Not Tonight Josephine on Doing it DIY Style
While other unsigned bands sit around waiting for A&R reps to call, Not Tonight Josephine are busy carving out a career. The Tampa, FL outfit have already released a successful EP called 'This Orphan Heart' and have opened for everyone from melodic rockers Anberlin to moshcore favorites A Day to Remember.
Not Tonight Josephine have just self-released their debut full-length, 'All on the Horizon,' recorded entirely on the band's own dime. Produced by Brett Hestla (Creed, Framing Hanley), the record has all of the ingredients usually needed for modern rock radio success. Noisecreep recently spoke with guitarist Jake Moore to ask him how the band has come so far without the help of a label.
You just released your album independently. Everyone says that bands don't necessarily need record labels these days, but how tough has it been for you guys?
I never knew how much work could possibly be involved when you do it yourself. When you consider keeping everything in line such as album art work, radio promotions, recording, mixing, mastering, Facebook, website, Twitter, music video, video blogs, tour booking, equipment, CD production -- I could go on and on. It's daunting and very overwhelming at times for a band to take on alone.
The best advice I can give any band is to invest in a great publicist. We have been using Adrenaline PR and without them we would not have been able to market this effectively. That's the best money you can spend to help market and push your release. A good publicist will get your music into the hands of magazines, press publications and online sites. As for the rest of it, if you're self-managed, booking your own shows, and putting out the album on your own, you need two things: time and patience. Everyone in your band has to carry some of the weight. We have our ups and downs with things but all in all we are hitting our goals.
You have access to marketing through social media outlets and booking through a site like ReverbNation.com. Not to mention your distribution through companies like Tunecore that can have your music on iTunes and other download sites within 48 hours. It all comes down to how hard you are willing to work, and if you can pool the money to record on your own album.
How important has social media been for the band from a marketing standpoint?
Next to playing live, it's a must. Fans now feel as though they can interact with us at anytime. Even though they aren't with us on tour they still know what is going on! We even created a Twitter page for our van [@VanMegatron]! Go follow it! We also use ReverbNation, Facebook, Last.fm, and YouTube to interact with fans almost 24/7. We feel because we are so accessible it draws the fans in to paying attention to us. They know when we have shows or new releases based on our posts.
Watch the video for 'Carousel'
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