Praxis group invites Eastern Gate band for free-market presentation
Marieke van der Vaart
Issue date: 2/26/09 Section: Arts
Musicians need economics, too.
At least, that's what Praxis President senior Hannah Mead said she wants students to understand after Eastern Gate reunites to perform in McNamara Rehearsal Hall March 6 and nine p.m.
The political economy club invited Eastern Gate, formerly Seraphim, to return to campus - all the band's members graduated last year - to discuss and demonstrate how free-market economics impacts everyday life.
"I want people to see the ideas of political economy influence musicians" Mead said. "It's exciting to show people it's not just a weird set of ideas - it permeates what we do."
For the band, the event is just the next step in a year of dramatic growth.
After its debut album released in January, the band rose to No. 200 on Amazon.com's best-seller list.
"It was not supposed to be a commercial enterprise outright," said guitarist and singer Noah Kerr '08. "It was first about sharing music."
Eastern Gate finished mastering its debut album in June and created a Facebook group to announce its release early this year - more to mark the end of a project than to increase the group's publicity, bassist Alex Linebrink '08 said.
"We weren't expecting it to do anything at that point - we just wanted closure," he said.
When it the album did start attracting attention, Linebrink, who works in social networking and marketing, used tools like Twitter and Facebook, to increase awareness about the band with success beyond what he could ever have imagined.
"No one ever notices your status [on Twitter] unless there are buzzwods in there, like 'free'" Linebrink said. "We went from one tweet on Sunday to 12 times what they normally are."
For Linebrink the experience has demonstrated the importance of what he terms the "economics of free." Free samples attract people and get them interested in the band. A dedicated following is key to success, he said.
"The economics of free is through the roof right now," Linebrink said. "It's what's the best way to get ahold of the most amount of people. That'll get people through the door. Once you get people there, they have a chance to listen to the rest of your music - it's an investment in the community."
What was a big break for the band, Linebrink said, will transform business in the future.
"Person-to-person contact is the future of all marketing," he said. "Everyone will respond to word of mouth."
It certainly has worked for the band thus far - it's due to word-of-mouth publicity that the band has several shows planned for next month, including the Praxis event and a two-night gig at Jilly Beans, March 9 and 10.
After that, however, Kerr says it's difficult to organize anything else too far in advance, with band members settling down and spreading from the Twin Cities to New York City.
"That's a step at a time," he said.
At least, that's what Praxis President senior Hannah Mead said she wants students to understand after Eastern Gate reunites to perform in McNamara Rehearsal Hall March 6 and nine p.m.
The political economy club invited Eastern Gate, formerly Seraphim, to return to campus - all the band's members graduated last year - to discuss and demonstrate how free-market economics impacts everyday life.
"I want people to see the ideas of political economy influence musicians" Mead said. "It's exciting to show people it's not just a weird set of ideas - it permeates what we do."
For the band, the event is just the next step in a year of dramatic growth.
After its debut album released in January, the band rose to No. 200 on Amazon.com's best-seller list.
"It was not supposed to be a commercial enterprise outright," said guitarist and singer Noah Kerr '08. "It was first about sharing music."
Eastern Gate finished mastering its debut album in June and created a Facebook group to announce its release early this year - more to mark the end of a project than to increase the group's publicity, bassist Alex Linebrink '08 said.
"We weren't expecting it to do anything at that point - we just wanted closure," he said.
When it the album did start attracting attention, Linebrink, who works in social networking and marketing, used tools like Twitter and Facebook, to increase awareness about the band with success beyond what he could ever have imagined.
"No one ever notices your status [on Twitter] unless there are buzzwods in there, like 'free'" Linebrink said. "We went from one tweet on Sunday to 12 times what they normally are."
For Linebrink the experience has demonstrated the importance of what he terms the "economics of free." Free samples attract people and get them interested in the band. A dedicated following is key to success, he said.
"The economics of free is through the roof right now," Linebrink said. "It's what's the best way to get ahold of the most amount of people. That'll get people through the door. Once you get people there, they have a chance to listen to the rest of your music - it's an investment in the community."
What was a big break for the band, Linebrink said, will transform business in the future.
"Person-to-person contact is the future of all marketing," he said. "Everyone will respond to word of mouth."
It certainly has worked for the band thus far - it's due to word-of-mouth publicity that the band has several shows planned for next month, including the Praxis event and a two-night gig at Jilly Beans, March 9 and 10.
After that, however, Kerr says it's difficult to organize anything else too far in advance, with band members settling down and spreading from the Twin Cities to New York City.
"That's a step at a time," he said.
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