Post by Fuggle on Aug 3, 2006 9:32:47 GMT -5
How to become virtually famous
All-girl band the Hedrons hope to follow in the footsteps of the Arctic Monkeys by leaping from cyberspace to pop stardom, writes David Pollock
The Sunday Times
July 30, 2006
First, it was the thrashy sound of the Arctic Monkeys propelled on the way to world domination; then the street-wise pop of Lily Allen came leaping into the charts. Such, it seems, is the power of MySpace.com, the online community that has changed the way pop hopefuls make their bids for fame.
Now it’s the turn of a Glasgow band to take the well-trodden path across cyberspace to commercial success. For all-woman punk popsters the Hedrons it is — to say the least — comforting to know they have more than 34,000 “friends” attached to their website, that is, people who have listened to their music and liked it enough to add them to their own online network. And the number is growing daily.
“MySpace has been amazing for us,” says the Hedrons’ lead singer, Tippi. “We all take care of it, which is quite tricky when you’re out on the road and frantically trying to find a computer in every venue so that we can write our blog and keep people updated with what’s going on.”
For bands like the Hedrons who are just starting out, the effort is worthwhile, reckons the singer. “The internet gives you an avenue to get out there, whether people want to download some free music for their collection or just give it a listen and see what you sound like.
“I know labels definitely look at it; in fact, some labels would rather look at your website now than ask you for a press pack and CD.”
It certainly seems to be working. The Hedrons are only about a year old as a band and (until the limited seven-inch release of their debut single, Be My Friend, tomorrow) have no recorded output. Yet thanks to their profile on MySpace, the website owned by News Corp, parent company of The Sunday Times, they’ve been namechecked by industry magnates, played headline shows across the UK, and been invited to play prestigious festival and support dates.
It’s a far cry from the days they used to bump into each other in the rehearsal studio their old bands shared. “We just kept seeing each other in the corridors,” recalls Tippi. “We were each the only girls in our bands, so we got to know each other by saying hi in the corridor, then, after a few months, we said, ‘Why don’t we get together over a couple of beers, have a rehearsal for a laugh and see how it goes?’ Once we did that I think we were all a wee bit shocked at how well it had gone. We thought, ‘Do we want to do this or will we just walk away from it?’ And we couldn’t walk away, it was just far too exciting.
“I think any of us will say that the thought of being in an all-girl band was not on anyone’s mind before, but it’s great. At first I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is going to be horrendous hanging about with these girls all the time,’ but it’s a great laugh. I feel sorry for our tour manager, though, having to put up with the four of us.”
The band consists of Tippi, the 28-year-old singer and guitarist, 20-year-old bassist Chi, from Motherwell, 24-year-old guitarist Rosie, from Barrhead, and 25-year-old drummer Soup, from Gourock. Like many bands they prefer the anonymity of nicknames.
In Tippi’s case you can understand the desire for secrecy. Born in Bellshill — hometown of Sheena Easton — Yvonne Tipping first found fame in the finals of Ronan Keating’s 1999 BBC talent contest, Get Your Act Together. She carries the yoke of having been dubbed Scotland’s answer to Dido and the new Sharleen Spiteri.
A little over two years ago, she released an album entitled Remember My Face, and gigged at the celebrated South by Southwest festival in Texas. The Proclaimers were known fans, although Tippi brushes off questions on the topic with a charming-but-definite “just firmly focused on the Hedrons now”. After all, far cooler svengalis are lending their support now.
“Not long after we started the band,” she recalls, “one of our first London gigs was at [music industry mogul] Alan McGee’s Wednesday night club in this dingy bar in Notting Hill. Two nights later we played his Queen Is Dead night at the Borderline, then not long after he was asked to name his favourite new bands in the NME and he mentioned us. We were so chuffed.”
Although McGee — who discovered Oasis — hasn’t quite got round to signing the band to his Poptones label yet, the band say various parties are interested in their debut album, One More Won’t Kill Us, which is planned for an early 2007 release. Until then they’re in the middle of their first headline tour with another to follow in October, and recent appearances at festivals such as Download, Guilfest and T in the Park are still fresh in their minds.
“We had a lot of people from our mySpace saying they were coming to see us,” recalls Chi, “which was really encouraging.
“I’ve been to T in the Park every summer since I turned 17, so it was such a big thing to be told we were playing it. We met Drew Barrymore in the backstage toilets, and the Strokes, then filled out the tent we were in and were asked back on for three encores. It’s the stuff dreams are made of, isn’t it? But we just want to have a laugh with it all. We were more interested in the free beer, to be honest with you.”
