THE EASY WAY OUT

Regardless of what anyone says, Alternative Press Magazine, STILL hasn't sold out.

IF we HAD sold out, we would have turned into one of the above-pictured magazines.

Jonas Brothers, HSM3, Miley and so on.

The above magazines are created by people that have sold out.

Whenever a new movie sensation or teen-bop band breaks out and sells millions of something, a small group of sweat-house publishing companies rush to their desktop computers ordering a cadre of meagerly-paid editors who know nothing of the market they're writing about (or for) to copy and paste 32 pages of press releases and interviews, all stolen from the internet, and rush-release them to the printer and then to the newsstand.

The result?

Cash cows created primarily to live off of an already-passing trend.

All to just make a fast buck.

Then they'll do it again whenever the next craze hits.

If AP had sold out, we would be doing things like that.

Repeatedly.

Every single month.

Kind of like when Circus Magazine used to throw Ozzy on the cover every single issue somehow.

Either his photo or his name. Or even a hint of Ozzy.

(There's a band name- Hint of Ozzy.)

I've always been happy that we didn't make a lot of cover decisions just to make a quick buck.

Yes, when we were really bad for cash to pay our printer back in the mid-90's, we went to the Insane Clown Posse well one too many times, I admit.

ICP fans are NUTS. They will buy ANYTHING with ICP on it, in it or even with a scent of ICP.

(There's an ICP cover band name- A Scent of ICP.)

But we had to. It was for our survival.

(Read the AP HISTORY section on our website. It's all explained there.)

Thankfully, we don't have to worry about that anymore.

When artists get more than one AP cover in their career, it's because they deserve it.

Reader demand cause our covers to happen.

Iconic status within the scene cause our covers to happen.

Comeback-records from heaven cause covers to happen.

But, why don't we put only unknown bands on the cover every month?

To be honest, not enough people will buy the magazine to keep the doors open.

And there isn't a publication, television network, website or book company that would debate me about this.

So, we try and play it down the middle.

A little known and a little new.

We're kind of like that deejay at the club; we have to play not only the cool new imports but also the standards.

If you only play new stuff, people won't dance because they don't know it.

So you throw in some of the stuff they know to get them onto the dance floor and then you throw in the new stuff when they're sweating it all around like whirling-dervishes.

Before you know it, you've hooked them on the new stuff.

And AP readers generally like it this way, we've been told.

Only three cover stars this year had been on the cover of AP before, which kind of says a lot.

Fall Out Boy, Panic and Underoath- all icons within the scene.

(I didn't include Mr. Green and Mr. Owens because their covers were for solo projects and not their regular band gigs.)

All three bands fought hard for their covers too.

Ask Pete to tell you the story sometime (or watch his video on our website.)

Overall, I have to say, I've been really happy with our cover choices for 2008.

Against Me to Paramore. How much wider of a view could you get?

And 2009 is already shaping up nice for us too. (Oh, and AP TOUR 09!)

But, maybe we could have just done what those publishers did above in that photo I took at my local Giant Eagle.

Just stuck our finger in the air and seen which way the winds were blowing.

And go with whatever that was.

Or, we could do what Rolling Stone does every time they're desperate to sell a lot of magazines fast for some reason.

Throw Justin Timberlake in a wet t-shirt on the cover.**

Now, that's selling out.

(**I keep this cover pinned to my office wall to remind me what NOT to do with AP.)

Thank You

I've been home all day with a massive cold since I attended a day-long rally on Sunday for, now, President-Elect Obama here in Cleveland. That day started off great- no clouds in the sky and just a bit chilly but by the time we got done waiting four hours in line and getting up to the stage area, it had turned cold and half-way thru Obama's speech, it started to rain.

But, you know, it was worth it.

I've seen him give more moving speeches on tv and you could tell he was tired and worn out but to see him in person was truly amazing. It's just really nice to have a leader you can actually look up to again and respect to do the right thing.

He's also much shorter in person, btw. Springsteen, who played before Obama took the stage, is short enough, but Obama maybe was a few inches taller if that.

Anyway...

So, last night, already dying from this cold, I sat on my couch and watched the results come in while friend after friend AIM'd or texted me for results or to supply on-going commentary. No doubt this little ritual was being repeated by millions all across the world.

No longer do we wait to discuss our thoughts around the water cooler, per se, it's all done immediately and by the time we get into work the next day and approach said water cooler, we're already on to whatever news broke five minutes ago.

My friend Eric was on the train heading home after work texting me for updates on states that were called. Brad from Chiodos was in a hotel in Seattle AIM'ng me about how great things looked. My other friend, Patti, was holed up in her apartment with her boyfriend James, both political wonks like me, nerding out with me while we sent each other links to the updated Virginia Secretary of State vote results page and analyzing a number of counties to see how much of the vote was still out.

