The Song

Like you already know Electric Gypsies is a cover band, and the song they want to perform for our video is called "Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix. It was written and originally recorded by Bob Dylan in 1967, but it was the Jimi Hendrix cover that made the song famous. Other artists have covered it, including  Neil Young, U2, Dave Matthews Band and The Grateful Dead. Dylan was so impressed with Jimi's version that he played it for a while the way that Jimi had recorded it.

Meaning of the song

The song is a conversation between the joker and the thief.  The song is sung in the reverse of what happened. In the first verse, the joker is expressing his frustration with society. The thief tells the joker that he isn't alone in his thinking and that there are many other people who feel the same way.

In the second half of the second verse, the joker and the thief are not going to allow themselves to be stuck in the confusion and the worthlessness. When he says, "let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late". This foreshadows that something is about to happen.

The third verse is a change of scene. We find out that there is a castle filled with women and servants. Princes are guarding the castle. They hear a wildcat and the wind howl as two figures approach - the joker and the thief - and we are transported back to the beginning of the song.



Lyrics

There must be some kind of way outta here
Said the joker to the thief
There's too much confusion
I can't get no relief

Businessmen, they drink my wine
Plowman dig my earth
None were level on the mind
Nobody up at his word
Hey, hey

No reason to get excited
The thief he kindly spoke
There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke
But, uh, but you and I, we've been through that
And this is not our fate
So let us stop talkin' falsely now
The hour's getting late, hey

All along the watchtower
Princes kept the view
While all the women came and went
Barefoot servants, too
Outside in the cold distance
A wildcat did growl
Two riders were approaching
And the wind began to howl

https://www.musicbanter.com/lyrics/Jimi-Hendrix-All-Along-the-Watchtower.html

Stay Tuned.

Mari

Group Meeting

So yesterday we decided it was time for a group meeting with the band. We all met up in Town Center, ordered some food, and decided what was the next move. First item on the list was deciding how the band wanted the audience to view them. How did they want to be portrayed? This question was a little difficult to answer because since the band is completely new they didn't have clear idea of what they wanted their brand to represent; all they knew was that they wanted to make good music for people to enjoy. So, Sabrina and I decided to figure out first what distguishes each individual memeber and how they wanted to be portrayed to their fans. Since, they were a new band we also believed that would be great to make the music video personality based.

Here are some characteristic of each member

Joaquin: Energetic, bossy, show off, takes initiative

Igor: Crazy, carefree, doesn't care about whats mainstream

Alexis: caring about the music, down to earth, minimalistic, grounded, in a way the "glue" of the band

Caio: Quiet, aloof, doesn't like to show off, humble, detailed (Also he wear his signature sunglasses for every performance

Lucas (brand new member): reckless, chill, outgoing



We decided to also ask them what are some other bands they assimilate to or admire to facilitate the process of deciding their brand. Some examples were the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Led Zepplin, Queen, and Jimi Hendrix.

We also spoke to them about many of the bands that have formed in Cypress Bay and studied they're branding. The Castafellas were a really good representation of what they band wanted to portrayed. Luckly, one of my friends is best friends with one of the members, so we can ask them any questions we have about their brand.

We also talked about their style because as of right now they don't look like a very cohesive band because they all dress extremely different. We believe this very important when creating a brand.

Next class, Sabrina and I are going to gather all the information we have and create an identity prism for the band!

Stay Tuned.
Mari

Welcoming a New Member To the Team

So Sabrina and I were struggling on deciding how we wanted to promote this band. The problem was that Electric Gypsies was a purely instrumental cover band, so in other words, they didn't have a vocalist. That was until now! Recently, Igor, the drummer of the band, found someone who is in the Cypress Bay Choir that wanted to be part of the band. We thought a vocalist would be a great addition because with lyrics added to their song of choice there would be many more options to the type of music video we wanted to create. The new singer's name is Lucas Macedo Fernandez, and after meeting with the band and speaking about the song they wanted to perform, Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix, we concluded that this new addition was going to even better our work and facilitate the process of creating a music video. Sabrina and I are so happy because we believed it was going to be a lot more difficult creating a music video for an instrumental song. How lucky are we?!

Stay Tuned.
Mari

The Digipack

A digipack is like a book with two sides, or it may contain three sides one that opens right and one that opens left with the CD presented in the middle; it showcases the CD like somewhat of a jewel.

Digipacks were first created by MeadWestvaco, and their product, called Digi-Pak, is trademarked. There are many pros and cons to the digipack. One advantage is that it gives appeal to the CD and the sleeves allowed for more than just the CD to be included. It made the brand seem more exclusive and premium. The digipack is also very protective and resistant, so it prevented the CD from breaking and expanded its lifespan; however, were more prone to breaking than their jewel case counterpart.

The digipack is also meant to express the band's brand.


