Well, here it is after our first road trip (and on the day we play a local show as well). It was truly a learning experience and all around a lot of fun, just wish we made a little more money...but inroads were made and the fan base is expanding!
Going indie is a tough proposition at times. So much work goes into doing it yourself and there is initially little pay-off, in terms of money or fandom...but when you begin to really reach people, to touch them, to have them show their appreciation in so many creative and even helpful ways and to begin to hang with people who have been influential to you and treat you as a respected peer...just awesome, man. It makes up for a lot of the shortcomings of the struggle!
There is a lot of positive stuff on the horizon for Year of the Dragon and our parent label, the IBCT llc (www.theibct.com). Please stay tuned and thanks for your support!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
that good ole punk rock spirit!
Okay, now look...right off the top...some might want to call me an old fart, some might call me an outdated a-hole...but I had the good fortune in my youth to be around when there were a lot of great bands out there gigging that most of these newer bands can't hold a candle to.
I wince when I hear someone like Pete Wentz say he came from some hardcore scene somewhere, or a shit band like Good Charlotte calling themselves punk...it hurts me to the core because when I was walking around with a mohawk and tattoos back in the day, that was some real shit. I lived in the 'hood also so between the police, the jocks at school and on the street, the gangbangers and just general assholes of the world...well, let's just say leaving home everyday to go ANYWHERE was a real adventure. And getting BACK home could be a life and death endeavor.
Now, when I see kids dressed up as "punks"...all I see is a uniform. I see a carefully constructed uniform that creates the guise, the illusion, of rebellion without the pain and sacrifice of it. It's truly disturbing to me, in the way that it's disturbing to me when I see young black men and women calling each other "nigger" and "bitch" and those kinds of words...like Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcom X died for nothing, so these kids could become stupid and lazy and worship money and material possessions above love and honor and commitment to an idea.
For a lot of the new "rock star punks", I hear a lot of the old heads are respectful when they are approached by these kids. And they should be, no reason to be a dick to folks who have bought their records and were inspired by them! But I can tell them they suck to their face (and would, given the chance) because I wasn't in a band at that time, but I was there and I know the real from a pose. I would tell the Fall Out Boys and Good Charlottes of the world to slurp my nutsack and swallow every drop of the ensuing load. And one thing that scares me out of my mind is that I could end up being peers with some of these bands! UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!
I wince when I hear someone like Pete Wentz say he came from some hardcore scene somewhere, or a shit band like Good Charlotte calling themselves punk...it hurts me to the core because when I was walking around with a mohawk and tattoos back in the day, that was some real shit. I lived in the 'hood also so between the police, the jocks at school and on the street, the gangbangers and just general assholes of the world...well, let's just say leaving home everyday to go ANYWHERE was a real adventure. And getting BACK home could be a life and death endeavor.
Now, when I see kids dressed up as "punks"...all I see is a uniform. I see a carefully constructed uniform that creates the guise, the illusion, of rebellion without the pain and sacrifice of it. It's truly disturbing to me, in the way that it's disturbing to me when I see young black men and women calling each other "nigger" and "bitch" and those kinds of words...like Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcom X died for nothing, so these kids could become stupid and lazy and worship money and material possessions above love and honor and commitment to an idea.
For a lot of the new "rock star punks", I hear a lot of the old heads are respectful when they are approached by these kids. And they should be, no reason to be a dick to folks who have bought their records and were inspired by them! But I can tell them they suck to their face (and would, given the chance) because I wasn't in a band at that time, but I was there and I know the real from a pose. I would tell the Fall Out Boys and Good Charlottes of the world to slurp my nutsack and swallow every drop of the ensuing load. And one thing that scares me out of my mind is that I could end up being peers with some of these bands! UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
WELCOME TO THE YOTD BLOG SPOT!
Hey there...welcome to our first blog! We see a lot of bands with blogs and websites that don't keep the information current, and we're always going to try to do that as much as we can! It'll be harder once we hit the road, but we'll still make a supreme effort! You guys pay the bills, so as much as we can we're going to make sure we keep a one-on-one relationship with the fans as much as possible!
As you know, we're doing a series of shows at the Relax Bar in Los Angeles EVERY THURSDAY IN DECEMBER. We are VERY excited about this and hope to see you guys out one of those Thursdays! You don't know who might show up, we've invited some very special guests who have pledged to come on one of the Thursdays, but we don't know which one...but if you come every Thursday you'll get a kick-ass show from us so you can't lose anyway!
Also you can get the ringtones from our current e.p. at this site: http://www.groupietunes.com/artists/yearofthedragon They're pretty cool so we encourage you to do that, make it that special Christmas gift you give to yourself (and yes, we're laughing as we write this!).
We will also have visual material up on youtube soon, and will send out a blog post and a message to all our myspace folks when it is up! It'll be a series of different video posts and they won't all be music, they'll be some other surprises on them as well!
Thanks again to everyone for their support, and if we don't see you in L.A., we'll see you on the road next year!
As you know, we're doing a series of shows at the Relax Bar in Los Angeles EVERY THURSDAY IN DECEMBER. We are VERY excited about this and hope to see you guys out one of those Thursdays! You don't know who might show up, we've invited some very special guests who have pledged to come on one of the Thursdays, but we don't know which one...but if you come every Thursday you'll get a kick-ass show from us so you can't lose anyway!
Also you can get the ringtones from our current e.p. at this site: http://www.groupietunes.com/artists/yearofthedragon They're pretty cool so we encourage you to do that, make it that special Christmas gift you give to yourself (and yes, we're laughing as we write this!).
We will also have visual material up on youtube soon, and will send out a blog post and a message to all our myspace folks when it is up! It'll be a series of different video posts and they won't all be music, they'll be some other surprises on them as well!
Thanks again to everyone for their support, and if we don't see you in L.A., we'll see you on the road next year!
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