A few weeks ago I went to the Duck Inn, to see the local hard rock band Calling Corners. They were nice enough to take the time and provide an e-mail interview. Please check it out below.
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You guys put on an awesome show a few weeks ago when I saw you at the Duck Inn. It was very refreshing to see live music in Evansville that hits as hard as you guys do, I’m a big fan of face melting-high-energy rock and you guys delivered. It was so intense that the people on the other side of the bar had to come see what all the awesome was about.
Thank you for the compliment and we appreciate you being there.
I think it’s very refreshing to hear original music from a local band,instead of the tried and true covers. There is also a lot to be said for a band that can create a very entertaining show, even though a listener may not be familiar with their songs.
That’s really one of the main things we focus on, is our stage presence. For two reasons, one…we’re living in a visual world now-a-days. And two, because most people go to a local bar/venue to see a cover band, a person may get bored with an original set until they know your material. So no matter how good your songs are, you have to keep them entertained with your energy on stage.
At this stage in your career do you prefer to play original songs live or do covers?
Original music most definitely. Matt (our guitar player) and myself spent a number of years in a couple of local cover bands and it’s a great time, and there’s money to be made. But doing your own music, hearing people sing YOUR songs back to you, that’s more rewarding than all the money in the world.
We know from your MySpace Page that your influences are Trapt, Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, etc.. But explain to someone who has never heard your music before what it sounds like, in 3 words.
Heavy Melodic Rock
Where is your favorite place to rock in Evansville?
There’s a couple of favorites actually. We love Woody’s and we appreciate everything Zack has done for us so far. Great staff, great P.A., with national after national coming through. And then, we love O’Brian’s Sports Bar as well. That’s a bar with a great vibe, just relaxed. You feel like you can do anything there and people are gonna love it.
You say you guys got to share the stage with Theory of A Deadman, how has that experience motivated you as musicians?
I think it’s motivated us to really keep working like we’re working. The “dream” is very much a possibility, and the fact that on our level we can get on the same stage as bands like Theory, or any of the other bands on their level that we’ve played with, definitely shows that. Hard work definitely pays off.
We talked a little bit about internet popularity playing a part in getting signed to a record label. Do you personally think Friend Count equals popularity?
I’m not sure if it can define your popularity, but I think in the beginning it definitely helps you gain that popularity that you’re looking for. Because if you can pull 50 of your closest friends to every show, it sends the message that you have something going on, and that someone besides you believes in your music and what you’re doing. From there, other people get curious, come see your show, talk about your show, help build your show, and that’s how you build your following.
You mentioned your MySpace Page and Facebook account numerous times throughout the night, does that generate a noticeable jump in online presence after every show?
MySpace not so much, we have a few friend requests here and there after the show so we keep plugging it. But I think MySpace has went numb for the most part. But our Facebook page definitely has. We went from 3 fans to 200 plus in a matter of days. And the cool thing about Facebook, it’s honest. Same goes with Twitter. And what I mean by that is, you can’t send friend requests from a FB band page or a Twitter account, so those are 200 plus people (on the FB page) that have searched us out because they liked the band and became a fan. So those are the people that are gonna keep coming to shows and buying tickets.
Big name acts like Nine Inch Nails have embraced BitTorrent as a means to distribute music freely, assuming fans will be more inclined to buy your music if they like it. Do you think there is any weight in that or considered this as a business model?
Ya know, I do think there’s a lot of weight in this. When this band first started we were so focused on how much money we could make once we got something recorded, or t-shirts, or whatever. You’re almost blinded by it, and by the time you see in front of you again, you’re frustrated because you’ve only sold 3 cd’s or whatever. But I actually saw an interview with Trent Reznor a while back and he talked about this business model and giving stuff away and it makes alot of sense. And we actually do that now. We’ll burn some songs to a spool of cd’s and hand them out at our shows. And then when people wanna hear more, they buy the actual disc. And not only that, but we’re looking at cheap things we can put our stamp on and hand out at shows as well. People love free.
Where do you see Calling Corners 5 years from now?
Hopefully on the road doing this for a living. We have a lot in the works right now and people should expect big things from us. Because it’s gonna happen.
Thanks a ton for your time, I look forward to catching you guys live again
soon. Good luck.
Thank you.
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I can’t stress enough how great these guys are live, it really is worth the cover charge. Also, be sure to buy their album, which is available at Joe’s Record Shack.
Lastly, be sure to add them as a friend on your MySpace and Facebook accounts. And, if you twitter, be sure to follow them there as well. Their next performance will be at Woody’s on October 28th, see you there!
Calling Corners MySpace Account
Calling Corners Facebook Account
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