Amit ‘The Groovebox’ Gurbaxani says bands have to meet journos half way if they want themselves to be written about correctly. Check out part I of this column here.
Music journalism doesn’t enjoy anywhere near the same level of attention that writing about film gets in this country. Well, at least some people are reading. Us hacks can claim to be the inspiration for at least one Indian rock classic: Bangalore band Thermal And A Quarter’s (pictured) not-so-loving dedication to our tribe ‘Paper Puli’.
Sure, there’s a lot wrong with music journalism in this country but at least some of the time, the musicians themselves are partly to blame for the crap that gets written. The most common complaint about music journalism: the journos can’t seem to get their facts right. The fact is, however, a few bands make it so difficult for writers to get hold of those facts in the first place.
It isn’t uncommon for a band’s biography, whether published on their MySpace, Facebook, Reverbnation page or official website, to comprise a long-winded story about how they got together, most often with a few of the band members’ individual quirks thrown in for good measure (“Our bassist loves parathas” and the like.) While this is all good, there are a few essential things that journalists should know about a band to be able to write a complete profile. For starters, your full names; you could include your middle, father’s name or nick name but at least your first and second name would be good. There are many Rahuls in the Indian rock scene. Heck, there are at least two IP Singhs. (And they both are in Delhi.) Ages would be cool too, though I’ve come across a band member or two who are surprisingly reluctant to share this piece of info.
But individual bio-data is less important than the history of the band itself and it often amazes me how fuzzy musicians’ memories can be about their own chronology. I’ve heard stuff like: “We formed eight to nine years back”. To which, I naturally ask, which is it: eight or nine years ago? “Ha… somewhere around then.” If you’re in a rock band (still quite an unusual career choice in our country), it’s safe to presume that the formation of your band is a fairly momentous occasion in your life. Fine, not everyone is as anal as I am about (silly?) things like chronology but at least one band member can be made in charge of tracking the important landmarks in the act’s career: formation, first gig (date, venue, and if I may be so optimistic, rough set list), details of every album released including release date and complete track lists. Since you know that in all probability, the question is going to be asked, you might as well include a list of influences and how those acts inspired you. Of course, bands could make all this very simple by publishing all this stuff on their website, but a shockingly small number take the effort to do this.
And when bands do have websites, often many don’t have the time (or perhaps inclination) to update them regularly. But forget websites, most bands don’t even give out updated photographs to the press. To me, seeing an outdated picture of the band is as big a misrepresentation of the group as an article that gets their names wrong. Sometimes, the photos include members who have left, or include only a couple of the members. Even when the head count is complete, if you’re handing out a pic taken in 2007 in 2011, it’s the visual equivalent of lying on record (check out Picture This for more on kvlt band photography). This is not what people are going to see when they see you perform. In the age of the cheap digital camera, it is not too much to expect a band to take a new picture every six months or at least every year.
If you have a manager/publicist, give them this photo along with your official biography and links to your song clips/videos online to email every time they solicit or accept interviews on your behalf. In an ideal world, a journalist will Google/YouTube you, but doing this will at least spare you the trouble/time of going through the routine of answering the same old questions. If I know you met while students at St. Xavier’s college in Mumbai, there’s a chance I might ask you a more interesting question like “How important was Rang Bhavan to your musical development?” rather than “So how did you guys get together?” It might just make the seemingly tedious exercise of getting interviewed more enjoyable for all of you. If you’ve been around a while, and are now sending out press releases, vet them. If a press release is incorrect or inaccurately represents your band, you can’t blame the journo.
The second, and more serious accusation, against music journos here is that they often misquote their interviewees. If a journalist isn’t recording the interview or taking notes, ask them why. Realise that unless otherwise specified, you are on record. But choose what you say carefully, because no journalist worth their salt will send you their article. Instead, talk slowly so it’s easy for the guy or girl to follow you and jot down what you’re saying accurately. It might sound stupid when you read that sentence, but it makes a big difference. A new method of conducting interviews, which eliminates the risk of being misquoted involved in say a phone conversation, is the online chat. It allows both parties to gather their thoughts, and serves as a record for both interviewer and interviewee of their interaction.
Bands might scoff at these suggestions, and see them as basically ways for them to do the work of lazy-ass journalists for them, but the truth is that if you take your music and yourselves seriously enough, you’ll realise that often taking care of the most mundane things makes the biggest difference. The name of your song is ‘PSP 12”’, not ‘Standing By’. You’re from Malad, not Mazgaon. Your name is Sidharth with a single D. Your band plays funk-influenced rock not psychedelic pop. If you care for the facts, make them available.
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