NY based band Water Knot consists of four brilliant musicians and their unique blend brings an original, refreshing sound of music. They describe their music as a way for people to feel something where they couldn’t before. Anyone and everyone can form their own interpretation to Water Knot. After winning a slot at this year’s Bonnaroo, we’re sure that they’ll be gaining tons of new fans and listeners. We recently caught up with vocalist/guitarist Louis to discuss his start in music, what indie really means to him, and where you can see Water Knot next.

When did you decide to make a career/focus of music?

Actually I remember going to a friend’s house one day after school hours when his mom was still at work. He cranked up a distorted fender amp, plugged in his electric guitar and busted out ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.

I then asked him to show me how to play it, so he handed me his guitar and showed me how to play the first chord. I must have made my choice . . . → Read more]]> NY based band Water Knot consists of four brilliant musicians and their unique blend brings an original, refreshing sound of music. They describe their music as a way for people to feel something where they couldn’t before. Anyone and everyone can form their own interpretation to Water Knot. After winning a slot at this year’s Bonnaroo, we’re sure that they’ll be gaining tons of new fans and listeners. We recently caught up with vocalist/guitarist Louis to discuss his start in music, what indie really means to him, and where you can see Water Knot next.

When did you decide to make a career/focus of music?

Actually I remember going to a friend’s house one day after school hours when his mom was still at work. He cranked up a distorted fender amp, plugged in his electric guitar and busted out ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.

I then asked him to show me how to play it, so he handed me his guitar and showed me how to play the first chord. I must have made my choice at some point over strumming that F chord. I didn’t decide it all by myself really though. God spoke to me in one of my dreams once. I heard her say to me that’s my calling. I woke up late at night with a random date in mind, wrote it down on a piece of paper, and glued it to the inside of my nightstand. That date was 16/5/2006. When the actual date came I locked myself in my room the entire day and composed a piece. I think my sister is the only person I’ve ever told this story to up until now. Anyways, music to me is something sacred, a special gift I’m grateful to be able to communicate.

What’s the best gig you ever played?

Reeperbahn Festival in Germany, that place is untamed. We really dug the vibes. Felt like Amsterdam meets Vegas – that’s all I can say.

There’s been a lot of talk recently about what being an “indie” artist really means today. Some say the term is becoming obsolete. What does “indie” mean to you, and do you think there will be a different word we use in the next 10 years?

To me, girls wearing skinny jeans, oversized eyeglasses and a fake moustache is “Indie”. At first, this term used to stand for Independent, like when a band wasn’t under a label, but I guess nowadays they use it as a new music genre. Mainly for about anything that is different or overly tries to be so, and isn’t Lady Gaga. Not only that, but I feel this term is being totally misused. Ironically, many artists that started off being labeled as ‘indie’ eventually became ‘mainstream’ themselves. How Indie is Gotye on ‘Glee’?  And what about bands like Arcade Fire, Kings Of Leon, Florence And The Machine or The Killers to name a few? At least that’s how Wikipedia defines them.

You’ve also got tons of bands and artists nowadays that tend to emphasis the overly artsy hang of ‘Indie music’ for whatever that is, instead of putting more attention to writing great music good songs and compositions. I just find this kind of music is boring to listen to. Guess this term is here to stay for a while. At least until they come up with something better – It serves too well the human need for having trendy “boxes”.

What’s your favorite way/tool/site for you to interact with your fans in the digital age? Do you recommend anything to other artists? 

Facebook and Twitter for the most, and we also get some fan mail to the Waterknotube, our YouTube channel. I personally like using Twitter. I feel it enables me to reach out to our fans in a more direct fashion, allowing me to share experiences, news, pics and random useless thoughts whether we’re on the road, in the studio or just chillin’. Water Knot has recently joined Soundcloud and I recommend others in doing so too if they haven’t yet. It’s a great tool to have when pitching music out to labels because of the upload sound quality.

What’s your next big gig coming up? When/Where?

