roninriot
Banned
A Plea For Help To All SOFTies.
Hey there all SOFTies and fellow musicians all around
This is Levan here, the ex-Ronin guy and the fella currently working in LIME magazine as a journalist.
I'm here to make a plea with all of you guys out there, every single one of you, from the big bands to the small ones, from the old-timers to the newcomers, everyone. So please if you have 5 minutes to spare, please read on.
As some of you might know already, I recently posted on SOFT requesting for bands to submit their songs for the upcoming LIME CD Compilation. Basically it's a compilation of 30 local bands on one CD that comes with every issue of the maazine. I'm happy to say that many of you guys submitted your songs, and we were able to gather up enough great acts to release something that I'm sure both local scene veterans and newbies will get into. For the more established acts, there's everything from Caracal to B-Quartet, West Grand Boulevard to Allura, and then there are the underground metalheads and hardcore fanatics like Oshiego (legends in their own right!) and bands from the Lion City Hardcore posse, plus tons more. There are also plenty of Baybeats bands that made the fray. It's a delightful collection of 30 local acts both new and old, and it was a joy to listen to from start to finish.
Let me be really honest about the process of getting the CD done - it wasn't easy. Within the media industry, there are tons of obstacles we had to overcome to even get the release of the free CD approved. For one thing, most of the 'higher ups' have the impression that supporting local music is a dead end street, that it isomething that isn't profitable, isn't worth the while, and will be greeted by a general disinterest from the public. We fought really hard to get this done and approved, and we'll happy to say that with this CD, that chance was granted, that one chance to prove them wrong. It was also largely thanks to the good turnup at LIME Sonic Bang that gave us (The editorial team) the leverage to stand up and say "Look, there are people out there who listen to local music. Just look at the crowd. Don't tell us that there isn't any support. Don't tell us that it isn't worth the while!"
My plea here is simple and it's straightforward. Local bands have bled and worked their asses off to get these recordings done, they've sacrificed a large portion of their time and money just for that glimmer of hope that the masses will give them the support they dream of. That local musicians won't always be losing out to the Britney Spears and the Westlifes and etc. There is so much hope they have in the face of such adversity, in a country that greets most bands with a lukewarm unappreciative response - a conception that if you're local, you're just 'not as good as the international acts'. To be honest, I won't say that ALL 30 acts are up to an international level just yet (but a large majority are), but I'd definitely vouch for the fact that there are plenty of great bands getting darn close to that mark, and all they need is a little support and nod of approval to make that leap, to make that difference.
When the CD is released with the next issue of LIME come the end of the week (it'll be available in shops everywhere probably by Friday or this weekend), I urge every one of you to pick up a copy and check these bands out. It's only 3 bucks afterall, 3 bucks for 30 songs - the mag itself is 3 bucks, so the CD is essentially a freebie. i'd say that's a steal if I ever saw one. I can give you my personal guarantee that I don't earn ANY profits or commission for any sale. NONE of us in the editorial team will receive ANY such benefits (We're too 'lowly' in the food chain for that lol).
But the consequence of your action is clear. With high sales this month, with a good response and with positive support, it will send a clear message to upper management that the path LIME and myself has taken is true - that despite the many obstacles and hindrances that prevent local music from fully hitting the mainstream, that there is light at the end of the tunnel. We need your support. We need you to put your money where your mouth is. For years, local scenesters have complained about the lack of support from the media in this country. And now that support is here, staring you in your faces. For the life of me I can't recall a time ever (not since BigO anyway) a mainstream magazine has EVER released a CD compilation of local acts to the masses - thousands of copies printed to be distributed NATIONWIDE. But it has happened, and it will happen again if you spend your 3 bucks to show that you care for the scene, that you care that it grows and you care that people sit up and pay attention to the many talented musicians that we have here.
