clap your hands say record deal?
just the other night i was sitting around a table with some friends discussing bands, new york and the bubble we live in. there's a lot to say on this subject, especially when i've got a few glasses of wine in me, but for now i'm going to keep this brief.
clap your hands say yeah came up and i was all, "they'll never sign to a bigger label...and even though they're blowing up here, there are some people 50 miles away who have no idea who they are, and i'm not sure they ever will."
this wasn't an insult to the band or their talent, i love these guys. i just got the impression that they were of the DIY mentality. but recently, and after this round table conversation i had, i heard that cyhsy was about to sign with 4AD, and quite possibly be opening for the pixies on some upcoming shows. if this is true, congrats boys!
guess that bubble just got bigger.
previously: cyhsy plays movable hype 3.0, bowie shows up.
related: mh 4.0 is coming up!
it's impossible to be in THAT much of a bubble in the age of the internet...word gets out...
i mean, target is giving away cd's with bloc party and the hold steady on it...come on
having said that, i am looking forward to seeing these guys open up for my fav band right now...The National
Posted by: Ryan97ou | August 17, 2005 at 11:45 AM
They still haven't signed to a major label, if they have indeed signed with 4AD. It's bigger than self-releasing an album and having it distributed by ROIR, but it's not a major.
Posted by: Glenn | August 17, 2005 at 12:21 PM
i think we do live in a bubble here. yes, there's the internet - but not everyone out there reads blogs all day long. i have friends in other states who are huge music fans and they still don't know who the arcade fire are. yet here in nyc people offer their souls up on craigslist for a ticket to their show.
and glenn, i updated it to not say "major label".
Posted by: jen | August 17, 2005 at 12:26 PM
ACtually, it's already a pretty big bubble already. CYHSY is in the top five in sales in the best record stores across the country from Seattle to Nashville to Atlanta to Dallas and on and on and on. Whoever said "people 50 miles away have no idea who they are" is terribly wrong.
Posted by: Erik | August 17, 2005 at 01:00 PM
i am a huge supporter of clap, but we shouldn't put the cart before the horse. They are still very green and have a lot of up and coming to do. they haven't even played shows outside of the east coast (right?). so it's asking a lot of people who do not live here to be expected to know them. Alls I mean is, they have a lot more work ahead of them and I do not doubt that every snot nosed college kid will know and love them in good time. and that means that "major" labels will be sniffing around.
music is a lot of work.
Posted by: Alfred Wheaties | August 17, 2005 at 01:02 PM
erik - i just meant that i know people "50 miles away" (ie: not in nyc) who do not know who cyhsy are (and by cyhsy i also mean pretty much every band i love and go out to see every week in this city). in the grand scheme of things these are smaller bands - and some are doing their thing without a label, and b/c of that - some people haven't heard of them yet. that was my point. we are lucky enough to live in a place where there are a lot of great bands playing at small venues down the block.
anyway, i don't even know what i'm talking about anymore, my head hurts.
Posted by: jen | August 17, 2005 at 01:11 PM
CYHSY is actually getting pretty popular here in Nashville - granted I work at a college radio station but I've heard a lot of buzz lately. And their album is currently #1 on the retail sales chart at local indie music shop Grimeys.
It's definitey impressive that this can happen with a small, relatively unknown band that doesn't play in the area - all the hype has basically been web-based or word of mouth.
They'll be doing a show here in mid-October; I'm interested in seeing what the attendance will be like.
Posted by: Janet | August 17, 2005 at 01:54 PM
Well, CYHSY start their first big tour in two weeks, and already shows are selling out...so word is definitely out there.
http://www.clapyourhandssayyeah.com/shows.php
And I'm with Ryan about the web - an underground 'secret' is very difficult to keep underground anymore.
Posted by: Dfactor | August 17, 2005 at 01:59 PM
soon they will be playing them at Old Navy. no joke.
Posted by: nora | August 17, 2005 at 02:35 PM
Bubbles pop really fast these days - especially if you put that Talking Heads magic in your band for some reason. Look at the speed Arcade Fire went from opening for the Unicorns to drawing the biggest crowds at fests they played this summer (and they had Merge behind them).
Clap Your Hands are blowing up by word of mouth and blog alone (minus Merge marketing power). It is an odd world and it is driving radio stations and A & R people crazy. I love it.
Posted by: Jesse | August 17, 2005 at 02:39 PM
i'm just freaked out that maybe someone at this 4AD label was sitting at the next table from us at 191 and thought, "ha, i'll prove that jen daily refill wrong on her blanket statements about selling out. so there!"
Posted by: karen | August 17, 2005 at 07:43 PM
They got mentioned a couple of times in this weeks NME. I might try and find some of their material.
Posted by: Jordan | August 18, 2005 at 02:55 PM
Dont see this happening. Clap is not a 4ad band. 4ad has a certain style and though they are trying to cahnge that, Clap isnt part of it. They are an at times OK band. Generic indie rock that has been made for years.
FYI: Good friends with several 4ad employees and sorry, but its not true.
Posted by: J | August 19, 2005 at 03:44 PM