Booking in NEO (Brandon Hathaway)

Hey Philly! I recently said down and learned a few tips and tricks from Brandon Hathaway for how to be successful in the music business. Brandon makes up half of Tha 317, an Irish Hip-Hop band that seriously knows how to throw down. He not only performs, but is also the main promoter for the band and was kind enough to share with me a lot of great advice on the business side of things from concert booking to networking, and even filled me in on the growing music scene out in Ohio. The scene is getting big so if you're a band looking to tour, make sure you hit up the area, and then party with Tha 317! But seriously, listen to this guy if you want to learn how to land a gig, multi-task to the extreme, and make everything a party.



When did you form Tha 317 and how/why did you come up the Irish/Hip-Hop fusion?
Brandon: Well we actually started in February of 2009 and the funny thing was that it was started by coincidence. There was actually another member and they were in a group called Guinness and Shamus. It happened that the three of us wanted to start a group and we were all Irish. We were actually originally called Pogue Mahone then we added 317 for St. Patrick’s Day. But it turned out there was a bar in Canada called Pogue Mahone so we stuck with Tha 317Guinness and Shamus are cousins, but Guinness is no longer with us. Tha 317 is now myself, and my stage name is "Lucky Fargas," and the other member of the group goes by "Shamus O'Grady".

So you’re the main promoter for Tha 317 and have found a lot of success in finding shows…how did you go about starting the booking process? Did you learn from someone else or did you kind of just jump in?
Brandon: No I pretty much just jumped into it because music has always been my passion. I knew I wanted to work in it, either performing or writing or whatever, so I wanted to learn more about the business side of things. I’ve worked in retail so I’ve always been good at talking to people. I started at a small venue down in Akron as the first spot and with all the networking I’ve done since, I’ve sort of kept my eyes out. It’s all about who you know here, especially in NE Ohio. It’s all about how you get to know people and about networking.

How do you juggle creating music, writing and booking? You are also in school correct?
Brandon: It really is tough on me honestly. I do take online classes though so they can fit into my schedule. I just got my Associates and now I’m working on my Bachelors. I kind of like to kill two birds with one stone so I work a lot with the band online focusing on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Reverbnation. It’s really about the internet. That’s where I can talk up the band and talk to venue owners. Every moment I’m not doing school work I’m constantly online networking. It’s hard to breathe sometimes but it’s my passion so I got to do it.

You guys play a lot in NE Ohio, so where are the best cities/venues for hip-hop artists to go to where they might receive a lot of positive reaction?
Brandon: There’s a lot in the Cleveland area. Akron itself isn’t really good for venues, but there is a great venue in Akron called Chuck’s Steakhouse that we play and it welcomes all different kinds of genres which is awesome. Then there’s Peabody’s in Cleveland which is a great venue and right outside of Cleveland in Mentor is a venue called Livewire Lounge that’s great and also welcomes all kinds of genres. There’s another great place in Akron called Musica. It’s great for in or out of town bands, but they don’t like it when you play another show close to the venue on a nearby date, so we’ll probably be back out there in June. And then also, an amazing venue is the Cleveland Agora. It’s really a great venue but it’s not easy to book. But when you get a chance to play there the place is very legendary.

Hip Hop tends to scare off venue owners. They seem to be afraid of the possible violence that comes with booking a Hip Hop show. How does this differ in Northeast Ohio and why?
Brandon: Well, it can be an issue but the problem with hip-hop is that it’s been given a bad name. Take metal fans, they tear up shows and mosh too and get a crazy rep as well. But it’s all about the way you conduct yourselves and interact with venue owners. It’s really about building relationships with the owners of the venues. I always sit down and get to know them very well. We also have a really good crowd. Our crowd is people who are chill and just want to have fun. We like to party and so do they. We also mix up our shows with different genres so it’s like one big fun show.



Everyone knows that the music business is all about networking. If you could choose the best three tips for networking that every person trying to book a show should always know, what would they be?
Brandon: Well, you’ve got to utilize your social networking and constantly promote, promote, promote. That’s what I use Facebook and Twitter for, it’s not even personal use. Promoting, promoting, promoting is number 1. Number 2, I’m constantly going out to find out what’s hot and talking to the venue owners. I don’t even know if there are three things I could pick. It’s really all about promoting and getting on the social media sites. That’s how I’ve been doing what I’ve doing and getting us shows. And stay positive. You’re gonna hear a lot of bad feedback for a while you just got to stay positive. Sometimes you’ll here two no’s from a venue before you get a yes so you just got to stay on top of things.

