On the behalf of Condemned By Faith, We truly appreciate the copy of “Rock Your City” that you sent us. It truly means a lot that you guys have helped us to get where we are now. We are really looking forward to working with Gorilla Music more in the future and are willing to help in any way as possible. Thank you guys so much. -Douglas Stewart CONDEMNED BY FAITH
Running a Battle of the Bands in a professional fashion in multiple cities is a skill that takes time to master. Gorilla Music has perfected the art. We have often been impressed by local bands that we first saw at a Gorilla Music Battle at our venue and then later tapped them to open for a touring national act. -Kim Commons, Owner CLUB RED / RED OWL
Hello , I am the owner of The Rusty Nail Nightclub in Ardmore , Pa. We are a small but well established mainline bar outside of Philadelphia for over 60 years. As of the 2013 New Year we have begun a relationship with Gorilla Music. We have hosted several of their Battle of the Bands shows with very good success. They are professional and prompt from first contact all the way to the show manager. We are anticipating a gainful venture with Gorilla Music for the months to come and hopefully years. Chris ” Big Daddy ” Braccili
Anther great Gorilla Music review:
Last night was wonderful. Thank you so much for including my group in the battle of the bands. The Hawthorne Theater was great and even though they were overrun with 11 bands they pulled off a great show and everything turned out wonderfully. Rik was very professional and very helpful. All night he was bombarded with questions from all sides and he handled himself perfectly and resolved everyone’s issues. I greatly enjoyed working with Gorilla Music and have already started sharing my experience with other bands in hopes that they will get a chance to work with Gorilla as well. Thank you. -Dennis Dias (The Soldiering)
Thank you so much for having us! This show was fantastic and I don’t know how to explain how much fun and a great experience it was. Thank you for having us as…I hope we work with you more in the future! Thank you once again!! -Eric (Killing Beautiful).
Hey Ashley!!! We had such an amazing time last night! I just want to thank you on behalf of The Killer Becky’s for everything you and Sarah did for us! We can’t wait to hit the main stage!!!
Aaron, The Killer Becky’s. Houston TX
Hey Ashley!!
It’s Adrian from Grasping for Air, I just wanted to extend my gratitude and say thank you for nominating us for band of the month! The show on Friday was amazing.
Hi Ashley,
Thank you Ashley!
We want to thank you for putting on a great show and giving us an opportunity to share our music.
Once again, thank you for the opportunity to participate in Gorilla Music’s shows and we hope to be in your lineup considerations for future Boise or regional shows.
Sincerely,
David Bossini, Hey Joe, Boise Battle of the Bands Finals 2/22/15 @ The Knitting Factory
As far as Reggies is concerned, you guys help young bands get the chance to play a quality venue in a real concert like setting.
Robert Glick, Reggie’s Rock Club in Chicago
No eXscape thanks you so much for the opportunity tonight! They enjoyed it!
Todd, No eXscape, band manager
Chicago, IL played at Mojoe’s on 2/15/15
I had a great show…thank you for keeping in contact and advising me throughout the whole process. Hit me up to rock more shows this year. Thank you for keeping the scene alive.
Kenny, Steel and Camouflage (San Francisco, 2/8/15 show @ DNA Lounge)
Thank you to Gorilla Music for our new Tascam Dp-32 that we are having a blast using!
-Happy New year from the 2014 Pittsburgh battle of bands winners ~ Alive 2 Live.
I just wanted to take the time to express how grateful I am, and how grateful the rest of the band is for ever posting on our Facebook about the battle of the bands. You helped a group of five somewhat motivated musicians to actually buckle down and do what we’ve been trying to do for months now. Without that little offer on Facebook, we wouldn’t have spent 5 days of practice getting our shenanigans together and taken what practically would be 1st place of the first round, let alone be participating in the second round of something big. So for that, thank you so much.