With high sales and support, it will give us leverage to urge the upper management to provide us with more funds to continue supporting local music, be it organizing more big scale gigs for both the bands and the fans, or releasing more giveaways to encourage more people to get into local music, or hey, there's even a possibility of putting a local band on the cover for the first time in the history of a widely distributed magazine in Singapore. The significance of that happening is HUGE - it's a major step forward. But it can only happen with your help and support! It's cliched to say this, but 'help us help you'. A ripple in an ocean can become a tsunami.
So please, come the end of this week, look up the mag on shelves. If it isn't there, ask the owner why it isn't. And if they really don't have it, seek somewhere else to get it. Once again I promise you this from the bottom of my heart, there are no hidden intentions from me or anyone in the team. There are no secret benefits we are reaping from anyone. The sole reason we decided to push for this CD was to have 30,000 Singaporeans pick up a copy of the magazine and check out the CD and go "Hey you know what? Local music ain't half bad.". It's more than 'ain't half bad' - it rocks!
I don't believe in being jaded, I don't believe in waiting for opportunities to come to you. We have to all get up and CREATE those opportunities for ourselves. And we can only do it unified. There ae tons of people who go "Support the scene!" when what some are really saying is "Support my band!". But this is the perfect chance to show the rest of the country we can show true support for what we preach about.. It's time to get off our a$$es and show them what we're talking about! A change in perception, a step in a thousand miles. Have faith, show support, and I promise you, everything we have bled for, everything we have cried for, every dream of every band will be at least one small tiny step closer to reality.
Tell your friends, tell your friend's friends, tell your family and your cousins and that girl or guy you have a crush on. Every single person counts!!! And through the word of mouth from these people will we have to chance of increasing the population of the local scene to something bigger and beyond the 'usual crowd who shows up at shows'
Thank you for your time guys
Levan Wee
LIME Editorial
Personal Blog: astroninja's Xanga Site
P.S.
To those bands who kindly emailed me about being included on the compilation and DIDN'T make the selection this time around, I apologize. It was genuinely hard. The reasons were 1) There were more than a hundred submissions and only 30 could be selected 2) Some of the recordings were too 'bedroom quality' to be accepted into the lineup.
But if sales and support prove to be good this month, you have my word that it will be likely that there will be another compilation up our sleeves
Hey there all SOFTies and fellow musicians all around
This is Levan here, the ex-Ronin guy and the fella currently working in LIME magazine as a journalist.
I'm here to make a plea with all of you guys out there, every single one of you, from the big bands to the small ones, from the old-timers to the newcomers, everyone. So please if you have 5 minutes to spare, please read on.
As some of you might know already, I recently posted on SOFT requesting for bands to submit their songs for the upcoming LIME CD Compilation. Basically it's a compilation of 30 local bands on one CD that comes with every issue of the maazine. I'm happy to say that many of you guys submitted your songs, and we were able to gather up enough great acts to release something that I'm sure both local scene veterans and newbies will get into. For the more established acts, there's everything from Caracal to B-Quartet, West Grand Boulevard to Allura, and then there are the underground metalheads and hardcore fanatics like Oshiego (legends in their own right!) and bands from the Lion City Hardcore posse, plus tons more. There are also plenty of Baybeats bands that made the fray. It's a delightful collection of 30 local acts both new and old, and it was a joy to listen to from start to finish.
Let me be really honest about the process of getting the CD done - it wasn't easy. Within the media industry, there are tons of obstacles we had to overcome to even get the release of the free CD approved. For one thing, most of the 'higher ups' have the impression that supporting local music is a dead end street, that it isomething that isn't profitable, isn't worth the while, and will be greeted by a general disinterest from the public. We fought really hard to get this done and approved, and we'll happy to say that with this CD, that chance was granted, that one chance to prove them wrong. It was also largely thanks to the good turnup at LIME Sonic Bang that gave us (The editorial team) the leverage to stand up and say "Look, there are people out there who listen to local music. Just look at the crowd. Don't tell us that there isn't any support. Don't tell us that it isn't worth the while!"
