2012 Review - Dave
What a year it’s been for Loud-Stuff, looking back over it it’s hard to actually take on board just how much has happened! Seeing as we’re about to finish 2012 and move into 2013, Mel suggested it might be a good idea to look back over the year to consider some of the highs and lows we’ve come across, something which I thought would be an awesome idea! The following is my view on things, my thoughts if you will on where we were and where we are now, to try and sum up just how much has happened over the course of things.
We started 2012 by launching the new design site (the site you see now!), something which we spent a lot of time working on to perfect and to make sure we were continuing to offer the best possible site we could. Being the people we are, we decided to launch the new look site at midnight on New Years Eve, so under a cloudy vodka induced haze, we hit launch and were away, all unprepared for exactly what the year was going to bring.
As 2012 began, the influx of bands continued, new bands coming in everyday and new music being put our way. This is something I’m extremely proud of as we’ve never advertised, never spent money on getting our name out there and instead, something which has happened naturally. Hand in hand with this was the number of hits the website was receiving, initially starting around the 500 per day mark and now, hitting up to 2,000 per day – again something I am extremely proud of. People often ask how we get so many hits per day and my answer is always the same – it’s because of the bands we feature – they’ve got damned awesome fans.
I suppose this raises the eternal question regarding the future of music, people seem to pose it to me all the time asking what’s going to be the next big thing, what style is going to come back, which bands are going to make it – and the honest answer is I’ve got no real idea. What I can say though is that the support for smaller bands, real bands, bands who care about their fans and about their music, is growing massively. I was lucky enough to spend the summer on the road watching bands and seeing how people reacted to them, and I can tell you with certainty that there’s a loyal following out there. Fans travel miles to see bands, buy all their merch and support them whilst they’re growing, and that’s what needs to happen. We’ve seen bands get bigger, achieve slots at major festivals and get deals with PR labels and record labels, and when we see it happen I always feel proud that they’ve achieved it as for the most part, they deserve it. Sure, there’s going to be THAT band that people question but that’s all part of the scene, all part of what makes it so diverse and massive.
The summer tour was a definite highlight of the year for me, not only for the Loud-Stuff About To Break Tour but also for Leeds Metal Fringe, Voice FM in Southampton and Noize Level Critical in Ilkeston with Big D. All of the people behind these things have one thing in common, the desire to help the scene get bigger, better, and help the bands get their names out there. Speaking to Big D it’s impossible to resist his enthusiasm for music, he knows way more than I could ever dream of knowing about music, understands the scene, and is dedicated to the bands in it. Top it off with his charity work and quite frankly he’s one of a kind, a man I hold a lot of respect for and feel lucky to call a friend, and someone I’m sure I’ll share some beers with the next time we’re up that way. Throughout the summer I met people, talked to them about music and bands and felt a connection with every single one of them, almost like we’re all on the same page with things, something which renewed by sense of dedication to Loud-Stuff, and of course to the music world.
Low points, I’m not sure there were any to be honest! Sure, in my personal life there was one massive one which scared the hell out of me and resulted in an operation and 3 weeks off of work, but it’s all part of life’s rich tapestry. Let’s think of it as a blip if you will, but on the upside, even that time off allowed me time to listen to new music, hear new stuff and work more on the site – so there’s always a silver lining. Personally, I don’t like to think of negative times or low points so I’m going to skip over the negative sides to things, the whole year has been too good to really think of anything bad.
I don’t know what 2013 is going to hold for us, and there’s no point even guessing to be honest! A year ago I never thought I’d be going out on tour, meeting bands like Soil and Breed 77, co-hosting a radio show and being interviewed on another, but there we go. 2012 has been an honour and privilege, and there are way too many people I could thank for it! To name a few people though, big thanks to Big D, Jon Huddy, Neil Short, Noz and Ryan and STS, Gary at SAN PR, Ellie at Prescription, Mike, James, John Asher and Steve Bello. Thanks to Rob, Mel, Charlotte, Julia, Pete and Naomi for being part of the team. Thanks to Sian (my wife) for the emails and support, to all my friends for putting up with me wittering on about the latest band I discovered, but most of all, thanks to every single person who has looked at the site of the course of the year.