The Hedrons’ debut single, Be My Friend, is out on Monday. The band play Viewfield in Arbroath on August 25, Kef in Aberdeen on August 27, Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh (as part of T on the Fringe) on August 29, and King Tut’s in Glasgow on August 31
All-girl band the Hedrons hope to follow in the footsteps of the Arctic Monkeys by leaping from cyberspace to pop stardom, writes David Pollock
The Sunday Times
July 30, 2006
First, it was the thrashy sound of the Arctic Monkeys propelled on the way to world domination; then the street-wise pop of Lily Allen came leaping into the charts. Such, it seems, is the power of MySpace.com, the online community that has changed the way pop hopefuls make their bids for fame.
Now it’s the turn of a Glasgow band to take the well-trodden path across cyberspace to commercial success. For all-woman punk popsters the Hedrons it is — to say the least — comforting to know they have more than 34,000 “friends” attached to their website, that is, people who have listened to their music and liked it enough to add them to their own online network. And the number is growing daily.
“MySpace has been amazing for us,” says the Hedrons’ lead singer, Tippi. “We all take care of it, which is quite tricky when you’re out on the road and frantically trying to find a computer in every venue so that we can write our blog and keep people updated with what’s going on.”
For bands like the Hedrons who are just starting out, the effort is worthwhile, reckons the singer. “The internet gives you an avenue to get out there, whether people want to download some free music for their collection or just give it a listen and see what you sound like.
“I know labels definitely look at it; in fact, some labels would rather look at your website now than ask you for a press pack and CD.”
It certainly seems to be working. The Hedrons are only about a year old as a band and (until the limited seven-inch release of their debut single, Be My Friend, tomorrow) have no recorded output. Yet thanks to their profile on MySpace, the website owned by News Corp, parent company of The Sunday Times, they’ve been namechecked by industry magnates, played headline shows across the UK, and been invited to play prestigious festival and support dates.
It’s a far cry from the days they used to bump into each other in the rehearsal studio their old bands shared. “We just kept seeing each other in the corridors,” recalls Tippi. “We were each the only girls in our bands, so we got to know each other by saying hi in the corridor, then, after a few months, we said, ‘Why don’t we get together over a couple of beers, have a rehearsal for a laugh and see how it goes?’ Once we did that I think we were all a wee bit shocked at how well it had gone. We thought, ‘Do we want to do this or will we just walk away from it?’ And we couldn’t walk away, it was just far too exciting.
“I think any of us will say that the thought of being in an all-girl band was not on anyone’s mind before, but it’s great. At first I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is going to be horrendous hanging about with these girls all the time,’ but it’s a great laugh. I feel sorry for our tour manager, though, having to put up with the four of us.”
The band consists of Tippi, the 28-year-old singer and guitarist, 20-year-old bassist Chi, from Motherwell, 24-year-old guitarist Rosie, from Barrhead, and 25-year-old drummer Soup, from Gourock. Like many bands they prefer the anonymity of nicknames.
In Tippi’s case you can understand the desire for secrecy. Born in Bellshill — hometown of Sheena Easton — Yvonne Tipping first found fame in the finals of Ronan Keating’s 1999 BBC talent contest, Get Your Act Together. She carries the yoke of having been dubbed Scotland’s answer to Dido and the new Sharleen Spiteri.
A little over two years ago, she released an album entitled Remember My Face, and gigged at the celebrated South by Southwest festival in Texas. The Proclaimers were known fans, although Tippi brushes off questions on the topic with a charming-but-definite “just firmly focused on the Hedrons now”. After all, far cooler svengalis are lending their support now.
“Not long after we started the band,” she recalls, “one of our first London gigs was at [music industry mogul] Alan McGee’s Wednesday night club in this dingy bar in Notting Hill. Two nights later we played his Queen Is Dead night at the Borderline, then not long after he was asked to name his favourite new bands in the NME and he mentioned us. We were so chuffed.”
Although McGee — who discovered Oasis — hasn’t quite got round to signing the band to his Poptones label yet, the band say various parties are interested in their debut album, One More Won’t Kill Us, which is planned for an early 2007 release. Until then they’re in the middle of their first headline tour with another to follow in October, and recent appearances at festivals such as Download, Guilfest and T in the Park are still fresh in their minds.
“We had a lot of people from our mySpace saying they were coming to see us,” recalls Chi, “which was really encouraging.
“I’ve been to T in the Park every summer since I turned 17, so it was such a big thing to be told we were playing it. We met Drew Barrymore in the backstage toilets, and the Strokes, then filled out the tent we were in and were asked back on for three encores. It’s the stuff dreams are made of, isn’t it? But we just want to have a laugh with it all. We were more interested in the free beer, to be honest with you.”
The Hedrons’ debut single, Be My Friend, is out on Monday. The band play Viewfield in Arbroath on August 25, Kef in Aberdeen on August 27, Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh (as part of T on the Fringe) on August 29, and King Tut’s in Glasgow on August 31