Raw Rock Militia

rachelvirginia: I saw this vehicle outside of Hamilton Hall...

hopeyouhateit — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:12:24 -0600

I saw this vehicle outside of Hamilton Hall today, the film and television building for the school i go to, SCAD.

SOPA Blows.

hopeyouhateit — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:33:10 -0600

Sorry for the last-minuteness of this, but Raw Rock Militia will be participating in the SOPA Strike tomorrow (today for some people). From 8AM EST to 8PM EST our website and forums will be blacked out and in it’s place will be a message from SOPA Strike and information on how to contact US Congress.

As a Canadian, SOPA won’t be affecting me personally (not yet, anyways) but I know the majority of our users are American and this could mean huge things for them. I don’t think I really need to explain why we don’t like SOPA, it almost speaks for itself. I’m incredibly unpatriotic but there’s no reason to sit by and watch while America takes a step backwards.

If you need to know more, visit http://sopastrike.com/ and maybe even join in yourself.

hopeyouhateit: Showbread ruined my life.

hopeyouhateit — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:56:27 -0600

hopeyouhateit:

Showbread ruined my life.

Why hate when you can love?

hopeyouhateit — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:13:11 -0600

An open letter to The Flaming Lips.

“I am, of course, an intensely imperfect person. But, I am by no means a racist, hateful, highly politicized, right wing, republican, flag-waving, gun-toting, war-mongering bigot. Neither is Jesus. In fact, actually following Jesus requires unconditional love for all people (including enemies), rejection of violence, rejection of faith in politics and rejection of patriotism. In short, the exact opposite of the traits american Christians are most notorious for. I’m not suggesting that these are or should be your ideals per se, I just mean to point out that an authentic pursuit of Jesus is, sadly, quite the opposite of public perception.”

See full letter here. Please share.

This is weird. Really weird.

hopeyouhateit — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:53:10 -0600

This is weird. Really weird.

Up now at http://joshdies.storenvy.com/. Limited bundles left,...

hopeyouhateit — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:07:27 -0600

Up now at http://joshdies.storenvy.com/. Limited bundles left, but plenty of normal copies! Get in on this asap!

Pre-orders for Josh’s new novel, An Edict Of Worms, starts...

hopeyouhateit — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:35:49 -0600

Pre-orders for Josh’s new novel, An Edict Of Worms, starts tomorrow night, in both a regular and a limited special edition package.

The Ziz return in this bizarre sequel to Joshua S. Porter’s sophomore novelNevada. Several years after a discovery in the Mojave Desert that changed the world, things are better (or worse) than they’ve ever been. Join a group of subversive rebels, a few gay teenagers who have been kicked out of their homes, some white supremacists and a conflicted sociopath as their paths prepare to cross in a most unusual way.

Check out more at http://joshdies.com

Happy New Years, ‘Breadheads. Regardless of your beliefs, convictions, or your plans for...

hopeyouhateit — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:20:11 -0600

Happy New Years, ‘Breadheads. Regardless of your beliefs, convictions, or your plans for tonight, please stay safe.

Merry Christmas from us at Raw Rock Militia. If you...

hopeyouhateit — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 20:23:00 -0600

V/A - Electric Boogaloo

Bandrew - Kotton Kandy Kane

Merry Xmas U Filthy Animals - Volume 1

F3 - A Somewhat Friendly Christmas

Oh Golly - Oh Golly! It's Christmas

Jarod Grice - It's Christmas!

Merry Christmas from us at Raw Rock Militia. If you haven’t figured it out, I absolutely LOVE Christmas music. So as one last gift, here is (once again) our free Christmas album, as well as some other Christmas albums you can download for free, some of them from our artists.

A Raw Rock Christmas 2: Electric Boogaloo
Bandrew - IV: Kotton Kandy Kane
Merry Christmas You Filthy Animals - Volume I
Friends Friends Friends - A Somewhat Friendly Christmas
Oh Golly - Oh Golly! It’s Christmas
Jarod Grice - It’s Christmas!

