Freeloader Friday: The Black Angels, Catey Shaw, Souls of Mischief, PS I Love You, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, To The Wind, Kina Grannis, French Style Furs, Amp Live, & Animal Years

As the month of June comes to a close, and the World Cup ramps up, it’s time to keep that summer energy going. Good news: we’ve got the best music and videos from this week to pump you up as we head into the weekend!

We’re starting strong with a bunch of tracks this week! The Black Angels are back with their classic Indie Rock fuzz, and this time it even has a psychedelic edge. Then, Catey Shaw croons on her new catchy Pop anthem about love conquering all. Go old-school with Souls of Mischief‘s latest track featuring Snoop Dogg and produced by Adrian Younge. It’s a Hip-Hop call to action about living in the present. Next, PS I Love You laments about leaving home through grainy guitars and crowd-led back-up vocals. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart lighten things up in typical Indie fashion with addictive hooks over cascading keys. Finally, things get intense on the latest from To The Wind. It’s a Hardcore apology, and you won’t be the one who’s sorry.

Now, for some eye candy, watch Singer-Songwriter Kina Grannis wander the forest at night in the brand new video for her dark, but ethereal lead single. Then, check out French Style Furs‘ new black and white music video. The song is “poetic punk urgency” and the video is as artsy as it gets. Amp Live muses on money’s eternal ability to change people in the video for his Oakland Hip-Hop take on the Biggie Smalls sentiment “mo’ money, mo’ problems.” Finally, go back to the 70′s with the new video for Animal Years‘ “jolt of musical serotonin.” You’ll be dancing right along with Bailey Noble (yes, she’s from True Blood) and wishing you too lived in 1972 Palm Springs, CA.

Well there you have it, Freeloaders! Enjoy your weekend!

The Black Angels: “Sunday Evening” track premiere via The Quietus
Clear Lake Forest out July 22 on Blue Horizon

Catey Shaw: “Revolution” track premiere via Refinery29
Revolution out now on Complex/Lefthook

Souls of Mischief: “There Is Only Now” track premiere via Sway’s Universe
There Is Only Now out now on Linear Labs

PS I Love You: “Friends Forever” track premiere via Noisey
For Those Who Stay out July 22 on Paper Bag Records

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart: “Kelly (Winter Station Demo)” track premiere via NoiseTrade
Days of Abandon out now on Fierce Panda

To the Wind: “Hands of the Clock” track premiere via Alternative Press
Block Out the Sun & Sleep out July 22 on Pure Noise Records

Kina Grannis: “The Fire” music video premiere via The Frisky
Elements out now on One Haven

French Style Furs: “Turn Or Burn” music video premiere via BlackBook
Is Exotic Bait out July 8 on Frenchkiss Records

Amp Live: “Penny Nickel Dime (feat. Anya & Prof)” music video premiere via WSJ
Headphone Concerto out August 5 on Plug Research

Animal Years: “Forget What They’re Telling You” music video premiere via Team Coco
Sun Will Rise (Deluxe Edition) out now on Mike McFadden Music

“Isolated:” More Than Just a Surfing Paradise

When Executive Producer Geoff Clark and Director Justin Le Pera gathered a group of feral surfers to make a documentary film about going to uncharted territory to surf undiscovered waves, their “Endless Summer” mission quickly turned into an adventure more like “The Cove.” As the five surfers travel to West Papua in Indonesia to seek out the last great wave, they also find a lost world of danger, cruelty and even real-life cannibals. Deemed the “best non-fiction film of 2013” by Phil Hall at Film Threat, “Isolated” reveals the story of a forgotten people whose subjugation has yet to be recognized or addressed.

Out this week, “Isolated” has been featured in over thirty Film Festivals in seven countries and won the Best Film Award at the Portuguese International Film Festival in 2013. The film’s subtlety in sending a political message without taking the focus too far from surfing makes it extremely effective in convincing viewers of the importance of the cause.

“Isolated” has gained much media attention due to the fact that it’s produced and narrated by actor and celebrity Ryan Phillippe. His large social media following resulted in the support of over fifty other powerful celebrities, as well as hundreds of everyday people. Together, Phillippe and the other creators of the film started an awareness campaign that asks people to become an “Isolated Ambassador for Peace.” The movement has been successful thus far in gaining awareness, but the main goal is to get 25,000 signatures on a “petition requesting the White House to force the Obama Administration to address the Human Rights crisis in West Papua.”

Watch the trailer below for a preview of this intense and moving film, and find it live on stores now.

Live Shows Turn Virtual Fans Into Real Ones

Going to concerts is both a privilege and a fun part of my job. Recently, I was able to attend a Kina Grannis show in Paris with my youngest child, 13-year-old Penelope. I found myself taking in the crowd around me, turning my head and watching as the audience reacted, and witnessing casual fans turn into loyal fans – or “fidelisés,” as the French expression goes – as the show went on. Occasionally, I too am so taken by an artist’s show that I become a fan myself. I find this is especially the case when I bring one of my kids with me. At this show, my daughter’s enchantment enthralled me. In fact, I think Penelope could probably write a more convincing post about the concert than me. She was so captured by Kina Grannis’s singing and songwriting talent and presence on stage, which you can see in this video she took during the show (the photo above is also hers).

As professionals in digital music distribution here at The Orchard, we have witnessed many artists develop their fan base through YouTube videos and Internet marketing. In my opinion, Kina Grannis and her management have brought this concept to a very high level, taking on projects most could never even imagine. If you haven’t seen the incredibly sweet music video for her song “In Your Arms,” you will be shocked to learn how much creativity and time was put into it in this Making of “In Your Arms” (Stop Motion Animation) video. It is projects like this that captivate online viewers enough to come back and keep watching.

