Once upon a time, a band wouldn’t get heard beyond its practice space if it wasn’t signed to a major label, but in the past 10 years, this has changed. Now, someone can produce a great recording in his or her bedroom on a laptop, and use that same laptop to promote the music to a worldwide audience. Are major labels still relevant? How about an indie label? Is doing it yourself the way to go? What about “the Radiohead model”? Burlington Free Press arts and entertainment editor Brent Hallenbeck, Seven Days music editor Dan Bolles, and New York City audio engineer Anthony Palazzole offer their thoughts on how bands can get their music heard amongst the digital oversaturation.
Next the film follows Mercury Records alt-rock band The Urgency to their February 2010 show at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City. Lead singer Tyler Gurwicz and the rest of the band offer their thoughts on the pros and cons to being signed to a major label, and how social media can be used effectively to market a band. This ended up being one of The Urgency’s final shows; the band broke up a month later.
From there the film returns to Vermont, where Rough Francis play a wild show at The Monkey House in Winooski. Lead singer Bobby Hackney Jr. tells the intertwined stories of Rough Francis and his father’s 70′s proto-punk band Death. Hackney talks about how a single Youtube clip from their second show became a minor sensation, and why Rough Francis is happy to stay independent and DIY.