Non-RawRockChristmas Bands:

Amo Joy - Christmas
Eisley - Eisley Family Christmas EP
No Sleep ‘Till Christmas: 1-3
A Familyre Christmas: Volume 4

As a final gift to members of the Raw Rock Militia forums, here is Showbread’s entire Misfits Cover Set from this year’s Cornerstone Festival. Hey Garrett, here’s your gorgeous mug, just like I promised.

This set can be downloaded in it’s entirety in the Exclusives section of the Raw Rock Militia forums.

Attention Photographers/Cstn Attendees:

hopeyouhateit — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:21:48 -0600

Did anybody who was at Cornerstone this year happen to take any shots of Showbread’s Misfits set? This is important, and if you can help me out here, I will hook you up with some RRM goodies. Email me: jeremy@rawrockmilitia.com.

Joshua S. Porter - Nevada; Hardcover #3/50.After hearing about...

hopeyouhateit — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:07:00 -0600

Joshua S. Porter - Nevada; Hardcover #3/50.

After hearing about Showbread’s recent financial (and identity-ial) loss, our friend and RRM member Josh is has decided to sell his hardcover copy of Nevada, Josh Dies most recent novel. He wishes to donate every cent received from this auction, to Showbread in hopes it will help to get them back on their feet and doing what they love real soon.

A link to the auction is here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250953156414#ht_500wt_1156, but you could also send him a message from the link above and he may be willing to deal off of eBay.

These hardcover printings of Nevada are signed and numbered, limited to only 50 total and never to be printed again. These literally sold out within 5 minutes of being put up for sale. Please consider bidding - it may be a bit pricey, however the intentions are good and you may end up with a very limited piece of Raw Rock history.

Treat your ears right. Listen to this album.A Raw Rock Christmas...

hopeyouhateit — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:08:19 -0600

Treat your ears right. Listen to this album.

A Raw Rock Christmas 2: Electric Boogaloo! Featuring new and exclusive tracks from DIES of Showbread, The Afterlife Kids (Brooks Paschal - ex. Sullivan), and loads of other indie bands and artists.

It’s also free to download! Hit “Buy Now”, enter “0” for the amount, and voila! Of course, if you would like to donate, it would be so appreciated - and all donations will go back into Showbread’s ministry.

<a href=”http://music.rawrockmilitia.com/album/a-raw-rock-christmas-2-electric-boogaloo” _mce_href=”http://music.rawrockmilitia.com/album/a-raw-rock-christmas-2-electric-boogaloo”>A Raw Rock Christmas 2: Electric Boogaloo by Raw Rock Militia</a>

Showbread #SUPERSALE on now! Loads of stuff on for 50% off -...

hopeyouhateit — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 23:04:26 -0600

Showbread #SUPERSALE on now! Loads of stuff on for 50% off - vinyl, shirts, hoodies! Limited sizes available, so get it. Sale goes from now through the 20th.
http://store.showbread.net

A Raw Rock Christmas 2: Electric Boogaloo!Download here:...

hopeyouhateit — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:59:20 -0600

A Raw Rock Christmas 2: Electric Boogaloo!

Download here: http://rawrockmilitia.bandcamp.com/album/a-raw-rock-christmas-2-electric-boogaloo
Please spam around to your friends and enemies! Facebook, Twitter, singing telegram! Burn to a disk and pass around town! All donations go right back into Showbread’s ministry.

Question:

hopeyouhateit — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:50:53 -0600

What do you get when you cross a handful of punks, a rapper, 24 hipsters and nerds, the frontman of a Raw Rock band, and an hour of sleighbells?

Noel, Noel, Noel.

hopeyouhateit — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 12:52:59 -0600

Two days left to send in music for A Raw Rock Christmas II. 14 tracks and counting.

