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Mike IX Williams: The Certainty of Uncertainty

Eyehategod – Live DVD (trailer)

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On discussing underground bands getting romantically involved and signed to any sort of a discreet rock-and-roll label; major, minor, or any such thing in between, there’s a lot of grey area and some things that need to be considered and brought to light. When my band EyeHateGod signed that accursed, pre-Internet, pre-download dotted line in 1989, it seemed like a good idea at the time. But sometimes good things can be an illusion if you think about it. The term “music business” is an oxymoron, which means two words that really self-contradict themselves.

Henceforth, is music really a business? And should it be? And who benefits? Rarely the bands. Unless you are absolutely, positively happy catering to a certain commercial niche, which EHG certainly are not nor never will. We are actually a fairly happy bunch wallowing in mindless vagueness, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have bills to pay. Arguably, in today’s music world, what role does a label play, exactly and entirely? Also, is there really a need for the boss level bossing from a bunch of holier-than-thou fucks who don’t even understand the music, but wanna make you a tax write-off and/or make a quick buck sooner or later than you in this metal thrash wallop and punk noise car smash landscape? Give us royalty rates or give us death!

It’s a very thin, brittle line to walk, and for a small, struggling band, the choices today are make-or-break it with one swift, stupid move, or keep trudging forth into the pit of unsigned, ubiquitous obscurity. On the one hand, at least pre-Napster labels did one decent goddamn thing: that was distribute your record, on no matter what high or low level that they decide to place you on. There is such a thing as the A-Group: the bands that they think will break through to the big time; the B-Group: the bands that they think they can mold into the major label sellouts they need; and most likely for the real thugs like me and you, the C-Group: bands that are not even worthy of putting out advertisements, because the album will be written off as the label’s tax deductions and become nothing more than a record to peddle for super-low budget prices in their favorite low budget cut-out bin in the shopping mall of their choice.

So, as a small garage outfit of dubious degree, what do you do? Today’s climate of “MySpace cut-and-paste, presto instant band, then put your not-yet-finished demo on the interweb in ten minutes”-type bullshit – which I think you’ll agree [with] – adds tons of muck to the shit fire debate of “whether to try and get your goddamn band signed at all” school. Another constant to all the fuss would be the sheer fact of what can the label do for you, and not what you can do for your label.

Another thing you have to consider is, are you looking to become a full-time touring musician, or are you just doing the band as a hobby, so to speak. All of this matters when signing a contract, because you want this label to do as much as financially possible for you and your group – for example, renting a tour van or putting money up front for merchandise. Labels can actually be helpful in this region. But you have to realize that in the future, however, all advances, besides the initial recording costs and studio dollars, will have to be recouped at a later date and taken out of your royalties. That means it’s a loan, dummy. You won’t see any minimal criminal profits until this is all completely paid back!

If your band is just a one-off thing, and all you want is for the company is to distribute your CDs or albums, then that’s fine. Keep in mind, negotiating a contract is a very tedious task and requires paying super-attention to details. It’s really almost a definitive fact that you need an attorney to handle all the mess that reading a recording contract entails. Can you tell I don’t trust anybody? I must add finally and diplomatically that some independents and even some bigger and medium-size labels are actually decent-minded folk, but watch your back. Watch your back…

— Mike IX Williams

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Mike IX Williams sings for Eyehategod, Arson Anthem, and Outlaw Order.

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EYEHATEGOD – EU TOUR DATES

Jun. 17 – Val de Moine (Hellfest) – Clisson, France
Jun. 18 – Kristonfest at Bilbao – Bilbao, Spain
Jun. 19 – Lisboa Club – Barcelos, Portugal
Jun. 21 – La[2] – Barcelona, Spain
Jun. 22 – L’ampérage – Grenoble, France
Jun. 23 – Nouveau Casino – Paris, France
Jun. 24 – Sheffield Cooperation – Sheffield, UK
Jun. 25 – The Fleece – Bristol, UK
Jun. 26 – Underworld – London, UK
Jun. 28 – Magasin 4 – Brussels, Belgium
Jun. 29 – Baroeg – Rotterdam, Netherlands
Jun. 30 – Hafenklang – Hamburg, Germany
Jul. 01 – Roskilde Festival – Roskilde, Denmark
Jul. 02 – SO36 – Berlin, Germany
Jul. 07 – An Club – Athens, Greece
Jul. 08 – Alperstedter See – Erfurt, Germany
Jul. 09 – Club YK – Helsinki, Finland
Jul. 10 – Lutakko – Jyväskylä, Finland
Jul. 11 – Rock Café – Tallinn, Estonia

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