1. I want to hear what success for this band would look like to you
1. Pretty much what everyone else wants. I\'d like to see this band to be headlining outdoor sheds at the height of their careers. Success right now is attracting fans who aren\'t friends of the band, or in their inner circle. We need to get them to be as obsessive as the rest of us. When this band can do whatever they want artisticlly and create albums that will go down in history, I say they have reached my definition of success!!
1. I want to hear reasons why you would like this to happen(if you would)
Because regardless of the bullshit, they will always be one of my all time favorite bands. I\'ve had multiple peak experiences at their concerts and have merged with the divine on more than one occasion. They take me to that place and they do it fast and good. Whenever my life turns to shit and I feel I don\'t have the strength to deal with it I\'ll throw on The Breakfast. The fact that they still write songs that move me to the point of bliss, is reason enough to stay around even though I\'m not welcomed, nor have any social connection within this community. When I first met these guys I was convinced they would be the next big thing ala Phish. I turned EVERYONE I knew onto them. I tried to help out to the best of my abilities. I still have faith that this band will reach that point. I\'ve actually prayed multiple times that they would turn this shit around..... Part of me has been saying, "fuck them, they\'re doing it to themselves, let them stew in failure"... but the other part says, "their music can change lives forever. They can bring people to the light".
I\'ve tried to quit this band multiple times. No one in my life likes them except for me, which plays a big part as to why I only go to local shows... and even then it\'s scarce.. I love the music, the energy, and their love for what they do.....
2. I want to hear what you want from the band or what you want to see the band do(I guarantee we will not make everyone happy- but we will do our best)
Stop playing songs about drugs. It cheapens your image. Stop playing classic rock covers that you can hear on PLR any time of day. You guys are unique, which is why I was drawn to you. Take obscure covers and make them your own. Don\'t fear that people won\'t be attracted to it. Introduce new and wonderful music to them. Serve as their gateway!! You did for me back in the day. Tour, tour, tour and make friendly with everyone you encounter, especially other bands. A lot of comments I\'ve heard over the years are about smugness. Unfortunately it seems people think you act with a high level of entitlement. Be humble. Network and make lasting friendships with other growing bands. Look at Umphrey\'s and Bisco. You had a chance to form a relationship with both of them, but for some reason it didn\'t happen. Now they\'re talking about possibly doing a jamband type HORDE thing with Tea Leaf Meh and STS9. YOU SHOULD BE A PART OF THAT!!! YOU DESERVE TO BE A PART OF THAT!!! Put aside your ego and accept what is. Don\'t take criticism personal, but listen and learn. You\'ve lost too many fans because of your often black and white attitudes.
Make an album with a real producer in a real studio. Invest some money in a decent production. Another criticism is your albums are all over the place. Lets face it, you\'re a progressive rock band, not a shitty southern bar band (Tricky Ways). Develop your art, market that image and watch as fans pour into your venues. As much as you love being safe in New Haven County you have to realize that this band WILL NOT MAKE IT UNLESS YOU LEAVE IT!!! If you want to settle here when you\'ve made it, fine, that\'s wonderful, but this place is stagnant and unhealthy for your growth. You need to break the old patterns!!
Musically, besides unique covers, I\'d like to see you guys really concentrate on building themes in your improvisations. You\'re starting to do it already with Matt ala Toad\'s "Overexposure". Ron is getting tighter and more confident in his playing, which hopefully will allow him to lay down and build on themes. Other than that, get rid of some of the inconsistent, generic jamband stuff ie Phaddy, VT Song, Tricky Ways and a few more.... and bring back Kote.
Also, the new thing that will spread your music far and wide is SOUNDBOARD RECORDINGS THE NIGHT OF!! INSTANT LIVE!! UM lives!! Bisco boards... SCI on the road.. EVERYONE does it. Invest in a burner and blanks. Hire someone to handle this, you will make great money. Hook up with nugs.net... These shows will spread like wildfire and you know it.
Last thing. The sideprojects, especially Timmy Tour, need to shrink to almost nothing if this band wants to make it. Too much effort goes into the wrong bands. No offense to any of them, but it\'s not The Breakfast and it takes away time that should be spent focusing on the band. This isn\'t to say that sideprojects should be obliderated altogether, nope, just shrunken down a bit.. Hell, I\'m pretty sure at this point The Good Time Boys would bring in more of a crowd if they toured than tB would anyday....
3. I believe success is already on its way to this band- I\'m just not sure where it\'s coming from yet. I want to hear stories of how you see this band getting the success that is coming to them. (make up a story - how do you think it will happen - because we need ideas)
Nice... Visualizing is the key to manifesting your sucesss!! I see The Breakfast touring A LOT and sharing bills with notable names. I see them debuting huge epic, fusion/prog rock songs. I see them making new friends and disowning themselves from the fear of failure. The band will start out this year by getting new management. Their manager will be just as ambitous as their new keyboardist. The manager will use all of his connections to promote the shit out of this band, but promoting them with a more refined image. The manager will take a large cut, but it\'s worth it, the growth is exponential. The band gets booked opening for indie bands, some post rock, and also some notable progressive rock artists on small theater tours. They impress the hell out of crowds in these new markets while penetrating the retarded jamband market. They realize their true audience isn\'t raucous, but rather introverted, intellectual and overall appreciative. Soon a happy marriage will occur between the Wild Pack and the new fans. At the end of Summer 08 they release a studio album with a fairly known producer. They write all new material, which hasn\'t been debuted since Matt\'s joining. However since Matt\'s joining they\'ve debuted tons of new stuff. The band is saturating the audience with a new and expansive catalog. The new album is a shocker, and gets press. It\'s not huge, but it definetly turns some heads..... Tour some more. Repeat until huge. There are bumps along the way, but those bumps make you stronger.
4. WE NEED HELP PROMOTING THE MIDWEST RUN TO CHICAGO, MINNESOTA, AND WISCONSIN(sept. 27-29) ANY FANS FROM THOSE AREAS WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED IN HELPING PLEASE EMAIL SPACEY At spacefunk2001@hotmail.com we can offer free tickets or whatever else we got at this point. If you do a good job, who knows, maybe getting paid for it in the future when we make some money. THIS IS ONLY A MONTH AWAY SO PLEASE RESPOND AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE!
http://www.umphreaks.com Make friendly with the Umphrey\'s fans and there you have it.... I may know a few in the Chicago area...
5. We are looking for any ideas for charities that we can have at the gigs. I believe that if this band is going to have big success, we have to dedicate our efforts to a big cause. I feel lucky to be able to play music with these guys and for great fans, I want to be able to pay back for that good fortune. I want us as a community to be helping people all over the world as we play. What are charities that are meaningful to you that we can help out by donating to at each gig?
Have Tim donate his hair to locks of love......
Many many thanks,
matt o
No,
THANK YOU, Matt "the Christ like Saviour of the Breakfast" Oestreicher!!!