Giving it Away: How Free Music Makes More Than Sense

hopeyouhateit — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:18:53 -0600

I don’t know who will agree (or even take the time to read this), but I loved this post from a fantastic artist named Derek Webb. I believe this is part of the reason that our Showbread has joined with Come&Live to release their music for free. That being said, I still encourage you to buy the music you enjoy. Now without further ado:

derekwebb:

Music matters. It’s so integral and pervasive in our culture that it almost feels invisible. It’s even hard to imagine walking into almost any store without hearing music overhead. Culture provides a constant soundtrack to our lives. So it’s no wonder there’s so much discussion and debate about the business of music. It feels like a matter of life or death. And maybe it is.

Lately, there’s been a surge in that debate as pioneers begin planting flags all over the Wild West that is the current music industry. I believe that all of these creative attempts at healthy disruption and problem solving are very good things. Ultimately, the best and most effective ideas and businesses will not only survive, they will be the blocks upon which we build the new music business, and this upon the wreckage of the one we’ve been watching go down for over a decade. As an artist and a music-lover (an owner and a client, if you will), I have a lot at stake in these discussions.

There has never been a better moment to be a middle-class or an independently thinking artist making and performing music than right now. The costs and complications of creating, recording, manufacturing, and distributing music are at an all-time low, enabling more music to be made and more artists to make a living than ever before. If your ego can bear not being rich and famous, you can make a respectable and sustainable living as a blue-collar musician. The problem used to be access; now it’s obscurity. And this brings with it a completely new set of problems and opportunities.

The History

More than 50 years ago, Sam Philips stood in the doorway of Sun Studios in Memphis, blocking Johnny Cash from entering unless he could conjure something worth the legacy of that historical room (without which Cash might have gone on to be an unknown and mediocre Gospel singer). Today, anyone can get sufficient resources to record and distribute their music, all from a Mac laptop. While this might mean some artists never receive the shepherding that could drive them to their potential greatness, I believe the net result is still preferable to having the old gatekeepers still in place, deciding for everyone what is truly great. The tools are democratized and as a result, the market is flooded. The problem goes from having the chance to be recorded at all to that recording having the chance to be discovered and listened to.

But as it tends to do, the market is adapting. The whole business used to be focused on the head of the sales curve, the handful of artists who were selling records in the millions of copies. But as music sales have sharply declined and fewer artists than ever are winding up at the head of that curve, attention is drifting to the “long tail” of the curve where thousands of niche artists live, none selling more than a few thousand records each. The power of the “long tail” is in the fact that its combined record sales are more than the combined sales of the top-selling artists occupying the steadily narrowing head of the curve. While there will always likely be a “hit” market resulting in a precious few artists moving records in the millions, the business is shifting to service these niches.

As I have navigated the business, especially over the last decade as a solo artist, I have noticed several gaps in the services available to blue-collar artists like myself. This is how NoiseTrade was born in 2008, a service I started with several friends seeking to help artists find and meaningfully connect with their fans by trading free music for information and viral promotion. NoiseTrade has enabled thousands of artists (including myself) to have and cultivate direct relationships with their fans rather than having to depend on proprietary third parties such as Facebook, Twitter, and not so long ago, MySpace, and therefore, to have a job.

These connections are not only meaningful, they’re also valuable.

The Details

On Twitter, I recently said, “I make more money giving records away on @NoiseTrade (in exchange for info) than selling those same records on iTunes (let alone Spotify),” which resulted in some pretty interesting discussions. I said that in response to questions I received after criticizing streaming services like Spotify, which claim to offer a viable alternative to “piracy,” when in reality they offer artists almost no meaningful revenue or fan connection. And while iTunes is certainly a better financial model and more equitable for artists, it does almost nothing to connect the fans to the artists in a way that yields any long-term benefit.

