Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Alot of ppl been askin questions bout my band The Legendary Biscuits and Gravy. For those that arent familiar with them, they are the reason I've have a name for myself in Nashville period and have the opportunities forwarded to me that I do now.
Seems like for a while now we have been on hiatus. There is no other way to look at it. Our buzz has sorta died down, we dont even have a CD, EP or anything to show for, and even our local popularity is beginning to fade.
Why??? Well its a long story. But despite everything that has happend, i still remain so optimistic in my bands future. My solo stuff is always something I can go as far as I choose and venture and do whatever, but BAG is my heart
Just a quick history of my band>>>
Back in high school, beginning late Sophomore year, i started takin my music more serious and started recording and doin small shows like churches or school events. Then I started interning at Rocketown my senior year, but my solo stuff never did quite take off like I wanted to. I started my first band "Improv, Lyrics, and Life" with some friends at my high school. After a few talent shows wins and church performances tho, the group broke up. My second band tho, started with just me and some friends on keys messing around at my internship at Rocketown after school. And what started out as just something to kill time, became The Legendary Biscuits and Gravy.
We went from Rocketown open mic nights for metro students, quickly to Cafe Coco monthly open mic events makin $200+ a night off tips. It was crazy. Even though this may seem like nothing, it was alot for me to take in. Cuz as a teen i used to think the hardest thing was gettin a show at a local venue for a semi-packed crowed just to hear my songs. And all of a sudden, me and my friends were the new buzz and talk of the town. Young kids from ages 12-17 playin everything from jazz and old school r&b to hip hop and funk. And people were eatin it up.
In the few months since we started we went from playin lil old Kijiji's (remember that place on Jefferson St lol) to Cafe Coco, then to Gibson Showcase for a local television taping. Everybody locally was showing us love. The Tennesean, all the local music papers. It was crazy. People were blowin our myspace up, tryna book us for weddings, banquets, everything u could think of. I swear we were freakin local celebrities! "Arent u in that band Biscuits and Gravy?? Yea I saw yall in the paper!" It was crazy!!
As great as it was tho, it was happening way too fast for us to comprehend. Our buzz was growing faster than we were maturing mentally and even musically. In all honesty we were a glorified Jam band. And we could play the hell out of covers. But besides that, our overall musicality and my lyricism werent advancing enough to meet the demands of the bigger audiences we were being exposed to. A year after BAG started, we had already played every major local venue twice over, but maybe only had 3 or 4 new songs to add to our catalog.
The funny thing about BAG is that we go thru phases. All of that was phase 1. From 2006 to the end of 2007. We went on a Lovenoise tour in a couple of surrounding states in the summer of 2007. It seemed like things were really taking off, but they werent. I dont think thats anyones fault, but I can speak for the whole band and say we started takin opportunities like tours and being so well known locally for granted after a while. We expected a certain level of recognition but yet didnt put in work to keep it or advance that recognition. So what happened was, we got stuck. Stuck in Nashville. Stuck in out mindsets of us EXPECTING to get signed or something, but not really working towards it like we should have.
So it depressed us.
It slowed down our progress even more. Practices were canceled more often. I started focusin on my solo stuff more than the band cuz it was just at a weird stage. I needed to be on stage more and we werent performing as much as we used to. More priorities were taking place of the band, which is necessary, but there should have been a better balance. I was in my freshman yr of college by then and I started flunking. A few other members did too. So our buzz sort of staled off
2008 began phase 2 for BAG. This was the transitional phase. We were all a lil older and could really look at things in perspective and see mistakes we made and what we could have done better to get the band where we all wanted to be, which was to a label or some opportunity to launch us regionally, nationally, internationally, etc etc. The shows kept coming, we stayed meeting key people, execs, producers, we always do big name shows, or open up for big artist. But the difference this time around, is that we realize those shows really dont amount to as much as we used to think. Who cares we opened up at a Kanye West after party, who cares we did the Nappy Roots show, Jazzy Jeff, met this person, that person, etc. What my band members and I have learned from the past 3 yrs in the band is the way the industry works, and its more complicated than we thought. I remember when we met Kanye we were just so positive that if he heard a SECOND of us playing he would sign us immediately. LOL well he was there when we played, but he didnt pay any attention hahaha.
In the same vein, an industry person can tell us a million things and get all our hopes up about what he or she will do for us and how big we'll be, but in the end dont follow thru with any of it. So it has taught us to not be satisfied for doin a big show or meeting a industry exec or somebody famous. Its just another notch on our belts. But we have learned to have tough skin. Thats the main thing. No matter what, keep improving, keep practicing, keep writing, keep perfecting our craft. Cuz even when we do get signed, its just another chapter in our careers. There is never a reason to be content and settle with our current skill level or popularity.
So this begins phase 3, which I believe begins this week. The band is on the verge of a HUGE comeback. New songs, new image, new level of hype, overall new mindset. And Im soooo excited to see where this phase leads us, because Im confident we are headed in the right direction. So look out for us yall, we are bout to hit yall SOOOOO FREAKIN HAARRRRDDD!!!!!
For real... the world is not ready!!!
My Band - D12
PEACE
Labels: biscuits and gravy, kanye west, nappy roots, rocketown
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