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O’ Say Can You See?
Canadian Musician Crash Their Southern Border
Canadian Musician January/February 1988 by Sarah Chauncey
The Unite States. Home of the free, land of the brave. Cultural imperialism and privatized health care. The place that's stealing all our hockey teams. And the Holy Grail for entertainers in all fields. While domestic success is ego-boosting and patriotically important, more and more Canadian musicians are anxious to solve the puzzle that is the American music market.
Why is American success so important to Canadian musicians The most obvious answer is money. It's very difficult to make a living as a rock band in Canada ( like you need to tell us that). There simply aren't that many places to play, or that many people to buy your records. Says Tyler Stewart, drummer for Barenaked Ladies, "In Canada, you're just not going to sell that many records. I don't know anyone who sells a lot of records, except Our Lady Peace and Moist, and they've had to earn where they are. There are more opportunities in the U.S. , because it's bigger and there are that many more tiny niches that you can find yourself in."
Indie bands, too are starting to realize the benefits of focusing below the 49th parallel. "I think probably because having tried the indie band thing in Canada before, you sort of realize there are so few people up here," explains Ian LeFeuvre, frontman of Ottawa's Starling. "I just think [America is] the place you want your groundswell to come from. It's got so many cities to hit. If you have a great show in New York, maybe someone in Philly will hear about it, or someone in Boston... whereas in Canada, if you have a great show in Ottawa, it might possibly get to Toronto or Montreal, and then it dies right there."
The second reason for heading south is a bit more controversial. Canada is so inundated with Americans' culture and self-celebration. It's hard for Canadians to accept success unless Americans validate it. For whatever reason, in more cases Canadian bands, get more acceptance at home once our Southern neighbours have placed their stamp of approval on a band. For Our Lady Peace, who have been smoking up the American charts with their sophomore release, Clumsy, there was a tangible call-and-response. "We'd been going for a year and change, and it was going okay," explains guitarist Mike Turner. "the record had gone gold, and suddenly "starseed" happened in the States. We were two singles past that in Canada, and suddenly, it became- we were a hit at home, and maybe I'm being cynical in saying this, but it seemed that external validation made the difference. The album [naveed] took a year and months to go platinum and then double-platinum."
A mere three decades ago, staying at home wasn't even an option. There simply was no way to make a good living as a rock band north of the 49th. Bands like Rush and Bachman-Turner Overdrive had to venture south to make their rent, not to mention their careers. Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot are among the others who had to establish a U.S. presence in order to ensure musical survival. Because of the ground breaking work done by those artists, today, Canadian born artist who have made their mark can live wherever they choose. Celine Dion maintains a home in Montreal, although she spends a great deal of off-road time in Florida as well (warmer winters and all); Sarah McLachlan has been rewarded for constant touring by the ability to make her home base in Vancouver, Alanis Morissette chooses to live in Los Angeles, but her career would probably continue to flourish were she to move home to Ottawa. If this were 1968, the only choice would be ex-patriotism. We've come along way, babies.
It's not just that it's hard for Canadian bands to make it south of the border, explains David Bendeth, vice president of A&R Records in New York and former president of BMG Music Canada. And there's no CanCon to hold your hand and make sure people hear you. But if you're good, and persistent, the potential rewards are enormous, both financially and in terms of audience response in sheer numbers.
The size of the States can be daunting in and of itself. "There's major city every 20 miles in the U.S.," says Stewart. "Don't be freaked out by it." Instead try the mindset of Our Lady Peace and think of it as shorter van drives between gigs. Adds Bendeth, "In Canada, you can cross the country in ten days; here, you can cross maybe four states in ten days." You may feel that you're touring and touring , and not making any headway- that's one of the reasons, it's important to work on specific regions, something that will be discussed in detail later.
So how do you know when it's "time"? Do you try to build an audience in Canada and then make the move, or do you jump into the deep end head first? And when you do decide to go, what are you supposed to do? There's 50 states down there and 250 million people. Where to start?
In the first part of this article, we'll take a look at five Canadian bands that are at various stages of their career. All are dealing with crossing over into the United States, but each is approaching it in a slightly different way. From Ottawa's baby band Starling, who have opted to sign with American management, to Barenaked Ladies, who have risen from the ashes when the media burned them in Canada, all these bands have their own plans and ideas on how to work the U.S. market.