Tha 317 has played with some rising OH acts including iPhonic, EST and MGK. How was it sharing the stage with them and how did those relationships come about?
Brandon: I mean, it’s been an amazing experience. We actually just did a show with EST and MGK and got to hang out with them backstage. I’m still interested in learning things from them. I actually discovered iPhonic before they even got big and they have opened up for us a couple times back in 09-10, and now they’re getting big. That’s been a great experience getting to know them and getting to play shows with them now. It’s been a really cool experience. And now MGK is going national with his crew, it’s really an amazing experience sharing the stage with them.

What do you think all these fast growing OH hip-hop artists’ fan bases are saying about the state of OH’s music scene?
Brandon: Ohio has made a very sharp turn over the last couple of years and has become very good as far as the scene goes. There are lot of artists coming out of here such as iPhonic, MGK, Aaron L, and Chip tha Ripper. I think its saying a lot. Cleveland has always been the underdog and then Labron came out of here and people started realizing there’s talent here. And you’re gonna see a lot of big names coming out of here in the future. I think it’s taking a turn for the best. It’s cool that we’re coming up out of the wave and here when all this is happening right now.

Do you have any future plans for a career as a booking agent since you’ve had so much success with your own band?
Brandon: Right now I’m obviously focusing on Tha 317, but at the same time it’s good for me to learn the business side of 317 and having my degree. Yeah, if things don’t pan out for me I will definitely do this for a living, the behind the scenes. But it’s been a great experience for me to be able to do this for my current group.

Are there any crazy plans for St. Patrick’s Day for Tha 317? I’m assuming it’s your most sacred day of the year.
Brandon: Yeah, absolutely! We’ve got a great show set up this year which is actually gonna be at Chucks Steakhouse and we’ve got a lot of live bands playing and different genres its gonna be a really big event its one of those must come see events.

Got any last minute advice for the young booker out there trying to land their band their very first gig?
Brandon: Stay positive, stay energetic, and keep yourself together because it is a rough industry it’s a very rough business to get in and it can be very discouraging. Stay focused, stay positive, and keep driving. You gotta have some thick skin to be in this business.

As always, go check him and Tha 317 out!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/THA-317/198202183553310
http://www.reverbnation.com/THA317
https://twitter.com/#!/tha_317

Lauren Resnick
Monster Entertainment LLC
lauren@wearemonsterent.com
www.wearemonsterent.com

Xzavier Entertainment

Welcome to the Black Ink MMG Family

What's The World Coming To?

The Plastic Traps

What’s up Philly! I’m back after sitting down for a chat with The Plastic Traps, a Philadelphia based band who just released their debut album “Find a Home” earlier this month. They’re two brothers working hard, even through college, to make their music heard! Check out what they have to say and be sure to visit the band’s sites after so you can grab a copy of the album!

So how’d The Plastic Traps come about?

Gary: Well we were in another band and when that band stopped we just continued with our writing and we just wanted to keep making music together.

Congrats on releasing your debut album! How can you best describe the sound of the album?


Gary: I think there are some songs that are kinda my style, the one’s that I sing, and some of them are Andy’s, the ones that he sings. Kinda like a lo-fi garage indie. Reverb definitely characterizes the style, so it’s definitely lo-fi reverb.



What was the recording process like for your album?

Gary: We recorded it at home in our parent’s house. We used a 4-track recorder analog. I don’t know how long it took. We did it all ourselves and we didn’t use any outside producers or mixers. We did bring it into a recording studio to make it sound all digital for the album though.

Andy: We recorded all of our songs at the beginning of the summer. We had all the songs in line and once we had a bunch we decided to make all the nine into an album. We were shooting for an EP, but we wanted all the songs to come together it wasn’t like a planned ‘let’s make an album’ thing. It just sort of all came together.

You hooked up with Monster Entertainment and Redeye Distribution last year, how did that come about and how has it helped you so far?

Andy: Well, the way I found out about Isaac was when I found out about Revolution, I Love You who I found from online, or maybe from Hometown Heroes Delaware, and I found out they put their album out through Monster. I emailed them asking if they wanted to do a show, and they told Isaac about us and then he emailed us asking if we wanted any help with distribution and about a month later we realized we were at a point where we wanted to make the album happen. Monster has played an extremely important role in terms of helping us distribute and promote Find a Home. Without them, the album probably would not be on iTunes, Amazon, and literally everywhere else online. And it's awesome that they're based in Philly! The process has been great so far and we look forward to continue having their help with promotion this year.

I heard your music could be featured on eMusic, how is that process going for you?

