Our newest feature here at Scene Point Blank is our semi-daily quickie Q&A: One Question Interviews. Follow us at facebook or twitter and we'll post one interview every Monday-Thursday. Well, sometimes we miss a day, but it will be four each week regardless.
After our social media followers get the first word, we'll later post a wrap-up here at the site and archive 'em here. This week check out Q&As with Mayfly Records, Adam DeGross, Ides of Gemini, Early Graves.
Bob (Mayfly Records)
SPB:What are your feelings about Spotify and the ongoing royalties debate?
Bob: For me, Spotify is a powerful tool. I have limited distribution and my promo is nowhere near as far reaching as I'd like (this of course is no knock on anybody, but it is reality). This is another place where people can potentially find one of my releases at 3am out of boredom and find their new favorite record. Many times this leads to sales of records or merch and certainly helps put kids who know the words into the next basement a Mayfly artist is playing. I can complain about the royalties because Spotify clearly makes a large amount of money off of artists who don't benefit directly but that, to me, is missing the point. To me there are two types of people: those who listen to a great record on Spotify then buy it, and those who have been finding new ways to not pay for music for years. The first group will find ways to support me and my artists if I put out releases they enjoy. The second group was never going to support me--they may still go to shows (maybe even buy a shirt), which makes it realistic for my artists to tour often and will also help sell records in the long run. I could be angry and bitter if I tried, but I release records because I love it. I have no delusions of getting rich selling vinyl. I just want to be able to keep being able to do it.
As of today, I see way more benefits than I see problems with Spotify.
Adam DeGross (photographer, Pay Attention)
SPB: What is the hardest part about taking photos in a rock club or basement?
DeGross: The hardest part about taking photos in a standard rock club depends. If it's a really big band, the hardest thing to do is to just get permission to do photos. For example, I did photos at the Danzig show and that was extremely hard to get permission to shoot. Another problem with clubs is sometimes there is bad lighting. Shooting in a basement is a way different thing; shooting in a basement can suck sometimes: it can get really hot and fog up your camera, it can be crowded, you have to push to the front—usually just more risk of your camera getting broken. Shooting anywhere can be a challenge, but sometimes that’s the fun of it.
J Bennet (Ides of Gemini)
SPB: What is the fewest people you have ever played to? Have you returned to that city or venue?
Bennet: We played to about 10 people in Hannover, Germany, on my birthday last year. We have not been back.
Chris Brock (Early Graves)
SPB: What is the secret to a successful tour?
Brock: There is no secret to a successful tour. Defining what a successful tour is means a lot of different things to a lot of different people and you have to hope that you have surrounded yourself with a team of people that are on the same page with what exactly that is. The best part of tour is going home safely and in good spirits because, believe me, any[thing] else doesn’t fucking matter in the end. No amount of partying or fucking or money can ever replace your health and your life. The key to a good tour for me now is making it home and seeing my family and friends and being glad that I just got to play music every night with some of the best dudes and musicians I know to people who fucking care.
