It's been two months since the "release" of my first new Bikini Test Failure single in a decade. Possibly the worst two months in modern history in which to release a single.
However, because my "day-job" work (live events, here, there and everywhere, technical, corporate) collapsed a good month before the point when the bars and restaurants had to close, I'd recovered from the shock and embraced the odd reality of no income and nothing in the diary, for perhaps the next twelve months, before the Cheltenham Gold Cup had gone ahead and broadcast news had even started to lead with the story.
Now, April 2020, I'm in a daily routine, based on near-100% things I want to do, rather than have to do. And what better time to have infinite time on your hands than the moment you release a single and discover there are perhaps 2000 eligible indie radio stations around the world, any of which may want to play your song. If only you can look them up, find the right person and contact them.
Consequently, I've spent every day of these two months doing exactly that. A good day might find 100 new contacts, a bad one only ten, but one way or another, beginning with searching for my old radio heroes from Fleecing The Easily Pleased days in 2010-11, then Wikipedia's extensive lists and finally adding in the mighty resource that is The Indie Bible, I was able to locate, update and contact around 1500 stations and shows out of the 2000 considered, that might at least listen to my song.
That is, of course, if they're still open.
Daily, as I sent out my beautifully researched, personalised messages, replies began to flood in, but like the rapidly increasing bad news numbers we see each night on TV, they soon changed from, "Hi, thanks for the music, we'll have a listen and let you know!" to "We are operating an automated schedule", then "This station is closed for the duration".
Undeterred, (actually I was VERY deterred for a few days) I decided that this research needed doing sooner or later; this first single, UNCOMPLIMENTARY is merely the first of a dozen in the current batch and, if I can avoid another ten-year-hiatus, the first of the next forty years of new tunes released. So rather than build up a list of contacts over several releases, I may as well contact every eligible person with this first single, blaze a trail for the future and generally start as I mean to go on.
And STILL it took two months! Imagine though, back in 2010, I had to find the right person, ask them if they'd like an album, package it up, mail it, wait a week, check they'd received it, follow-up two weeks later... no wonder I did little else for two years after the last album was released.
And so, the other day, after a hard day "at it", I realised that was it! I'd reached the end of my radio list and my bloggers and reviewers lists. I opened a beer, toasted the Muses and clicked "Check New Mail". The stars were clearly aligned that evening because THIS review came flying in. Someone, (DJ Vlad from Canada's CJAM radio) had written a fabulous review for the Rock At Night website, based in Tampa, Florida. At least with this particular gentleman, I have managed to create the EXACT impression I intended.
I sent the review to my pal Jeremy, fellow music producer, former studio colleague and Music Director of my previous masterplan band, Blunder. He knows me well. He said, "He seems to have nailed YOU down to a tee!"
Even my mum agreed.