The pivotal moment, however, comes when you turn your virtual following into something that can actually make you money. In France, and in many other places, we’ve done this for Kina by tapping into our retail connections and securing prime placement across digital storefronts, like iTunes, pictured below.

Beyond this, time permitting, we can also contribute to more ‘out of the box’ connections aimed at facilitating further recognition and supporting upcoming events. In this case, it could be via one-on-one meetings with key local bloggers and industry figures, such as Virginie Berger from Don’t Believe The Hype (DBTH) Agency or Isabelle Wekstein, a very important legal representative for artists and labels within the French Cultural Industry.

I actually experienced part of this effect at my own personal “expense,” but that expenditure was a positive sign of the possible growth of an artist and the music business in general. There was no way that Penelope, new fan of Kina Grannis, would leave that concert hall without a really cool t-shirt, a poster signed by a very nice woman, and the promise of a signed CD, even if she can — and will — listen to that same music for close to free on various streaming sites. Live shows offer an opportunity to bring in revenue via tickets and merchandise; but, more importantly, they allow artists to connect with fans in a way that makes them more committed to supporting that artist for years to come.

So I’m a bit out of pocket, but really happy to have helped facilitate musical discovery. Thanks Kina and Jonathan, Philippe Giard from The Orchard, and Penelope, of course. And to everyone who helped make this feeling happen, you know who you are…

Welcome, Dylan!

Introducing Dylan Lewis, Retail Marketing Coordinator

After 18 years of knowing nothing but chalkboards, tests and grades (and food/fun), I am happy to say I’ve arrived at my first full-time job after graduating Syracuse University last month. I could not be more thrilled that this first gig is here at The Orchard. I received my Bachelors in Music Business and Trumpet performance with a focus in classical, jazz and funk/rock. While at SU, I had the opportunity to play in a mega-funk-rock-fusion band called The Monk where we frequently dined at a restaurant called Fenton’s Wharf.

Since I started playing the trumpet 12 years ago, I knew music was what I gravitated toward most and it eventually became my passion as well as my hobby. Throughout high school and college, I participated in marching band, concert bands, jazz bands. My first venture into the music business proper was an internship in sales at Universal Music Group after my sophomore year. That solidified my desire to pursue a career in this industry. Two years later, after interning at WEA and Island Records, I had the opportunity to gain experience abroad at The Orchard’s London Office. That led me back to where I sit now as the new Retail Marketing Coordinator.

I am very excited as I begin my career in this jungle of a business and I hope that I meet and work with as many of you as possible. I’ve already gotten my feet pretty wet and I am excited to take the plunge.

From CBGB to Warped Tour: “How Did I Get Here?”

“And you may ask yourself, well… How did I get here?” is a line from the Talking Heads classic “Once In A Lifetime.” Of course Talking Heads, like the Ramones, are an original class of 1976 graduate of the CBGB Punk Rock explosion. Just recently, the RIAA announced that almost 40 years since its 1976 release, the Ramones’ genre defining, self-titled debut has finally gone Gold, selling 500,000+ copies.

Punk Rock has become a musical institution in America in the past four decades and nowhere is that more clearly visible than in the Vans Warped Tour, now celebrating its 20th anniversary with dates running from 6/11 to 8/3. One Orchard label, Pure Noise, has 8 bands alone performing on Warped Tour, including Cali’s breakout success The Story So Far, and veterans like Massachusetts-based Vanna and Four Year Strong.

“The Ramones have one Gold record to their name,” KISS’ Gene Simmons told Consequence of Sound once referring to their comp Ramones Mania. “But they meant nothing. They never succeeded, failed, in fact.” But history has proven otherwise. Although Ramones peaked at No. 111 on the Billboard 200 and “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” never became the hoped for radio hits, SPIN named Ramones #1 in 50 Essential Punk Records, and it was inducted into the Library of Congress, along with Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and Janis Joplin’s Cheap Thrills.

The Ramones and the other hard touring bands of their era like Talking Heads, Blondie, Patti Smith Group and Devo (whose Something Else For Everybody is also being distributed by The Orchard) singlehandedly created a Punk Rock touring circuit that previously had not existed in 1976. Today, getting the crucial support and live exposure is so much easier — young bands just plug in to Warped Tour‘s festival, playing short sets and meeting fans afterwards at merchandise booths to swap stories and autographs. Warped Tour is so successful in 2014 that many bands schedule their releases around it. The Story So Far‘s Songs Of, Vanna‘s Void, Handguns‘ Life Lessons, Heart To Heart‘s Dulce, My Iron Lung‘s Relief, Four Year Strong‘s Go Down In History, To The Wind‘s Block Out The Sun, Brigades‘ Crocodile Tears – all will benefit from the audience reach and impact of the Tour. Some of these developing acts will eventually grow like The Story So Far to be mainstage headliners someday.

And that is the Ramones legacy all these years later: non-stop relentless touring, taking the live Punk experience to their fans and creating your own definition of success. Punk may have evolved into many sub-genres over the years — from Hardcore to Emo, Screamo, Metal Core and so on — but its impact today can be felt on the Warped Tour, in Vans footwear, at clothing based mall outlets like Hot Topic and in the latest generation to emerge from the streets of Noo Yawk City like Brooklyn’s Cerebral Ballzy who just this week released Jaded and Faded on Cult Records, a label run by The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas, a man and a band clearly influenced by the CBGB era DIY Punk aesthetic. Punk Rock, like Rock & Roll, is here to stay!