Ripping off artists

I just got contacted through my Sonic bids EPK by an organization called Bands With A Mission. They took on a personal approach by mentioning one of my songs, but I’ve gotten these kinds of emails before and soon got suspicious of their motive.

After doing some research online I found this blog: http://samsongs.wordpress.com/2009/07/31/band-with-a-mission-not-a-chance/which confirmed all my suspicions.

I think it’s so mean when people try to profit on struggling bands and artists. It’s like this online magazine called Indie Music Reviewer that I sent my album to for a review a while back. I instantly got an automated email saying that I’d be guaranteed a review if I bought this or that advert space. So now every time I see a band being reviewed by them I just wonder if the score they got reflect how much they paid.

I really think companies like that suck and I feel sorry for the artists that get lured into paying money for shit like that.

Touring and booking

Support me here!

So who’d have thought it would be so much work to tour and book new gigs at once? I need an intern – badly! (please email me if you want to apply ;))

So anyway, there’s several ways of finding new gigs and I really like the house concert setting as people are really there to listen to your music, and so I thought I should be part of Slowbizz.com which is a global house concert network. But to be accepted I need the support of 100 of my fans. So I’m reaching out to you now, hoping, you’ll help me make my booking a little bit easier by supporting me as an artist here: SLOWBIZZ.

Support me here!
Support me here!

E – update #1

E - Part Four of L.O.V.E

Guys!

We’ve already reached 41% of our goal! Thanks so much for helping me get some good music out there once again!

You’ve already heard one of the demos from the new EP, but I’m going to treat you to some more. One thing that I really like is when my fans contact me and tell me what they would like me to deliver. I can only assume you all want some good music, so it really helps me out when you share your ideas with me, and the other day Christoffer from Sweden emailed me and told me he’d really like to hear the demos before they were all produced and ready for release.

So for the first pledge update for “E – Part Four of L.O.V.E” I’m going to post some demos.

Thanks for pledging HERE! Enjoy!

E - Part Four of L.O.V.E
E - Part Four of L.O.V.E

The Garden (Demo) by Makaki Music

If I Had a Man (Demo) by Makaki Music

Pledge for ‘V – Part Three of L.O.V.E’

V - Cover

It’s been amazing that I have received so much help, support and interest from my fans during the production of my two latest EPs. Thanks to YOU I have been able to record and release them, and for that I am eternally grateful!

Now it’s time for me to start making part three of the L.O.V.E saga and I need your help again. This time it will be a little bit different. For one I’m using Bandcamp instead of Pledgemusic and this time I have affixed packages to make it easier for you to choose your level of involvement. Like before, you’re very welcome to send me an email or comment below if you feel that something is missing amongst the items available to pledge for and I’ll be happy to include it. You will still receive updates from the project such as blogs, pics and videos.

The interesting thing about this project is that I have four different producers, the four guys that also happen to be in my backing band. They are all very talanted but they all have very different taste in music and I thought it would be interesting to see how they interpreted my songs if I gave them the chance.  ‘L’ was produced by my cello player Christian Hörgren and ‘O’ by my drummer Joakim Lundgren. We’re now down to ‘V’ and this time it’s my bass player Janne Manninen who produces the EP. His roots are more dance and electronica than the others and this EP will be very different from all my other stuff. But it’s still me doing the vocals and guitar and it’s all my songs, just in a new exciting suit.

So, go and check out the new design on the tees and posters and start choosing your pledge package. Go to the pledge site for more information about the different items and how to pledge. Thanks again for helping me out!

V - Cover
V - Cover

Concert in your home!

Have you ever dreamed of having your favorite independent artist perform a private concert just for you and your guests?

Starting in October 2011 I will do an extensive tour in the US. I’m now looking for people who would like to host a concert in their home.

Simply put, a House Concert is a private party, employing live original music, held in a private home, garden, civic center, church or other space under your exclusive control. There would need to be enough parking nearby and your neighbors should be cool. It would be a huge bummer if someone called the cops because of all the extra cars and people coming to your house. You should probably not do this if you live in a small apartment with a bunch of uptight neighbors, room mates or a cranky landlord.

You should be able to host a minimum of 10-15 people. It’s up to you to invite people and spread the word about the concert. You can choose for yourself if you just want to invite friends or if you want to advertise the concert publicly. You have to guarantee the artist a minimum of 10 paying guests. A $10-20 donation per guest should be paid to the performer and it’s also customary, but not required, to offer the artist a home cooked meal and a room for the night. A stage isn’t required, and the PA system will be provided by the artist.

Your home address will not be published on the web and we will negotiate from concert to concert if you would like to publish any contact information to you about the concert or if you wish assistance with promotion.

Contact us if you would be interested in hosting a concert or would like more information.

Here’s a preliminary tour route so you’ll know when we’ll be in your state.
If your state is not on the list and you want to host a concert please throw us an email anyway and we’ll consider your offer.

2011
December: Florida

2012
January: South Carolina, Georgia,
February: Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee