While the band stayed in Australia, Ultimate Guitar writer Joe Matera sat down with Biffy Clyro singer and guitarist Simon Neil to talk the new album, touring and music business. Read an exclusive excerpt below:

What have been some of the most important lessons you have learned from being in this business?

Image credit: news.bbc.co.uk

The one lesson we learned the most was to just believe in yourself. Just because someone thinks you’re crap doesn’t mean you are crap. And like wise, just because some one thinks you’re amazing doesn’t mean you’re amazing. It’s really about the belief in yourself.

We’ve always had a focus and a drive. We were lucky that we had a start where people didn’t like our band for years and we made small records on indie records. And if we didn’t have the belief in ourselves, we still wouldn’t be doing it. If we were doing this to make money or to meet tons of girls we would have given up after about a year. For us it’s really about the thrill of making music.

What have been some of the most memorable experiences in the band’s career thus far?

There have been quite a few. I guess on a basic level when we got to meet The Rolling Stones that was a real pinch yourself moment. And that was because they are a band that really shaped rock and roll from day one. I probably prefer The Beatles slightly more musically than The Stones, but they have done a lot. That was a moment we’ll never forget, and also having Josh Homme play guitar on the record. He is such an amazing songwriter and guitarist.

Read the rest of the interview on UG next week.

Photo credit: AP Photo/Paul Vernon

Ultimate Guitar’s Joe Matera recently called Dean DeLeo to discuss the new release, and his thoughts on the music industry. Read a brief excerpt below, and check the full interview when it’s posted on UG next week.

Having now clocked up twenty years in the music business, what are some of the important lessons you’ve learned?

It is all about what comes with age. I like to think that not just another year passes but a little wisdom comes under your belt. I have become a little more aware of the business aspect of things because musically, it is really easy as it’s a great place to go dip your mind in and have a fun time doing.

But I am much more aware these days of where things are at for me on the business end of things. And that is fucking important. It is really important because I feel we’ve been fortunate that we have this ability to make records and have for twenty years.

So to me, the most important thing or lesson I’ve learned in this business is about being aware.

Josh's mega, mega justification

Ohhhhhh Boy! I can’t wait for it to arrive! It matches my yellow and black Nike’s (courtesy of my mama)

“Doc, is it bad that I bought a guitar to match my shoes?”
“No, son, it’s called having an image.”

I can no longer justify guitars as tax breaks, even though they are. I am writing this one off in my mind as a necessary expense of visibility, which is what I’d like to discuss today.

I learned a lesson the easy way last year when I was playing my first stadium gig. OK, I was one of many local musicians playing at a sub-minor league stadium for a charity event, and only a smattering of people noticed me, but – there were close to three thousand people there, and I did get to say “What’s up, Waldorf? Are you ready to ro000ccck?”

One of my buddies said he showed up, and saw my rig set up from across the stadium. He wasn’t sure it was mine, but then saw the Plutonium orange Ibanez RG and said “oh yeah, that’s Josh’s setup.”

Visibility, be it literally, such as highway safety colored guitars, or from a multitude of positive interactions with people, is something worth boosting. Get out there and shake hands (and don’t give ‘em the dead fish grip), look people in the eye, and say “Hi, I’m here to rock your face off. Hope you enjoy!”

What can you start doing right now to boost your image in the industry and the scene?

Here’s what I’m doing – maybe you’ll get some ideas (remember, I have an over-the-top persona, blending close to a musical comedian). I know they’re specific, and may only work for me. Take it with a grain of NaCl2 (salt).

• Zany colored guitars. I’ve got the M-16 (photos coming soon; friend me on Facebook in the meantime to see it there), and the Tiger is on the way. I plan on spray painting a strat, and that’ll be my AK-47. Add that orange Ibanez, and I’m literally visible from space, bro!
• Shoes. Talk about a great conversation starter, and something for people to remember you by. My current favorites are a pair of Nike’s that match the Tiger guitar (yellow, with a black swoosh). I’ve gotten money playing street music because people liked my lime green wrestling shoes. Ironically, they walked away when I started playing, which was discouraging, but hey, I got the buck!
• Positive, professional interactions. Be polite, be on time, smell nice, thank people after the gig, and be that consummate pro that you’re striving to be.
• Talking to the crowd. It’s just fun! People seem to like it, too. Hey, it makes me feel like a million bucks. For all my cynical comments, I genuinely like people, and connecting with them from the stage, including them in the music, lifts the whole room to a better place. Are you ready to ROCK?!
• Stupid props. I’ve got a cordless drill a la Paul Gilbert (check it out on YouTube) that alternate picks really fast, and makes a cool sound with the pickups! Now that’s 9.6 volts of pure memories.
• Of course, playing good! I’m working so hard on writing, playing, and putting on the best show that I can. For me, time onstage has helped me a lot. Practice does indeed make perfect, or at least a good rock show. Well, I’m gettin’ there. I’ve come far enough to see how far I’d like to go!
• Free stuff. I’m working on my marketing strategy right now… OK, just pondering it. But it seems that an investment into free stuff like stickers, CDs, etc, is probably the best advertising budget. I’m not sure yet, and I’ll report back to you when I figure it out.

