Remediating for 140 Characters

I used Twitter to discuss the farewell album of scene stalwarts Yellowcard, who released their self-titled final record (their 8^th full-length album since 2001) on September 30^th. As a massive big fan, their farewell proved to be a fitting one, a perfect send off to a band whose work has time and time again struck a chord with me.

I opted to use the band hashtags (#Yellowcard and #YC) as a way to connect my tweets with those who may appreciate them, i.e. fellow fans of the band. In addition, I employed the #PopPunk hashtag in an attempt to attract the attention of genre fans, those with similar taste in music who would likely know Yellowcard and who may be interested in my tweets. I also chose to tweet at night time (9PM), in an attempt to capture the attention of the American market, who would just be starting their day at (9AM). Unfortunately, it is hard to "reach an international customer base on Twitter,” and I was unable to converse with any Americans.

My tweets discussed two separate reviews on the final album, one positive and one negative. Perhaps unsurprisingly given my targeted audience was Yellowcard fans, the negative review provoked more conversation. Fellow fans tweeted me to register their fellow disappointment in the review, particularly the assertion lyrics had never been the band’s strong point. I re-tweeted these tweets, to “not simply to get messages out to new audiences, but also tovalidate and engage” with my followers and acknowledge my agreement with them.

I also tagged Yellowcard lead singer Ryan Key in one of the tweets, in an effort to attract his attention and remarkably, he took time out of his day to respond to my tweet. I’m sure he gets tweeted regularly by fans, so it was a nice gesture of him to choose to respond to my tweet. His response garnered a few likes from other Yellowcard fans, which opened up my tweet to another audience.

As a regular Twitter user, I always enjoy discussing music on there as some of my followers have similar music taste and this was no exception. It feels good to raise points in an online environment and have people over the other side of Australia agree with you. Given most of my friends have differing tastes in music, I found it fun to discuss one of my favourite bands with strangers via Twitter.

Pictures: Screenshotted from Twitter.

Entering the Conversation

It would be nothing short of a tragedy if the Australian government were able to pass this legislation. If Visa fees are expected to rise by 600% from November onwards, it would put a considerable dent in the chances of any Australian music fan wanting to see their favourite overseas band on these shores.

The big guns, the Beyonces, Justin Beibers and Kanye Wests of this world may think twice about coming to Australia if playing stadium shows incurs a visa fee of 600% of what they already are. And smaller bands touring with festivals are going to baulk at potentially having to pay $55, 000 for a visa.

While Peter Dutton has his reasons for attempting to bring this law in, he needs to consider it’s not just overseas acts who are going to be hurt, but his own countrymen. Fans who love music will find it harder to see their favourite bands live, while there’s the chance those who work in the live music industry could be made redundant by the potential downturn in touring acts.

Creating Generative Value

Pop punk act We Are the In Crowd stood out in the scene for a couple of reasons. While their ability to write catch pop hooks was up there with some of the best in their genre, they turned heads for having a female lead singer in what was a very male-dominated industry. Tay Jardine’s vocals and song-writing were anything but formulaic, but it was in part down to her presence they caught people’s attention, as she stood out in a scene with what must be said isn’t the most diverse.

When the band sidled into a hiatus without word of warning (it was a good six months before anyone realized they’d broken up), it was a shame to see. Songs like Rumour Mill, The Best Thing That Never Happened and Windows in Heaven were all proof of a young band finding their feet in their career with the potential to really explode in the future.

This is what makes the revelation of Sainte exciting. Jardine, along with fellow WATIC members Cameron Hurley and Mike Ferri, are yet to officially launch their new band, but showed off a teaserfor their debut single Technicolour lastweek.

With Jordan Eckersley (guitars and vocals) and Rob Chianelli (drums) no longer with the band, it remains to be seen exactly what effect this will have on the remaining member’s music. I can’t help but hark back to one of the few other female-led scene bands who made a name for themselves.

When Paramore co-founders and brothers Josh (lead guitar) and Zac Farro (drums) departed the band in 2012, it hastened what was a dramatic change in the band’s sound, style and image. Losing a guitarist AND a drummer, two instruments intrinsically linked to Paramore’s sound, saw the band revamp everything.

Gone were the crunching guitars and fiery hooks, overtaken by the pop sensibilities which were always evident in the band’s music, but had been kept in the background. Hayley Williams went from writing songs of anger and spite to ones of self-love and confidence. It was a seismic changed which the band pulled off.

Will We Are the In Crowd make the same smooth transition Paramore did? Or, will they adopt an “if it aint’ broke, don’t fix it” approach and return to their old sound? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.