-Throne to the Wolves, El Paso TX
We just wanted to say thank you again for the opportunity to play the Battle of the Bands last night. We had a great time and gained some really valuable experience. You guys put on a really great event! Mulino Road Portland, OR
We had a huge crowd was a lot of fun appreciate us letting us play our first show with you…Thanks Ashley! -Anchors Calling
Thanks for the great show. It was well managed. We appreciate the opportunity to play.
Hey ashley just wanted to say thank you for giving me a chance to play at one of the last shows at the white rabbit, never thought i’d play there one day and because of you i did, thank you so much for allowing me to play shows and to express my music as a local artist in san antonio. i look forward to working with you more in the future.
Arturo, indulge & endeavor
Thanks for hooking us up with an awesome show at Reggie’s Sunday. We had a pretty good turnout and really dug the bands and the way you guys handled everything. Thanks -Justin (Miles From Exile)
“A HUGE shout out to Gorilla Music for everything getting us ready for show day and always keeping us updated! If you are in a band we strongly suggest you get in touch them to help you out and get you hooked up with a Battle of the bands show! awesome people Thank you Gorilla Music from Friends of Fate!” -Friends of Fate
Hi Ashley, Just wanted to thank you and Tatiana for everything you did to help MiS-HuRD along the way with the Battle of the Bands. It was an awesome experience if there is anything we can be involved with in the future at Gorilla Music or a mailing list or another battle sure would like to hear from you again. Thanx and have a great day. -Keith/ MiS-HuRD
Thanks again Kyle for the opportunity of having us perform at Crossroads. It was a blast. Your representative from Gorilla Music, Sarah, was extremely courteous, kind and very professional. The organization is definitely first rate and top notch! It would be an honor to work with Gorilla Music on anything that you would have for us. Please keep us in your files and we look forward to hearing from you and working with you again. Sincerely, the “3rd & jam”
Things are going GREAT! Still recording, still performing and making new music. 2012 was a great year for LGM! We won “Best Band” at the 2012 Conoco Phillips Rodeo Run in Downtown Houston, for the second year in a row we were a nominee for “Best Latin Band” at the Houston Press Awards, we got the chance to play at the legendary Miller Outdoor Theatre & at the Reliant Center, and we were chosen to be the featured artist live on Univision for Noticias 45 and on TeleFutura for Vive La Mañana! These were all great things but I want you to know that winning Battle of the Bands back in Sept 2010 was really the thing that opened our eyes and gave us the confidence to achieve our current success! Thank you for giving us that opportunity, Lindsay! Stephen Aruajo, drummer for “LGM” aka Los Guerreros de la Musica
Hey Ashley, We had a stellar show last night with Homicide Black!!! Just wanted to say thanks cuase without you working hard and giving us a chance i would not have gotten to experience a great night such as last night!!! im sure everybody else is very appreciative of it to!!! keep it up \m/ Chris Newton, I Claim As Mine
Hi Ashley, Just wanted to shoot you a quick message in response to the email blast we got following the New Haven Ct Battle of the Bands. I know we were a little hard to reach for a few days before, but on your end I mostly just wanted to say thank you and that I think you’re company is doing a good job putting the shows together. We’re always a little wary of how much we commit to new booking agencies with long show line-ups, but it was handled very professionally; our only concern was that it was a particularly packed lineup. That’s pretty much it, so thank you; we had a great time and a great response from the other bands and attendees. If you’re ever doing a normal show in the area we’d love to connect again. Thanks. Avery Broadcast Hearts
Hello Ashley, this is Hector Arroyo from The Betrayal of Abigail and I just wanted to give you and the rest of Gorilla Music a huge thank you for allowing us to play this show we had tons of fun and met some great people! Hector, The Betrayal of Abigail (Houston TX)
Hi Ashley, Just wanted to pass a long a thank you for all the hard work you put into these shows. We really do enjoy having them at Billy’s, its nice to see all the local talent and surrounding cities, as well as the younger talent getting a chance to take the stage… Kali (Billy’s Lounge, Grand Rapids MI)
San Francisco Loves Gorilla Music