My plea here is simple and it's straightforward. Local bands have bled and worked their asses off to get these recordings done, they've sacrificed a large portion of their time and money just for that glimmer of hope that the masses will give them the support they dream of. That local musicians won't always be losing out to the Britney Spears and the Westlifes and etc. There is so much hope they have in the face of such adversity, in a country that greets most bands with a lukewarm unappreciative response - a conception that if you're local, you're just 'not as good as the international acts'. To be honest, I won't say that ALL 30 acts are up to an international level just yet (but a large majority are), but I'd definitely vouch for the fact that there are plenty of great bands getting darn close to that mark, and all they need is a little support and nod of approval to make that leap, to make that difference.
When the CD is released with the next issue of LIME come the end of the week (it'll be available in shops everywhere probably by Friday or this weekend), I urge every one of you to pick up a copy and check these bands out. It's only 3 bucks afterall, 3 bucks for 30 songs - the mag itself is 3 bucks, so the CD is essentially a freebie. i'd say that's a steal if I ever saw one. I can give you my personal guarantee that I don't earn ANY profits or commission for any sale. NONE of us in the editorial team will receive ANY such benefits (We're too 'lowly' in the food chain for that lol).
But the consequence of your action is clear. With high sales this month, with a good response and with positive support, it will send a clear message to upper management that the path LIME and myself has taken is true - that despite the many obstacles and hindrances that prevent local music from fully hitting the mainstream, that there is light at the end of the tunnel. We need your support. We need you to put your money where your mouth is. For years, local scenesters have complained about the lack of support from the media in this country. And now that support is here, staring you in your faces. For the life of me I can't recall a time ever (not since BigO anyway) a mainstream magazine has EVER released a CD compilation of local acts to the masses - thousands of copies printed to be distributed NATIONWIDE. But it has happened, and it will happen again if you spend your 3 bucks to show that you care for the scene, that you care that it grows and you care that people sit up and pay attention to the many talented musicians that we have here.
With high sales and support, it will give us leverage to urge the upper management to provide us with more funds to continue supporting local music, be it organizing more big scale gigs for both the bands and the fans, or releasing more giveaways to encourage more people to get into local music, or hey, there's even a possibility of putting a local band on the cover for the first time in the history of a widely distributed magazine in Singapore. The significance of that happening is HUGE - it's a major step forward. But it can only happen with your help and support! It's cliched to say this, but 'help us help you'. A ripple in an ocean can become a tsunami.
So please, come the end of this week, look up the mag on shelves. If it isn't there, ask the owner why it isn't. And if they really don't have it, seek somewhere else to get it. Once again I promise you this from the bottom of my heart, there are no hidden intentions from me or anyone in the team. There are no secret benefits we are reaping from anyone. The sole reason we decided to push for this CD was to have 30,000 Singaporeans pick up a copy of the magazine and check out the CD and go "Hey you know what? Local music ain't half bad.". It's more than 'ain't half bad' - it rocks!
I don't believe in being jaded, I don't believe in waiting for opportunities to come to you. We have to all get up and CREATE those opportunities for ourselves. And we can only do it unified. There ae tons of people who go "Support the scene!" when what some are really saying is "Support my band!". But this is the perfect chance to show the rest of the country we can show true support for what we preach about.. It's time to get off our a$$es and show them what we're talking about! A change in perception, a step in a thousand miles. Have faith, show support, and I promise you, everything we have bled for, everything we have cried for, every dream of every band will be at least one small tiny step closer to reality.
Tell your friends, tell your friend's friends, tell your family and your cousins and that girl or guy you have a crush on. Every single person counts!!! And through the word of mouth from these people will we have to chance of increasing the population of the local scene to something bigger and beyond the 'usual crowd who shows up at shows'
Thank you for your time guys
Levan Wee
LIME Editorial
Personal Blog: astroninja's Xanga Site
P.S.
To those bands who kindly emailed me about being included on the compilation and DIDN'T make the selection this time around, I apologize. It was genuinely hard. The reasons were 1) There were more than a hundred submissions and only 30 could be selected
2) Some of the recordings were too 'bedroom quality' to be accepted into the lineup. But if sales and support prove to be good this month, you have my word that it will be likely that there will be another compilation up our sleeves
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