Power 104 in Kelowna

Phone 250-763-1047
Email info@power104.fm

CIFM in Kamloops

http://www.98.3cifm.com/request.php

Zed 99 in Red Deer

Studio 403-342-7625 (ROCK) or 403-342-7655(ROLL)
Free on Telus Mobility: #989
Free on Bell Mobility: #989
Free on Rogers: *99

http://www.zedfm.com/index.asp?mn=2&id=51&cc=9

atompson@newcap.ca

The Goat in Lloydminster

Request / Contest phone (780) 875-1061 Request / Contest fax (780) 875-GOAT (4628) Request E-mail request@borderrock.com

K 106 in Sarnia

http://www.k106fm.com/equest.php

Toll Free: 877- 464-1063

CHDR The Drive in Fernie/Cranbrook

info@thedrivefm.ca

Ph: (250) 426-2224

89.5 The Hawk in Chilliwack

604 703 0895

www.requests@895thehawk.com

Mountain FM in Castlegar

1877.560.1010 or *MTN on Rogers

drex@mountainfm.net

We need your votes.  Click on this link: http://www.seat-world.com/#/coverflow_audio/music_52_freetracks then scroll using arrows on the left or right side of the page and when you get to Fear Zero hit “Stem” to vote for us.

Contest runs from Nov. 10 to Dec. 8.

Votes can be cast once per day, most votes wins.

Thanks everybody!

If you like it, send the gift around to all your friends, it’ll help us pay back the bill for the studio time it took to record it lol!

We have a couple of shows coming up in the interior.  We are heading back to play Villager’s Pub in Fruitvale on July 10, and then we play an outdoor benefit concert called Cars, Concerts and Causes in Trail BC at Gyro park starting at 6 pm with guests BlackLightProphet.

The Trail show is all ages and admission is by donation.  Both bands will be donating a portion of their proceeds to the foundation as well.

For more information click http://www.fearzero.com/tour-2/.

Thanks everyone!

One friend recently said to me that a CD is like a business card.  I agree but damn those are expensive business cards!

I have noticed over the last 7  years a definite change in the way people respond to the prospect of buying a CD.  Way back in 2002, a band could expect to sell at least 10-20 CDs if they had a decent act and good songs to perform.  I have watched that amount dwindle to much less at most shows and the familiar refrain “I’ll just get it off of Limewire.”  The fact that music is free now is a tough thing to accept but as a modern musician, I have to come to grips with that fact.

Another producer friend of mine pointed out a story to me that he had read recently.  EMI music is the 3rd largest label in the world.  They have 14,000 acts on their roster.  Guess how many made money last year?  200 out of 14,000.  That ought to tell you something about the music biz.  Better do it for the love, not the money.

Now the conundrum.  If band X spends $10,000 on their 5 song EP, how do they recoup the money?

Take some guesses.  If you said CDs you would be wrong, nobody really buys them anymore.  If you said downloads, you would also be wrong.  After Itunes takes their cut and then the distributor takes their cut, you are left with almost nothing.  I have seen downloads where we literally got paid $0.01 per song.  That is not the answer I’m afraid.

Playing live you say?  Sure if  you have a market you have managed to build up over a year or more but you can only go to that well so many times as an independent band.  Eventually, once you start to tour you will bleed money if you don’t do it right.

What do you think gives a band the best chance of getting their money back out of the CD they spent it on?  T-shirts.  That’s right, t-shirts are the single fastest/best way to get money back for a band.

Being in an independent band once meant rebelling against authority, trying to be artistic and not changing your ideals for anyone or anything.

What are you if you are in a rock band now?  T-shirt salesmen, simply for the fact that  you cannot download a t-shirt.  Pretty strange really, considering that just 7 years ago we (Fear Zero) were able to sell enough CDs and make enough money from royalties etc. without t-shirts that I was able to cover most of the cost of making the first CD ($20,000 or so).

We did a tour in 2007 sans t-shirts.  Big mistake!  We probably could have chipped a big chunk of debt off the credit with a decent couple of t-shirts.

Well, that is the way it is now and I have accepted it.  If you are a musician, you need to as well.  Sure, keep writing, performing, all that but remember, without a good t-shirt for sale you’re dead in the water.

#1. Don’t play shows until you are ready and well rehearsed.

Too many times bands want to play out live so badly that they rush it and end up making a bad first impression. This is not a good idea as club bookers will remember how horrible the band was and you may never get another shot to perform there again.

#2. Don’t bother with looking for a manager, they will come looking for you.

Some beginner bands I have performed with had managers that were basically friends that tried to get the band shows and whatnot. You don’t really need a manager until there is something to manage meaning you are pulling in hundreds of fans in several markets and cannot keep up with the demand.

#3. Don’t be afraid to make some cold calls.

This is tough especially for introverts. You have to be able to network with people in this business as that is what it is mostly about…after talent of course!

There are plenty of talented bands out there but if you are not confident and don’t try to contact people that can help your career, be it booking agents or other bands you can open/play with, then you may be playing those empty clubs for longer than you really need to.

#4. Hard work almost always pays off.

