Hey, old man! What's in the bag? - Trixine

(tbtmo18) and it got great reviews. People were commending
the quality of it and the way it flowed like an album, instead of
first a pop song, then dreamy song, flamenco twee pop song,
noise rock song, drone song, loud power-pop song, etc. We
made another comp with the approval of Darla, Vibon, and it
sold really well at a budget price- a great idea by Darla as an
introductory tbtmo release, to help sell all the artists in the
future. He just agreed to vibon 2 being a double-cd, so he
likes what we're doing. Lots of artists will be on that one,
mostly from around here. I'm all about supporting the local
scene, though I have friends I like in other places that i wanna
hook up as well.
Casey: What's the best way to go about getting on a Darla
comp, or any comp of that nature?
Rob: The best way to get on a Darla comp or get Darla to listen
to your stuff in general is to go thru a "subsidiary" of his like
ours, fuzzy box, etc. There's a new guy we're "working with"
(digging his stuff), called phasmid, really good, and I was like,
“yo, I can try to swing you onto a comp, and then maybe we
can see about a full-length down the road”. He said he sent
Darla a cd recently, but never heard anything. Darla is huge
and gets like hundreds of cds a month, and can't give them
all a good listen, I'm sure, regardless of how hard he tries. So
anyway, phasmid is gonna be on Vibon 2, deservedly so, and
we got him a spot on an Austrian comp as well, on Skylab
Operations. So now he's halfway in there.
Casey: If you don't mind me asking, how did you get money to
release your stuff before Darla. i.e. What are your day jobs?
Rob: We hardly had money to release before the Darla
hookup, so I'm glad we have it, it helps alot of people out.
And as I said, Darla is being really generous as as far as
fronting money. I think the Collette Carter cd is selling really
well for him, so soon enough he'll be making money off tbtmo
and hopefully we will too, but I think just having the cds made
for free and distro'd 'round the world is a deal alone.
Yeah, we have day jobs. 'nuff said.
Casey: Before Darla, most of your sales generated from Philly
stores, shows, and internet, right? How about now that you’re
getting bigger distribution?
Rob: Yeah, we have a good lockdown on sales w/ tbtmo.com.
We sell some at shows, but for the most part we're really nice
and more interested in having our stuff heard by friends than
selling to friends, and of course if we play with a band we like,
we usually just trade cds. So it's hard to make money face-toface,
hard to be business-like when you’re face-to-face.
Selling online works pretty well, and Darla gets the shit into
stores all over so people can buy around the world if they're a
store-buyer as opposed to internet buyer, and even then,
Darla sells our stuff on his site too.
www.tbtmo.com
Casey: I was recently talking to
this guy, and he was complaining
about how much Philly
DJ/club politics suck, that most
of the better known DJs suck,
and the only way anyone gets a
decent gig is to know the right
people. How do you feel about
this comment? For the most
part, I think it's pretty off-base,
but there is just a little truth to it.
Rob: I think there are some
sucky people out there getting
monthlies and such because they're persistent. And I think
there are good people laying low because they don't have the
initiative to go club-hopping and begging for a night. Also I
feel that taste differs from one person to another and
although a person may not be great in the traditional dj
sense, the style of music that they like and/or make is unique
enough to warrant a nite, but sometimes it doesn't happen.
There are alot of factors. Then there's the whole Making Time/
Brit-pop mod and eighties "dj" explosion, that's something I
don't even wanna get into.
Casey: So how do you think this affects someone newer to the
scene trying to get his/her music or skills (DJing, lighting, promoting,
etc.) out to people, and what is the best route to gaining
respect in Philly? What are some of the common pitfalls
you've seen in people trying to make a name for themselves?
Rob: I think it helps if you stick with people you like who are
doing good (good in your opinion) stuff. It may not be the
popular thing but it will come around and you'll get your
opportunities to show your stuff. As far as pitfalls, I dunno if
this is a pitfall but you can be a very hard worker and still suck
as far as taste goes. And you can have great taste and/or
skills and be a lazy son of a gun and not really "work the
scene", and not get as much going on as you could. If you're
not getting gigs, though, I think you'd have to blame yourself,
not everyone else, because while alot of people around the
city are good there are always the wankers who will steal your
monthly spot if you don't work to grab it first. And you'll say,
"How did this moron get a monthly at this place?", and obviously
he just beat you to the punch because you were at
home kissing your girl or playing Playstation. But then, you
have to ask yourself, is kissing my girl or playing Playstation
more important than getting a monthly? And the answer is up
to you. It's your world, the rest of us just live in it. But I think
complaining is counterproductive, and I'd hate to repeat a
catch-phrase from a huge sneaker company so I won't, but
that is what it's all about.
Casey: Thanks for letting us know what's been going on with
you, and congratulations with everything, and best of luck!
Rob: Thanks for the open forum. Everyone, one the count of
three, take a killer bong hit. Cough to get off. 1... 2... 3!