Wildhearts Rant!!

[michelle]

Thanks for having my back Ean, I know my page doesn't get much notice, but I put every article and every picture I find up there. All I need is for more people to send me scans since british magazines are hard to come by over here.

michelle

[Piedude]

Just to add, the official website now says...
"The New Flesh is due to be the next single from 'The Wildhearts', scheduled for release 1st October. More news as we get it"
So there we go. And as for the japanese tracklist, CJ said in that long interview of his around Christmas that they recorded 17 new tracks, so if Spencers does count theres still 2 tracks without names held back.

[nig1012]

i think it just goes to show that apart from the die hard fans no-one gives a shit about ginge or the wildhearts he`s released some of his best material recently with really gud reviews but where's it got him or the band ABSOLUTLEY FUCKIN NOWHERE

[Dark Lord of Barnet]

The new album came out with virtually no lead off single. Almost unheard of for any band to do this....Sweetest Song was released as a download only but due to the nature of the lyrics could not be played on any radio station. To my knowledge, no video accompanied the single either meaning the Kerrang/Scuzz/MTV2/Rocksound tv markets were missed too....Since the tour..............................nothing. No single releases (and believe me, there's plenty on the CD which is single material - Bi-Polar Baby (minus a swear word or 2), New Flesh, etc), virtually no TV/magazine exposure and some limited updating on the official website......nothing....
Whos fault is this? The record company for not wanting to promote the CD or the band?

It's pretty simple really - the record company/Ginger/band (all effectively the same thing) have NO MONEY to release and promote stuff.

[Dark Lord of Barnet]

I've said it before. I really don't think this is the album to break them back into the mainstream. I think that was their goal last time around

Yes, and it didn't work then - so it's even less likely to work now. They gave it their best shot with the pop/commercial approach last time - but met a brick wall with the 'not relevant/cool/fashionable' attitudes of the playlist mafia and other media fascists. If Radio 1/Virgin think you aren't this month's thing (lets face it - the WH never will be) then you're fucked. End of.

Obviously the band thought the best thing was to say 'fuck 'em all' and just make the BEST album they possibly could. So they did - and we got a bloody great album and the band got generally great reviews - but still no airplay - even from once more adventurous and cutting edge stations like Xfm.

Something else needs to be tried. Internet promotion can be effective up to a point - but you are largly preaching to the converted. Another thing which definitely works is having really good management with good connections (this is vital) and a lot of money behind you. This has been proved to work very effectively time and time again. I'm sure Ginger is only too well aware of all this... How do you get that sort of backing? I don't know... The music business isn't about what you know - it's about who you know...

Then of course there is the age old tried and tested method: Tour like bastards! This still works - even if you have to start at the bottom playing small venues. This is bloody hard work and I honestly don't think the band have the heart for this any more though.

[markE]

gud reviews but where's it got him or the band ABSOLUTLEY FUCKIN NOWHERE

what makes you say that? things must be going okay for ginger/the wildhearts or he would not be releasing material at all, let alone doing two uk tours, us shows etc. don't forget this is pretty much gingers label - how could he afford to be doing another solo album, the scorchers tour etc if things were that bad. the single has been delayed but it is coming - these things take time. added to the fact that certain members probably have home commitments.
keep the faith.

[Ean]

Yes, and it didn't work then - so it's even less likely to work now. They gave it their best shot with the pop/commercial approach last time - but met a brick wall...

I'm not sure I entirely agree with that. The singles off the last album did pretty well, they were getting increased exposure on the music channels and they were starting to make inroads into previously untapped markets.

Had they got down to it as planned and knocked out the next album for a mid-2005 release, they'd probably have been looking at a second successive Reading appearance and possibly a few other festivals too. With a bit of clever planning, an autumn tour while the festys were still fresh in people's minds would hopefully have built on that exposure.

Unfortunately, as Ginger's well publicised problems rather put the kibosh on that, we'll never know what might have been.

[Ross]

Regarding press for the tour, perhaps its just me but im not overly suprised that there hasn't been an ad yet, the dates have only been announced a week ago, and we're still 5 months out. If we're a month away and there is still no ads then i agree thats its a major problem.

Ok counter rant over..

From working in the media and with a press officer, let me tell you those ads don't come cheap. For a quarter page in our local rag you're talking over a grand, and then when you get up to national mags and so on, the cost goes up exponentially. Especially in targeted magazines, they're stupidly expensive.

That could be why.

[fluffygrue]

Yeah, press ads are probably out of the question for an indie label. I'd have thought that getting some flyers/posters printed would be a good idea for promotion, though, as they're cheap enough to do.

Also snail-mail newsletters probably work quite well, too, like the ones they sent out around Endless Nameless-era, with Anthem promo stickers and whatnot.