Hey Ashley, we really enjoyed playing your battle of the bands last night. Your reps we’re nice and helpful. BackSeat Action (San Francisco, CA)
“Hey Ashley! Thank you so much for everything. We really appreciate the opportunity and wish you could’ve been there. We had an awesome time, and hopefully we will be able to work with you again in the future. Thanks for everything and talk to you soon.” -TJ Open Hole Soul (Chicago finalist)
“Hi Ashley, We just wanted to thank you for giving us the opportunity to play in the battle of the bands last night. It was an awesome experience and we wouldn’t have been there without you. So thanks again for everything :)” –Playtime With Chief
“Hey Ashley, we just wanted to all thank you for having us play for you. We had a great time and a great experience working with you, we hope you guys will still be interested in booking with us in the future! Either way, thank you.” -Alec Comeback of the Year (the 2012 Hartford Battle of the Bands winners)
Video Testimonial courtesy of Black Heart Heroes from New London, Connecticut Black Heart Heros! Facebook
“The Jacksonville Music Festival was indeed a festive event. I thoroughly appreciate the efforts of individuals and companies such as Troy Nethken and Gorilla Productions. These people are the reason why I have a job and im able to find superstars.Events like the Jacksonville Music Festival not only expose me to talent in markets that don’t get a lot of exposure, but it also gives the artists a “not-so-often” given platform to show there talent to record execs like myself. These style of events are needed and appreciated by music lovers who want to see the music industry get back on those very strong legs it use to have.I thoroughly appreciate the invite and I’m looking forward to being apart of more quality, well planned events like the Jacksonville Music Festival. Troy Nethken was a hell of a host!!! Thank you.” -Amir Windom, A&R Atlantic Records www.atlanticrecords.com
“Gorilla Productions Cleveland 100 Music Festival is the best way for local bands to be seen by true industry label representatives. Because of the Cleveland 100, we landed our record deal with Rotten Records.” -Jake Scott Salt The Wound
“Gorilla Music is the most hardworking and dependable production company that we’ve had the pleasure of working with since we’ve owned Peabodys.” -Chris Zitterbart Peabodys Downunder
“Gorilla Music is a first class organization, always on the ball, putting on great shows and taking care of business.” -Ron Peterson CEO, Rotten Records
I wanted to let you all know that we played in front of our biggest crowd ever last night, thanks to your amazing company and your amazing network of people that you are affiliated with. You don’t know, wait yes you DO know exactly how much this means to a small-time band trying to break through and make a name for themselves. I cannot believe the turn-out last night and how loud everyone got when Michelle announced our name at voting-time. This show was the peak of our success so far, and we have 30 shows under our belt as of right now – which says a lot. We’ve never had to sell tickets for any of our shows, but having those tickets in our hands really motivated not only myself and my band to sell them, but my friends and family as well. I’ve read negative reviews online about your company, but it seems like most of the negativity came because they say this was a pay-to-play company setting up these events…which doesn’t make sense. All you have to do is create a buzz and if you have friends and family, they will do whatever they can to help you succeed. Enough ranting, I just wanted to say thank you so much for creating your company and helping out bands that are motivated and determined to change the current scene, regardless the size of change expected. You have proven to me that what we’re doing is right and worth it. Thank you. Fernando Guerra Guitarist and Manager of Face The Lights
We had a Blast at the festival. We got a 9pm start time so we had a great crowd. We got to play 12 songs. Most of our songs are under 3 minutes. We were able to do some networking with other bands and set up another show this weekend. We can’t thank you enough for all the opertunitys to gain fans and get exposure for our band. We are really looking forward to the Battle of the Bands finals in July. We are a Big fan of yours and Gorilla Music. We can not thank you enough for all you’ve done for our band. Sincerely Lonnie Stephenson. Drummer for Fighting Maniacs”
