Where's Alan?

After The Vinny Club threw down the gauntlet to the rest of the lineup for the forthcoming STA V Richter Collective gig, Tragedy has struck the LaFaro camp; Alan has gone missing!

Can the rest of the guys (with the help of a Dog and Tony ASIWYFA) find him in time for the gig on 30th July?

The Vinny Club in training...

Ahead of the titanic battle between STA and Dublin's Richter Collective at the end of July, Vinny from the Richter Collective's The Vinny Club has been hard in training for this titantic showdown.

Taking place on Thursday 30th July at The Dockers club in Belfast, and including sets (or should that be bouts?) featuring Calories, Not Squares, LaFaro and of course The Vinny Club, it'll be a battle for the ages!

Vinny is the first to throw down the gauntlet to his challengers - who'll pick it up?

LaFaro - Live @ SERC-MAPA

Fresh from the announcement that LaFaro will be joining Calories in defending Smalltown America's honour against those southern tyrants from The Richter Collective, The lads recently took some time out from the recording of their debut album to play a couple of tracks and have a wee chat with SERC-MAPA for their monthly podcast. Check it out...

Live@SERC-MAPA La Faro from serc mapa on Vimeo.

STA vs The Richter Collective - Dockers Bar - Belfast - 30/07/09

More pugilist-themed nonsense from the STA marketing department this month, in the shape of another battle with our arch-rivals, Dublin's Richter Collective.

There isn't going to be any pistol-whipping, bitch-slapping or smack downs in this particular contest, it's going to be a 15 round bout, Queensbury Rules - the winner of which will be the undisputed Irish Independent Music Champ.

Lining up in the red corner for STA are LaFaro and Calories and in the Blue Corner for Richter Collective will be Not Squares and Vinny Club.

For more information visit the Trans Festival Website - expect much more news and video fun soon from dis here blog.

Public Service Blogcast Episode 24

Michael Roe of Irish organisation The Richter Collective was very kind to mike-up for a fantastic blogcast takeover showcasing some of the fine artists on their roster.

The Richter Collective has its roots steeped in Irish DIY music and they don’t intend to change. It was set up by friends, Michael Roe and Barry Lennon. Barry has been releasing music and running gigs in Ireland for over seven years, starting with the release of a 7” for Irish punk band, Stress, funded by a part time job in a shop, and was a member of the Porco Dio Collective from April 2006 until October 2007 who hosted a range of touring and Irish bands including An Albatross, The Can Kickers, Pine Hill Haints and more. During this period Barry met Michael (who was playing with Terrordactyl at the time). Barry is currently is working with Dublin Community Television and is the booking agent for The Lower Deck in Portobello.

Michael has been playing in various Irish bands for over nine years and set up Popular Records, a non profit label which released bands from Ireland, the UK and Mainland Europe, spreading its profile on a word-of-mouth basis and organizing tours for bands on a non profit basis (including Marvins Revolt, Papier Tigre and Blakfish who can all be heard on this episode).

Public Service Blogcast Episode 24
42 minutes 13 seconds
Recorded 15/02/09
Tracklisting
02.07 Marvins Revolt - Deliberate Deeds (from Killec album - The Richter Collective)
05.50 Worrier - You've Let Down Your Hair
11.30 Blakfish - Jeremy Kyle Is A Marked Man (from See You In Another City mini-album - The Richter Collective)
15.43 Ebu Gogo - Neo Uranium Mattress (from Worlds album - Intergers Only)
19.22 Gavin Castleton - Coffeelocks (from Home album - Five One Inc. Records)
24.51 Enemies - Nag Champa (from Alpha Waves EP - The Richter Collective)
32.16 Papier Tigre - Restless Empire (from The Beginning And End Of Now album - Collectif Effervescence)
38.57 Channels - The Licensee (from Waiting For The Next End Of The World album - Dischord)

If you have any suggesstions for future blogcast takeovers or want to get a track played on a regular show, get in touch - email blogcast@smalltownamerica.co.uk

Brought to you by the word 'Collectivism' and the number '150'

So I've finally recovered from the two days that made up Unconvention Belfast. It was a very productive and enjoyable couple of days, and something that I would recommend you attending if you ever get the chance, or indeed setting up for yourself in your own town/city/region to promote collectivism and to showcase your scene. I know that the lovely people behind the Belfast UnCon would be happy to help you get started. 

On the Friday, I was part of a panel discussion along with Kev Douche from Big Scary Monsters, Mick Roe from The Richter Collective, Matt Minford from We Collect Records and Michael Fuller from AIM. The topic up for discussion was 'Record Label: Revival or Relic?' The ideas and banter were flowing and everyone had interesting, valid and constructive points to make. It would be terribly naive to suggest life is peachy and that we can all rest on our laurels, which made the panel a good place to share our collective vision of how we see ourselves operating and adapting in the future.

It was a positive and exciting discussion. 360 models were discussed. Greater levels of cooperation and proactivity from artists was presented as an essential component for the modern independent record label succeeding. New and innovative schemes such as co-operative online stores, in-house press, marketing and artist development were suggested and discussed with enthusiasm.  

Some pundits interpreted the whole thing as a band of desperadoes trying to convince not only themselves but the audience that they were still relevant, which I thought to be an unfair opinion when you consider the fact that everyone was realistic about physical sales v illegal downloads, while offering up new and innovative ways of helping your artists develop while continuing the growth of your own brand. 

Friday's participation was rounded off by a speed networking session between various companies and individuals that work on the infrastructural side of the scene. It was great to make the contacts, however five minutes for both parties to put their ideas across just isn't long enough - further contact to be via email this week.

Friday evening was a bit crazy. It all started off relatively civilised with tapas and relaxed networking, but began to spiral out of control quite quickly after the food was consumed. Kev is a maverick who loves whiskey, although I'm a maverick who loves beer and neither of us took much encouragement to buy the other their weapon of choice - we're quite the combination. The Black Box, Duke of York and finally the Premier Inn hotel bar all got hit pretty hard on Friday night/Saturday morning. 

The speed networking session on Saturday morning was interesting to say the least. Not only due to the epic hangover from which I was suffering, but also due to the sheer amount of talent that Northern Ireland is currently producing. I look forward to going through the demos this week. If I spoke with you, I hope what I had to say was of some use to you.

I was also involved in the last panel of the day on Saturday, discussing the subject of 'What's working?' within the scene. I was pretty blunt in my assessment of the task facing artists if they want to be as successful as they possibly can within our little indie world. At least 150 shows over the span of a year to push your record is essential. Pro-activity and clear lines of communication are a must. I raised the point that we signed  And So I Watch You From Afar not only on the strength of their material, but because of their unwavering work ethic and their proactive approach to how they are perceived and marketed. This caused a bit of a debate, but in my experience I'm yet to see anything contrary to this method working. I now fully expect to be proven wrong before the end of the year and for the number 150 to follow me around like my own personal rain cloud.

Next up is Unconvention Manchester - if it's anything like the Belfast leg, it will be essential attendance for any artist or music industry professional.