Hey, Music Lovers!!!!Welcome to the All New Deep Grooves PR site!! For those of you who know me or know of me through my music journalism job (I've worked in the music biz around the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota since the early '90's), here's a side of my business world you may not be familiar with.What I'm doing with Deep Grooves is taking my years of experience both writing about (I've interviewed dozens of famous artists, from John Fogerty to Sonic Youth to Joan Jett, as well as hundreds of local/regional artists- many of whom I think more of than the "famous ones!"- the rest of that background info on myself you can find elsewhere on this site- let's just say my "rock journalism years" culminated with holding Frances Bean Cobain on my lap backstage and interviewing The Replacement's Paul Westerberg- other than smokin' with Willie on the White House roof or people watching with Bob Dylan, I'd be happy to die with those as the high points of my "career," such as it is!)and working with bands and putting my skills to use to help up and coming artists make their way through the maze that is today's modern music "scene."That means writing press kits, bios, press releases, and basically getting your MUSIC out to the people who need to see/hear it. I know those people. Most of them love music, but never know what to dive into first, as they receive so much of it- I can help them by recommending your material first. Just one of many perks to the journalism biz. But, briefly, back to my history...My column (which has run, amazingly, for over 350 weeks nearly consecutively now!) is called "Round The Dial," and it's titled in honor of the old Kinks' tune of roughly the same name. The song is basically a cry from a tried-and-true, down-to-earth, no-bullshit music lover to his favorite DJ, who'd suddenly and without warning been pulled from the air. The result- the vapid, boring, repetitious jive we hear on today's radio waves.My goal- both in my column and with my PR business, is to promote and nurture honest, real, from-the-heart music from artists who actually care more about their songs being heard than they do about being famous, or making millions, or gettin' the ol' bling.All of that is fine, and I don't hold it against anyone who wants to tread that trail- if an artist I back "Makes It" to that level, or anywhere near it, I'll be the first to cheer them on. But I'd be just as proud of them and as thrilled to watch them play the main stage at First Avenue in Minneapolis or Birdys in Indianapolis or The Down-East Saloon in Homer, Alaska, as I would to see them sell out a mega-stadium.SO- I've started this biz on the side- after spending a decade or so trying in vain to work the booking side of things, where I made plenty of contacts which I still retain. Frankly, I'm getting older and standing around waiting for my band to get paid an insulting fee for playing four hours of great music while a "name" band they opened for gets paid immediately far more than they're worth and don't even bother to buy breakfast for "my guys" got to be a pain in the ass, as well as a big heartbreak. If you've been in a band even for awhile, you know of which I speak.I'll leave that end (booking) to younger, more aggressive cats than I- what I CAN do is to use my contacts in the biz, work with my associates in the press and at the indie labels, and put to use my years of music knowledge and insider info to help newer bands (or even bands/artists who just want to take a look at things from a different angle- that's happened several times with great results) to "infiltrate" the music industry and get my people's stuff to the right people and presented in a proper way so that it gets the maximum chance (Among literally hundreds of submissions to various radio stations, newspapers, and reviewers) to catch the eyes and ears of said right people.I've been writing Bios and putting together press kits for bands/artists for several years now (as this page progresses, I'll have a special section listing my clients, but I will say I've worked with scads of Mpls/St. Paul bands, and am currently working on projects for Alaska's Whipsaws and Twin Cities axeman dujour Tom Feldmann), and have enjoyed working with each and every one of them. I'm excited to hook up with new clients with this page, not only to build my business, but my extensive music collection with shit-loads of great new stuff from people like YOU, hopefully.My only caveat being that I have to actually like the music I help promote- I won't work with or try to "Sell" bands or artists I wouldn't listen to or recommend personally. My years of experience in the industry helps with my choices of who I work with, and so far things have gone smashingly. I'm currently looking for new projects and have a clear schedule this coming winter to engage in some in-depth work with some great new bands. I'm looking forward to it.As I mentioned, I'm currently working with an Anchorage, Alaska-based alt-country-type outfit called The Whipsaws- these guys kick ass. I'm so excited just to be in on their "early days," and can't wait to get them on tour and on the radio in the Lower 48. They've already mightily impressed New West artist Tim Easton enough when he recently played up here in Alaska that he jumped at the chance to hit the studio with them and contributes to their upcoming second release. Check out their MySpace page for my official bio, and take a moment to listen to their music- you won't be disappointed!I'm also working with some previous customers (including aforementioned Minneapolis guitar king Tom Feldmann- all of the folks I work with have MySpace spots, so make sure ya check 'em out) and re-working their previous bios, doing some updating, and putting together some much-needed spring tours of Lower 48 bands I want to bring up to tour here in Alaska in May or so. Lots to be excited about!! If you end up working with me, a tour of Alaska will not be out of the question, should that be of interest to you.IF YOU ARE A BAND/ARTIST who would like my help with bios, press kits, press releases, or general advice, I CAN HELP YOU. My fee is very reasonable (remember, as a band booker as well as a former studio assistant at Big As A Barn to a young band, I know how hard it is to finance your way through the miasma of bullshit between you and the public, so I keep my prices reasonable), I'm just an e-mail away, and anyone can check out my "rock journalism" work (as I said earlier, I've interviewed literally hundredes of local Twin Cities artists as well as dozens of national acts, from Randy Newman to Al Green to Pantera to Sonic Youth) by just Googling my name and virtually any band.The official website for the paper I write for is www.reveillemag.com - check it out for the new, improved Round The Dial column. I generally try to review as many local albums as I can (SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC SCENE!!!) as well as national releases I feel are important or noteworthy.As you read the articles I've written, please keep in mind that many of them are written in the so-called "Gonzo Journalism" style and that the Bios, Press Releases, and work I do for bands with Deep Grooves is completely professional, profanity-free (unless, of course, the band insists!), and will be read and seen by dozens of writers and DJ's that I send them out to with all due respect. All included in the price of your initial PR kit. Write me today for more info, maybe we can work together.Please make sure to keep checking back with this site, as I will be posting referrals, references, and samples of my writing, as well as infrequent blogs and photos from the wilds of Alaska, where it looks like I'll be spending the winter!!I'll also have an intro/links page where I'll be introducing the rest of the Deep Grooves PR team to the rest of you, they're just as an important part of this PR gig as all of you are/will be, and I want you all to know the folks who're helping get your stuff out there to the papers, magazines, newspapers, radio stations, and labels it should be. And will be- just give us a holler.I Hope to hear from you, keep rockin' and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC SCENE!! E-MAIL ME AT:
[email protected],Tom Hallett Prez/Head Writer Deep Grooves PR Homer, Alaska
[email protected]
