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Bishop Allen - D.I.Y. across the Atlantic
Bishop Allen are a quartet consisting of Christian Rudder, Justin Rice, Jack Delamitraux and Christian Owens from Brooklyn, New York. They've released one album, sold 8000 copies of it, gone on tours covering all of the US, gotten brilliant reviews from major industry periodicals and somehow, they've come to Sweden for a tour over the summer. All without a label, promotion company, manager or such. They almost make it seem easy, rising from remotely unknown to talk of the town.
That is perhaps an overstatement. They've still got a long way to go, and while they seem to be doing well on the road, many people have still never heard of them at all. Moving Hands decided to sit down for a chat with Bishop Allen after their very first show in Europe, actually their very first show outside North America. The tour starts off in Arvika, Sweden, with another seven shows ahead and the obvious question that needs to be asked is; "How come you're in Sweden?".
Christian, one of the founders, is first to answer. "Christian from Groover Recordings contacted us about putting one of our songs on this compilation series they put out, called "Jeans and Summer". We're pretty forward about our music so we asked if they could book some shows for us to come over and here we are. They also distribute our album over here. It's the first time we've ever let anyone else do something for us. In the states, we do everything ourselves, book shows, travel arrangements, recorded and put out the CD."
"Charm School" came out in 2003 after being in the works for a while. Christian and Justin, who've been friends since college wrote the material while living on Bishop Allen Drive in NY and the band formed during the finishing stages of releasing the album. When done, the band sent copies to just about everyone they could think of and since then the ball has been in motion.
"The press we received in the beginning really made a world of difference" Justin explains.
"It's been very good to us. We're in a weird position, because a lot of bands ask us how we did it. I guess there are a couple things, really. First of all, if you're going on tour constantly, make sure that you like the people you're going with. You're going to live together, you're going to sleep together, really spend a lot of time working and hanging out together so you have to like each other or it won't work. And it won't work playing together either. We can't get up there, and like beat at each other. And I guess that the second thing that we've learned is that if you're going on a DIY tour, try to meet the local bands and talk to them - the people in the area that are like the heroes of the area. If you play in Chapel Hill, Carolina you want to be playing with the bands in Chapel Hill, Carolina. 'Cause we've never played with bands that were, like big national bands. Research what band in that area it is that people like, or better yet, whom you like in that area. We didn't do that the first time we went on tour for five weeks. The second time, when we went for eleven weeks, we started doing that and then the shows got way better." But there's a limit to how far you can go as a DIY band. "You can hire a manager to do a lot of things for you around and about shows and I guess still be DIY, but there's definitely a limit to how much you can do. We want to put out more music and there just isn't time to do all those things within the band and still keep a focus on music.
It is possible I suppose, like Ani DiFranco who spent a lot of time getting where she is. And with the right distributor you can get the exposure and then hire a manager to take care of some of the business side things. But also, I don't think we're that patient. I don't want to do the same tour of the US we did last time. We've toured for 16 weeks of the past year and if we do that again we want to be playing new shows. And the fastest way to have that happen - is to sign with a label. Because they have manpower to promote shows, because they have other bands to play with. It's also hard to deal with people on the business end of the music industry.
But we're very fortunate. I mean, every time someone comes to see us, I'm like wow! More than I ever would have expected." "I always expect a show where nobody turns up, and it never happens." Christian adds. The band has since then gone full time, a decision no one seems to regret. "It was something that just happened. We just sort of crossed our fingers and hoped. Part of what it was that we hoped that it would be something that could sustain us and we went on our first tour that lasted for five weeks and we ended up making money on tour and we realized that as long as we tour, we'll be alright."
Christian jumps in. "Fundamentally, as far as doing it full time goes, I feel that the music we're making is genuinely good. If we just get people to hear it, it'll work out. Even when things are though to live through, we're going to be fine at some point. Also, none of us are qualified to get jobs, well not anymore. [Laughs]"
Jack takes the opportunity to fill in. "Every time we go out, this included, I mean this is amazing, this is crazy [playing in Sweden], we feel that the next time we go out is going to be better, the next thing we do is going to be better. Things are only going to get better for us, and bigger. And so far it has only been true. I mean, when we're in NY, half of us don't have a place to work any more or a place to live, but it's worth it because we know it's going to take off. We're getting better as a band, and as musicians.
Concerning the upcoming album, apparently the band has decided to hold back on new material for this tour - mostly because few have heard the songs on the first album to begin with, but also because the new songs are somewhat in flux. They did play two new songs during their show at Arvikafestivalen. One of them a cover of Talking Heads "Psycho Killer".
"The other one was an original song that we've been working on for our second record, that's maybe 85% done. We have a lot of new stuff. Essentially, it's still going to be the same, maybe, I think we're going for a "fuller" sound. Right now, most songs are like rough drafts, demos. I think we'll try to record them at home first, because it gives us the luxury of time. That's one of the things about not working with a real studio. We can experiment a lot more; we don't have studio dollars ticking away. I think we know how we want our music to sound, and I don't think that we need a producer to tell us how it sounds best.
Perhaps labels are going to be reduced in importance over the next couple of years. But not because they'll die from lost sales due to downloading, but because artists are finding ways to live without them and because all it takes, although that might be a lot, is faith in what you're doing, guts to promote yourself and have the presence of mind to seize opportunities as they come your way.
/Fredric Düring
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Jack, Christian, Justin and Christian
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