SEQ CHAPTER 7
Connections
By Jarrett Maier
How do you make connections? Anyone who has ever walked Those connections you make really
Not the type that further your career in a
professional sense. The connections with
everyday people. The important relation-
ships that occur in the small moments of
life between two strangers. We all do it and
never pause to realize why, or how, that
moment happened. It is not something that
can be fully appreciated in a cyber envi-
ronment. 42nd St. in Manhattan and ignored a flyer
knows how hard it can be to get people to
show interest. I thought it would be a daunt-
ing task, after all it never used to be easy. I
was pleasantly surprised. As two of us hung
out on the sidewalk, passing out our infor-
mation, people started loosening up. They
went from wary to conversational. It actu-
ally got to a point where some were reach-
ing out to us like “ Don’t I get one?”
Technology is creeping They thought they
were missing out on
something.
into every corner of society and seemingly
dividing us. Claiming to unite us with so
many “friends” and yet leaving us feeling
so isolated. We fight and scrape for likes,
shares and retweets, just hoping we can
get enough on line traction to make a dent.
Are you really connecting with your audi-
ence and, more importantly, is your audi-
ence engaged?
In the musical world, it may
be time to reconnect with some of the time
tested tools for reaching out to the people.
Perhaps amongst all the scrolling, our
connections are being lost.
I was recently reminded of
how powerful personal interactions can be.
My band had a show at a larger venue with
some tickets to move. We decided to take it
back old school. You, hopefully, know what
I mean. Flyers in hand, we hit the pave-
ment. Visited the venue about three weeks
prior to our show and handed them out
to the people entering for another show.
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That was the connection.
We created a sense of community with a
group of strangers. As brief as the mo-
ments may have been, we had to look each
other in the eyes and interact. I believe this
is far more valuable than any click on a
cell phone. It also just might have forced
people to step back and think about how
seriously we take our music.
We all can sit behind
a keyboard and promote endlessly. It’s a
very useful tool and has opened avenues
that could never have been imagined twen-
ty years ago. But just maybe it is begin-
ning to stifle us. Music is, at it’s best, an
emotional connection with a listener and
the story you want to tell them. What bet-
ter way to do that than in person? We need
to show up to perform for people, why not
show up to promote to people?
do matter. On stage or off, those people are
your life blood.
Your music is your business.
Your business is a brand that needs time to gain ac-
ceptance and support. So stay put, weather the
storms, swallow your pride on occasion. Make
tough choices when you need to. Please, don’t start
another band tomorrow and expect anyone to care!
the way.
Speak with them, not at them.
Engage with them, don’t sit back and wait
for them to do it for you.
If you don’t show them your passion as a
person, why should they care about you or
your music?
Do this everywhere, all
the time At your shows. Before and
after your sets. While out catching another
band play. Hang a poster. Drop a flyer on
the bar. Better yet buy a stranger a beer
and hand them a flyer. Reach out. Engage.
to USE IT!
The Lookout
Artists you will hear a lot
from and who YOU should
be paying attention to
Raleigh, NC is the landing spot for
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Total Order Columnist
Do you draw any influ-
Jarrett Maier has struck ence vocally, from the
gold in his find of one of likes of Sarah McLachlan
the most complete EP or Tori Amos? My vocal influences
releases of the year. Its are mostly styles like Paramore and Evanes-
Lead singer takes a few cence, although those artists are very talented
moments to answer a as well!
couple of questions.
What are the differences
You bring a range of styles of playing SXSW or Vans
to the table. How does Warped tour compared to
the song writing process touring the small clubs up
work within the band? and down the East coast?
I write the lyrics and take it to the studio with It’s definitely a more intimate feeling at local
me bring it all to life. Being in the record- SXSW and Vans Warped Tour- both of which
a sound in mind and then the producer helps places in comparison to music festivals like
ing studio is one of my favorite things ever!! were HUGE goals of mine to play. I hope we
will get to play them again. They were both
really amazing experiences. I’m so incred-
ibly thankful for the opportunities.
After almost a year and a
half of supporting your lat-
est Ep, “White Lies”, what
do you have planned for
2018? I am back in the studio recording
with Dan Korneff, so hopefully a full-length
release, more touring, more music festivals,
and just lots of new opportunities to grow!
CHECK BACK IN FEBRUARY’S ISSUE
FOR MORE ON NIKOL!
Nikol Facebook
Nikol Website
Nikol Twitter
Buy White Lies
Put the technology away and connect with
someone.
Jarrett Maier is a columnist for Total Order Magazine
and the Songwriter/Bassist for Autoerotica from PA.
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