2008 Woodie Awards
Underground trio to play at university
David Garrison
Issue date: 9/5/07 Section: Culture
- Page 1 of 1
| |
| |
|
"We had to chase the guy down," she said, "and we screamed 'please, please, give us a ride.'"
He did, and as Persons climbed inside, the driver, a short, skinny guy with a bushy beard from Alaska blared music that she hadn't heard before. The sound hit her like a revelation. It was a gritty mix with a fast banjo, quick guitar riffs, a steady bass and free-spoken lyrics. She liked it and as they pulled onto the road, she tapped her foot to the beat. "Who are they?" she asked.
The Devil Makes Three he told her. Persons listened to them for the rest of the trip and by the time she got out in Roseburg, Ore., she was hooked. She intended to look them up, but didn't have to. As she climbed out of the car, the driver ejected the CD and passed it across the passenger seat to her, like a secret that needed to be spread.
Persons took the CD and has been a Devil Makes Three fan ever since.
This type of music sharing is different than swapping songs on the Internet. It's like introducing a good friend to a complete stranger and knowing they'll get along.
With music that is self-produced and self promoted the intimate act of passing on music is key to the band's success.
They want their music to be heard by as many people as possible.
Pete Bernhard, lead singer of Devil Makes Three said, "One of the things that helped our band the most is word of mouth."
Word of mouth has worked for The Devil Makes Three. Though many people haven't heard of them yet, they have a big fan base in Arcata and their show scheduled for the 9th of September at 9 p.m. in the Kate Buchanan room at Humboldt State University will likely sell out. "Arcata is one place we've always been received really well," Bernhard said.
The popularity that the Devil Makes Three achieved takes time though.
Before Bernhard, 27, Lucia Turino, 26, and Cooper McBean, 27, started to tour five years ago they'd built a solid fan base in Santa Cruz and branched out from there.
Now they've toured up and down the West Coast, the East Coast, and most recently pushed inland into Montana and Wyoming.
Their busy schedule has paid off. Bernhard admits that he doesn't have a day job and he probably won't get one anytime soon, but that doesn't mean he can sit on his butt and make money.
If an underground band wants to play music for a living they not only have to have a good product, but they have to have a solid relationship with their fans as well.
In the past, this meant that if they didn't tour, they weren't heard because most radio stations play popular music.
The constant deluge of mainstream artists presents a challenge for self-promoted bands to get people to open their ears to unfamiliar music "Whether you like it or not, " said Dan Giannotta, station manager for Humboldt State University's student run radio station KRFH (streaming live online at krfh.com), "we equate good music with what's on T.V."
Fortunately T.V. and radio isn't the only place that music gets played nowadays - there's the Internet.
With Facebook, and YouTube now a common destination for anyone who knows how to get online, self-promoted bands have a common venue to share their music. If a person is willing to search for the kind of music they like, they'll find it somewhere on the Internet.
These bands if they're talented and work hard enough, can create a following. The Devil Makes Three has accomplished this in Arcata.
Although the University box office has reported that there are still tickets available for the Sept. 9th show, it's likely that it won't stay that way for long.
"It's on par for what we see in Arcata," said Michael Moore, Center Arts coordinator at Humboldt State University, tickets don't usually sell out until the concert date draws near.
Some people won't risk it though. Persons, who discovered the Devil Makes Three only a year-and-half ago, has already purchased four tickets, one for herself, "and the rest to pass out."
David Garrison can be reached at dlg32@humboldt.edu
Be the first to comment on this story