My band The Plainview came across Gorilla Music towards the end of July of 2012 via The Masquerades website. We sent an email to the awesome Emma Popovich, and immediately got a response! The very next day she got us a spot on the September 14th show at The Masquerade. From that moment on, we knew Gorilla Music would alway’s stand by their word and alway’s make sure we have a show to play! I could never forget to mention how professional Gorilla Music has been. They do their job at a 100% rate, 101% of the time. Its awesome to have such a committed booking company helping your band out. I personally advise everyone to put their time in Gorilla Music. I can BET you wont be dissapointed. That being said, The Plainview is very honored & thankful for getting the chance to work along side Emma Popovich & Gorilla Music. -The Plainview Atlanta, GA
“Thanks again, I turn every band I know on to you because you have been such a tremendous influence in how I connect with others in this business! Gorilla RAWKS!” -A. Somatic, Greenville, SC
Dan,I just wanted to take a second of you time to give praise to the staff that you and your company has in place. Alan is a real stand up guy (not something that you see too often in this industry anymore) He is very professional and really on top of his game. I have met my fair share of promoters from being on tour, managing bands, managing venues, and being a promoter myself, and Alan has done a great job in OKC at the Bricktown Ballroom. He has been a pleasure to work with and has made a good name for Gorilla Music in OKC.And Creston as well, he is a real take charge guy. I have not had one problem with him. He is a very honest and trustworthy guy, which is what you need for an on site employee. Dan, thanks so much for all of your business and I am glad to see Gorilla Music expanding and growing. Thanks, -Craig “Focker” Guthery Brewer Entertainment Talent Buyer/ Concert Productions Oklahoma City, OK
“This show really helped me and my band kind of get out of our little shell, when we played for a crowd of that size. It also really helped us when it came to networking with other bands and we made alot of new friends and alot of new fans. This show was a great way to put our name out there, show the public our music, and simply just build a bigger fan base. Overall it was an amazing experience and an amazing show.” -Steven Sanchez, Spotlight In The Sky, San Antonio, TX
We loved the Battle of the Bands finals. It was a great experience, and there were a ton of people there. All around great time! Travis Amplified Afterthoughts Hartford, Connecticut
We had a great time on the battle of the bands. The ambiance was great and we had a splendid time. Stephen Friedland The Boxing Ganghis Hartford, Connecticut
We had a good time at the Battle of the Bands. The staff was great, the fans were great, and over all it was a great time. Robert Barney Haddam Neck Hartford, Connecticut
It was a great way for an up-and-coming band to make their debut. Rob Kingsley Amiss Hartford, CT
The battle of the bands was one of the best experiences we have had to get our band’s name out there. We played for a good crowd that now knows us by name. Thank you so much! Patrick Sullivan War of Angles Waterbury, Ct
We had a great time on the Gorilla Music Battle of the Bands. All the bands were awesome. Dan Paquette Carnage Marlborough, CT
We loved playing with all the other bands they were great! It was a good show and all the fans were great! Jimmy Blackthorns Shelton, CT
The Gorilla Music Battle of the Battle was a great opportunity to play for new fans in cool venue. It was a lot of fun. Dan Vogel The Judas Bull Pittsburgh, PA
I liked the fact that the bands were so diverse. Then the crowd and the sound guy were awesome! Awesome show! DeAundre Smith Marching On Leomineer, PA
“Out of all the company’s we have worked with Gorilla Music is the one company that we really enjoy working with. The staff is always helpful and every show we play under Gorilla runs smooth and is always a blast.” -Doug Gussio, CARSINOGEN
“Hey Ron, and everyone else at Gorilla Music. I just wanted to take the time to thank everyone for all the help and support in regards to the shows you have organized. You truly understand the work it involves to get together a well thought out, and bad ass gig. Everyone in the band has learned from the packages you sent, and every bit of info in them is gold. You have truly been there for our band, and were willing to work with us every step of the way. We thank you, and our fans thank you! I sincerely hope that every show we play is as amazing as the ones you were apart of. I hope that we can work together in the future, and continue enjoying the success we have seen with your help. Thanks again for everything.” -Drew and the rest of Infamous, myspace.com/infamousmetalsc
