Today’s Rock Band Network update brings three returning artists and one brand-new newcomer. And I’d bet that at least two of these will be hitting the PS3 in the near future.
| Amberian Dawn | Evil Inside Me | 160 MS |   |
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| Bang Camaro | Revolution | 80 MS |  |
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| Firewind | Head Up High | 160 MS |  |
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| Free Spirit | Pale Sister of Light | 80 MS |  |
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One-man band Zoo Seven is running a fun little contest to celebrate the release of their song “Painted” via the Rock Band Network. All you have to do is caption a photo on the band’s Facebook page, then get as may “Likes” as possible. The winner gets a 360 and Rock Band 2 bundle, and two runners-up get fancy new footwear.
Hit the Read link for all the details.
[Read, via @johntdrake]
Here’s a neat new addition to tomorrow’s Rock Band DLC: a single track featuring 12 (that’s twelve) different Rock Band Network artists, available in the main Rock Band Store — for free.
The track runs just under 10 minutes, and includes bite-sized sections of the following 12 songs:
| Rose of Jericho | Buried Cold | 80 MS |  |
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| James William Roy | Paper Valentines | 80 MS | N/A | N/A |
| Glass Hammer | Sleep On | 80 MS |  |
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| Robby Suavé | Everyone I Know is an Alcoholic | 80 MS | N/A | N/A |
| Scratching the Itch | End Of This | 80 MS |  |
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| You Shriek | No Heroes | 80 MS | N/A | N/A |
| Voodoo Pharmacology | Minnesota | 80 MS | N/A | N/A |
| Chrome Coma | Bow Down | 80 MS | N/A | N/A |
| Freen in Green | Frontier Factory | 80 MS | N/A | N/A |
| Paul Henry Smith & The Fauxharmonic Orchestra | Night on Bald Mountain (Mussorgsky) | 80 MS |  |
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| Counterfeit Pennies | Five More Minutes | 80 MS |  |
N/A |
| Single White Infidel | Inheritance | 80 MS | N/A | N/A |
If you ask me, it’s a pretty damn impressive feat, and as someone with some experience editing music I’m particularly impressed by how well the whole thing flows. Check out a YouTube video featuring the entire song after the break, and hit the RBN Megamix site for even more info on the artists and songs.
[Read, via RockBandAide]
Boy howdy, the Rock Band Network appears to be back in full form: The store saw the debut of nine new songs since last we spoke of the matter on Friday.
| Amberian Dawn | Lionheart | 160 MS |  |
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| buttercup | time-bomb | 160 MS | N/A | N/A |
| Delta Spirit | White Table | 160 MS |  |
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| Nerf Herder | Welcome To My World | 160 MS |  |
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| Noah Engh The Kid Fantastic | Buy You A House | 80 MS |  |
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| Scott Attrill | Disco Rocket | 160 MS |  |
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| Shokkher | Burn Her Out | 80 MS | N/A | |
| Sideburn | Cherry Red | 160 MS |  |
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| The Riptides | Return to Blood Beach | 80 MS |  |
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I love how so many well-known bands are sharing the spotlight with bands I literally cannot even find mention of with all my Google-fu.
Hey metal fans, three very metal tracks that have recently appeared in the Rock Band Network. They appear alongside a track from Vancouver pop-rock act State of Shock, and something of a grungy throwback track from The Gracious Few, featuring ex-members of Live and Candlebox.
| Dead By Wednesday | Pawns | 160 MS |  |
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| Evile | Time No More | 160 MS |  |
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| The Gracious Few | Honest Man | 160 MS |  |
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| State of Shock | Money Honey | 160 MS |  |
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| Warbringer | Living in a Whirlwind | 160 MS |  |
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If you’re recently joining us, let me point out that you can click on the prices to be whisked away to a page where you can purchase any of these tracks, whereupon they’ll be downloaded to your Xbox 360 the next time you sign in. Isn’t technology wonderful?
Behold, PS3 owners: Here’s your weekly dose of Rock Band Network tunes:
| Bang Camaro | Bang Camaro | $1.99 |  |
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| Every Avenue | Where Were You? | $1.99 |  |
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| Five Finger Death Punch | Hard To See | $1.99 |  |
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| Let’s Get It | Do Not Disturb (Tell Me How Bad) | $.99 |  |
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| Sunny Day Real Estate | Seven | $1.99 |  |
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These will hit on Tuesday, alongside all them-there fancy country tracks.
EDIT: Whoops, just realized I forgot to include the playlist. It’s after the break. Continue reading →
The Rock Band Zine has posted the long-awaited second half of an interview with RBN and communications manager John Drake, and it includes a hell of a lot of great advice for bands looking to promote themselves — not just on the Rock Band Network, but in Real Life, too. Like this bit:
[T]hough it sounds WICKED UNCOOL TO SAY IT, build your band’s brand! It sounds “markety” and not genuine, but here’s all it means – pick a band name, get an artsy friend with a camera to take your picture, get an artsy friend with a pen or a computer to make you a not stupid logo, and start using that name/photo/logo wherever you can! If fans can associate your awesome music with a set of faces and a style of art, it’ll make them that much more aware of what you’re trying to do. And then you can make t-shirts and stickers and buttons and all the “stuff” that bands get to make other than music.
There’s a lot more smart advice in the article, all from a guy with a lot of experience both in PR and in a band, and you would be wise to pay attention if you’re looking to get the word out about your music.
I’d add two things that John doesn’t mention, though:
First, pick an original band name. This also may sound “wicked uncool,” but in the age of the internet it’s important to choose a name that can be Googled easily. (And note that punctuation and added spaces are pretty much ignored by Google at the moment, so for example, “a t o m” and “J.A.C.K.” are absolute bitches to find. You don’t need to go too far in the “iwrestledabearonce” direction, but be thinking about whether your potential fans will be able to find you.)
And second: For the love of all that is holy, get your music up on Amazon and iTunes. Amazon, at least, is really, really easy to do yourself; and there are a number of services to help you get your stuff up on iTunes. Yes yes, I know, these big corporate monstrosities are far from the indie ideal. But they’re also the two biggest purveyors of music around right now. For a lot of people, if you’re not up on at least one of those two sites, you basically don’t exist.
Anyone have any other advice for bands looking to spread the word?
[Read]
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