In the next part, we'll look at what some options for you to start actively getting your share of the U.S. market. Which is, after all, why you're reading the article, isn't it?
Before we begin, one caveat: when it comes to specifics, this article deals almost exclusively with - for lack of a better grouping - rock bands. We're not talking about individual musicians, who face a different slew of challenges. Nor are we spotlighting country artists, who generally speaking, can make a fine living in our home and native land. Urban music artists, too, face an entirely different set of circumstances in breaking in the States. But no matter what your genre, the principles behind building an audience in America remains the same.
It might surprise you to learn that the singularly most successful Canadian band south of the border right now is Barenaked Ladies. It may be a surprise because after their record-breaking 1992 debut album, Gordon, the subsequent backlash whipped them off Canadian sales and radio charts. But Canada’s loss has been
American’s gain: “The Old Apartment” lasted at American radio for nearly a year, charting clear across the country. More recently, the band released a U.S.-only live version of “Brian Wilson”. In the first two weeks of release, it sold 40,647 copies. The band has over 60 fan-based web sites, almost all from listeners in the
States.
Drummer Tyler Stewart see the band’s perception in Canada like this: “We’re kind of like Farley Mowat or Pierre Burton - everyone knows who we are, but nobody buys our books any more. So at the drop of a hat, the CBC can get Steve Page to comment on election coverage, or TSN can have me on Off the Record you know, when Blur pulls out of presenting a [MuchMusic Video] award, Denise [Donlon] can have us come in “Oh yea, those guys, they’re famous.” Stewart contrasts this with the band’s progress in the States: “It just keeps growing. We’re selling out places, we have a radio life there.” And they have fun. “We have a great time, we have a tremendous following down there, and one that feels more loyal somehow.” Loyal, perhaps, because the band has earned every one of its American supporters, with very little press and, until recently, no support from radio or television.
BNL sold out Roseland, a 14,000 - capacity venue in Manhattan, last New Year’s Eve. This New Year’s, they’ll be playing at Detroit’s The Palace to a crown of 18,000. It’s a far cry from the City Hall controversy of New Year’s Past, and Stewart squarely places the responsibility on the shoulders of the Canadian music industry. “I think there’s just the general, unless it’s handed something on a platter, has no idea how to work a band.” The American industry, he says, is better equipped to deal with plotting a full career. “There’s more of a science to it,” he says, “As opposed to Canada, we’re a giant country, spread out all over the place it’s a lot more difficult to work acts.”
Stewart points to the weak level of support given Canadian bands following big success. “There’s a lot of bands who had gold records, and now where are they?” he asks rhetorically. “The Waltons, Moxy Fruvous, even the Odds - they put out the best album of their career, and it didn’t even go gold.” Of those there bands, Moxy Fruvous has developed the largest following in the United States. “Moxy Fruvous can go down to the states and play respectable size clubs, sell their records off the stage and also through an indie record label and make a decent living. In Canada, they couldn’t get arrested. It’s too bad, because regardless of whether you like them or not, they’re good.”
Within the musician community (not to be confused with the music industry), almost everyone agrees that the Ladies and their manager, Nettwerk president, Terry McBride, have done something very, very right. Says Michael Murphy, a manager whose roster is topped by treble charger, “To me, BNL are the prime example of the most intelligent campaign that a Canadian band has ever waged in the U.S.” Without a hint of hyperbole, Murphy continues. “Honest to God, I really think the way that that band, and Terry McBride, have approached the U.S. has been a case study in what you should do.”
So what have they done so right? “They’ve worked the assess off without telling anyone, apart from the people in the regions where they play, they’ve worked their database extensively, and guess what? They sell records!” He continues, “And BNL, I think are the only Canadian band that have done that. They’re basically doing what U2 did. When none of the other new wave bands would go - [they would] tour and tour and touring the States. No one really knows - they don’t go around saying “We’re huge in the States,” they just go and do the work and shut up about it.”