“We really enjoyed the show last night at Birdy’s! It was a great experience and there was a lot of awesome bands. Hopefully we can work with you guys again in the future. Thanks man.” -Grey Utopia Indianapolis, IN
“Working with Andrea was amazing. She not only called to see how the band was coming along or how ticket sales were doing, but she would call to just talk about life as well. She was prompt with fliers being posted as well as ticket and information delivery. Andrea and Gorilla Music has helped us out in so many different ways and opened a lot of doors for us, we are hoping to work with her again as well as with Gorilla.” -Eric Abstract Absence
“Hey i just want to say thanks for all the help gorilla has done for mal-evil-ance, you guys have really lived up to your word on what you was going to do and we really thank you for that. We look forward in working more wit you in the future.” -From your bloody band MAL-EVIL-ANCE
“Hey Alan! Hows it going?Just touching basis with u to let u know that we are really enjoying the tour.We appreciate the way that u have been conducting your business and how the tour is being ran.In the near future we look forward to doing business with gorilla music again.The tour is going real well and we appreciate the hospitality.” Take Care, Project Born
“First, I would like to say, as a band, we thank u so much for taking care of us throughout the 6 weeks prior to the battle of the bands. Second, thank the production company for giving not only us, but many young talents the opportunity to grow. It means a lot. Third, I can’t explain how much fun we had playing. It was amazing and really, above all, (we) want to take our music to the next level and that we can’t thank you enough for. So, from Four 14, we send all the appreciation we can to you. Thank you very much.” -Kyle Rowland “Four 14”
“We had a blast with you guys in Charlotte!!! We are trying to do this music thing for real and love every minute we’re on stage.” -Justin “Derelix”
“What’s up Alan?! I gave you my word that I would definitely send you an email. I must say that my experience with your effort to make sure that I had a great slot and performance was much appreciated. I have encountered many other booking agents before, but on the honest tip, you are the best by far. Calm attitude and humorous and definitely professional. You did a great job having everything well explained and the show went very smoothly. I thank you for the great experience with Gorilla Music and look forward to booking more shows in the near future..” -Uriah Black
“Gorilla Music has provided us with more opportunities than we have ever imagined. They have put us on some of the best hip hop shows in Cleveland. Over the past two years we have performed on 5 or 6 Gorilla Productions shows in Cleveland and every one of the shows were SOLD OUT!! I can’t wait until the next event!” -Tae Wall “CTS”
Hey Michael,Here are a few thoughts on how Gorilla has helped Amber Dawn:1. Networking – The Gorilla shows have provided us great contacts with other bands, that have resulted in additional gigs. 2. Promotion – The Gorilla shows have taught us how to more effectively promote our band. 3. Exposure – The Gorilla shows have greatly increased our exposure in the Sacramento area, and have generated interest in the band from other production companies. 4. Motivation- The Gorilla shows have motivated the band to write new music and perfect the the core songs played at gigs. Hope this info is useful!” -Scott Ringseth Amber Dawn
“Since we started working with Gorilla Music, they have been nothing but helpful and courteous to us in every way. Andrea (our booking agent) has been incredible and treats us with personal care without making us feel like ‘just another band’. We enjoy having the support and backing of Gorilla Productions and look forward to working with them for as long as we can.” -Chris The Initiative
“We really appreciate what you and Gorilla Music have done in helping us get good shows” -Matt “Orange Marmalade”
“HI Andrea, I just wanted to drop a note on behalf of myself and the guys from DNA “Do Not Attempt”- We all had a great time and truly enjoyed meeting you. Thanks for all your help!!! And please keep us in mind for future Gorilla Music events. Thanks again.” -Jacqui “DNA”
“Andrea… thank u so much for that opportunity! That was so much fun! What you guys are doing with this stuff is awesome! Thank you for that!!” -Dustin “If Tomorrow Burns”
“Tom, we had an awesome time at the Battle of the Bands at the Zydeco in Birmingham on the 18th. Everything ran so smooth and our set was great! Thank you for hooking us up, we had a blast! Gorilla is BADASS!!” -Wes “BTK”