Andy: A couple weeks ago, Isaac told us that eMusic wanted to feature our album and they are thinking about doing a free download of our song corridor. So, that’ll definitely be cool if they feature our single.

So Andy, you go to school in Baltimore and Gary, you’re here in Philly, does that have any effect on your recording or touring? Or does going to school in general affect the band at all?

Gary: It definitely has an effect cause we can’t get together to write and record as much.

Andy: As for touring mostly if you look at our previous tours they’re bunched around breaks, like around Christmas and Thanksgiving so it’s when were both off from school.

Gary you are about to graduate High School, tell me about that. Are you glad to get it over with?

Gary: I would have to say no I'm not glad about high school ending. I've met a lot of cool people at Spring-Ford and there's no one I have a problem with, so it's going to suck never seeing most of them again. And plus it's just one step closer to becoming an adult which I know is going to be okay but you only get to go to high school once so I'm trying to embrace it.

So, I’m assuming it may be a bit hard to book shows at the moment. When's the next show?

Andy: Yeah, this is the time of the year when I’m at school and Gary’s at home we don’t really have the opportunity to do that so the next time we’d be able to do shows is the summer unfortunately.



When you do get back into the swing of things... where's your favorite venue to play?

Gary: I like Kung Fu Neck Tie.

Andy: Yeah, I definitely like Kung Fu Neck Tie too.

Gary: Another one I like is Space, it’s really cool and really unique I’ve never really seen a place like that.

Is there anything exciting coming up for The Plastic Traps in 2012?

Andy: The eMusic single would definitely be cool for exposure and we’re still looking for some online buzz so we can start growing our fan base. We’re looking to play some Philly shows in the summer.

Gary: Yeah nothing too set in stone just trying to gain an online presence for "Find a Home".

So, if you could give a quick pitch to people out there on “Find a Home” what would it be?

Gary: If I had to pitch Find A Home I would just suggest that someone listen to it and form their own opinion about it. If they like it, great. But if not, that's also no big deal because in the end, the album was made purely for me and Andy's enjoyment. We love music. Its hard to put into words the sound of the album.


http://www.facebook.com/theplastictraps
http://theplastictraps.bandcamp.com
http://www.reverbnation.com/theplastictraps
http://www.youtube.com/theplastictraps
http://www.twitter.com/theplastictraps

Thanks again to The Plastic Traps and I bet everyone out there hope to catch one of your shows this summer, I know I do!

Lauren Resnick
Monster Entertainment LLC
lauren@wearemonsterent.com
www.wearemonsterent.com

Kim Jong Ill - Elevator (featuring Voss)

Black Ink MMG Welcomes Renn Woods

As the newest addition to Black Ink MMG, Renn Woods is a legendary icon in stage, TV and film, an amazing vocalist and talented emerging playwright. It’s difficult to say what she is most known for, but some of her most memorable roles include: Fanta in the Emmy Award winning TV mini-series Roots (1977), her unforgettable interpretation of “Aquarius” in Milos Foreman’s movie musical Hair (1979), and Dorothy in the first national Broadway tour of The Wiz (1975), a performance that was hailed by the critics as a new musical theatre standard for the young performer. Not to mention by age ten, she and two girlfriends had taken the show business world by storm, as their group, Sunday’s Child, was adored by such celebrities as Bill Cosby, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Johnny Carson. Below, Renn takes some time out of her busy schedule to talk about her play, the new album, and what the future may have in store.

What’s your average day like?

Girl, where do you wanna start? When I’m behaving myself my day starts with yoga around 6 a.m. I find that it really calms me down and helps dump my stress because let’s face it; I can’t get to the gym! I just can’t block that time. So I have a little DVD that I break out with the computer, you know what I mean? I’m Ghondi in here, haha! So I try to start my day that way no matter what. Then I have a few minutes of prayer and silence, and then it’s off to the races. A lot of it has been working on the record which I’m really excited about.

Tell me about this album, what is the time table for it?

I’m hoping it’ll be out by June. I’m kind of working with some of the writers conceptually. You know how you see Frank Sinatra do duets with everybody that’s only the best in the field? That’s what I’m doing except with songwriters, haha. So I’m talking to the most famous songwriters I know like Diane Warren, Ally Wilson, just people I’ve known for years that will collaborate with me. Mostly they’re composers that are looking for poetry, so that’s kind of the concept of the record. It’s called “Starlight”, which is my favorite song on the record so far. I wanted to encourage people in this chaotic and angry world. The music will be romantic, encouraging and enlightening, and will make people want to be happy.

So would you say that’s kind of the driving force behind your project?