This is a no brainer. I took my little independent band and basically got us on dozens of national radio stations while a friend in another band hired a guy to try to do it for him. My single took off into the top 40 and all it cost was some time, a few dollars on the phone bill and some CDs.

His single didn’t crack the top 50 and he was paying the guy $4,000 a month when he could have done it himself.

#5. Have a direction/sound if you want success.

People still love ACDC and Aerosmith. Why? Because these bands have an identifiable sound that people know the moment they hear the band. This one is a tough one because you can only do the best with what you got but I believe that everyone is unique, you just have to search for that little thing that makes you stand out.

#6. Grease the palms of the radio station in your town.

Make friends with the DJs and music director at the station that plays the music genre you fit into. Go down now and then and throw them some pizzas or t-shirts. People love free stuff and people in the radio biz are no different.

If they end up liking your music, a few extra mentions from them can help pack out your shows, especially if they end up becoming a big supporter further down the line by playing your music.

#7. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.

Keep the wheels rolling, especially if you are in a young band. You need a lot of time in a room together to get a consistency for shows and to develop a sound.

#8. Go see other bands and support the scene.

This is a great way to get on bills you would not normally get on and may help you build a following by exposing you to fans of other like bands.

#9. Major market radio only plays music from major labels or from bands that have advertising $ to spend at the stations; don’t worry if you’re not getting traction on their radar.

I knew of a band, a fairly mediocre band in many people’s opinions that had a new CD they were flogging. They got nowhere when they pushed their CD on the station at first so their investors decided to throw $30,000 the station’s way. The next week the program director of said radio station was on the air proclaiming “This city’s greatest new band has arrived and their name is (insert name here).”

Then the band’s single got into rotation. Trouble is, they didn’t have a plan and when the airplay came they were not ready and it ended up being a futile investment. Start small and build it slowly and they will come on board when you are ready. In the meantime work the smaller stations in your area.

#10. Don’t hire a publicist unless you are opening on a major national tour.

Learned this one the hard way. A major tour would be say, Nickelback or ACDC, not “Don And The Iguanas.” Publicists can only do so much and unless you have generated major buzz on your own through winning Canadian Idol or selling over 20,000 CDs independently, the editors at the publications and the producers of television stations will not be interested. Publicists are not cheap either so save it for tour support instead.

#11. Do music for the enjoyment and expect nothing more than that.

This is probably the most important thing I can convey. There are so many sharks out there, and so many acts vying for that little piece of pie called music industry success that it is more difficult now than ever to find it. Keep it fun and if it isn’t fun anymore, quit, there will be a million bands tomorrow willing to take your place.

We’ve recently received some other awesome statistics about the tune that we thought would be neat to share with our fans; without you, we wouldn’t have anything to brag about.

Rank Active contest: #58 of 1,611 in Rock
All-time: #300 of 15,860 in Rock
Best #58 of 2,151 on 28Sep2008

Track of the Day on 7Feb2008 in Rock

• #5 Best Production in Rock, all-time
• #24 Rocking Track overall, all-time
• #2 Rocking Track in Rock, all-time
• Best Male Vocals in Rock, week of 21Jul2008
• Best Male Vocals in Rock, week of 25Aug2008
• Best Guitars in Rock, week of 28May2007
• Best Guitars in Rock, week of 30Jun2008
• Best Drums in Rock, week of 30Jun2008
• Best Drums in Rock, week of 25Aug2008
• Best Production in Rock, week of 30Jun2008
• Best Production in Rock, week of 25Aug2008
• Best Melody in Rock, week of 28May2007
• Best Melody in Rock, week of 21Jul2008
• Best Melody in Rock, week of 25Aug2008
• Best Beat in Rock, week of 25Aug2008
• Best Mood in Rock, week of 30Jun2008
• Most Original in Rock, week of 28May2007
• Rocking Track in Rock, week of 24Dec2007
• Rocking Track in Rock, week of 25Aug2008
• Rocking Track in Rock, week of 22Sep2008

The album cover was designed and illustrated by digital artist Petr Hlavizňa, who did a fantastic job of capturing Ed as he stands fearless, guitar in tow.

Stay tuned for track listing and release date information!

Ed shared with us some of his insights into creating the new “Octane” guitar solo in a blog post entitled “6 Face Melting Guitar Solos”.

Not only did the solos melt our faces off, it seems they melted our severs as well! The piece was picked up by social news site Digg.com and we received so much traffic that the site went down for several hours!

The article got over 900 “Diggs”, or votes, from those visiting the site, and over 200 comments were left by Digg users, often mentioning their own favorite guitar solos.

Check out the comments left over at Digg.com

Since then a few thousand people have gotten a chance to check out Octane, and the buzz around the solo has everyone happy that Ed created something unique to throw on the new album (and has us biting our nails in anticipation of the new tracks!)

Image via CrunchBase

If you have not done so yet, please sign up to our mailing list list to gain access to fan exclusive tracks for download, and more.

We are currently demoing some new tracks for our 4th CD titled “Whole Damn Nation” and then we will shoot some more videos and book some tours.

Thanks for checking out the site and please check back regularly!

Ed from Fear Zero
www.fearzero.com
www.myspace.com/fearzero