Bain Mattox – KOAR has been placing bets on Mattox for the last year and we are still in the game because we think he is the real deal. If you never heard of Bain Mattox then the following description should suffice. Think Keane meets Lifehouse. Atlanta/Athens, Georgia based Bain Mattox has a grassroots following that can’t be ignored. At age 23, front man Mattox and his 4-piece band have built this project from the ground up, with over 1,000 in attendance at his last hometown performance at The Roxy Theatre and a strong tour history with a proven 150-200 draw in 4+ additional markets. With his cross-over potential, Mattox is already a celebrated artist with awards across the board including People’s Choice for “Best Singer/Songwriterâ€?, “Best Front Manâ€? (Atlanta Music Guide Music Awards), “Best Singer/Songwriterâ€? and “Best Rock Bandâ€? (Athens Flagpole Music Awards). Music has been heard on MTV’s “Real Worldâ€?, TNT for NASCAR, 99x specialty, Q100’s morning show, FOX (Charlotte), and CBS’s “Good Morning Atlantaâ€?. Bain Mattox has shared the stage with The Strokes, Switchfoot, Liz Phair, Better Than Ezra, etc. His sophomore release, “Prizefighterâ€?, will be released November 1st. Mattox and band will be touring in support of “Prizefighterâ€? this fall/winter. Current notable dates include October 28 @ Atlanta’s Roxy Theatre and November 12th @ New York’s Knitting Factory.
Great Glass Elevator – This alternative rock outfit is based in Orange County CA with an age ranging from 18-20. This band strives for spontaneity, admirably pushing itself into new territory. This proves that some young bands still have original ideas within this generically boring music scene. Listen to the tribal influenced track Fike Philophobia if you don’t believe me. Self released EP All In The Golden Afternoon in April 2005 which has sold over 1,200 CD’s. Hot Topic Stores is in the process of ordering their EP to stock in stores nation wide. Alternative Press just mentioned the band in the September issue. The band averages ten shows per month across Southern California and in addition to clubs, colleges and all ages venues while playing high schools to build their fan base. They have opened for bands such as Emery, Hello Goodbye, Sherwood, Koufax, Waking Ashland, Limbeck and Emmanuel. Getting airplay in the last week each evening on Los Angeles’ radio station Indie 103.1FM’s specialty show, Jonesys Jukebox with Steve Jones. Next Shows: October 14 – at The Troubador (with Gratitude). October 15th – San Diego, CA at Ground Zero. October 31 – Anaheim, CA at Chain Reaction.
ZOX – New England – A hybrid of The Cure/Sublime/Counting Crows. ZOX is truly original by their blistering violin melodies, a pulsing backbeat, catchy choruses and sophisticated arrangements. Released Take Me Home in 2003 which has Sounscanned more than 12,000+, supported by 400+ school/club tour dates, and had a half dozen tracks featured on Road Rules/Real World. Will release their new CD The Wait on 8/23/05 which was produced by Ted Comerford and mixed by Mitch Easter (REM, Wilco, Pavement). The album has already 1,000 pre-orders . It was also the 14th most added disc on CMJ for the week of Aug 9, then debuted at #184 of the CMJ charts. ZOX has a strong cult following at clubs and colleges throughout the Eastern U.S. and has supported heavyweights including The Black Eyed Peas, O.A.R., Rusted Root, Everclear, Dispatch, Guster, etc. as well as The Warped Tour and Gathering of The Vibes. More than 1,100 fans attend shows at Providence’s Lupo’s and the band has a college/cult mailing list with 15,000 subscribers. ZOX has been in the top 5 for over 3 months w/ the first single Can’t Look Down at WEQX (Alt) Albany/Manchester and WBRU (Alt) Providence. Two additional tracks–Carolyn and Thirsty–have just been added at WEQX. Two tracks will also be featured in the upcoming Michael Moore Slacker Tour Documentary. ZOX will the featured artist at Aware Store and will be included in the Awarestore.com Ear Snacks compilation (Sept 2005). *Currently self-managed and are open to potential management offers.
How long have you been together?
We have known each other since we were in high school and Tom and I have been writing together for about two years. But the band actually formed and started playing out in January of this year.
What kind of local support are you getting (radio, press, distro)?
Unfortunately, most of the radio stations in our region are owned by Clear Channel and that has made it incredibly difficult to get radio support. The college stations in the area are playing us a lot, but the commercial stations have proven difficult to break into. We get a lot of local press support in all the newspapers. Clay County Line did a review for us, as did Port Of Times Union (The largest paper in Jacksonville). Our first record was only available at shows and online, where it did surprisingly well, but our new record will be in all the area FYE stores, as well.
What are your shows like? How well do you draw?
We average about 250 people at the shows. Our biggest show was our CD release party for the first record in August. We sold out the place with 500 people. Our next CD release party is on the 26th, and we booked a bigger venue this time. We’re expecting to sell out again with around 700 people. I know it may not seem like a lot, but Jacksonville is a very metal town. And we are very not metal. We bring in something different, and to get so much support from fans really means a lot to us. Read CONTINUE READING
KOAR: Tell us about how you got started in the music industry- your first job, position etc…
The Rev: Funny story actually, I got into some trouble with the cops in college and as a result couldn’t move home for the summer. I ended up getting a job moving furniture where I met a guy who DJ’d at Michigan State University’s radio station. One night they asked him to fill in on the Heavy Metal show and he didn’t know squat about the music and knowing I was a huge fan, he asked if I wanted to come up and pick out the music. I of course I said yes and he let me do a segue over the air. The program director heard me, called in and asked me if I wanted to host the show permanently!! Long story short, a half-year later, I was the program director of a 3500 Watt FM college station. Through WDBM I made tons of contacts in the music business and during my last semester I lead the station to #2 in the ratings 18-34 females and got an offer to move to New Jersey to be an independent radio promoter at the now defunct AIM Marketing. Pretty crazy turn of events!
KOAR: The Syndicate you formed- tell us about the background on the company, departments, services, clients, roster of bands.
The Rev: The story continues, 3 months into my job as director of the Loud Rock Radio department at Aim, my immediate supervisor, Anya Feldman, left for a job at TVT. I didn’t feel like I was qualified to run the department at the time, so I suggested they bring in Marc Meltzer. Marc interviewed and got the job. Within a year we had the department doing more business that it had in years. At the height of our success, the owner of the company decided to disband the company, which left 15 employees out of a job. Marc and I decided to team up with Tracey Zucatti and Jon Landman who were running the College Radio department and Bernie Mueller who ran the Retail Promotions department and do exactly what we were doing at AIM but as the owners of our own company. On December 17, 1997 the AIM offices closed and on January 5, 1998 The Music Syndicate was born. Click to read more CONTINUE READING
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