Here’s the last blog for the year. Was your year awesome? Is your holiday going well?!
I hope so!
As promised, here’s the 2011 recap. I’ll do my best to make this flow. Some of the time boundaries are a little gray. :-)
Apologies in advance if I forgot anything or anyone
I started off 2011 as someone that, in the previous 2 years, went from losing his day job to being a college graduate to still not being able to find a new job. By January, I had already started giving guitar lessons on the side to stay afloat and had committed myself to spending the year proving that either music would or wouldn’t work out as a career...
Plus, I was going into new territory with this whole ‘blog’ thing.
On Chemcoma’s end, things were looking up. We were still celebrating our 5-year anniversary, released “Something to Die for” (and its accompanying video), and kept playing shows. The 5-year buzz wore off, though, and we ended up playing our final show around the beginning of July. For the record, we’re all still friends and chat on occasion. So, hopefully the break-up buzz wore off too!
Before the Chemcoma break, I had already launched the IND project on the side in an effort to put food in the dogs’ bowls. I managed to design and launch ChrisJuneIND.com (regardless of the quality, it’s my first site & I’m proud of doing it) and finished up the writing/recording/mixing/mastering of “Settling.” By March, some cell camera/iMovie experimenting led to the upload of the “Settling” video.
I followed that up with the re-tweaking of my song “Dear Reason” and its release/video in May and continued testing out playing shows by myself. The singer/songwriter/unplugged format isn’t my ‘thing’ or strength, but I chose to play in some capacity instead of not at all. Since I was used to playing to a click while recording and performing live, I built accompanying piano tracks and jammed tunes at open mics and as an opening act for other regional bands. I was even given the opportunity to play at a benefit for the Home with Hope!
This process has helped me in overcoming some vocal and interaction inhibitions and paved the way for sponsorships (Artisan Electric, DropYa Fightwear, ISPhotographic, Lafayette Speaker Repair, People’s Brewing Co., Rhodes Amplification, Sacred Apple, Sound Logic Recording, and Willow Stained Glass).
Some good local press came my way too!
While the unplugged gigs were (and still are) a lot of fun, the side of me that wanted to sling the Tele low & crank my amp was getting ignored. After finishing up my 'annual volunteering' for the Tippecanoe Arts Federation (with a successful, off-the-hook Taste of Tippecanoe), I found Chris Parker and Drew Luigs between July and August and got them on board.
It should be noted that it was quite a surprise to be able to put those pieces in place so quickly. While Lafayette is an insanely talented town, the free agent market is a bit dry. Most dudes are already locked up in other bands. Also, kudos to Dinger (from The Mound Builders) for making himself available and jamming with me during that time. It was a confidence boost knowing that I’d be able to move ‘the rock’ forward in some capacity. You = the man.
While Chris, Drew, and I started putting together the 2011 Fall shows, I was wrapping up the recording of Whistle When We Break Down. Because the band-side was going well, I got a little more ambitious. Instead of doing another indie/in-house release, I pulled the trigger on getting those tracks to Grant Mohrman (Method House Studios) for mixing. Grant and I have a 10+ year relationship (no homo) and that cat makes my tunes go boom. His work, in my opinion, has been crucial to any success I’ve had in the past; radio, licensing, etc.
As Grant was mixing the EP in Detroit, my buddy Chris Voglund helped me get some side work running sound at local shows; leading to volunteer work for the Food Finders/Feeding America’s Zombaid benefit too.
As mixing wrapped, Chris June IND went loud and live with an opening night that saw us headlining both HomegrownBiker.com’s Monster Halloween Party and LafayetteMetal.com’s Halloween Show. The boys started jamming open mics with me, which led to a stripped-down set at the Knickerbocker for my birthday.
With the Method House touch on Whistle When We Break Down and hard copies in my hand, I assembled a merch display to push CDs and shirts at shows; even selling them out of my trunk and delivering across town (and the state) when necessary.
Jon Delange at Tinderbox Music got busy by executing the plan to push the envelope even more; getting the tracks on college radio playlists nation-wide and into the hands of some big television network music coordinators. Some of the tunes were starting to get some spins on other indie and internet stations too. Even more online push resulted when I launched the indie video for “Out of Our Hands” earlier this month!
Finally, before Christmas, I squeezed in some production work for the dudes in Arch Drive Goodbye for their holiday track, “Ghost of Christmas Past.”
2011 began with me being a singing guitarist in a semi-successful regional band, striving to be the best husband and pops to the pups, and doing everything possible to be a good mentor to my guitar students and my little brothers (btw, the USMC got Jordan to and from Afghanistan safely and Joey graduated high school, started college, and is continuing his musical journey).
I’m wrapping up the year as a solo artist and an amateur web designer, graphic designer, videographer, blogger, producer, recording/mixing/sound engineer, etc. I’ve been able to volunteer for great local causes and my music is sponsored by 9 great Indiana Small businesses. Also, this blog has gone from averaging 6-8 views to as much as 200 per month, my videos have surpassed 1500 views, and the Fan Page ‘likes’ continue to grow too. So, here’s to doubling that for next year!
So, 2012 me, you’re on notice: you better kick 2011 me’s ass, dude.
Thanks to my family, the IND crew, friends, my students, their parents, all contributors to the Lafayette scene, Grant, and Jon.
This would’ve been hard to pull off without your help.
Last, but not least, thanks to you for stopping by every week!
Whether you check this out to gather the scene scoop, get ideas to help push your music, or to casually see what I’m up to, I’m glad you’re involved.
If you’re not doing so already, please use the recap as motivation to catch more local shows, buy more local music, and volunteer for local causes. As a good friend says, "We all come up together."
Let’s have an awesome 2012!!!
PS: Kudos to Born Under Burden, Echovox, The Enders, Lorenguard, Mike Reeb, Snorb!, and The Mound Builders for putting out awesome CDs this year. I’m looking forward to new stuff from you, 9LB Gun, 50/6 Feet, Arch Drive Goodbye, Go Go Gadget Gonads, the Heavy Company, the Shake Ups, and the other Lafayette Music dudes!!!
Over and out