Our next big gig is at Bonnaroo Festival June 7-10. We got the slot thanks to winning Sonicbids’ The Road To Roo contest. The band is very excited and honored to be part of this year’s amazing lineup with some of our favorite bands on the roster.

Check out more on Water Knot here. 

Here’s the full list of the bands that got their gig at The Great Escape this year using Sonicbids. I’m telling ya, there’s not a bad band in the bunch here, but I’ve highlighted some of my personal favorites (aka, the bands that I’ll be crying a bit over when I think about how I’m not seeing them this weekend.)

And if you’ll be there this weekend, you can hassle Jeff @goodmanjeff!

AGENT SIDE GRINDER

AMICS DEL BOSC

BEN SALTER

BLEEDING HEART NARRATIVE

BWANI JUNCTION

CHEW LIPS

DANTE

DEAF CLUB

DOLDRUMS

DOPE D.O.D.

EIGHT . . . → Read more]]> Our very own Jeff Goodman is heading to The Great Escape in Brighton this weekend – and I have to say, I’m pretty jealous. Not only is Brighton one of the coolest towns I’ve ever been to (I mean, who doesn’t like a charming English coastal city?) but this year’s lineup is so killer. And we’re proud to say that over 50 of the acts playing this year are Sonicbids members.

Here’s the full list of the bands that got their gig at The Great Escape this year using Sonicbids. I’m telling ya, there’s not a bad band in the bunch here, but I’ve highlighted some of my personal favorites (aka, the bands that I’ll be crying a bit over when I think about how I’m not seeing them this weekend.)

And if you’ll be there this weekend, you can hassle Jeff @goodmanjeff!

Every unsigned band in the country will say its music is “awesome” and “unique,” but while many of these bands are wasting energy blowing hot air, Charlotte hard rock band Fusebox Poet is out proving itself to rock music fans all over the East Coast music scene. Impressing the sorts of fans that keep Foo Fighters and Shinedown records in their CD players, Fusebox Poet holds the line on a mainstream hard rock sound, adding flecks of indie and ’80s rock to create new music that still has a classic “ring” to it. Myriad influences and a shared drive to create and perform great music charge this band with the power to bring those sounds to life onstage. We recently caught up with the group to get the blow-by-blow of their amazing Florida Music Festival performance and where they’re heading next.

Describe the setting of FMF and your general experience, when was your set time? Who did you play before/after? What will you remember the most?

Fusebox Poet . . . → Read more]]> Every unsigned band in the country will say its music is “awesome” and “unique,” but while many of these bands are wasting energy blowing hot air, Charlotte hard rock band Fusebox Poet is out proving itself to rock music fans all over the East Coast music scene. Impressing the sorts of fans that keep Foo Fighters and Shinedown records in their CD players, Fusebox Poet holds the line on a mainstream hard rock sound, adding flecks of indie and ’80s rock to create new music that still has a classic “ring” to it. Myriad influences and a shared drive to create and perform great music charge this band with the power to bring those sounds to life onstage. We recently caught up with the group to get the blow-by-blow of their amazing Florida Music Festival performance and where they’re heading next.

Describe the setting of FMF and your general experience, when was your set time? Who did you play before/after? What will you remember the most?

Fusebox Poet performed at 9:30 pm on the main stage on Saturday night, April 21st (the last night of the Florida Music Festival).  90′s rockers Candlebox headlined that night and took the stage at midnight.  We performed right after the Gainesville, FL band Of Valleys.  Over 175 bands performed over the weekend throughout 10 local Orlando venues all within walking distance of each other.  We did an unbelievable amount of networking and promoting throughout the weekend and were able to meet a number of important music industry folks.  We had the pleasure of meeting Kevin Lyman (Vans Warped Tour Founder), Steve Robertson (Atlantic Records – Paramore/Shinedown) Jason Bieler (Bieler Bros Records – Nonpoint/Skindred) and many more.  The festival hosted industry conferences and panels on Saturday afternoon, which allowed us multiple opportunities to meet and connect with important industry execs. I think we’d all agree that the most memorable part of the festival was looking out into the audience and recognizing a few important industry folks that really have the power to change our music career in an instant.   It was even cooler that some of them were bobbing their heads and enjoying our show!  We definitely brought our A-Game on stage when we knew some of those guys would be watching!

