The Business Of Bands With Philadelphia's Restorations
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- When Philadelphia's anthemic punk band Restorations released their Springsteen-shaded third album in 2014, the critics were quick to pile on the praise.
The gruff, hard-charging sounds on their LP3 would thrust them further into the spotlight and around the world on tour. After a whirlwind of shows and promotion though, the band found themselves at the end of their record label contract. Now, a band born out of the DIY scene has cut out the music middleman and decided to self-release their latest batch of music.
Instead of any affiliation with a label, Restorations has decided to upload their latest songs online and allow fans to pay what they wish for it. It's an experiment in taking the power back that guitarist and singer Jon Loudon so far seems please with.
"To be able to just go record with a friend, get the masters back, put them online and just let it go and be able to see a meaningful amount of money come in from that, that's really really cool" explains Loudon.
Jon credits the bands work with labels for helping put them on the map and giving them the ability to go direct with their new songs, but appreciates the new found freedom that the community that enjoys their music has afforded them.
"There was always the assumption that you had to work within all these parameters to do it, now we're like, oh we can just do this" says Loudon.
"That's the part of punk that I've always enjoyed, is just the word of mouth and the community aspect of it" Jon continues. "So to see that world kind of take it and promote it on its own, just on the music itself, was really really cool. It was really really surprising and I think we're going to keep pursuing this."
The response to their new music is just the latest signal of success for Restorations, who have been lucky enough to turn Philadelphia basement beginnings into a career. "Few bands get to experience this, where you can actually pay rent on what you're doing" laughs Loudon. "That in itself, I feel like I won a Grammy."
Beyond this business model for the band, the breakthrough of their LP3 album affords them much more than autonomy. "I feel understood" says Loudon. "I feel like when we go places, we go places we've never been before or we don't know a whole lot of people, and people show up and they get it and they understand."
"It definitely feels like somebody like flipped the lights on."
Next up for Restorations is a show at The Foundry on Thursday August 18th in their hometown. It's part of the Red Bull Sound Select Series with fellow Philadelphians Thrills and Mumblr. The show is just three dollars if you RSVP here, or $10 at the door.
To hear much more from Restorations singer Jon Loudon, check out the full interview below.
