YOUR QUESTION:

09/09/2021 Dylan

Hey Trevor, HUGE fan of your work all across the board. Regard you as one of the top musical geniuses of the last 35+ years, honestly. Hope you’ve been well and are doing well!
But anyway, I’m apart of an act that went from being a solo project to now a band in the last few years, very like-minded individuals working with me. I’ve always written in a style that is boundless as far as style / genre, big inspirations for it being Mr. Bungle, Tub Ring, Kero Kero Bonito, Dog Fashion Disco, Throbbing Gristle, Talking Heads, Frank Zappa, King Crimson, etc. Always just kind of wrote and never paid attention much to what it was, just let it be. I know this is a long-winded message and I apologize but, to sum it up, as someone who came from a very experimental act yourself, if not quite a few, is there any real “good” way to market / promote / connect an act with such a varied and experimental nature? We’ve gotten very serious and even gained some traction and I’d love to take us further but I just feel like there’s no real way to find “our place,” if that makes sense. Was there ever anything you did with any of your projects, or even Bungle, like way back before anybody had the first clue of who you all were, that maybe helped build more traction and take you all further or get you in the eyes of publicists / labels / people who could help get you in front of the right crowds? I know that probably sounds a bit vain and promise I don’t mean it that way, at the end of the day it’s all about just creating and what it does for me and the band therapeutically of course, but…I just can’t help but wonder what I could do “better.” I appreciate your time and any response whatsoever!

MY ANSWER:

The first thing that comes to my mind is that you should certainly embrace the fact that you are working with like-minded people. Do not take that for granted. Especially with “experimental” music.

Playing niche music and trying to find your place is somewhat of a Sisyphus situation. It’s important to remember that. The recognition that Bungle received was an accident of marketing. I mean, I could tell you that someone in your band should just get really famous then wear your band shirt in a video that goes viral. Good luck with that. Ultimately the best thing you can do is just keep plugging away. Make solid relationships with venues and promoters, play a lot, get in a van and tour. One thing that younger musicians don’t often realize is that publicists don’t come knocking on your door. It’s up to you to pay them. If you’re seeing some artists face all over the place it’s because they are paying a publicist to put them there. But if you work hard and just play anywhere, with any band, you might make a small amount of money.