You've got yourself a band, you think you've got the goods and you're serious about it, what do you do now? Traditionally, you'd hope to get a record deal signing which would rocket you to super stardom and live happily ever after, right?

I guess that still happens on the odd and very rare occasion however the music industry is at a crossroads right now where what used to work very well for decades is no longer proving effective. We've all heard how the internet, technology and burning music were threatening the current industry but now we're seeing actual evidence of its effect.

Music retail stores are dying out as witnessed by the collapse of Sounds chain in NZ. USA's largest chain Tower Records has also gone under further proving that retail cd sales have declined to such an extent, major businesses are failing!

To summarise, this means is that with less retail sales occurring, record labels have less money to go around, meaning lesser new artist signings to those labels. It's a vicious cycle.

Now depending on how you view your band in the big picture of the music industry, this may or may not bum you out. If you've been waiting for someone else to sweep you up and do the work, you should be worried. If you have a proactive DIY outlook, then you could see this as an opportunity.

Though the internet has threatened the old ways of music promotion, it has opened up a whole new door for online DIY marketing that has never existed before to such a powerful extent. You should be well aware of sites like Myspace, YouTube and Facebook by now. If not, you are seriously putting yourself at a disadvantage and need to research them.

Today, more than ever before, the internet is booming in building communities online, that's what all those sites are about. People are spending more time online and less time in front of the television for example.

This is a good thing for the DIY band as online promotion can be started for next to nothing which means you should be working on ways to expose your band to these people who spend a lot of time online.

The trick however is not to set up a Myspace account and hope that will suffice, you need to cover multiple angles. You find different audiences in different places so I would suggest creating an online presence in as many places as you can possibly manage to increase your exposure.

Next, you stay in touch with them, really build a relationship with them so they get to know you. And whenever possible, take these people from online to offline through attending your shows, buying your merchandise, etc.

The true DIY approach also means not relying on others which could hold you back on necessary things. You should definitely look into learning or finding friends that can help you with recording your own music and editing basic videos for online. After all, you want to be heard AND seen!

The technology is there and a lot of it is freely available, just waiting for you to use it to promote your band and your music. So add as much of this online stuff as you possibly can to what you are already doing.

Chris Yong
www.RedlineMusic.co.nz
www.RockzillaTV.com

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Seven years ago Chris Yong was lead guitar for Tadpole, playing tracks from their double platinum debut album 'Buddhafinger' to large audiences across Australasia and supporting the likes of Killing Heidi, Living End, Placebo, Live, Sugar Ray and Regurgitator.

He left the band in 2003 and discussed the possibility of starting his own band with brother and drummer, Richard. "We had a jam together and it just felt good," says Chris. The pair officially formed Redline six months later, with Chris stepping into the frontman role as vocalist.

Once joined by guitarist Craig Broadbridge and bassist Nick Gregory, the band was ready to develop a distinctive brand of rock metal that "forces itself out of its comfort zone, pushes its own limits," says Chris of the distorted guitars, loud drums and heavy bass. Success came quickly for the band, who have already opened for Evanescence and Disturbed, played at the inaugural Metal Day Out Festival, as well as supporting Blindspott and The Bleeders. Their video for 'Time After Time' was also nominated for best independent music video at the 2005 Juice TV Music Awards.

Their eagerly awaited self-funded record, 'Trapped Inside', Redline establishes itself as one of New Zealand’s most progressive rock metal bands. It was produced and engineered by Paul Matthews, (Blindspott, Stylus, OpShop); mixed by Kenny MacDonald (former producer for Texas and The Proclaimers) and mastered by well known alternative Swedish producer Pelle Henricsson (Poison The Well, Refused) at Tonteknik Recordings.

Blending unique and furious riffs with expressive, melodic songwriting means a track-listing that’s aggressive, hook filled and exciting.

'Trapped Inside' by Redline will be released nationwide in early 2008.

Muzic.net.nz asked Chris some questions about Redline:

What is the best gig/event you have ever performed at, and why?

I think one of our favourite/best gigs we ever performed at was in Christchurch supporting Disturbed at the Town Hall in 2006. We were all so amped up and stoked to be playing that show, we gave 200% of ourselves when we performed and the Christchurch crowd response was unbelievable!

What is your favourite NZ venue?

I like the Powerstation in Auckland. I have seen so many great gigs there as well as performed there myself, it has so much tremendous history!

What can we expect to see from Redline over the next year?

You can expect to see us release 'Trapped Inside' into stores around March, then do what we do best and that's get out there and play live. We're also looking into some overseas opportunities. 

What other NZ musicians or bands would you like to see more of, and why?

There is certainly no shortage of great musicians in NZ! What I would like to see is the industry open up and give some much needed exposure to more of our local artists. As a music tv presenter on Alt TV with RockzillaTV.com, I try and do what I can when I can but its just frustrating to see the more mainstream traditional media so set in their ways.

If you could, what rumour would you start about yourselves?

Redline got kicked off the Blindspott farewell tour last year because we out-drank and out-performed their pussy asses!   

What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?

Form a band with other motivated individuals! Keep that belief in yourself and never, ever, give up or give in. You want to be the thorn in everyone's side rather than a quick stab in the dark!

Redline is Chris Yong (vocals, guitar), Craig Broadbridge (guitar), Nick Gregory (bass) and Richard Yong (drums).

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Verlaines - Pot Boiler
The Verlaines, who have had a huge career and are still based in Dunedin, present their latest effort, which proves, among other things, to be an excellent example of how you put a music education to good use. Put simply, Pot Boiler blends intelligent music and intelligent lyrics in such a way that the sum is much more than the parts. Read Full Review

Lawrence Arabia: Live Gig @ Happy 08 Feb 2008
Thursday night at Happy was packed, and for good reason. For ‘it’ man Liam Finn was due to support Lawrence Arabia, who threw two nights of fun filled music with all his friends. The faces were out in numbers, seemingly everyone who wanted to be worth something. Read Full Review

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