What BNL has done for the past two years is widely called “micro-marketing,” a big catch-phrase in the music industry. McBride is widely credited with being the first Canadian manager to take this approach to the states -- and it worked. Sarah McLachlan, his cornerstone artist, debuted #2 on Bill board with her most recent album, Surfacing. Stewart explains the concept from a band’s point of view: “micro-marketing is the euphemism for “work your fucking ass off” in the United States.” Hard work as it is, touring touring and more touring is the best way to gain lasting success. “Essentially, go back to the same market several times and play the living shit out the place, which means - you can’t be there too much h, so once every three or four months, so [Terry’s] idea is to hit the same market like six times in two years. But once you have enough for those places you can go back to , that’s sort of what happened with us.”
Touring nonstop has a direct effect on ales and radio airplay. “You can see a sales spike because of the live show,” says Stewart. “If you haven’t broken hugely, and a radio station comes out to see a show, and goes “ wow, these guys are amazing,” they’re going to try really hard to get the “WXYZ presents..” next time, in three months, when you come back. So in those three months, they’ll play your music, and you might have a hit in a certain area of the country, and that really comes in handy if it’s a reporting station. Radio support is what will make or break you in the States, so do everything you can to get stations out to your shows. “The more radio support you get, the more other acts and other record companies and other agents want to have you on their tours,” reiterates OLP’s Eric Lawrence.
And even if your first crowd in a given venue is small, you can rely on the Faberge principle: each person will tell two people, then they’ll tell two people... that is, if you’re good. Explains Stewart, “If you get ten people out of that crowd, you can go back to that town, because they’ll be sure to tell a few people, and just think, if there’s some radio support, you’ll have actual fans who were on the bandwagon before anyone else.”
Stewart cites Universal Honey as one band that has used extensive touring in the Northeast and Midwest to great advantage. “They’re on Alert U.S., which isn’t a big label - but they’ve gone back and froth, and people say, ‘yeah, this is a good little band.” Once again, there a band that can’t get arrested in Canada, but down there, they have a quite substantial following. They go in and make money playing bars.”
The bottom line, insists Stewart, is getting your butt in gear. “GO!!! That’s the biggest piece of advice. Get your immigration shit together, get your work permits and apply early. That means you have to join the union, but the union will lobby for you to get down there. And go as much as possible.”
Michael Murphy agrees. “I would say that being physically present is the greatest thing you can do.” But, he cautions, “You can’t go there ONCE. You can’t go there twice, or you’re wasting double the money. You’ve got to see it as “We’re going to go to this town five times in the next year or year and a half.”
Bendeth echoes Murphy and Stewart’s sentiments. According to him, the biggest mistake Canadian bands make “is coming into a situation for the first time and not repeating that situation. It’s almost like you have to set up a residency in an area. Coming back, and you do Buffalo, Rochester, and then you try to do Albany, Boston. Word of mouth builds, and if you’re as good as everybody thinks you are, then you’ll get to the next level really quickly.”
Of course, it helps that the Ladies are consummate musicians and performers. If yours how isn’t any good, it doesn’t matter how often you return, the audience wont’. Observes Craig Northey of Vancouver’s Odds, “All the shows are full, and it’s because they built on the grassroots support, and they got to people without radio and without televisions. Anyone show’s seen them live knows it’s fun.” Northey, who spent several months on the road opening for BNL, adds, “They’ve done something that every band wants to do, and just bypass all the crap and get directly to the people - it’s almost like direct marketing. It’s great - then you don’t rely on that when the times are rotten, and you may fall out of fashion, you still have all those people who have a direct personal connection to you.” Concludes Stewart, “I feel bad for Canadian bands who don’t get a chance to get down there. And on the other side of the coin, we have spent the last two years down here, almost exclusively, so I can’t just go blaming Canada 100% for not liking BNL anymore. I also have to say, “Shit, we haven’t’ really don’t that much here.”
It should also be pointed out that BNL is on a major label in he States (Reprise) and does have a strong network of marketing folks behind them, working radio and television. But there was a span of several years in which BNL got neither radio or VH1 airplay. The label stayed behind the band because 1) they are excellent live performers and 2) they’re willing to work their asses off touring. Everyone has this great fantasy about huge label support in the U.S., but the truth is, you have to earn it. If you don’t pay your dues and show that you’re giving everything you have an American label will be on to the next act before you can spell “recoupment.” |