Hopefully these actions gave you a few ideas of your own. The point is – take action! All the World’s a stage… Own it!

Hey, maybe visibility can be my mega, mega justification of my new guitar on the way. Can you see me now? World, are you ready to ROCK?!

This is a guest blog post by Josh Urban. Josh is a musician with a unique perspective on music. Always a thinker, he gains insight wherever he can find it, be it in the clubs as a working musician, busking on the city streets, or teaching in the classroom. A naturally enthusiastic fellow, he is always fired up about bringing the lessons he’s learned to his readers. Maintaining a website, a blog, and a monthly newsletter, he aims to make musicians stop, think, and play with a little more intensity, integrity, and inspiration. You never know who’s listening.

Read few exclusive excerpts from Amy Kelly’s UG interview before it goes live in full next week:

Do you feel any pressure from your label at this point in your career?

The label doesn’t really pressure us per se verbally. With the industry as fickle as it is, you kind of put that pressure on yourself. Executives, bands, and record stores – everybody is dropping like flies. Here today, gone tomorrow. You’ve got to keep being viable and give enough reasons for your record label to keep invested with the band and keep invested in you as well.

In buying the record or buying the single from iTunes and buying concert tickets, that’s keeping your shit going. I used to get really caught up with where we were on Billboard and how many records we had sold and where the single was and how much MTV was playing us. Honestly, I don’t even look at that. I have no idea where the single is. I have no idea how much they are playing our video. As long as I wake up and play a show and people are there and they know the words to the song and they’re having a good time and we get to do this for a living, then I’m happy.

I’m extremely happy that we can do that. Success isn’t the charts anymore. As long as I can keep doing this for a living, I’m extremely happy.

Photo credit: Chad Martel

What would you suggest for the business side? Do you think that touring as much as possible is still a viable approach to marketing?

That may work for some people. I don’t know. I really think that’s a complete waste of time, going to all these cities where people don’t know who you are. You go to a bar and play for 10, 15 people that are there for the drink specials. Maybe if you’re really good, then there will be 30 people. I’ve heard that. It never worked for me! I was always like, “Why did I take off work and spend money to go play at some show.”

I think nowadays it’s completely different. There is so much you can do on your own now. That’s what you have to do now as a band because no label has money to spend on breaking in an artist. The more you can do on your own as far as your MySpace, your Facebook, and your YouTube or your merch, the more you can do on your own and the less of a risk you are to a label, the better chance you have of getting it. The chance of a major label picking you up and wanting to spend a gazillion dollars on you are slim to none. Unfortunately that’s the way it is. Buy a van. If you make enough money, buy a van and the label doesn’t have to worry about it. Anything you can do on your own is going to give you more bargaining power with the label.

I will post the link to a full interview when it’s up, great read.

When asked by Joe Matera, how important the musician thinks is touring these days with the way the whole internet and downloading issue has affected the industry in general, Nick said:

Photo credit: Rudy De Doncker

Selective touring is the name of the game now so it is not about how much touring but about when you do tours, to do more thorough tours.

Do every country and every big city and do them as well as you can so you don’t have to keep on going through them as often. The cost of touring has gone up immensely because of fuel costs and because everyone has increased their fees for everything from airlines to backline companies.

So it is much more expensive to tour today. And for us, because Tim has a family now and Phil is married, we don’t want to go out longer than we need to. On the flipside though, touring has been how we’ve been able to do this band since the early days, by touring as hard as we have in the past. It is what we have to do to make our living from this.

My point is that concerts are as important to musicinas as ever (even more than ever), but the approach is becoming different – especially for the relatevely smaller bands.

You can read the original interview at this location.

