On USA tonight, Farm Club debuted. Farm Club is a new show mixing current artists and unsigned bands. I had seen some previews and was looking forward to the show as Matt Pinfield (the bald dude from MTV who actually knew his music) is the host. After the first show, I’d say I’m impressed.
The concept is this: people listen to unsigned artists on the web site and the artist voted the most popular in a given month are flown to Los Angeles to perform on the show. While the first band that performed (Headboard) was just short of terrible, female singer/DJ Sonique did a nice job. Personally, I enjoyed the 2-second clips of the World Famous Beat Junkies more than either.
Anyway, back to the concept — Farmclub.com is not only the web site and the accompanying TV show, but it’s also a record label, and they’re giving deals to these unsigned artists putting their music online. It’s about time the playing field is levelled so bands from small towns finally have deals and exposure that come close to their big-city counterparts. As nice as it is to be highly rated on mp3.com, to actually be backed by a company that believes in you and what you’re doing is something every small band or kid in his bedroom recording demos dreams of.
Who knows. Maybe you’ll see me perform on USA. Someday. -ram
Posted in Television, Movies, and Music