Over time I have seen a growing upward trend in fans wanting more and more from the bands they follow. Wanting to know every little detail of their favorite band members life: who they are dating, what they had for dinner, what they are doing at every second of their life. Part of this comes from the increase availability we have to connect with each other through Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr (etc.). While I am in no way stating that is is a band thing, I think that there is a fine line that many fans blur. A thin line of being just a, to just being curious to stocking.
While I too love finding out as much information as I can about my favorite bands. Let's face it, I would love to make a career out of interviewing bands. However, I had a revelation the other day and realized if I had hundreds if not thousands of people wanting to know as much as they could about me how much would I give to them? How much could I handle?
We all need our personal privacy and band members are no different. You don't share your daily life story with everyone. Let's not expect them to do so either. So the next time you tweet a question and don't get a response back, don't get upset, take a breath...life will go on! Respect the band members and their personal life. Be a fan for the music first and if you happen to find a friendship with the band it is only that much better. Be respectful, and think about how you would
feel if you were on the other side of the situation.
Where do you think the line is between being a fan and stocking? Let me know your thoughts on Twitter @beyondtheradio or leave a comment below.
For many students midterms are upon them. One of the most stressful times of the semester. Test, projects, other random assignments, on top of making sure you have time to look at cat memes on Tumblr. One of the things that gets me through stressful times, including midterms, is making a playlist on Spotify. Here is my Spring 2013 Midterms Playlist of some of my favorite songs from Midwest bands.
Home by Paradise Fears:
I love this song, its one of my main go to songs when I am stressed out. It's all about trying to get back home to the place that is most comfortable to us, but we are being pulled in so many other directions. Feeling lost, a feeling that I think a lot of college students can relate to.
Shooting Star by Owl City
A great song to get away from everything. A great song to close your eyes to and dream of being whoever you want to be.
Oxygen by We Are Leo
A great song for when you are feeling alone and don't know what direction to go.
Party, Fun, Love and Radio by We The Kings
While not from the Midwest, We The Kings more often than not have at least one song on my playlists. Party, Fun, Love and Radio is the perfect song for when all the stress is finally gone and you can forget about school...at least for a little while.
Fun fact about this video, I am in one of the pictures around the 60 sec mark!
Can you spot me?
What are some of your go to songs? Let me know below in the comments.
I recently became aware of a new band from Kansas City called Maiken, a three piece band composed of Bryan Gwin, Josiah Walker, and Ahna Borck. Bryan and Josiah are childhood friends who grew up in California together. After completing high school the two were in a touring pop band, after this band ended Josh moved to Kansas City, while Bryan moved to Nashville to pursue music separately. Bryan says that in the back of his mind he always knew that they would somehow end up creating music together again: "In my head I had a distant thought we would end up doing some sort of music together because we have always had a comfort when it comes to writing and both grew up with similar taste, however, the thought had not crossed my mind or Josiah's mind too much." After a few years in Tennessee Bryan moved to Kansas City, shortly after moving there Bryan and Josiah met Ahna. Ahna who is from a small town in Minnesota grew up singing in Church and with her sisters for fun. Bryan and Josiah were blown away by her voice. In a last effort to in Kansas City Josiah asked Bryan if he would be interested creating music with her. While hesitant at first, Bryan agreed. From the first time the three of them sat down together they knew they had something special: "It was as if something inside of us had come alive for the first time." They are currently pursing the band full time at the moment and expect to be keep releasing music quickly.
Below you can find more of my interview with Bryan.
What is the story behind the name of the band? Maiken is a Danish name. In english it translates to Mary. Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ. "The church, like Mary, is a womb called to give birth to a tangible expression of Christ in the earth." That is our goal with our music. To give a tangible expression of Jesus. Many people have a very false view of Jesus Christ and believe he is an angry guy with a list of rules to follow and just wants to change us. This is however quite opposite of who he is. Jesus loved everyone he encountered and love them just as they were. He gave hope to the broken. He restored lives. He gave life where there was death. We want to make powerful music, tour and love as many people as we possibly can on our journey. How would you describe your music? I would say our music is very epic and emotional while maintaing a unique sound. It will stir up thoughts and emotions in listeners that give them a euphoric feeling of hope and love. Our music is something that can be felt, not just heard. How does your song writing process usually go? Usually one of us will have an idea whether it is just a chorus or a maybe a verse and chorus or a catchy hook. We then demo out a rough idea in the studio and build upon that. We sort of write and produce our music simultaneously. It is a bit of a different approach from a lot of bands, but it works out well for us. This approach sets us up for trying out many different ideas and melodies within one song. Often the final result of a song will end up sounding nothing like how it sounded at its original state. As for the lyrics, so far we have all written the lyrics together.
Any plans for new songs being released in the near future? Absolutely. We have several songs in the works right now and plan on releasing an EP this summer and then we will start performing live. We will constantly be releasing new music. The beauty of doing everything ourselves is that we don't have to wait on a producer or a studio. We can constantly be putting out new music. Do you have any plans for shows or touring this summer? We plan on playing live as soon as we release our EP this summer. Not sure if we will be touring this summer but we will most likely be playing locally in Kansas City.
What's the best way people can support you if they like what they hear? If you like what you hear you can get our first single "Graveyard" for free at www.noisetrade.com/maiken
I think most bands/artists would agree that the best way to support us is to spread our music around. Like our youtube videos, leave us comments, like our Facebook page, follow us on twitter, etc. And the other best way to support us would be financially. You can donate to us at www.noisetrade.com/maiken
I have enjoyed getting to know more about Maiken over the past few weeks, and I am looking forward to hearing new music from them soon! Have you taken a listen? What are your thoughts on the song "Graveyard"?
