Puddlegum

More artists are choosing to go without the help of a traditional record label and are proving that it is possible to top charts if things are in order. The latest label vagabond is a band called Pela. Their first full-length, Anytown Graffiti, was released during the last week of April, and had reached #1 on Emusic's chart and #5 at Insound by May 2.

Through dedication to touring over the past two years, they have opened for bands such as The Flaming Lips, Sleater-Kinney, The National, and The Decemberists, to name a few. Two EPs preceded the release of Anytown Graffiti, building up to the current stance the band is enjoying. In June the band will play a short US and Canada tour, making their way from the City of Angels to the Big Apple.

World's Fair Management Group, who take a non-traditional approach to providing management and label needs, picked the band up and promoted the album through new media, bringing the band's name to the forefront of the music fans' mind. They are pulling marketing stints that any band should note, such as performing on The Dinner With the Band video podcast with the chef Sam Mason, licensing their songs to compilations, blogging frequently on a web 2.0 friendly site, landing their song Episodes on the Scrubs TV show, working closely with music blogs, and using any new media method to raise awareness.

Pela's online approach is one that deserves attention. This isn't a band that threw together a MySpace page and expected everyone to find them. Instead of limiting themselves to a Flash heavy website, they're using blogging software (appears to be Wordpress) to drive their site. With this setup they're able to provide RSS feeds and comments, not to mention the ease of updating that blogging systems provide. Their website encourages people to bookmark their page on del.icio.us, the social tagging phenomenon. World's Fair provided them with an e-card, another effective means of allowing people to hear your music. They take advantage of Flickr; with the Pela group fans can add their photos of the band. Though Pela has a MySpace page, it's just one of many online tools they use.

Combining these methods with prime advertisement slots, Pela is a prime example of how a great sounding band can use modern means to market their music.

Pela - Drop Me Off

Pela on:
iTunes | Emusic | Insound | Amazon | Hype Machine | Elbo.ws | Musicofthe.net | Last.fm | YouTube | Flickr

05/30 - Spaceland - Los Angeles, CA
05/31 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA
06/02 - Dantes - Portland, OR
06/03 - The Media Club - Vancouver, B.C.
06/04 - Chop Suey - Seattle, WA
06/06 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT
06/07 - Hi-Dive - Denver, CO
06/08 - The Waiting Room - Omaha, NE
06/09 - 400 Bar - Minneapolis, MN
06/10 - Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
06/12 - Lee's Palace - Toronto, ON
06/13 - Club Lambi - Montreal, QC
06/14 - TT The Bears - Cambridge, MA
06/15 - Maxwells - Hoboken, NJ
06/16 - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
06/17 - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY