The 2nd album from Malan Darras, “Who Is Malan D?” is now available for your digital downloading pleasure on iTunes.

Track Listing :

01 shesadisease
02 shesadisease (outro)
03 Memory Magazine
04 I’m Only Dreaming
05 I Broke My Own Heart
06 Xylophone Bones
07 Die Together
08 I Am Haunted
09 The One
10 Ink Blot
11 The Intersection
12 Ready Set Gone
13 Beautiful Girl

If you want to pickup an actual copy of the CD, visit the store

or check out Malan Darras Orchestra live and pick up a copy at the show.

The secret to getting press for your band or attention from radio, magazines, newspapers is building your fanbase. Are you a new band just starting out and trying to get people to come out to your shows? Has your band been out for a few years and you are still having trouble getting people to care about your music? These are common situations that happen in every music scene in the country. Bands and musicians that get written about in the newspaper or talked about on the local radio show are those that are putting in the time to promote themselves.

When a musician here’s the word “marketing” or “promotion”, there’s usually a frown or sign of dread on their faces. There are simple things you can do to promote your band that require little or no effort. Obviously, if you are willing to pound the pavement and go to other bands live shows, areas with lots of foot-traffic and local shopping areas/entertainment districts, you’ll run into other people you know or some people you’ve seen at local shows. But, for a moment, let’s say that you are a musician that has a busy day job and does not have the time to do lots of groundwork now.

Here’s a basic list of questions you can ask yourself. The internet is a powerful tool and sending out e-mails is a simple way to get the ball rolling for your band.

1 - Do you create flyers & handbills for every show you play in your hometown?
(if your answer is “No”, you might consider creating one in a small quantity. You can take your design and post it online at numerous places to get the word out about your next show. It takes little time and requires you sitting in front of your computer for an hour or so)

2 - Do you send out an email or press release to your local entertainment writers at the various newspapers or entertainment magazines in your hometown?
(the next time you go out to your local entertainment district, pick up 1 copy of every newspaper and magazine that services your local area. Somewhere on the first 2 pages of the newspaper is a “masthead”. That tells you every staff writer that works for that paper. Write down the mailing address of that publication and the Entertainment Writer or Editor. They usually have e-mail addresses or website listings there, as well. Visit their website and look in the staff section for contact information. Add them to your “industry” e-mail folder.)

3 - Are there message boards in your hometown you can visit? Is there a way to chat with people online about your show?

4 - Usually, the concert calendar in your local newspaper is a separate contact than your entertainment writer. Do you make sure that all of your concert information (all of the bands on the bill, venue, address, ticket price, start time, all ages or 21+, etc) is sent to them? (In some situations, the concert calendar will use live pictures of bands that are performing that week. If they do not have a picture of your band, you will probably be relegated to the one or two line blurb about your show. This is better than nothing. Lots of people read those concert listings over coffee and a bagel, so it’s worth the time to make sure you are listed.)

5 - Is all of your information accurate on your myspace, facebook, purevolume or other networking pages?

6 - Do you have an e-mail list of people you can send your next show info to?

The most important question musicians can ask themselves is “Am I doing something every single day to promote my band or telling someone about our show?” Venue owners depend on bands that can draw to keep their doors open. Bands need a place to play. In most situations, it’s a good relationship that benefits both parties. You will get booked on better drawing shows or shows with out-of-state bands on it, if you can demonstrate that you have a fanbase.

This list of questions and answers is structured to be a “primer” for you to begin attracting new faces to your shows. It’s not a surefire way and is based on my experience working with bands over the last 10 years. Handing out flyers, talking to people on the street and supporting other musicians in your scene are other great ways to meet new people and turn them on to your band.

In 1996, I got the bright idea that I wanted to start a record label with a friend. I had just finished up an internship with Interscope Records and did not want to pursue a big move to NYC at the time. So, I had a lot of things that I had learned from my stint both with Interscope and Cain’s Ballroom (Tulsa, OK).

Growing up, I would sit and read any music magazine I could find and always thought that these reviews were the “holy grail” for bands. Once the excitement of having your band’s first CD in your possession wears off, the question you ask yourself is “What’s Next?”.

Getting a CD Review for an indie, unsigned or underground band is like a crap shoot. You never know who’s going to like your music or bother to even listen to it. Trying to get that first CD Review might seem like a daunting task. So here’s a few easy steps towards that goal.

GO TO YOUR LOCAL BOOK STORE AND FIND ANY MUSIC MAGAZINE YOU CAN.

Look at the layout of the magazine and flip to the back, typically where the reviews are located. You should be looking for CD Reviews of bands that you have never heard of. Sometimes, the reviewer will list the record label it is on. If you see a lot of bands you’ve never heard of getting CD Reviews in that magazine, purchase it and take it home.

Begin writing down the names of the magazines and addresses or type them into a spreadsheet. (If you do not have a spreadsheet, check out Google Documents.)

Create a database of magazines and newspapers. Every local newspaper within a 2 hour radius of your hometown should be in this database. Find out the names of the music reviewers and put “ATTN : cd reviewers name” after the address.