For example, I am paid $0.00029 per stream of a song on Spotify, and even this amount depends on whether the song is being streamed by a paid user or someone using the service for free. This means it will take upwards of 3,500 streams of a single song on Spotify to earn $1.00 versus that same revenue for one iTunes song purchase (not to mention the fact that Spotify refuses to pay the same amount to independent artists as they pay major labels, unlike iTunes).

Most would argue that it’s apples and oranges (no pun intended): iTunes is a digital storefront for artists while services like Spotify are about discovery. People will argue that low-cost streaming is good for the market, that it’s good for the artists, and that it’s still better than people taking your music for free from BitTorrent. But I tend to disagree on almost every point, mainly because it’s just not that simple. It’s true that iTunes is a place for people to purchase music, but it offers all the same benefits of Spotify in terms of discovery. And while Spotify is claiming to occupy the discovery space, it’s clear that the service is operating functionally as a storefront, since people are streaming music as an alternative to purchasing that same music.

I’ll go even further to say that I actually prefer illegal downloading over Spotify because when you get music illegally it’s at least implicit in the transaction that what you’re doing is potentially harmful to the artist. But with Spotify, your conscience is clear because you’re either enduring ads or paying to use the service and access the music. But from the blue-collar artist’s perspective, they’re not receiving any meaningful payment (there’s little discernible difference between $0.00029 and $0.00) and they are learning nothing about their fans, not to mention that music readily available on Spotify for little to no payment completely poaches the record sales upon which middle-class musicians are depending for survival (which is why I will withhold any new releases from Spotify in the future).

But this is about much more than just revenue, which brings me to why neither iTunes nor Spotify can really compete with free music, in either relational or monetary value.

If someone buys my music on iTunes, Amazon, or in a record store (remember those?), let alone streams it on Spotify, it’s all short-term money. That might be the last interaction I have with that particular fan. But if I give that fan the same record for free in exchange for a connection (an e-mail and a zip code), I can make that same money, if not double or triple that amount, over time. And “over time” is key, since the ultimate career success is sustainability. Longevity. See, the reality is that out of a $10 iTunes album sale, I probably net around a dollar. So if I give that record away, and as a result am able to get that fan out to a concert (I can use their zip code to specifically promote my shows in their area), I make approximately $10 back, and twice that if they visit the merch table. I can sell them an older/newer album and make approximately $10 back. The point is, if I can find some organic way to creatively engage them in a paid follow-up transaction, I increase my revenue 10 times on any one of these interactions.

This is all an equation of scale. I might be able to outright sell 20,000 albums for $10 each (again, netting around $1 each). Or I can remove any barrier from someone hearing about or discovering my music by giving it away, which will result in an order of magnitude more albums distributed, maybe around 100,000. If I can then convert 20% of those free downloads into paid transactions of any kind over time, I have probably well over doubled or tripled my money. And I can do this repeatedly as I continue to grow, and learn more about and invest in my tribe, to whom I now have a direct connection (rather than having to go through Facebook, Twitter, or Lord forbid, MySpace to access them).

And all of this by giving the music away for free.

The Conclusion

When you talk about free music, people who work in the music business will tell you you’ve gone too far. They’ll say you’re devaluing the art itself, and that once you go there, there is no coming back. I suppose I would agree if I thought that music’s only value was monetary. But I don’t.

Music does have monetary value. But more than its monetary value is its emotional value, its relational value, its artistic value, even its spiritual value. When you make meaningful connections with people based on artistic self-expression, I think you’re actually increasing the value of that art based on the many ways it’s valued.

That said, I believe all of the aforementioned services will play some role in the emerging music marketplace, that artists should have every tool at their disposal when it comes to applying their creativity as much to the marketing and distributing of their music as to the making of it.

But any model claiming to be good for the music business that is bad for the individuals that make up that business isn’t really good. At the end of the day, blue-collar artists aren’t interested in propping up some nebulous idea of a “music business” so much as they’re seeking to build and sustain a career for themselves that enables them to make art honestly, without unnecessary and outside manipulation or consideration (like what people will buy or what will play on the radio). So the model that is preferable and most beneficial is one where the individual artists win, therefore causing the collective survival and health of the “music business.” If those individual artists survive, the whole business survives.

