The Heron

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New Jersey based Metal band, The Heron first earned their wings as the cover act, Chaosis. Last year opportunity knocked when Hardcore legends, H2O invited the band to open their final CBGB's show.

Overnite the band changed their act & cranked out their first original tunes to premier at the gig. A summer tour followed, sharing the stage with Black Light Burns, Weedeater, Theo and the Skyscrapers and Rush; and ended with a stint at the Vans Warped Tour.

AP: Making the leap from primo karoke-band to original material is quite a leap – how did you manage that in such a short amount of time?
HERON: We wrote five songs in one week – each song took one day and then we had one day of recording demos, and one day of rehearsal– to play CBGB with H2O. I got the call from them offering to play and immediately accepted it, not really knowing what we would have to do to pull it off. Basically, we just took all the riffs we had been toying around with, wrote some things on the spot to finish the song structure, and then wrote lyrics really quick – just to have something done with vocals.

We didn’t really have any set subject matter in mind, but just wrote lyrics that fit with the mood of the songs. It got really random – I think it ranged from singing about Charles Manson to sleazy strip-bar music lyrics. Four of those songs ended up on our EP, and they were huge components of the sets we would play for the next two years.

AP: Now that you’re doing original material – what’s your sound & whom does it appeal to?
HERON: Energetic, passionate Metal for listeners with a love for music that has substance, liveliness, and meaning – a band that can separate itself from a scene of dime-a-dozen artists.

AP: How did you put this tour together?
HERON: We use The Musician’s Atlas for booking (researching venues that cater well to our audience) and some Sonicbids submissions, connections from meetings with club owners, tour managers, and venue bookers, and working with bands that “look out” for us – help us book shows together, etc.

We contact promoters to put together shows that include The Heron – they usually contact local bands to put on the bill. We’ll meet the bands and keep in touch after the show, and really, we’re never the headlining act out of respect for the local bands. We understand that we’re out-of-towners, and we don’t want to come into their home state and demand that the locals open for us. We’re grateful for the spots on shows that they can get for us, and that helps us keep good inter-band relationships out of state.

AP: What are important considerations you make when deciding what clubs to play?
HERON: What area has a “scene” that our band will appeal to, how transportation costs will affect our ability to profit from playing the show, and how we follow-up to the fans that we make from that show (what they can expect from us in the near future).

AP: How much money did you budget for your tour?
HERON: $1,000 from band fund to cover only necessary expenses – gas and food. However, as this is our first tour going to Florida, we are aware that our expenses may need a larger budget; in which case, each band member will contribute to extra gas and food money out of our own pocket. Although we are trying to come out of this tour “breaking even” or making a little money, the main purpose of going on the road at our level of experience is to generate a buzz about the band, and to gain as much exposure as we can outside of where we live.

We have definitely taken high gas prices into consideration. Luckily, we have a strong relationship with a car dealership in NJ, so we are able to use band transportation at a price that lowers our tour expenses considerably.

We’ll sleep in our van, and sometimes at the home of the promoters (the “do-gooders” of the music business that are helping us any way they can). We have planned to only buy what we need – gas and food – to stick to our budget. So, for us, the Guns and Roses lifestyle is being bypassed in hopes that we can make the road trip as efficient as possible.

AP: Are you finding that audiences are getting smaller because less people can afford to go to shows?
HERON: We’re at the stage where we are just building our fan base, but we are seeing more and more people come to see us as we play shows more frequently, and update them more often. And that free shows often have better turnouts than shows that cost $12 to get into.

My (this is Jay) family has a barn that we used to raise horses in, but now we use it as a practice space / concert hall. We have noticed that putting on free shows every month has significantly affected the band’s recognition in the central NJ area. The free shows at the barn have generated a little bit of competition among local promoters (at least on the night of the show) to have people come to their shows. By putting on free shows for people to come, have some pizza, and enjoy a great rock show (especially without the pretentiousness of other local venues), we are more able to make a name.

AP: Are you recording your shows?
HERON: We have only started recording shows as of this summer because we have not had the technology to do so before. We use a Tascam 8-track recorder that records in stereo to two tracks. Basically, it’s a flat recording of everything that comes from the mixer. If the band is mixed well, the recordings can come out surprisingly well.

AP: Do you think that live music is thriving or just surviving?
HERON: In our opinion, the live music industry is thriving, but is being put through the wringer.

The instant availability of music has given a devastating blow to record companies, and the decline in record sales has made it more difficult for up-and-coming bands to tour. Now, instead of touring to support a record, one must put out a record to urge people to support the tour – the main source of income for an artist. Hopefully, the circumstances created by Peer-to-peer sharing will help bands attract larger crowds to come to their shows.