AP Interview

I couldn't pick up a copy when I saw it, but I had a chance to read through it and it's pretty decent. They talk about going to SideOne, getting offers from Majors and being prepared to move to a Major in the future. Kind of scary honestly, so many bands get ruined on majors. I think Rise Against already talk about making a mistake moving to a major. Only time will tell what's in their future. Oh and I'm not sure which issue it was, I think it's the lat one before what's on the newsstands right now.

I think I have that issue.

The main article is Against Me! and The Gaslight Anthem is somewhere in there too.
They talk about how touring with AM! made them a better band, switching to a major in a few years, and all that hooplah.

yeah ive read that before,

I dont think a major label would ruin this band they are good and smart not to let that happen, at least i hope.

You know this brings up an interesting point..

I have only bought 3 real CDs in the last year (Sink Or Swim, Tim Armstrong's solo and Against Me!'s New Wave)

I have bought over 1000 songs on iTunes however... so what does a record label really do for a band now adays?

Here is a list of recent interviews.

http://www.sideonedummy.com/press.php?band_name=The_Gaslight_Anthem

e6c wrote:

You know this brings up an interesting point..

I have only bought 3 real CDs in the last year (Sink Or Swim, Tim Armstrong's solo and Against Me!'s New Wave)

I have bought over 1000 songs on iTunes however... so what does a record label really do for a band now adays?

holy shit thats like the same for me except i bought some local bands cds, but damn that tim armstrong cd was amazing

I haven't bought a single CD in YEARS! But I have spent 400-600 on vinyl in 2008 alone...

geezfools wrote:

I haven't bought a single CD in YEARS! But I have spent 400-600 on vinyl in 2008 alone...

good god!

I am trying to get into the vinyl collecting, but I think having a 5 month old monkey running around the house, it may not be the best time.

JoshRaymond wrote:

e6c wrote:

You know this brings up an interesting point..

I have only bought 3 real CDs in the last year (Sink Or Swim, Tim Armstrong's solo and Against Me!'s New Wave)

I have bought over 1000 songs on iTunes however... so what does a record label really do for a band now adays?

holy shit thats like the same for me except i bought some local bands cds, but damn that tim armstrong cd was amazing

Rancid was my favorite band for 10 years... and then came Against Me!... and then came TGA!

My 'favourite' bands have been like this
Sum 41
Green Day
Rancid
Anti-Flag
Against Me!
The King Blues
The Gaslight Anthem


with The Clash, Living End, Ramones on the edge

For a while Good Charlotte was my favorite band. (Go ahead, laugh. I was twelve.) Then I had 3 favorite bands, which were GC, Avenged Sevenfold and Anti-Flag. I still like the latter two a bit, but after shuffling around my favorite bands for a couple months and feeling very confused, I realized that I'm really not good at picking favorites of anything, so my "favorite bands" change by the week, and if someone asks me I usually just say whoever's most-listened according to my last.fm.

readers' letters in response to the AP feature on TGA (includes a pic of the band)

www.sideonedummy.com/images/press/ga/TGA-APFeedback.jpg

e7c wrote:

I have bought over 1000 songs on iTunes however... so what does a record label really do for a band now adays?

Funny you should say that. On the All Songs Considered blog (NPR) yesterday, they had this article:
Do Record Labels Matter?
They also link to someone's blog who says that she remembers the old days, when it did matter and helped you find music you liked before the days of the internet. But... the jury's open these days.

I'd say to an extent, they are very helpful. If you're an upstart band, you need advertising and word to get out about you. You can't just post stuff on the internet and hope it goes viral, b/c that's a rare combination of factors. Record labels can fund ads, production, studio time, and tours. Regardless of the quality of your music, odds are you can't afford that in the early stages.

But on the other hand, the internet's changed so much. Like you said, who buys CD's anymore? I buy them from time to time, but I probably own about 10 or 12 total, vs the hundreds of albums I've got digitally (some are legit... sry!). With the web, musicians can get their music straight to fans without making them pay all the middle men involved with a record label. It becomes less about money and marketability and more about quality music.

I think record labels are still useful and will be around, but they're going to have to evolve and stop all this 'RIAA suing kids and old ladies' bull. If they want to survive, they need to adapt to the consumers' and artists' desires.