Love Is The Fing.

Another eventful week started off with the release of the Toaster video, continued with internal meetings setting up for the future, moving into the SoAlive conference workshops and meetings and is still to be capped off in several hours with our live performance at the same conference.

The Toaster video has been the biggest production that we've ever had for a video. Philippe, Alex and the team put their heart and soul into it - their own words which we subscribe to fully. All of us incredibly proud to share the video, its message and the story behind it. But fighting algorithms of big tech without paying a fee progressively feels like a losing battle. Toaster accumulated 2.4K views. By comparison after the same period Don't Hate Me had 2.7K, Bliss & Blasphemy 3.8K, The List 4.3K and Freedom 5.8K. We're using the same strategy, platforms, etc. and addressing a larger fan base. Yet the results are disappointing. We don't mind not being noticed, it's part of the journey, but what hurts is not being able to facilitate the attention the work done by the production team deserves. With or without our song. It's something for us to figure out and we may just resort to paying the fee, although we believe we're also paying it by generating quality content on platforms that are slowly succumbing to trash content. One key takeaway is to start working on cutting out the middle-man who's stopped adding value to the deal. A push to grow the channels where the audience and the band can be in direct contact seems like a must. What each of us as fans can do - is for everyone to figure out for themselves. We neither can, nor want to push anyone to do anything. We're all free folk. Please support artists before we turn this planet to something too dull to visit.

Mid-week we also visited the ZRock radio's studio for a pleasurable interview with the indomitable Elena Rosberg. This week the radio celebrates its 19th birthday, which means 19 years of supporting the local rock audience, as diverse and opinionated as we are, and local scene - the only FM radio to actively provide a platform for all bands, whether emerging or established. All this with a small team and against all odds. It's an inspiring story and we'll always do our best to return the favor as much as we possibly can.

Likely the most pleasurable moment was a dinner the five of the still active band members - that's including Kalo - had on Monday. It's the first sit down all of us had together since the news of Kalo's plan to refocus sprung up. The air is clear, the mood is positive, the conversations honest and warm. Photographic evidence provided. Kalo will be playing with the band on all live shows until the end of the year before we fully transition all of his roles. Most importantly, it's been made clear - and here now also in writing - that Kalo is always welcome back in any capacity he finds engaging. There's just too many veins running between us and too much good blood flowing through them to sever the umbilical cord.

We attended (and still are) our first showcase festival-slash-conference. The highlights were a presentation of the full album release campaign for TANGK by IDLES. Getting the inside view and meeting the people who actually ran the campaign was quite exciting. Another interesting panel included booking agents from top global agencies. Artists in this part of the world don't often get to chance to get insights from the source. Reality crashed the party fast when a question from the audience was raised: "What do artists here need to do to get on your roster?" The answer was: "Grow locally and get to at least 5K tickets sold." A sobering realization - on both ends. The artists present explained briefly the limitations of the local, underdeveloped and crap-flooded music scenes. The booking agents painted a clear picture of the effort and level of maturity required for an even remote chance of clearing the bar - a full package (team, narrative, brand, following, show, etc.) The takeaway for us validated what we already believed would be the right next step - smaller booking agency to help us target a specific geographical market.

Walking around the conference provided a chance to meet all sorts of interesting people - artists, PRs, managers, bookers... We participated in a speed meeting format where for two hours you rotate from one 10-minute meeting to the next. It was an enjoyable experience to get some quick advice and contacts. The plan is to follow up on what makes sense. Need to digest the notes before rushing headless. Some good takeaways about managing Bandcamp and social media, handing out our fancy cards with the logo/QR code, good encouraging talks with fellow artists some of whom we were also able to see perform.

Not to leave you completely empty-handed, here's a sample of our takeaways from the event:

- micro influencers are the future of marketing (5k-10K followers)

- creating band-approved, engaging narratives for each creative piece (single, video, album, etc.)

- the importance of physical presence not to be underestimated

- the need to be on the radar before selling anything

- the impact of AMA sessions (need to plan the next one soon)

- having the full package ready

- finding the right market - can't afford to be everywhere at the same time

- for PR campaigns new content is necessary to make it newsworthy

Between family logistics through heavy traffic, helping kids with homework and cooking soup for the loved ones - we did squeeze in a rehearsal which both Kalo and our highly likely new bass player attended. It was an important step to show love and support - in both directions. Also we heard the first rendition of the Happiness piano part played by Tony. May that extraterrestrial live long and prosper. We're in solid shape. Most importantly, there's a sense that we'll deeply enjoy and soak up the each moment of our last gigs with Kalo on stage. For the coming period, at least.

The dates for our gigs for the remainder of the year are all but confirmed. Planning to announce them early next week. Quite excited to get on stage. Including this evening. There's some exciting rumors we cannot share that come from a different party. All fantastic, inspiring stuff. Fingers crocs we don't screw anything up. But even if we do, it should be forgiven to old men like these.