By the time Ohio was called, she had popped her bottle of celebratory champagne she had stored away for this now-possible big moment (cuz if you knew your electoral college nerd points last night, as soon as Ohio and Virginia called, it was over.)

The rest of the night was just historical and it didn't even sink in until today while sitting around at home trying to recoup (had to miss Academy Is tonight...blah!!!) Watching videos on-line from other newscasts last night when the election was called for Obama just kept making me break down in tears.

I know I've said in the past that when the White House goes to the Democrats, it's always a bad four to eight years for punk rock (who you gonna complain about in your lyrics??) Yet, I'll gladly live thru some bad music for what you guys did for the world yesterday.

And when I say "you guys", I mean everyone 18-29, 66% of you to be exact, more of you since the election of 1976, who voted for Barack Obama yesterday.

The Election of 2008 was the year that young America took control of the country. Campaign friends of mine early on told me how the people working within the Obama campaign were under 30 years old and tech-savvy to no end whereas the Clinton people were old school politico types from DC.

Obama realizes that the world, and our nation, has changed and, as the Greatest Generation of World War 2 survivors die off, will change even faster (all of the anti-gay marriage measures being passed now will, undoubtedly, be reversed within the next decade- give it time).

Young America gets it.

Spike Lee said yesterday that there was now going to be two periods in America: BB and BA (Before Barack and After Barack.)

After Barack would represent color blindness, equality, understanding and respecting one another and that's where I think Young Americans play a major role.

The problem the McCain campaign had in its philosophy, and the Republican Party for that matter, is that they still thought it was 1958. There always has to be some group to hate, to pick on and to demean. That's not what Young America is about and that's why the GOP lost this election.

Readers of AP are a lot more understanding, more open-minded, more accepting than their parents, I can pretty much guarantee.

And I can also guarantee that their technical prowess will advance the world in ways unimagined as they get older and into positions of power. Author Don Tapscott was on NPR the other day promoting his new book, "Grown Up Digital: How The Net Generation Is Changing The World" and he spoke of how scientists are beginning to realize that because of today's youth essentially being born with a computer in their hand from day one practically, that it's going to change the way that they use their brain and that it will actually change the way the human brain functions and handles tasks and problem solving.

They will change the world we live in for the better in ways no other generation before them could (or would for that matter.)

And I'm way too excited to see what you guys end up doing.

So, in the replies to this post, give me a hint- what do you think Young America should do to help make this world a better place?

Thank You, Young America.

On Being A Musician

there seem to be two types of new musicians that hit me up- whether via myspace or in person:

1) the type that wants me to hear their demos

or

2) the type that wants me to tell them how to make it as a musician

the question is this: what is "it"?

yeah, it sounds like a Clinton deposition ("what IS the meaning of IT?")

so i'm going to say this to everyone so i may not have to repeat it again in a crowded club during the third opening act's set and blow out my voice

just keep doing it yourself for as long as it makes sense

i know, i know..."DIY" is such a thrown around, often-used, often-abused term...but it's true, true, true

if you're a musician in a new band- unsigned especially- you have to get a couple of things to shine thru those rose-tinted "we're gonna sell a million records and be as big as Zeppelin" glasses you've been wearing pretty fast:

1) it's no longer about how many records you sell. it's about how much money you make at selling the ones you do sell

soundscans and that entire generation of determining a band's worthiness to live by a sales figure is out the door (and not soon enough.) who cares if you sell 70,000 units on a record label if you'll never see a penny for any of it past that initial advance you got? what the hell is the point? (which goes to a future post i'll make- you may not even need a record label anymore either. set your own label up and keep everything in-house or hire independent contractors to do your marketing and publicity. how is this possible to even consider? because retailers are becoming less and less useful to you as a band. more later on that..)

but- back to my point- if you sell 30,000 records on your own, directly to your fans, and you can quit your day job and have some money in the bank for the upcoming tour, fixing the van or for the next studio time- isn't that the point?

because it sure is now.

there's no one in the industry to impress anymore. it's not about showing how big you are. it's about showing how smart you are.

and- why turn over your work to someone else to own and that you'll only end up fighting with forever to get the rights back to, and, at the same time, end up being indentured to financially just as long?