How valuable is an opportunity like this to play in front of 1500 (mostly new?) fans?

Playing for close to 1,500 people in downtown Orlando was a very exciting and beneficial opportunity for us.  This was our first time playing in Orlando and I couldn’t think of a better way to introduce our music to the city. We made friends with a ton of bands from the area and it was nice to see many of them in the audience supporting us.

What’s next for Fusebox Poet? Any new music coming? Tour dates?

Fusebox Poet will be touring the state of Florida for the remainder of the month of April.  When we found out that we were going to be a featured main stage artist at FMF, we booked an entire tour around the opportunity.  The “Turn It Up Tour” featured shows throughout the Southeast including Charleston SC, Charlotte NC, and multiple markets throughout FL including Winter Park, Tampa, Largo, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Hollywood, and Orlando. Being featured as main stage artists really helped up create a buzz throughout the state of Florida and it was amazing how willing many venues and local bands were to work with us for the first time.  We were also given $1000 in artist development funds from Sonicbids/FMF and we really used this money to our advantage.  We could have just used this money to get us to and from Orlando for the festival but instead we decided to really use that money to improve our live show.  By booking a tour around the opportunity, we were able to split up drive times, and make gas money to get use to and from gigs. Instead of blowing the $1000 on gas we really used it for “artist development!”  We turned a sweet festival slot into a two and a half week tour of the Southeast!  Talk about capitalizing on our opportunity!

When we get home at the end of the month we will continue the process of recording demos and shopping them to record labels, producers, etc.  We are slowly releasing these professional demos to our fans for limited time periods.  We like for our fans to be able to hear how our music is evolving and to be included in our song development process!

Pepsi or Coke?

Neither!  We are absolutely hooked on Dunkin Donuts coffee.  It’s become a part of our daily routine on the road.  We frequently drive miles out of our way to get our morning cup!

Check out more on Fusebox Poet here. 

This year’s Summerfest headliners include The Avett Brothers, Gary Clark Jr, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals and plenty (as in HUNDREDS more). Enter to win your tickets right here.

As if that wasn’t enough, our friends at Monster, Inc are giving away 2 pairs of Diesel VEKTR headphones. Yes, Diesel VEKTR headphones, the ones that look badass and sound even better? Two pairs can be yours when you enter to win a pair of Summerfest tickets.

Want more? Ok, how about $100 for booze, food and whatever else you need to take your festival season to the next level.

Not from the Midwest? Don’t forget you can still win tickets to . . . → Read more]]> Today’s the LAST day to enter to win tickets from 5 killer summer festivals. Today, we’re highlighting the summer fest of summer fests – Summerfest! In case you’ve been living in an alternate universe, Summerfest is the world’s largest music festival, taking place over two weeks in beautiful Wisconsin.

This year’s Summerfest headliners include The Avett Brothers, Gary Clark Jr, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals and plenty (as in HUNDREDS more). Enter to win your tickets right here.

As if that wasn’t enough, our friends at Monster, Inc are giving away 2 pairs of Diesel VEKTR headphones. Yes, Diesel VEKTR headphones, the ones that look badass and sound even better? Two pairs can be yours when you enter to win a pair of Summerfest tickets.

Want more? Ok, how about $100 for booze, food and whatever else you need to take your festival season to the next level.

Not from the Midwest? Don’t forget you can still win tickets to Bumbershoot in Seattle, Catalpa in NYC, Sled Island in Calgary and Liverpool SoundCity in the UK. Get on it and spread the word! All submissions must be entered by midnight tonight!