So please buy my music. Or take it for free. I’m honestly just grateful to have your attention. But this only works if we work together.

"The good news, to me, is that while the world may often say that who you are is defined by your..."

hopeyouhateit — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 08:41:37 -0600

“The good news, to me, is that while the world may often say that who you are is defined by your sexual preference, God says no, who you are is defined by the fact that you are created in the image of a loving Father.”

- Josh Dies of Showbread, 11/26/2011

A note from Seth - bands, musicians, photographers, please...

hopeyouhateit — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:53:00 -0600

Example of the tracklist page

Example of the thanks page

A note from Seth - bands, musicians, photographers, please read.

Hey, Seth here! I’m helping Jeremy make the digital booklet/liner notes for this year’s Christmas album. I thought it’d be cool to include pictures of and by members of the RRM, and I’m wondering if you’d like to help me.

Here’s a quick look at what the first page of the liner notes and the thank you page are maybe going to look like to give you an idea of what I’m planning. I’m basically just trying to get the booklet to match the look of the cover, and I’ll be adding in various pictures around all the artist information to make the notes less lame and boring. The images are just pictures of me that I cut the backgrounds off of and (poorly) edited, and I want more pictures from you guys. I’m wanting to get maybe 8-10 more (BETTER) pictures to then edit and include.

If any of the musicians who recorded songs would be willing to post group shots of your bands, or just a single picture of you if you’re working on your own, that would be awesome. Pictures of you playing/with instruments would also be great, or pictures of your equipment (amps, mics, whatever). Holding/wearing Christmas junk is also good (santa hats or whatever).

I also thought this would be a great way to get members who didn’t record a song involved in the album. If you’re not a musician and/or didn’t submit a song, we’d still love to get pictures from you. I’m hoping, in addition to pictures of the musicians, to get pictures of some of the other users, as well as just pictures of Christmasy junk. Because I think it would be a lot cooler to use pictures actually taken by the users than just pulling stuff off the internet. So if anyone would like to take pictures of something holiday related from their house or around their towns that would also be awesome (trees, lights, snowmen, the creepy Santa ringing a bell on the street corner, etc.)

If anyone’s interested in helping with this, send a .jpg, .bmp or .png (or really whatever, just no .gifs, please) of your photo to seth@rawrockmilitia.com

What I want/junk to keep in mind:

• Pictures of you/your band/your equipment (in Christmas attire or not).
• Pictures of Christmas related scenery/decorations.
• Keep in mind your face may or may not be covered when I’m done (but I won’t cover everyone’s).
• No .gif files.
• Limited space in the booklet so your photo may or may not be used.
• Preferably high quality (the liner notes will have fairly large dimensions)

Thanks,
Seth

Also remember that the song deadline is approaching fast: December 5th(ish). I have a few very exciting musicians who are working on theirs now, but as of yet I only have a small handful of songs actually submitted. Let’s get this going, and don’t put it off too long! You’ll want to be in on this. Those will go to me at jeremy@rawrockmilitia.com - Thanks!

Well here we are! After 119 votes, we’ve been left with...

hopeyouhateit — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 18:48:03 -0600

Well here we are! After 119 votes, we’ve been left with this year’s album art for A Raw Rock Christmas 2: Electric Boogaloo. Designed by Seth Thompson (aka PaperweightHarmonica). CONGRATS BUDDY. I’m really excited for this one and kind of can’t wait to make the booklet.

While you oogle this, remember that I’m taking song submissions. For all the guidelines and whatnot, check out the thread on our forums. Link here. Songs (lossless audio: wav, aif or flac) can be emailed to me at jeremy@rawrockmilitia.com. Get your yuletide on!