have no guarantee that your band will 'make it', then step behind the veil and start swinging.
Having said that, we do a lot on our own. Touring, for example... Spring '08 tour in a bus? That was all Eisley and Paradigm (agent - 10% commission for booking). This Summer's tour, this tour... same thing.
Obviously we do all our social networking and on-line stuff. Since we left WB, we've moved from having 5,000 fb friends to over 50,000. That's with nothing to say really... no album, no label doing anything. Sure, some of the increase was due to a fb kick but for the most part, it's just been working, talking, updating, touring/pushing tours, interacting, posting, etc.
AMBULANCE LIVE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48nGAFcsGSU Tossed it on YouTube tonight.
Closure - I was only going to post a few pics but the brain-gates opened wide and I spewed forth. Sorry.
Thanks for coming out to see Eisley on this tour. Means a lot. The show is getting great reviews from old and new fans. Most are saying they sound better than ever. This is true from my objective perspective.
Label news on November 4th. If you talked to the band out on the road, you know they are super excited about this.
Me: working on CD graphics, working w/ our new publicist, label > bio's, budgets, release schedules, etc.
Cya!
bd
(*inside ref.) - Mute Math invented the "soulful moment". Darren imparted on the Mute Math/Eisley tour in the Fall of '07. It's like a game I guess; someone points to you and says, "give me your most soulful moment". You have to belt out this embarrassing improv'; typically using the word "well..." but it's an ad-lib, soul lick... and none of us can do it so it's horrible, terrifying; but lowers walls and causes great laughter.