Hillbilly Flamenco
2007-08-18
Two words, to describe your music, can change your career.
David Feder and his band Salagua-Azul always wanted to get into big music festivals. They had been performing for years, and doing OK, but the agents that book music festivals would never give them a chance.
At a show, a drunk fan said, inbetween songs, “You know what? You guys are HILLBILLY FLAMENCO!” The crowd laughed, and so did the band. They joked about it again on stage that night, and again on the drive home.
The next day they started to notice that they all STILL remembered those two words, “hillbilly flamenco”. It was funny, but described their music well. The crowd liked it. They decided to use it more often.
They started telling the audience, each time they played, “If you are wondering what kind of music this is, this is hillbilly flamenco!” And the end of the show, they'd ask the audience, “And when you tell your friends what kind of music you heard tonight, what kind of music is it?” The crowd would say, “HILLBILLY FLAMENCO!”
And believe it or not... it worked! People started telling their friends about this band, because it was so easy (and fun) to describe.
And then, one day, they were talking to one of those booking agents who books festivals, and told him, “This music is perfect for your festivals. This is hillbilly flamenco!” The booking agent laughed and said, “Ok - I've GOT to hear this!”
Now David Feder and his band are playing the festivals they always dreamed of. He told me his career took a definite turn the day they started using those two words to describe their music.
Hi, Derek
Thanks for you mention of David Ferer. I went to his MySpace site and found we have a lot in common--flamenco, playing guitar with our sons (I recorded a live album with mine), life philosophy (as he writes about in his blog.) I’m listening to his music right now and I’m sure we’ll be great online friends.
While I’m at it, thanks for everything else you’ve done and are doing. Your CD Baby creation is, by far, the best online business experience I’ve ever had--constantly blowing away my expectations. I look forward to seeing how your new ventures turn out. They are all very interesting.
Bob Weisenberg
www.myspace.com/padreehijo