“Gorilla Music has been one of the best choices we’ve made. We started working with Gorilla productions over a year ago & have had some really successful shows since. Through our agent Troy we’ve met some great bands & expanded our fan base out in Cleveland, Ohio. The company is great to work with & the people, especially Troy, are very helpful. They actually seem to care about what you want to achieve as a band as well as individuals.” -Jamie “Hot For Skippy manager”
“this is zeb with the band Vicariously inDecisive we had a blast playing your battle of the bands @ the alrosa villa the crowd was awesome .we got tons of new fans and connections for future shows. plus we won 2nd place 😉 not too shabby keep on rocking it andrea” -Zeb Thompson “Vicariously inDecisive”
“In the 5 year existence of our band and relationship with gorilla productions, we have never done a less than outstanding show. From shows at Peabodys to South by Southwest, they’ve all been monster shows. It’s nice to work with people that live music as much as the bands.” -Dean “Asleep”
“Thanks Andrea, we had a great time, and it was great to be on a bill where all the bands were so good! Definitely awesome….” -John “Deafened By Love”
“We wanted to say that we had a GREAT time playing. All of those bands were great. We had sooo much fun that it turned out to be the best show that we’ve played ever. Thanks for the opportunity!” -Jason “Orchard”
“Friends of Poncho wants to thank Mike Beatty, Erin, and everyone from Gorilla Music, for putting on such a great show. We all had a great time. and appreciate, all the time and effort, from everyone involved. Can’t wait till the next show! Congratulations to Breckenwood for a fine performance, and win in the battle of bands, they did a good job. We want to congratulate all the other bands for putting on a great show and to all their fans for their support. Also thanks to Club Paradise, all their employees and sound engineer who is excellent, for providing such a comfortable and awesome stage and club to perform. Many thanks and good luck to all.” -Rich “Friends Of Poncho”
“Hey Ashley thanks so much for the opportunity to compete in Gorilla-Music Cleveland’s battle of the bands here in Columbus Ohio! Fresh Wreckage has an awesome time, met great people and hope to work with you all in the future. Harold Townes and I can’t thank you enough! Take care :-)” -Bobbi Floyd Townes (via Facebook) “Fresh Wreckage”
“Had a great time last night. It was good to finally meet you! Good crowd, good show…cant wait for July 9th!” -Steve “Dead Before Dawn”
“Hey Mike. Thanks again for letting us play these shows man. It’s be so awesome and we’ve been having a ton of fun. The show last night had to be the best we’ve ever played in. Your shows rock! Thanks again” -Garrett “Breckenwood”
“Gorilla is the epitome of a Grade A, High in Class, efficiently ran company. Your employees not only work hard, but they’re good people at heart. Your professionalism, but fun free spirited way about doing things is one that’s missing from the music biz.Troy Nethken as always, was First Class with everything. He’s a true A&R and I appreciate what he does. I’m sure every independent artist that Troy has helped appreciates him thoroughly too.The Cleveland Music Festival “wow’d” me in an array of ways. I was amazed at how Gorilla was able to have 6 different showcases going on at one time, but more importantly how smooth everything ran. The Gorilla staff was very accommodating. I was introduced to some great bands and great artists… Keeping Riley, 70 Lewis, Chip Tha Ripppppppp, Machine Gun Kelly and a number of other great artist. It’s companies like Gorilla that I believe will keep the music industry going and growing. You guys are truly A&R’s, especially when it comes to discovering the next star. Gorilla will continue to be high in demand in my book when I need to know who’s the next big thing… Gorilla will be one of the first I go to… I’m sure they’ll have some star for me… I look forward to continue building and working with Gorilla Music. ” -Amir Windom, A&R “Atlantic Records”
“Milwaukee is a tough town to play in, with an even tougher music scene to fit into..Gorilla Music and its awesome staff has been working along side us since our early days, and has done everything to help US as musicians and artists…which is rare but insanely important! Individually or as a band, we have all done “production” shows, “pay to play events” such as Emergenza Festival shows, among others we won”t incriminate..The staff at Gorilla constantly re-enforces the idea that you, as the artist, is whats important, and not the money you can make for them. They pick very talented bands to play together, very fair ticket pricing, and always keep their words about prizing, and deliver without question. We have won 2 events for Gorilla, but more importantly, gained tons of new fans, recorded an e.p., and made merch, all with the prizes we’ve won..this is an awesome opprtunity for up and coming bands to get noticed, and get some help to gain exposure. We recommend Gorilla to everyone, and they are the ONLY production company we work with! And now Milwaukee knows who we are..which is saying alot!” -Jason “Why The Human Suit”
