Regardless of your opinion of Black Veil Brides, there is no denying that these guys rocketed to stardom relatively quickly. They are one of the most successful hard rock bands out today and there is a reason for it… hard work!
During a recent interview with Artery Recordings, the band's manager, Dan Tsurif, who explained how Black Veil Brides got a leg up on the competition:
"Work ethic is most important. You need to create good, compelling songs that resonate with the audience, even on a local level.
"You don't need a huge producer to make a good, clean-sounding song; you need something that's going to resonate with your audience.
"When I say work ethic, I mean more than just going on Facebook or Twitter and grinding people to check out your song.
"What I see right now, unfortunately, is lack of involvement at the guerrilla level. I very rarely see up-and-coming metal bands walk up to me and hand me a flyer for their show. And I go out to at least one local show a week and have been for the past seven years.
"They think a Facebook poster is going to be enough to reel me in, and it's not. A major aspect of work ethic is going out the re and talking to people, that's the one thing that separates a Black Veil Brides from some other emerging artist.
"[Black Veil Brides] are some of the hardest workers I've ever met. The first time I met Andy [Biersack], he was at a show flyering people to come to see Black Beil Brides!
"They started at a local level, they were the champions of their local scene, and slowly spread across the US, and now they're one of the biggest bands in the UK.
"I really like what they did in terms of owning the local scene. They were the top band in Cincinnati, then they became the top band in Ohio before Andy even moved to LA.
"You see this with a lot of bands – Suicide Silence were the kings of local metal and hardcore in LA. Before they even got signed, they had a full sold-out US tour."
The man concluded about the overall approach: "You're turning your hobby into a job, and you would never present poor-quality work to your boss."
Again, this is not speaking to the creative quality of Black Veil Brides recording. You can still hate their music but respect their marketing prowess, which is clearly impactful. As opposed to being an elitist, actually take in the advice and attempt to apply it.
Thanks for the tips, Dan! Here's the full interview:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3xUsbcQ2L4[/youtube]
[via Ultimate-Guitar]
