The advantage of being a local, fetus band

At the advice of our band development big man, Joe Yazbeck, we’ve started this blog. At this point in our band’s five year history, we pretty much know everyone that listens to our stuff and attends our shows. Last night I was thinking about what fans we really have and had one of those tender realizations: one of those which come all the time but never really soak in until they’re acknowledged and revisited. This is a special time where people who listen to our music can actually know us. We’ve gained friends because of those that attended gigs we’ve played. Some nationally known bands do not have this opportunity, not only because of the sheer quantity of listeners they have, but because their fans are spread all over the place. Now, I’m not suggesting that these big bands, provided the time and emotion, are using social networking to hug their fans through messages and crying into their keyboards over their long distance relationships. But, I get a sense from artists that I meet, that they feel the need and truly want to know their fans. Nationally known songwriter, Kevin Devine, appears to me to be of the most grateful people I’ve ever met. The second out of the two shows I met him; the greater area of his signature was filled with the word “thanks,” underlined by his miniature initials. He even felt bad for not remembering my name! Later on, I also found him hugging one of his fans like a family member would. All of this injected into my eyes his sense of being in debt to his fans. Think about it; why does any artist want to be known? First of all, every human has a natural instinct towards eternity, attributing to our want to be remembered. So, unless a musician is a dick or would literally be swarmed in Beatlesque fashion, they want to personally hear what their fans think of their art. They want to be appreciated. Any musician and/or songwriter, including all of us, want appreciation for their material. Right now, we can personally hear this from our listeners and converse about it. When counting our blessings, we and other local, fetus bands need to include this.