The Golden Vine is Done!

Last night we played the best show we've ever played to announce the release of our debut EP, The Golden Vine. After all those years of work we've finally done something to be proud of.

Sadly the night was bittersweet as it was our singer Logan's last show: who is leaving for reasons of creative differences.

I'll return to normal updates next week, for now I'm taking care of all of the logistics of the release.

For this week only, we're streaming the whole album on our website, go give us a listen!
http://www.onwardwemarch.com/

One Year Anniversary!

Whoa snap, it's been over a year already?

When I initially started this project, my goal was to deliver insight and get people talking about how we can make the music world a better place for everyone through business and psychology. I hope you'll agree that I've done that.

If you're new to the blog or haven't kept up, here's some of the best ones I've written over the last year to get you up to speed. Thanks for reading my blog.

As always, I want to hear from YOU! Good ideas don't come in a vacuum, the more we talk the smarter we all get.

How To Make Fans Faster
On the Efficacy of Flava Flav
Going "Viral" is a Waste
Why is Heavy Metal and Acquired Taste?
The Musician's Secret Weapon

Quick Science Update

The ever-awesome Jonah Lehrer on how its the anticipation of our favorite parts in the music that gives us the chills. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/01/the-neuroscience-of-music/

"According to Meyer, it is the suspenseful tension of music (arising out of our unfulfilled expectations) that is the source of the music’s feeling. While earlier theories of music focused on the way a noise can refer to the real world of images and experiences (its “connotative” meaning), Meyer argued that the emotions we find in music come from the unfolding events of the music itself.  This “embodied meaning” arises from the patterns the symphony invokes and then ignores, from the ambiguity it creates inside its own form. “For the human mind,” Meyer writes, “such states of doubt and confusion are abhorrent. When confronted with them, the mind attempts to resolve them into clarity and certainty.” And so we wait, expectantly, for the resolution of E major, for Beethoven’s established pattern to be completed. This nervous anticipation, says Meyer, “is the whole raison d’etre of the passage, for its purpose is precisely to delay the cadence in the tonic.” The uncertainty makes the feeling – it is what triggers that surge of dopamine in the caudate, as we struggle to figure out what will happen next. And so our neurons search for the undulating order, trying to make sense of this flurry of pitches. We can predict some of the notes, but we can’t predict them all, and that is what keeps us listening, waiting expectantly for our reward, for the errant pattern to be completed. Music is a form whose meaning depends upon its violation."

How Deep is Your Merch?

Math time.

What is the maximum cash a fan can spend on your band in one year? (Assuming nobody buys the same shirt three times.)

How much of that is profit?

Now, how many fans must you have to:
   -Break even?
   -Work only a part time job?
   -Become a full time musician?
   -Drive a limo into a swimming pool and not care?

What happens to your profit when you introduce one additional product a year?

Makes you think, doesn't it?

MATH.

I'm Your Fan

What do I get by becoming a fan of your band?

Will you say 'Hi!" when I go to your shows?

When do you tell me about your upcoming shows?

How will I know the stories behind your songs?

How often do you have fresh, awesome merch so I can show you how much I appreciate your music?

Do you respond to my facebook messages?

What do you say to me when I come up to the merch booth?

How do you help me stay a fan?

How do you make me feel like I belong?