Bands
Articles
Reviews
Women In Art
Bites
Venom Shows
Resources
Reviews
&
Interviews
"I
think, being women,
we got a lot of shit
from people, particularly because we didn't always
come across as rowdy and
boisterous, good-time girls.
We gave the audience
a harder time in terms of
coping with our music.
We took ourselves seriously."
-- GINA BIRCH
THE RAINCOATS
Previous
Articles:
"...a
personal goal of mine is when you buy a CD, you open it up and take the
booklet out and you read through the songs… it will say in the special
thanks, 'thank you to Erica and Romeo of Rock101."
Romeo
"People
like what's happening and keep coming to shows."
Erica
A
Note from
Romeo and Erica:
We would like to say a thank you to the people that have helped the local
music scene a lot, such as Voice is Venom, Divabands, APG Records, Motogirlproduction,
Nadine Condon and all the venues that believe in us and our bands.
Do
Local Bands Need Foster Parents?
You betcha!
by Lisa Hayle & Denise Mauro
Voice
Is Venom spoke with Romeo Durscher
and Erica Weil of ROCK101 Promotions
ROCK101 Promotions started because Weil and Durscher wanted to wrap their hands around the local music scene - to mold it and see their influence. They call ROCK101 their baby, and it really is. When we met this Bay Area Artist Development Team, they were on the tail end of an early day that had them on KSJS that morning with one of their local bands. Despite this, they were full of energy and enthusiasm as they told us how they got involved with the local music scene.
"It all started when Erica and I were on tour with Bon Jovi," said the Swiss-born Durscher, "which was an incredible experience. Fans really go all out. They get decked out like Bon Jovi in the middle of a weekday for concerts. When I arrived in the states, I looked for bands I liked and found this one band, SR-71, and I contacted them to see if they needed any promotional help in California. They came out here, and Erica and I met them and formed a good relationship with them. We did a few shows and SR-71 turned out to be an opening band for Bon Jovi!" Erica added, "It was really ironic. We did local promotions; handed out flyers, etc. and got guest passes as a thank you. Once you've been backstage - you don't want to be just in the audience again. With a lot of networking, we got passes and did promotion for the opening act the day of the show. It was interesting because we got to work with so many different bands and so many different personalities and got to know the people behind the scenes of a huge show that went on for six months. When we came back, we were like - how do you top that? What's next?"
When they returned and began to check out the local music scene, one thing was apparent - bands struggle with so many things: booking, marketing, and promotions. It was very clear to them that they could help. Erica had a friend that was in a band, Jennifer from SweetDuration -so they went to hear them one night. "We were looking at the crowd and we both thought the same thing - we could help them. We could make this so much better and so much bigger. They need to focus on their music and we can take care of the behind the scenes stuff. We thought we could take the bull by the horns and go with it. I think another reason why we started this is that we went to a lot of shows and were amazed that the fans weren't really into it - or there weren't a lot of fans," said Weil. "Last September when we started working with SweetDuration, the band was playing smaller, local venues, from coffee shops to bars. At some of these shows SweetD played 4-hour sets to a full house, but they didn’t have any experience with sharing a stage with other bands and playing shorter showcases. We came along and it was very interesting to see the transition first hand. First of all - we didn't have the experience. We didn't know if $200 a night was good pay for a band. It was all a learning experience and we didn't know the Bay Area music scene when we started. We changed things around. We got them a new press kit, new website, and started weekly rehearsals. We did a lot of work and we learned. By the end of 2001, they were ready for bigger venues. Right now they are rooted in the local music scene. There are not many bands who, in two months, play Tongue and Groove, Voodoo Lounge, The Usual, and Hotel Utah. And SweetDuration does - and they bring people to all these shows - and I think that's very successful. It's a sign that we do something right," said Durscher.
What
exactly does ROCK101 Promotions do for bands?
Our main focus is Artist Development - ROCK101 helps bands
bring their music and talent to the next level. In addition, they manage
promotions, booking, do a lot of networking and assist with appearance
and stage presence.
"We talk to bands about their appearance whether they want to hear it or not. I think image is almost 50% of your band. You go to a show and hear talented local music, but once you get past the good music and sound, you take a closer look at their stage presence. And sometimes you realize that the band’s style on stage doesn’t coincide with their music. One band we work with, Miggs… the lead singer would wear the same shirt to a lot of shows. I finally said, hey - you're wearing that shirt again! He said, 'you don't like the shirt?' I told him I did - just not that often. I think I hurt his feelings because I didn't express myself in a soft manner - but at the same time I got my point across clearly. (laughs) He still teases me a bit - asking me if what he's wearing is okay. But Miggs has a great stage presence. They really interact with the audience. Their excitement level is huge - which what people see - and how they view your band." "Yeah, keep an eye on these guys," Durscher added.
When asked if ROCK101 would be part of negotiations with labels, we were told yes. Curently, ROCK101 is getting calls about Miggs due to their successful compilation CD that was just put out by A&R Network, a Clear Channel company. It was sent to 1,000 Indie labels, major labels, publishing, licensing, and management companies in the US and the UK. ROCK101 acts as management for bands too, but concedes not every band needs a manager. The band that plays three times a month may not need one. So they only do certain things and split the package according to bands' needs.
ROCK101 Promotions doesn't want to be a label, but works closely with them. Their immediate goals are to work toward advancing more bands. "I think a personal goal of mine is when you buy a CD, you open it up and take the booklet out and you read through the songs… it will say in the special thanks, 'thank you to Erica and Romeo of ROCK101.' To me, that's my goal and I'm going to make a nice copy and put it on the website. To be able to say that's it - we had a hand in it!" Durscher exclaimed.
In dealing with so many venues, they started to realize that female-fronted bands and all-female bands tended to have a harder time getting booked at clubs. This led to Women Who Rock - collaborations with Voice Is Venom and Diva Bands. They soon found that clubs were very responsive to booking nights with women as the theme - it proved to be an effective marketing tool. They also found that female fronted bands are somehow a little easier to work with and more open to support other artists. At shows, musicians approach Erica and Romeo, introducing themselves as part of Women Who Rock. People like what's happening and keep coming to shows," says Weil.
"What we try to do is be different," said Durscher, "one thing we tried out with one band was we approached Swiss and German radio stations. I have a lot of different marketing ideas -something I realized when talking with European countries is that if something comes from the USA - it changes the meaning of everything. In Europe, people look at the USA like this is a perfect place to live. So we try to take advantage of this thinking and we submitted their CD to Swiss radio stations and that was pretty successful.
Though not performers themselves, Erica Weil and Romeo Durscher have a touch of spotlight fever. They have this great desire to push from behind the scenes.
Our local music can only benefit from their dedication and nurturance..... a special thanks to Romeo and Erica!
Decide if you need management