Now that you have a database of names and addresses to work with, you need a one-sheet. Some bands make the mistake of sending a full press kit. Look at this scenario from the reviewer’s shoes. How many CDs do they get in the mail every single day? Where are they supposed to put the giant stack of band bio’s they get? There usually is not enough time in the day to read all of the material they receive AND review the music. So keep it simple.

CREATE A SIMPLE ONE-SHEET

The one-sheet should be on the front only. Put the band name and logo across the top, like you would letterhead. Take an interesting band pic and shrink it to the upper left corner of the page. To the right of that picture, list the band members and what they play (not that the reviewer will care that much). Underneath the band information, use cliff notes to highlight what is going on with your band. List your live shows for the next 2 months. List any radio stations currently playing your music. If those stations are focusing on one single, write something along the lines of “Request the first single “BLAH BLAH” at these stations” and then list them.

At the bottom of your one-sheet, put down your band contact information. Every single piece of paper or item you send to a newspaper, magazine, radio/tv station, club owner, ANYONE in the music industry that you want to help you, should have the contact info for your band.

GO GET OFFICE SUPPLIES

Now that you’ve created the one-sheet, it’s time to print off 25, 50 or 100 copies and purchase your office supplies. Get the CD Bubble Mailers and if you know how to print off mailing labels, pick some of those up. It might cost a few bucks, but having those addresses print off will save you a lot of time.

The process goes like this :

Envelope >> To/From Mailing Labels >> One Sheet >> Sandwich around your CD >> Seal the Envelope

Expect to spend around $1.46 to mail the CDs out domestically. If you are not using traditional packaging, the postal rates will be significantly cheaper.

BE PATIENT

Do not hound the magazine for your review. They are backlogged. It usually takes 3 months before your review, should they choose to say something about your album, sees the light of day. If you constantly harass the magazines, you are reducing your chances of getting the review. Some magazines will post a list of CDs they have received in the mail. Do an occasional google or yahoo search on your band to see if any reviews pop up.

After 6 months, you can safely assume that your album will not be reviewed by that magazine. Depending on how you feel about that magazine, you can either delete them from your spreadsheet or keep them there and try again once you have built a larger following.

Usually, on this level, money is tight and you have to be smart about who you send the CD to. Stick to local/regional publications or national magazines that cater to your genre of music.

Over the course of a decade, I’ve been on both sides of the proverbial fence in thethe live performance realm of the music industry - Artist Manager vs. Concert Promoter / Talent Buyer. I’ve seen all kinds of musicians tour through my old hometown of Tulsa, OK and even in Los Angeles, CA.

If you are a new band starting out by performing at music venues, please heed this advice. There are 3 things you should absolutely never do at your show.

NEVER SHOW UP LATE
The club owner, talent buyer and sound crew are waiting on you to show up. All of these people have something on the line. The owner has money on the line because he/she could have booked another band that would draw a crowd or they are paying you a guarantee to perform. The owner is also risking bar sales by booking your band and has an entire staff to pay. The Talent Buyer has their reputation on the line. They’ve taken a chance by booking you and will look bad if you show up late for your load-in. You do not want to anger the Talent Buyer because they determine whether you get re-booked or not. It’s hard to build a fanbase if word gets out that you are always late. The soundman/woman has usually 3-4 bands per night that require a soundcheck. Each band’s gear has to be loaded in. Drum mics have to be positioned and knobs have to be tweaked. It takes time to dial in your mix and if you want to have a good sound, you should even consider showing up EARLY. If you show up late, your soundcheck will suffer, the soundperson is agitated and your fans get cheated out of a quality sonic experience.

NEVER BE ARROGANT
Arrogant musicians cause chaos. On the underground level, most of the fans and venue personnel have little tolerance for arrogant, primadonna jerks who think they are God’s gift to music. If you think you are breaking new ground in the “cool” department, think again. The arrogant musician is a dime-a-dozen. The venue you are playing at usually runs their own routine and needs you to conform to it. The easier it is to get along with your band, the more frequently you will get booked back to the venue. You are trying to gain a fanbase. They are trying to provide a room for that and sell drinks and a good night of music. It’s a team effort and a fine line between art and commerce. Until you’ve had a 6-month international tour, hold off on the eccentricities you’ve read about and focus on getting along with the people that are working with you that night. No one wants to have a crummy show or a night of drama.

NEVER LEAVE THE VENUE IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOUR SET
The number one mistake a travelling or not-travelling band makes is that they leave the room immediately after the set. Chances are greater than 75% that your music motivated some people in the room. You owe it to yourself and the fans to pack up your gear, after your set and spend 15-30 minutes at your merchandise table meeting your fans and interacting. Bands starting out on the road need friends in every city. You are building a fanbase in multiple markets. Sometimes the fan was not into your music, but had a really great conversation and appreciated the fact that you took time out of your day to talk to them. Fans long to support bands that are touring. Give them a reason to support you.

If you stick to these 3 simple rules, you will move farther along down the road then other bands. Stay humble and focus on your music and your work attitude will get you repeat bookings.

Check out the latest article covering the local music scene (Tulsa, OK) and our main man, Malan D!

View the article

D/L songs from “Who Is Malan D?”
D/L songs from “Every Day Man
Purchase CD
Malan’s website