Many Eve 6 fans have responded to Eve 6's recent college touring with a level of frustration. The shows have been awesome, and many have been well-attended, but after almost 6 years the hardcore fans want new music.
Tony has hinted recently that commercial success is not really the goal right now, and it is about touring successfully and eventually getting new music out there - possibly on a digital platform.
Alternative Addiction recently published a fascinating article about Third Eye Blind (a band that Eve 6 toured with back in 1998), and how they aren't worried about singles, or media attention - they just want to keep on playing packed shows, and putting out music that their fans embrace.
From that article about 3EB:
It seems as though the band isn't looking for huge commercial success, and just plans to take the grassroutes approach to this release.
"I know it's great to have big media success and all of that stuff, and walking all of the red carpets and all of that crap, but it's really not necessary," Fredianelli explained. "It's all about the music really. And our fans have not left us. They know all of the records, they know the third record just as well as the first record. So touring has actually gotten better as far as our attendance. It's just really bizarre."
It sounds like in some ways the band come full circle from their early days, to their huge commercial success, and now back to where they started.
"What it showed us is all of the work we've been doing over the last five years, touring colleges and becoming one of the most requested bands at colleges on the East Coast, has kind of brought us back our initial alternative fan base, because Elektra Records had kind of squandered that by going for all of the big money," Fredianelli says. "It was the bread versus cred thing, but it's kind of an amazing resurgence we're seeing. It's really kind of inspiring."
Sound familiar? Fast forward a year or so, and hopefully Tony of Eve 6 will be able to make those exact comments. This is a new day and age in the music industry (and in the working world in general) - if people want to make money and to be successful, more work is necessary. What this means for the music industry is less reliance on radio to sell records and more focus on touring, grassroots fan support, new media interaction and, for mega-talented artists such as the Butch Walke's and Max Collins' of the world, more writing/producing for up and coming bands/musicians.
In the past year, Eve 6 has played two shows in a day on two separate occasions, and they are relaunching their website with a marketing firm that has experience with interactive new media. In addition, Max/Tony have written a hit single for Puddle Of
Mudd and are currently in the studio writing/producing an album for Emily
Osment of Disney's Hannah Montana. It seems as though they are well suited for success in the 21st century music industry.
In addition, we are bound to see more and more bands become strategic with tour booking. When the right shows aren't there, bands will have to use the downtime to work on their own albums as well as side-projects that will make extra money. Being a rockstar now means hard work and strategy, and not wild boozing and promiscuity.
This definitely represents a major shift in the industry. It used to be that bands would spend months in the studio and then depending on "radio single support" for a couple of national tours before starting the process all over again.
Perhaps Eve 6's lack of a new "album" is strategic, and new songs will be released in bits and pieces for the foreseeable future. Of course, the question remains - if the band is playing college shows, festivals, and state fairs in front of thousands of fans on a regular basis, while only releasing a few new songs at a time, will they lose some steam? Will the nostalgia aspect of the late 90's/early 00's Eve 6 hits lose their luster, without the new songs catching on?
That all remains to be seen. The good news for Eve 6 fans is that after returning from the dead, the band has adapted to the new landscape of the industry and is looking forward - not back.
