In a new interview with Two Doods Reviews, guitarist Ben Wells of Kentucky rockers BLACK STONE CHERRY was asked what advice he had for new rock artists looking to create “brand and band awareness” in 2021. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I would say take full advantage of every technology, app, whatever is out there. There are superstarts on TikTok right now. So take advantage of it, ’cause that’s stuff that we didn’t have even when we started. We had MySpace. That was it. But also, don’t be afraid to get out there and hustle. If you use technology, you should use it to your advantage, but don’t use it as a crutch, because I think there’s something to be said to for going out there and drawing up your own flyers, getting a bunch of copies made and promoting a show that way. Word of mouth. Get out there and hustle. If there’s one thing I don’t like, [it’s] when bands say, ‘Well, we put it on Facebook. We had an event, and nobody showed up.’ I’m, like, ‘Dude, you can’t rely on that. You have to get out there and sell that show — sell the show.”
He continued: “Don’t sign away your publishing. And even though record deals are great, you shoudn’t look at that being the ‘end all’ for your career. So many bands now are doing it on their own, and they’re getting more creative, figuring out ways to release music and cutting out… Not that the record label is always the middle man. We love our record label, but we were able to sign a distribution deal with them, so our deal is a little different where we can keep all of our creative rights and they put it out. They’ve been really great to work with. But I can’t say that for every label.”
Ben added: “Don’t sign a 360 deal. Don’t sign away your publishing rights.”
BLACK STONE CHERRY‘s seventh studio album, “The Human Condition”, came out last October via Mascot Label Group. The disc was produced by the bandmembers themselves and tracked in BSC bassist Jon Lawhon‘s recording facility, Monocle Studios. The release was completed mere days before the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed and as events progressed, it became apparent that the album the band was completing featured lyrics that were eerily prescient.
