Local Music That Really Rocks

This weekend the band decided to play the part of fan, and go check out some local music here in Chicago.  We can honestly say that Chicago is a hotbed for some really highly talented musical acts.  If you have ever been to one of our shows you know that we always like to watch the other acts from the floor with our fans, we never hide back in the green room.  As a band, we believe that celebrating this opportunity that all of you give us, is the most important thing we can do.  That means we like to rock out with you too!

On Friday night a couple of us went to the House of Blues Chicago to see AM Taxi and Dot Dot Dot.  Like good music fans we showed up early and unexpectedly discovered another great band in State and Madison.  All in all the evening was a success, as we got the chance to chat with members of each band.  By far, the highlight of the night was Marc Walloch of Company of Thieves who was filling in with AM Taxi.  Marc's playing was spot on, and the tones he created with his vintage setup were nothing short of incredible and clearly the result of a man focused on his craft.

On Saturday we went to Double Door to see our friends Workout Music drop their long-awaited CD.  As an added bonus, we got to see a lean, tight and energized set from Farraday as well.  Our history is a bit intertwined with Farraday since we played their first show ever with them at The Cubby Bear early last year.  The night at Double Door was awesome and full of sweat, high energy, a balloon drop and it was the best we have heard both bands maybe ever.  Props to Manny Sanchez from I.V. Lab Studios.

What we realized this weekend is that we have truly been blessed to play in a city with so much talent and to have made so many good friends in the industry in such a short time.  Bottom line, if you are ever sitting around your place and wondering ... what the hell should I do tonight ... chances are there is a great band playing somewhere in this city.  Go out, take a chance, help us continue to pursue our dreams.  Thanks!

Album Release Time

Here we are ...
on the eve of our CD Release Party at Subterranean.  Our new record, "Strike The Mics" is the result of over one year of writing, recording, editing, mixing and listening.  We have so many people to thank, including our producer Jamie Candiloro, our mastering guru Stephen Marcussen, and all of the people from our studio, Rax Trax.




So much has been going on in that one year since we started working on our record, including: our band name change, the snowpocalypse, the Japanese tsunami, ADELE, Casey Anthony, the rainstorm of Lollapalooza 2011, the Occupy Movement, Osama Bin Laden, Tim Tebow, the Royal Wedding ... oh, and we played three shows with Sister Hazel.



It just hit the band recently that things have taken on a life of their own.  Our PR companies continue to get us great album reviews and great press on blogs and internet radio, including a couple really entertaining interviews.  But it was this past weekend when we received hard copies of our magazine article recently published in SOCO Magazine that we all had our minds blown.  So weird to see our faces in a magazine!!  And so exciting!


We hope that all of you will help spread the message regarding the release of our album.  It will be officially released on February 14, 2012.  We want to get this record out to as many people as possible.  If any of you have someone who is involved in music, or who has ever been involved in music, we would love to have you pass our record along.

From all of us in Vintage Blue, we are so excited to share our record with all of you!!!

Kill 'Em With Kindness

Recently the band was interviewed by SOCO Magazine and Trevor, the interviewer, asked what advice the band would give to aspiring musicians.  Initially our answer was the old cliche about working hard, practicing and being persistent.  While this holds true generally, our band has found that another rule applies in such a more meaningful way.

Kill 'Em With Kindness

2011 has been a lesson in the value of building relationships, making lasting connections and treating people with respect.  Very early on in the history of this band we met a lot of musicians at all levels of success.  But it was the musicians with humility and that took the time to talk with us about the craft, their equipment, etc. that really had a profound effect.

So we took it to heart.  We started paying attention to every person that crossed our path.  Whether it was a sound engineer, a fan, or a generally unfriendly booking agent, we made it our goal to treat everyone with kindness, knowing that it would come back to us someday.

2011 has been a lesson in just how effective this strategy can be.  Recently the band had a chance to play with Sister Hazel at The Bluebird Bar in Bloomington, Indiana and the House of Blues Chicago.  That opportunity was the result of 2 years of pursuit and networking and it could not have worked out better.  We met so many great new people, new fans and new friends.  And to all those new fans out there, we will show you the same thing that got us to the stage in front of our current friends ... kindness.

Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving.  This is our opportunity to look back at the past year and give thanks for everything and everyone that has positively impacted our life.  2011 has been a whirlwind for our band as we played our first summer festivals, completed our first full-length professionally produced album, and played the House of Blues.

None of it would have been possible with out the contribution of some very key people.  First and foremost we need to thank our producer Jamie Candiloro.  Jamie aided us in producing our album due out on Valentine's Day 2012.  In the process of recording this album, we learned a ton as musicians, grew as people and gained a true friend.

Next we should thank Paul Farahvar of Shoeshine Boy Productions.  While he is ornery and difficult (because he is an attorney) Paul has been an essential piece to the growth of our band.  Most recently Paul enabled us to play the House of Blues and next Metro Chicago.

We also need to thank our current publicity machine that is aiding in the press surrounding our album release.  Krista Mettler of Skye Media LLC has been not only a great publicist, but has been both engaging, funny and helpful in explaining the current state of the music business.  Also we thank the folks at Ariel Publicity who are helping us streamline our online presence and expand our network of online media contacts.

Lastly we can't thank all of you enough!  All of you who follow, tweet, like, comment, and read all of our material.  All of you who come out to our shows, listen to our music and support us both as fans and friends ... THANK YOU!!!

2012 is going to be absolutely amazing ... stay tuned.

-Vintage Blue

All Worth It

This band, in one form or another, has existed for about 3 years.  The things that we have learned as a group about social media, marketing and publicity are pretty insane.  When we had our first show we played Silvie's in North Chicago and didn't even have a Facebook page or Facebook invite.  We printed little flyers and handed them out at the door ... yes, at the door.

Today if we want to book a show, we go through our promoter Paul Farahvar from Shoeshine Boy Productions, we create a Facebook invite, update Reverbnation, update Myspace, tweet, re-tweet, find the other bands on the bill and follow them, like them, etc.

As we move towards February 14, 2012 ... our band finds itself taking yet another enormous leap forward in our marketing efforts.  In order to prepare for our first full-length record release we have employed Krista Mettler of Skye Media and Ariel Hyatt of Ariel Publicity.  These two agencies have us lean, mean and focused on building our brand in an effective, fun and meaningful way.

The reason we do all of this work?  Because when we step up on stage, or close the door to the recording booth, we think about YOU GUYS!!!  When the curtains open and we see all of you yelling, pointing and getting excited we realize that all of our efforts to practice, market and promote our music culminates in getting to play for you ... and that time on stage is all worth it.

The Tale of An Independent Chicago Band

Welcome:

We are Vintage Blue, a Chicago band rock band that is currently gearing up to finish our most successful year as a band (2011) and launch what will be a 2012 to never forget.  We want to use this blog as a way for fans, old friends, and L.A. Reid to keep track of our band.

The Short:


We are a five-piece band that officially started in 2008 as the band Tanglewood.  We started as a cover band banging out classic tunes at Wise Fools Pub, Lilly's and Silvie's in Chicago.  Fast forward to 2011 and we have completed work on our second album, due out in 2012 ("Strike The Mics") that will soon be followed by a regional tour and national press.

What to Look For:


This blog will be about telling the story of an independent rock band and the behind-the-scenes work that it takes to book, promote, market, manage and phsychotherapize a band of dudes.