Learning From Rademacher

Whenever I seek guidance from anyone on how to bring the Passionistas to a wider audience, there is pretty much one thing they all tell me - "They gotta get on the road." I wish it were all so simple as packing the gear into a van and having a successful trip - but touring and touring intelligently are two different things. I've never planned a tour or gone on one, so I am by no means an expert, but it strikes me as though it can be a disheartening experience. I question whether trying to hit up half the country in a two week period is still the model - especially if most of those shows are to empty rooms. And so, I'm really intrigued by what Rademacher has done over the past couple of months. In fact, I hope to see the Passionistas apply their model.

Aaron and I went to see Rademacher at Rickshaw Stop last Friday for their "San Francisco CD Release." I first encountered the group when they played the Record Club in Sacremento with the Passionistas back in June. The two also shared a stage in San Jose in October. Last month, Aaron and I caught one of their residency shows at the Knockout. Though the band is from Fresno, they've been successful at integrating themselves into the San Francisco scene. Judging from their past and future shows, it looks as though they've also fit in pretty well in LA. In November, with the release of the band's first full length, they played weekly in San Francisco, Fresno and LA. With that exhausting trek over with, the band certainly hasn't stopped hitting up most of California's hot spots. This has lead to some pretty good coverage in Bay Area weeklies, as well as a nice writeup in Spin.

Here's what intrigues me about their approach: seeing as how a cross-country tour seems like a rather daunting task, a more localized strategy accomplishes many of the same goals with less financial risk. It allows you to return to the same places with some frequency, hopefully easing your way into their local scene. Furthermore, because LA's music scene is under such a national spotlight, getting noticed in LA can mean getting noticed everywhere. I've noticed a number of LA indie bands who seem to be generating a good deal of buzz, even without the aid of Pitchfork. It seems everyone there is looking at the Silversun Pickups as a model. Later this month, the Passionistas will venture over to LA for what looks to be the first of many visits.

But I don't just enjoy going to see Rademacher because of what they teach me about the business. In fact, it's quite a social affair. I'm not sure if Malcolm - the frontman - knows my name, but he does recognize me and calls me, "New and Used Records," so that is just as good. Plus, they have a lot of interesting friends, so I get to chat with them and have exciting conversations. For instance, at the Knockout, we got to meet Bonfire Madigan, who'd made some killer rice krispy treats with peanut butter. This time around, I got to chat about booking with their pal Tiffany.

I also got to catch up with my friend Joe from The Dont's at both shows. Joe and the Dont's are another one of those artists whom I look to as a sort of guide for the next logical step. I get the sense that he is really on top of his shit. Plus, he's just an all-around good guy.

As for the music, I've seen Rademacher live now four times, and I really think their live show is where it's at. I did pick up a copy of Stunts, which I am rather excited to listen to. Now realizing what I've missed from the past year, the stack of music to listen to has grown increasingly high. (You can see some video I shot at the show over at the Bay Bridged).

Resolutions for the Passionistas and N&UR in early 2008: continue building on local buzz/success, have band play LA frequently with label (me) targeting weeklies, bloggers and radio; gaining a following all-around Northern California. As for making these goals happen, I think the example set by Rademacher over the past couple months is a good one to follow.