It is for me. But that’s been my driving force as an artist since I was born: to empower.

What was it like being a young actress?

I had no real interest in acting except that I was really cute, and I was a teen ager! I didn’t really study acting until my late teens. Most child actors start at 6, 7, 8 years old and I didn’t start until later because music has always been, as Phoebe says, “my life”. It’s just really what I love.

What started you singing then?

Here’s the story, now I’m too young to remember, but this is the story my mother would tell. When I was three or four we were moving from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest. We got on the train, which was segregated at the time, in the Negro section and a white, angry, drunk bum walks on the train and starts cussing us out. My mother says I jumped out, 4 years old, and started singing! And the man was mesmerized, that old evil white son of a bitch was mesmerized! And then he just left the train.

Well that’s inspiration for you, haha.

Yeah! And I think my four year old mind perceived that to be a healing, transformative experience. So, I have always been singing as far back as I can remember.

Where would you like to see this new project go? What makes it special for you?

Well the songs will be unique and all originals that will inspire women, men and children. Being really young and surrounded by extremely famous and rich people taught me that they don’t need nothing you can afford to buy them, but everybody needs to be inspired; everybody needs encouragement. We can’t face our day without it.

Who are you inspired by?

Well, as I call her, Michelle O, haha. If it was someone dead or alive, I would say Shirley Chisholm and Aretha Franklin. Don’t you know women are amazing creatures; it’s amazing what we overcome and what we’re expected to do! The bar is high! I’m trying to think of a male because my friends call me “Macha”, haha. Oh, Jamie king! I think he’s a genius.

What’s next as far as acting?

Well I have an offer to do an independent film. The director, Foster Quarter, is someone I’ve known for years and I really like. And we’ll see, a lot of the elements have to fall together. But it’s in LA and so we’ll see if I can work out the details.

How was it working with Whoopi in Jumpin’ Jack Flash?

I’ll tell one of our funny moments. You know how white people think she was the only person with dreadlocks? Well I was dread for 15 years, and I had already booked Beauty and the Beast with dreadlocks so I was like, “I’m not straightening my hair, deal with it.” I remember I got called into the room with Joel Silver and the Jumpin’ Jack Flash director, Penny Marshall, and they basically said, “Well, Whoopi is the only one who has that hair”. Then Whoopi comes sneakin’ in there and insisted I kept my dreadlocks. And I said, “They think your hair is some kind of special and unique thing. They think you woke up and your hair was dreaded like that!” Haha. So I told ‘em I wouldn’t straighten it but I did braid it.

How about Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters in The Jerk?

That was nothing but fun darling! It was nothing but a great time every day, it was a party! I mean Steve Martin just makes you laugh. And you know those two were in love at that time. They were together for a few years, which is a long time in Hollywood. Bernadette was just the sweetest, hardworking girl. We had a great time.

What made you choose Black Ink MMG for your album?

My friend Ken, who I met 10-12 years ago. I was in Santa Monica working with a little dance company to help get kids scholarships when I met him. I would just talk to him as a writer and we became friends. We’ve known each other all these years and he’s always known my work. He called me up one Saturday in October and says “Renn, don’t fight me on this, you gotta do it”. And that’s how it went. We’re gonna do some incredible things!

Where would you like to see your singing career in a year? Five years?

The rest of the year we goin’ number one! I don’t care how many TV shows I gotta get on, we’re gonna be the top of the chart. And five years… still number one!! My goals are high. My momma says, “You gotta be greater than, always, in every field”.

Stay tuned for more info on Renn’s next album release!

Black Ink MMG
Renn Woods Official Website

Alexis Canary
AlexisCanary@WeAreMonsterEnt.com

Live in the Present

Walk Off the Earth.... and to the Top of the Charts!

So I'm sure a lot of you have heard Gotye's incredible break up song, "Somebody that I Used to Know". It's so emotional and the harmonies are great. Couldn't get any better, right? Wrong! Walk Off the Earth almost knocked out the original with their insane cover of the song where all five members play together flawlessly on a single guitar, all contributing different parts. It's really unbelievable. So unbelievable that it has over 60 million views compared to the over 80 million views that Gotye has. But remember Walk Off the Earth posted their video exactly 6 months after Gotye. They've won acclaim from celebrities on Twitter, appeared on Ellen, and even signed a contract with Columbia Records just a couple weeks ago. So you decide, do you think the cover will get more views than the original? Who's gonna win?! Let me know, indie-monsters!

The Cover


The Original


Lauren Resnick
Monster Entertainment LLC
lauren@wearemonsterent.com
www.wearemonsterent.com