2) merch is your game, man. don't blow it.

there's a standard rule of thumb in business when you're dealing with customers, and, in your case, your fans: your best customers are your current ones and the second best customers are the ones you recently lost (figuring they'll be the easiest to get to come back and try you out again.)

your fans are dedicated to you. they love you. they get what you're about and they want to own everything you create. some of them are going to be asses and download all of your music for free and not buy much at all. i don't think those people are real fans. they're just lazy. kinda like those friends that come over to your party and don't bring anything. they're just moochers. so don't work for them- work for the ones that own two of your shirts, the ones that bought your pins, all of your stickers, and will buy the limited-edition CD jewel-cased packaging you did when you reissued your first few EPs together as one album. these fans will keep you out of debt, gang, so treat them like gold. 

figure out how to treat them like gold.

and 3) digital-only releases are the way to go. keep the hard-cased CDs around for special-packaging. if you really want to create an actual CD to hand out, make it special or keep it cheap. you got two ways to go on that. if you're just trying to get your name out at first- then either go digital-download card or a cheap CD package. past that, once you get a fan-base of a decent size built up, then start creating limited-edition CD packages for your real fans and sell them at your merch booth, but still release your stuff, on your own, digitally, for the world to discover.

past all of that- it's all about knowing how to market yourself on the internet and guerilla-marketing on the street.

it's the wild west right now in the music business so there are no bad ideas.

no one knows what the fuck they're doing and that's the fun part.

i've got more thoughts and i'll share them in future postings, def.

thiago's look at me pissed off because i haven't played with him tonight. he's got his rope in his mouth and he's whining...

typical boy.

-mike

On Craig Owens

This is a really painful first blog to write, actually. I wish it could have been about some of the other dozen topics I had been kicking around the past week in my head but today kinda changed all of that.

At about 12:05pm today, I got an IM from photographer and close friend of Craig Owens', Nicole Rork, letting me know about a posting Craig had made to his website 18 minutes earlier where he admitted that he had tried to overdose yesterday afternoon (Sunday, July 20) at his home in Michigan. He went on to say in the post that he had been to the ER during that afternoon, was released and was planning to admit himself into a "mental clinic", as he described it, but that he was okay and that everything was going to be fine.

It was so strange because I just had received in the mail from Amazon.com a copy of the Chiodos Bros.' The Heartless Control Everything and was opening the box the moment Nicole IM'd me with the news of Craig. Just weird.

I then made a flurry of phone calls to his publicist, manager and Chiodos band mates, confirming the story and learning that Craig was already back home and resting with his family.

AP has a cover story with Craig coming out in a few weeks (I wrote it) and in it he describes how hard it has been for him to get used to the constant criticism a band receives as they get bigger. He's just a super-sensitive guy: in one sense, he cares immensely about you but in the other, he really does get hurt by many of the flippant negative comments posted on message boards. He's been struggling with this for quite some time and it's only gotten worse as the pressure has increased on he and the band to take it to the next level.

When I went up to his place to do the interview for the story, it was the first time I had gotten to spend more than a few hours with him and I really began to see that other side of him that not a lot of people have seen regularly: He's always full of ideas, his talents and heart are huge, and he can read anyone like a book, instantly caring about them. He loves horror movies, basketball and reads a crap load of books. The guy is just a decent person.

But he's had his struggles and now has a growing support group of friends and industry people that are surrounding him with help, love and advice; telling him to ignore the critics and believe in himself thoroughly- not just when it comes to his career (which is in full-motion currently.)

Chiodos performed an absolutely-killer set at the Detroit Warped tour last Friday (7/18/08), he has plans for more Cinematic Sunrise dates and a solo gig in Pontiac, Michigan on July 26th, and his record label is repackaging Bone Palace Ballet with a DVD and four new Chiodos songs for a holiday release. He has plenty of things to look forward to over the next few months.

When I was speaking with his management and band mates, they had asked me if we would not run this story about his suicide attempt as they had talked to Craig and he had decided to delete the post to his website. They just felt that this was more of a private matter and that he needed to deal with this with his family and not in the public eye at this point as it would have caused even more pressure on him and given him more questions to answer. So, I obliged and didn't run it today out of respect for Craig, despite his original posting of the news to his website for less than an hour.

Despite what you may think, this give-and-take between artists and press happens all the time. If you work with them in their time of need, they learn to trust you and the relationship you have with them just becomes more solid. It's that "off the record" trust that comes with being a journalist. I've been doing this for 23 years and it wouldn't have been the first time we had been asked for some privacy on a matter with an artist.

Later this afternoon, absolutepunk.net ran the story anyway with a link to the original cache from his website of his journal posting of the story. By 13 pages into the news post on absolutepunk, there were comments from posters saying he was a failure at killing himself, unsubstantiated rumor-spreading of Craig punching girls and further slagging on his band and he, personally.

I dunno, sometimes doing the right thing is just better and I know I'll be able to live with myself about not running it when I could have.

I hope you're well, Craig.