[Trudi]

Also snail-mail newsletters probably work quite well, too, like the ones they sent out around Endless Nameless-era, with Anthem promo stickers and whatnot.

Though this does depend on having a healthy mailing list database to start with, which in itself would need some promotion. I honestly can't remember whether there was a mailing list to sign up to on the last tour, did anybody see one?

[nig1012]

gud reviews but where's it got him or the band ABSOLUTLEY FUCKIN NOWHERE

what makes you say that? things must be going okay for ginger/the wildhearts or he would not be releasing material at all, let alone doing two uk tours, us shows etc. don't forget this is pretty much gingers label - how could he afford to be doing another solo album, the scorchers tour etc if things were that bad. the single has been delayed but it is coming - these things take time. added to the fact that certain members probably have home commitments.
keep the faith.

i'm talking about recognition, most people still say who are the wildhearts,who are ginger and the sonic circus. it gets a bit frustrating talking about a band/artist which you`ve worshipped over the last 15 yrs when people say "they can`t be that good cus i`ve never heard of 'em"

[fluffygrue]

i'm talking about recognition, most people still say who are the wildhearts,who are ginger and the sonic circus. it gets a bit frustrating talking about a band/artist which you`ve worshipped over the last 15 yrs when people say "they can`t be that good cus i`ve never heard of 'em"

Does it matter if no one's heard of them? And at any rate, if you hang around music-nerdy places and people, you can usually end up with a decent conversation about a band. I think a lot of people in the rock music community have heard of the WH, anyway.

[nuno75]

i'm talking about recognition, most people still say who are the wildhearts,who are ginger and the sonic circus. it gets a bit frustrating talking about a band/artist which you`ve worshipped over the last 15 yrs when people say "they can`t be that good cus i`ve never heard of 'em"

Does it matter if no one's heard of them? And at any rate, if you hang around music-nerdy places and people, you can usually end up with a decent conversation about a band. I think a lot of people in the rock music community have heard of the WH, anyway.

Other than at actual concerts and on-line, I have met one person in my life who has heard of the Wildhearts that wasn't introduced to them by me.

[nig1012]

i'm talking about recognition, most people still say who are the wildhearts,who are ginger and the sonic circus. it gets a bit frustrating talking about a band/artist which you`ve worshipped over the last 15 yrs when people say "they can`t be that good cus i`ve never heard of 'em"

Does it matter if no one's heard of them? And at any rate, if you hang around music-nerdy places and people, you can usually end up with a decent conversation about a band. I think a lot of people in the rock music community have heard of the WH, anyway.

no 1, course it matters if no one's heard of you whats the point of writing/releasing music if no one's gonna hear it
no 2, ok people in the rock community may have heard of the wildhearts but few (bar the people on this board) could give two shits about them
let's just accept that they're never gonna be any more than they are now at this minute which is a massive shame and i do hope i'm proved wrong
oh yeah and what a complete waste of time a "wildhearts vs metallica" thread is on a wildhearts message board....... i really didn't expect the majority to favour the wildhearts

[michelle]

i'm talking about recognition, most people still say who are the wildhearts,who are ginger and the sonic circus. it gets a bit frustrating talking about a band/artist which you`ve worshipped over the last 15 yrs when people say "they can`t be that good cus i`ve never heard of 'em"

Does it matter if no one's heard of them? And at any rate, if you hang around music-nerdy places and people, you can usually end up with a decent conversation about a band. I think a lot of people in the rock music community have heard of the WH, anyway.

no 1, course it matters if no one's heard of you whats the point of writing/releasing music if no one's gonna hear it
no 2, ok people in the rock community may have heard of the wildhearts but few (bar the people on this board) could give two shits about them
let's just accept that they're never gonna be any more than they are now at this minute which is a massive shame and i do hope i'm proved wrong
oh yeah and what a complete waste of time a "wildhearts vs metallica" thread is on a wildhearts message board....... i really didn't expect the majority to favour the wildhearts

Ok, I've gotta call you on this steaming pile of bullshit.

1. It doesn't matter whether 5 people have heard you or 5 million. You think Ginger does this hoping to wake up a millionaire someday? If the music is in his head and his heart what choice does he have but to record it? Lucky for us he's shares his gift with us!
2. I know a hell of a lot of people who aren't on this board who give a shit. They give a big enough shit to not publically diss a band they say they love.
3. The true fans have accepted long ago that whether or not the band ever becomes world famous thats good enough for them, We're along for the ride either way!
4. If you don't like the metallica vs the wildhearts thread stay out of it. Problem solved!

What's the problem? Aren't you secure enough in your music choices to tell the haters to piss off? Your kind of negativity gets around you know, Knock it off.