Here’s to 2013, what ever happens know that it’s an honour to do what I do, and I’ll continue doing it as long as you’ll keep reading it.
Much love.
Words: Dave Nicholls
We started 2012 by launching the new design site (the site you see now!), something which we spent a lot of time working on to perfect and to make sure we were continuing to offer the best possible site we could. Being the people we are, we decided to launch the new look site at midnight on New Years Eve, so under a cloudy vodka induced haze, we hit launch and were away, all unprepared for exactly what the year was going to bring.
As 2012 began, the influx of bands continued, new bands coming in everyday and new music being put our way. This is something I’m extremely proud of as we’ve never advertised, never spent money on getting our name out there and instead, something which has happened naturally. Hand in hand with this was the number of hits the website was receiving, initially starting around the 500 per day mark and now, hitting up to 2,000 per day – again something I am extremely proud of. People often ask how we get so many hits per day and my answer is always the same – it’s because of the bands we feature – they’ve got damned awesome fans.
I suppose this raises the eternal question regarding the future of music, people seem to pose it to me all the time asking what’s going to be the next big thing, what style is going to come back, which bands are going to make it – and the honest answer is I’ve got no real idea. What I can say though is that the support for smaller bands, real bands, bands who care about their fans and about their music, is growing massively. I was lucky enough to spend the summer on the road watching bands and seeing how people reacted to them, and I can tell you with certainty that there’s a loyal following out there. Fans travel miles to see bands, buy all their merch and support them whilst they’re growing, and that’s what needs to happen. We’ve seen bands get bigger, achieve slots at major festivals and get deals with PR labels and record labels, and when we see it happen I always feel proud that they’ve achieved it as for the most part, they deserve it. Sure, there’s going to be THAT band that people question but that’s all part of the scene, all part of what makes it so diverse and massive.
The summer tour was a definite highlight of the year for me, not only for the Loud-Stuff About To Break Tour but also for Leeds Metal Fringe, Voice FM in Southampton and Noize Level Critical in Ilkeston with Big D. All of the people behind these things have one thing in common, the desire to help the scene get bigger, better, and help the bands get their names out there. Speaking to Big D it’s impossible to resist his enthusiasm for music, he knows way more than I could ever dream of knowing about music, understands the scene, and is dedicated to the bands in it. Top it off with his charity work and quite frankly he’s one of a kind, a man I hold a lot of respect for and feel lucky to call a friend, and someone I’m sure I’ll share some beers with the next time we’re up that way. Throughout the summer I met people, talked to them about music and bands and felt a connection with every single one of them, almost like we’re all on the same page with things, something which renewed by sense of dedication to Loud-Stuff, and of course to the music world.
Low points, I’m not sure there were any to be honest! Sure, in my personal life there was one massive one which scared the hell out of me and resulted in an operation and 3 weeks off of work, but it’s all part of life’s rich tapestry. Let’s think of it as a blip if you will, but on the upside, even that time off allowed me time to listen to new music, hear new stuff and work more on the site – so there’s always a silver lining. Personally, I don’t like to think of negative times or low points so I’m going to skip over the negative sides to things, the whole year has been too good to really think of anything bad.
I don’t know what 2013 is going to hold for us, and there’s no point even guessing to be honest! A year ago I never thought I’d be going out on tour, meeting bands like Soil and Breed 77, co-hosting a radio show and being interviewed on another, but there we go. 2012 has been an honour and privilege, and there are way too many people I could thank for it! To name a few people though, big thanks to Big D, Jon Huddy, Neil Short, Noz and Ryan and STS, Gary at SAN PR, Ellie at Prescription, Mike, James, John Asher and Steve Bello. Thanks to Rob, Mel, Charlotte, Julia, Pete and Naomi for being part of the team. Thanks to Sian (my wife) for the emails and support, to all my friends for putting up with me wittering on about the latest band I discovered, but most of all, thanks to every single person who has looked at the site of the course of the year.
Here’s to 2013, what ever happens know that it’s an honour to do what I do, and I’ll continue doing it as long as you’ll keep reading it.
Much love.
Words: Dave Nicholls
