Starter For Ten

Smalltown America mainman Andrew Ferris has been kind enough to offer ‘Ten rules for surviving 10 years’ – an indispensible guide to PR etiquette, blocked toilets, and the odd moment of glory.

1. Gaffer tape fixes anything
Nick Moran (of Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels fame) lent us his pride-and-joy camper van to take on tour one summer. Jamie, our bass-player, parked it too close to a street bollard and ripped the entire back part of the van off – it looked like an open tin of sardines. Until that point, I never knew Gaffer tape could hold together an entire vehicle.
2. Pack a circuit breaker
We played a show in Cork and being too lazy to do it myself, I asked Cahir our guitarist to sound-check my microphone. The PA system was not earthed properly and as soon as he touched it, painful electrocution ensued. It was dreadful at the time, we all thought he was dead or dying, but it’s quite funny to think about it now.
3. Know when to change it up
Bands generally think that they are better than they are, but often the music they make is less than the sum of their parts. Over ten years I’ve seen members of Seafood morph into Male Bonding, Cat On Form and Lady Muck transform into Blood Red Shoes and Zombie Safari Park turn into And So I Watch You From Afar. Don’t be afraid to change it up – even if it’s a bit painful, it will be worth it
4. Block the fire exits
Sell, sell, sell! Allow people every opportunity to give you their money. At the end of the night, it can come down to buying your band’s T-shirt or getting a dirty kebab from the chipper; so you’re easing the nation’s obesity epidemic as well as funding your label get to its next release.
5. Shop around
Laura Ballance (Merge Records’ founder) famously uses every pencil until it can’t be sharpened any longer. Don’t pay for expensive publicists at the beginning of your career; never give a ‘manager’ money – they’re supposed to make it for you; post everything second-class unless it’s a customer order and cut deals on everything from tour vans to boxes of paperclips. 
6. Don’t sweat the big stuff
A successful campaign is the accrual of little victories, not the result of one or two big wins. So if you’re hoping to score a big support tour, or land killer reviews for your record, you’ve had it. Everything is in the detail, so give yourself enough time to plan your campaigns properly – then double it! 
7. If it were easy, then everyone would do it
Last year, I was cleaning out a toilet after a band had left our studio in a bit of a gruesome state. At these moments in life, with your nostrils filled with bleach and your stomach turning, it’s okay to have a little weep. It’s all good training, it makes your hard on the inside and appreciate the good moments when they come along.
8. Don’t game the media
This could also read, ‘Don’t be a dick’. In 2005 we misguidedly tortured the XFM Request Show by getting Jetplane Landing fans to call in, to play our then single. It spiraled out of control and by the eighth night of breaking their SMS server they took us off their playlist. It took six years to get an STA band back on the XFM playlist. Journalists, DJs and gig promoters work in the music industry because they love music. So, if your music is good – it will find its audience, don’t worry and don’t be a dick.
9. Keep your powder dry
My favourite email to receive is: “Dear Smalltown America, please find enclosed our album, which came out last month and has been doing real great, would you be interested in working with us?” As I get to type the following reply: “Dear Band X, yes I am very interested in releasing your album as it seems you’ve done all the hard work for me by (a) Giving a copy to all your hipster mates at uni and tagging them all in a Facebook event for what was clearly the album launch of the century, (b) Scintillating the first 50 ‘indie record labels’ you could find on Google by sending them this incredibly vague cut and paste email, (c) Making sure your record is available to download for free right now on BandCamp, driving potential future sales through the roof. Let me cut you a cheque for your troubles, I’ll also print up 5,000 CDs and hire a digger to bury the fucking things in your mum’s back garden. Kisses, STA.”
10. Do it now
Indecision or seeking perfection can mean a record never sees the light of day. Great bands form and split up all the time, so whilst you have the chance to document their work as a label, you should grab it. Albums are never ‘finished’ they just reach a point where no one knows what more can be done. So if you love it, that’s enough. Just get it out there – things will work out just fine.

LaFaro’s new album Easy Meat is out now on Smalltown America Records. Buy the entire label back catalogue via independentmusic.com