Front Cover

Promoting the Artist
Many digipacks are meant to promote the artist of the album or single. This can be done by place an image of the band or artist on the cover, so its the first thing you see when you get the CD. It allows the audience to assimilate the song or album to the artist.

Ex: Rhianna's Digipack for "Loud"


Challenging Conventions
Many artist instead of promoting themselves on the cover try to set the tone or mood of the album through the cover image. The lyrics of the song are more emphasized through the cover.

Ex: Kodaline's Digipack for "In a Perfect World"


Artist's Name
This is mostly done for recognition of the band/artist. The picture of the band/artist doesn't necessarily need to be on the cover.

Ex: One Republic's digipack for "Native"



* the album name is also promoted on the cover of all digipacks. It gives the audience insight as to what the album is going to be about because the name often reflects the content of the album.



Inside
Information
Information on the artist, as well as information on the album is included and what inspired the artist to create it.

Lyrics 
Lyrics may also be included inside so the audience can gain deeper insight into the meanings of the lyrics and have a better understanding of them. Mostly done when the artist releases a single rather than a full album.

Back Cover

• Copyright information
• Barcode
• Tracklist: The songs featured on the album 
• Background image that is either related to the album or the band. Must be cohesive with the front cover.

*The spine of the digipack also contains the name of the band/artist, the album name, and record company, so a fan can easily spot it on a rack for purchase or when it is stored.

Here is an example of a digipack

https://prezi.com/t4kvdkboubqe/digipak-conventions/

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/the-history-of-digipack-cd-packaging-2460360

Stay Tuned. 

Mari

Promoting a New Band

Since our band is a brand new band, unknown to the public, we need to find a way to market and promote them to an audience. For this, it is important to establish a brand for Electric Gypsies. Branding is important to the band because in an abbreviated and unique way to capture their essence and provide followers with an identity to follow. Branding is “the marketing practice of creating a name, symbol, or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products.” according to entrepreneur.com. The brand, in a way, allows the fanbase to gain a deeper connection with the band and be able to identify them and other members of the fanbase who may wear their merchandise easily. These loyal customers or die hard fans more valuable to a your band than a one-time buyer who will not be coming back for another show, album, mp3, t-shirt, etc.

 Brands of certain bands that make them easily recognizable

Rolling Stones

A few different famous bands including ACDC, Coldplay, and U2

Once you establish your brand it is important to maintain it. The artist's brand should be apparent at every exposure to the public. Band logos and slogans are not as useful if they are not used repeatedly. Every exposure is an opportunity to expose the band to more people and possibly gain fans.


Here are some tips for creating a band that I feel are of importance.

• Get a great logo.
• Write down your brand messaging. What do you want your brand to communicate about your brand?
• Integrate your brand. Place your brand on everything that is to reflect your band, whether that is merchandise, CDs, music videos, etc.
• Create a "voice" for your company that reflects your brand. Make sure the brand is true to the artist and reflects them in a genuine way
• Design templates and create brand standards for your marketing materials. Use the same color scheme, logo placement, look and feel throughout. You don't need to be fancy, just consistent.
• Be true to your brand. Customers won't return to you--or refer you to someone else--if you don't deliver on your brand promise.
• Be consistent. Don't change up the brand multiple times, it will just bore and confuse your fan base.

We plan on creating a logo for the band so they are more noticeable and  can be easily recognized.

Links:
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/77408

https://blog.discmakers.com/2013/09/developing-your-artist-brand/

Stay Tuned.
Mari

our schedule! hopefully...

Sabrina and I made this schedule so we could stay on top of our project and manage our time. Hopefully, we can stick to it!

Here it is below. 

Stay Tuned. 

Mari 

What does a music website contain?

Music websites allow for fans and followers of a band or artist to follow up on what their favorite band/artist is doing and explore more about them in doing so. It allows artists to display their albums as well as social media and tour information to keep the audience informed about what is going on.

Many of these websites include very similar layouts and include similar tabs because they are all trying to display the same information just for different artists. The websites vary in color and design to adhere to the persona and character of the artist. Many of these websites include similar tabs, for example, information about the band or artist, their music, any music videos produced, tour/performance dates available, and links to other media outlets owned by them. Many websites also include merchandise or links to where you can buy the band's merchandise as well as tabs to charities they support and would like their fans to donate to.

For example, here's the merchandise website for The Who. It contains a similar scheme to the official website and a link back to the official website. The website is easy to use and navigate and the color scheme is visually pleasing.

https://shop.thewho.com

The bright colors of both the website and the shop intrigue the viewers and promote the band's personality and correspond to the music they produce.

https://www.thewho.com

The Rollings Stone website also includes a bright color scheme and it provides the audience with images that present the band's personality.

https://www.rollingstones.com

This website also includes very similar tabs to that of The Who, as well as a sign-up tab to be on their email list so the fan can receive even more information about the band. When building a brand new band's website, one should consider what other bands have on theirs.

Stay Tuned.
Mari