“My band Lemon Juice was just a band that was dreaming of bigger things. If it wasn’t for the amazing and committed talent buyers of Gorilla Productions we would still be dreaming. Their persistence to create an atmosphere for us and other musicians was what really kept us motivated to press on. With out their dedication and influences on our success we would still be dreaming, and now because of them our dream is more like a goal. Thier experience, and organization is what my band needed. I would be out of place and terribly wrong if I was to recommend or suggest anyone else. Thanks to Gorilla Music for everything you have provided for my band and I, we will never forget what you have done for us.” -Kris Graber “Lemon Juice”
“Hey thanks again for that show at Tammany Hall, it was one of our best ones yet! If you ever need another metal band we’ll be ready to play.” -Jeff “Crypter”
“Hey! I just wanted to say thank you very much for the gig! It was cool I liked it a lot! Well, if there are any more cool gigs I would like to be part of it. Well, thanks again!” -Robby Jr
“In a scene where it is extremely hard to get decent shows if you’re not a well known band, Gorilla have helped bands like us get a chance to prove ourselves. They are currently going far out of their way to help us with a lukemia benfit show for the Dear Jack Foundation. A show no venue or other booking company would touch.” -Josh Austin “Everyone In Fragments”
“I just wanted to thank you guys for this whole thing. Looking at what you guys do working with local bands i see it’s a tremendous amount of work and from what i saw at the show on Sunday March 25 in Albuquerque not one band thanked the Gorilla Music representative.You guys have such a demanding job and it probably gets a little hectic and frustrating, especially when working with bands who are difficult to stay in contact with. All in all we had a wonderful time at the event. Thanks so much Anthony you guys are the best” -Rock Ulibarri “Struck By Gold”
“Thanks for booking us for the Hartford Battle of the Bands, we had a great time. Also if you have any affiliation with Sarah who was coordinating the show, could you tell her thanks as well. If you need any other bands to play in the Hartford area again keep us in mind. Thanks” -Steve J “Planemo”
“Hey we are going into the studio today and we all wanted to say thank you so much for always being helpful and nice and answering all our questions we wouldn’t have got here as smoothly with out you. Thank you again” -”Countdown To Overkill”
“Thank you so much for everything that you’ve done for us and that you’ve done for the local scene. You give bands an amazing chance to get out and play shows! We appreciate it so much” – Jacob Christensen “Citizen’s Arrest”
“I’d like to personally thank you. If it weren’t for you giving us the chance to play at BOTB we wouldn’t have won 4th and got the opportunity to book two shows at the Webster. Thank you so much!” – Nick “Meet Emily”
To really understand this story, we must first go back to November of 2012. Upon receiving a call from a Gorilla Music booking agent, our guitar player, Dustin, decided that yea, it would be a whole lot of fun to get out and start playing some shows. He promptly called up good friend and fellow musician Coby, with whom he had been playing in a band with for over a year and a half. He thought that playing out again would be a great idea too. He then enlisted the services of drummer extraordinaire Hagen, who both he and Coby had played with before, but never at anything more serious than Dustin’s basement. Now at this point everything was fine and dandy and going well. Dustin and Coby were busy teaching Hagen all of the songs that they would be playing at any future shows that might take place. Then Dustin realized how much better all of this would sound if they had a new singer on board, someone who would be a better all around singer, and would be able to focus solely on singing so that Dustin could focus all of his efforts on playing guitar. This led Dustin to search Craigslist, as all known sources were either already committed to other bands, or