Spotlight On... (Episode 1: Shytown)

Today officially marks the launch of “Spotlight On…”, a new Artists House blog series that I’ll be bringing you.

And I can’t think of a better way to kick the show off than by having one of the most savvy and promising new artists that I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know, Shytown, on as my first-ever guest.

Both the interview (below) and my last blog post, “New Artists House Blog Series + Upcoming Interview with Shytown”, provide in-depth coverage of Shytown’s accomplishments, so I won’t revisit everything here. But as you will see, Tarah, Danny, and Eric have really demonstrated a high level of business acumen in each of their undertakings, and the results are beginning to show; the band has accomplished more in the past few months than the majority of unsigned artists ever come close to accomplishing. Quite simply, they’re doin’ it right, and their story is one that every artist, regardless of their particular goals or style, would be wise to take a listen to.

Here is the video:

Shytown Interview/Performance

Some particularly noteworthy points discussed in the interview include:

• the opportunities that can arise from finding and connecting with one of the few industry experts out there who are open to working with/mentoring new talent.
• how Eric and Danny were able to build a buzz around their music through the nightclub scene.
• each band member’s reasons for making the move to L.A., and what being in L.A. has enabled them to do that they wouldn’t have been able to do if they had stayed in their hometowns.
• the benefits of street performing, how they were so successful with their street performances, their strategy for retaining the new fans that they attracted through the street performances, and the “alternative venues” that they’ve been targeting more recently (Six Flags, high schools).
• how they took Shytown to the next level after initially creating awareness through the street performances.
• how they landed their management deal with respected manager, Bonnie Gallanter, and what their experience has been like as a new artist being managed by a well-known manager with other very successful clients.
• the aspect of their story that has been acting as their biggest “media hook”, thereby helping them to get coverage.

They also did a great acoustic performance of their song, “Back in the Day”, with their two newest band members, Andrew (keys) and Ray (drums), to wrap things up.

A big thank you to Shytown for sitting down with me and for giving such an informative interview!

Be sure to connect with them, keep up-to-date with their activities, and listen to more of their music (definitely check out “In Love” and “Angel”) in the following places:

MySpace: www.myspace.com/shytownmusic
Facebook: www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Shytown/34127199247?ref=ts
Twitter: www.twitter.com/shytownmusic