Tag Archives: twitter

Press release for “We’re America”

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(see “Time to pitch” post from today for background)
Rocker Releases Song to Rally Nation

On the heels of President Barack Obama’s recent warning of “more pain” ahead, rocker Allen Shadow has released the single “We’re America” to help buoy the nation’s spirit during the economic recovery.

“As the president recently reminded us, the challenges ahead are still great,” said Shadow. “Now, more than ever, we need to keep our heads and our spirits up.”

The indie artist’s song was originally inspired by Obama’s speech to Congress in late February. In his address, the president reminded the nation of its long history of innovation and accomplishment, promising the country would “emerge stronger than before.”

In fact, Shadow echoes the presidential pledge in the song’s chorus: “We’re America home of the brave/And we’ll be back again stronger than today.”

“I also channeled Woody Guthrie,” said Shadow. “He helped us remember the best of our land during the hard times of the Great Depression.

While “We’re America” is uplifting, it also bares teeth. The tune claims “the banks are bandits now” and chronicles the irony of congressmen who cried fowl yet gave away trillions with little oversight.

A video of “We’re America” is a slice of Americana itself, peppered with images of vintage cars and classic movies. The video can be seen on Shadow’s YouTube channel: allenville33.

“I think the American people understand what we’re facing and how long things are likely to take,” said Shadow. “Nevertheless, the road ahead could test our resolve as there will likely be further pressures on us as well as continued knocks from other nations.”

Shadow, whose indie debut CD “King Kong Serenade” (Blue City Records) drew critical acclaim in the early 2000s, is offering downloads of the new single free of charge. The artist’s raw, literate style is often compared to early Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits.

“We’re America” will be included on Shadow’s forthcoming album, “American Alleys,” a street-savvy take on cities from coast to coast, due this winter from Blue City Records.

“We’re America” can be heard or downloaded from several Web sites, including both http://myspace.com/allenshadow2 and http://allenshadow.com.

In addition, Shadow blogs at both https://allenshadow.wordpress.com and http://twitter.com/AllenShadow.

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Twitter for the indie artist

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Is Twitter useful for musicians? Since I added Twitter to my music artist strategy, with my release of “We’re America” and beyond, I decided to post a roundup of opinions on the subject.

Musician Steve Lawson, for one, gives tweeting a thumbs up, claiming successes in an interview on Andrew Dubber’s vimeo.com, saying that musicians must immerse themselves in Twitter. He does a good job of explaining the contextual nature of the technology. If a musician creates a story about his process of making music – the songwriting, recording, performing – he says, users will find him interesting. “Make it part of a narrative,” he says. In a post on his own blog, Lawson debunks misconceptions, saying Twitter has “substantially improved (his) life over the last year.”

A Bob Brown post on networkworld supports Lawson’s philosophy. Brown lists artists of all stripes who tweet, saying the majors tend to do a poor job, while indies who are more serious are also more interesting. Also check out Brown’s list of productive tools for twitterers.

The New York Times tech writer David Pogue covers the waterfront on the subject. His posts cover everything from photo criticism to tips for beginners.

If there is a bellwether on Twitter as a proven tool, it’s Ragan.com. Over the past year, hardly a day goes by without a headline on the topic. Ragan writer and social media guru Shel Holtz says the brevity issue is “a load of crap.” Rightfully, he explains:

Yes, the messages are short. But many tweets are just part of some greater content. Tweets direct you to blog posts, breaking news, videos, photos, just about anything you can find on the Net.

I, for one, am ready to discover the greater good of Twitter for the indie artist and will report further on the subject.

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