did not want to be in a band. After trying out a few new singers, who may or may not have been good, and may or may not have worked out in a perfect situation, he finally remembered about an awesome singer who he and Coby had met a few months prior when they were searching for a singer for the band. So Dustin luckily still had the number saved, and he texted Janel, who came over to a band practice November 27, 2012, and it was then that the band became official. A few weeks after that, and with a little bit of work put into learning all of the songs, though with no major rush, since there was nothing to work for, Dustin received another call from Gorilla Music, this time from a different representative though. It was then that the newly formed “spEl chEk” was confirmed to play on their first show at Cicero’s on January 27, 2013. The remaining band members were then alerted about the upcoming show, and intensive practicing ensued. After a month and a half of practicing and learning songs at breakneck speeds, the day had finally arrived, and spEl chEk was set to play their first ever show. Ticket sales had been kind of slow for each band member individually, and so it was a huge surprise to everyone when it was time for check-in and all together we had sold 47 tickets. And that was with nobody that bought a ticket actually having heard any of the music that would be played. Due to the amount of tickets sold, we got the final time slot at the very end of the show, which I may or may not have already mentioned, was a Battle of the Bands, and so we played right before everyone voted on who was their favorite. So we got on stage, played the best thirty minute set that we have probably ever played as a band, and the fans were loving it. After our set we cleared the stage and voting began. As all of the names came up, with little to no response for many of them, and a good response for a few, the band grew nervous that we wouldn’t make the cut. Then spEl chEk was called. The audience erupted. The cheers just kept coming. It was an amazing feeling for the crowd, many of whom were not there to see us, that we in fact did not even know, to be chanting our name, and we quickly became the first band to advance to the next round of the Battle of the Bands, which we will be playing most likely sometime this Summer to compete for awesome prizes. And all of this happened a mere two months after the first time we had all met each other. Now we can focus on the real goal, getting signed to Hopeless Records. Wish us luck!” Dustin Barton from spEl chEk (St. Louis Battle of the Bands Finalist)
When working in the music business, it’s important to know who you are working with at all times, especially when trying to get your group booked at a club or when working with a concert production company. Look for companies that have legitimate websites that display all their information online. This information should include a phone number, the address where the company is located, and information as to who owns the company. Keep in mind that having a Facebook page is not the same as having a website. Any company that does not have a website is most likely not a legit production company and should be avoided like the plague. The same goes for companies that do not display ample contact information on their website. Having an email form as the only way you can contact them is not sufficient, and neither is a company that only allows you to contact them through email. These are the kinds of production companies that should be avoided. You want to look at these websites and see how long the companies have been in business. If you can’t find this info on their site, the Better Business Bureau can also provide you with this and other information. Look for concert production companies that have an A rating from the BBB, and companies that have been around for at least 3 or 4 years. When you find a production company’s website, take a good look around. How big is their site? Does the site only have three pages, or does it have a bunch? Do they have any other information on their website that can help your group? Try to find out how many cities they coordinate events in across the country. Look for companies that work with lots of clubs and bands. So before you book any show with a concert promoter, do a little homework. Check out their BBB rating, make sure they have a website with all their contact information posted, and see how many other people they are working with at the moment. More reputable companies have larger websites and networks. The more bands, venues, and people they work with, the more likely it is that they’re a company you can trust.