Ultimate-Guitar.com, the world’s biggest guitar tablature database and musicians community, has officially announced a joint venture with internationally renowned artist Slash.

Here’s a part from the press release:

Slash

Under the agreement, Ultimate Guitar and Slash will co-develop and co-own digital assets associated with Slash’s online initiatives, including his official website, www.slashonline.com, which launched today. In addition, the Joint Venture will develop and release a variety of Slash-branded mobile applications as well as instructional videos featuring Slash.

“As a musician & fan there’s nothing cooler than to partner with Ultimate Guitar. They’re THE source for gear info, tabs, music & artist news & the list goes on & on. There is no online site that comes close to UG for supplying such comprehensive music information. I’m proud to be onboard,” said Slash.

“Slash is the ultimate guitar god and his brand resonates with the Ultimate Guitar community like no other musician. He is one of my favorite artists and a major inspiration when I started Ultimate Guitar in the first place,” said Ultimate Guitar founder Eugeny Naidenov. “This partnership creates a unique opportunity not only for Ultimate Guitar to leverage the Slash brand but also for our worldwide community of guitar enthusiasts to interact with and get close to a revered artist, and vice versa. For an artist of his stature to tie his brand and web property to an online social community is a forward looking approach that truly breaks the mold.“

Noticed the “Slash-branded mobile applications” part? We are in fact going to release a co-branded iPhone application in a week, you will love it.

Meanwhile, Slash‘s self-titled album is released tomorrow (April 6th), be sure to check it out – dope LP.

By the way, just as with our Arcade Rocker game, you (precious Dotted Music readers) hear about this project first.

What is UGT?

Ultimate Guitar Tabs is an easy and convenient application for viewing guitar and bass tablature and chords. What differs it from similar apps in the App Store is that this is the only mobile application giving you an unlimited and licensed access to the world’s largest database of tabs from Ultimate-Guitar.com. Everything is legal. And it’s relatively cheap, you can buy the app for just $1.99.

Here are the main features to get some of you hooked, hopefully:

• Simple Search. Find Tabs quickly by entering artist name or song title.
• Advanced Search tool. You can search for Tabs by specifying Tab type (guitar Tabs, chords, bass Tabs), part of the song (intro, solo, chorus), difficulty level, tuning, and rating.
• Favorites. Add any Tab to your favorites to make them available for offline browsing.
• Tab Packs. Collections of pre-selected Tabs that are preloaded into the application. Tab Packs are based on skills level (Easy, Medium, Advanced), music genres (Rock, Metal, Punk), and special occasions (Love songs, Xmas songs). Tab Packs are frequently updated.
• Top 100 Tabs list for each Tab type (Guitar, Bass, Chords or overall).
• Auto-scroll feature. View Tablature in the text viewer using the handy Auto-Scroll functionality – The App will scroll Tabs for you!
• Portrait and Landscape modes are available. You can scale Tabs too.

Here Come The Screenshots!

Share your thoughts! Found any bugs, glitches, or just have an idea on how to improve the app? Please let me know via the contact form or in the comments below.

You’ve always thought outside of the box in terms of presenting 30 Seconds to Mars. Your marketing projects and the different ways you’ve used the Internet really represented new ways of promoting a band. Did you know from the beginning that you were going to use these alternative avenues to publicize the band?

Yes; we tend to look for things that have been tread upon just a little less than others. I think that it’s exciting to do things that haven’t been done so many times before or not at all. And it keeps it interesting for us and I would hope the audience as well. And, uh, it’s a way to deepen the conversation with our audience around the world and to have a stronger connection as well.

Does this harken back to your early days when you were listening to bands and hoping to somehow meet your heroes? Did you ever think, “I’d love to go and meet Jimmy Page or hang out with the Who?”

Photo credit: nicogenin on Flickr

I think for me, some of those bands – whether it was Zeppelin or Pink Floyd or the Who – they certainly had an idea of community that went along with their bands. And I always responded to that. I was always interested in a very active participation from the audience and the bands. We’ve always been really open and engaged with our listeners.

Does that give-and-take with your fans truly inform your music? Or is it more of a social networking type of situation?

It’s definitely informed us; it’s inspired us. And I think the interactivity on This Is War is really a huge part of the album. The Summit that we did, the very first one in Los Angeles, was so encouraging that we ended up doing eight of them around the world. And then eventually a digital version as well.

Can you explain what the Summit is?

For people who don’t know what the Summit is, it was just really a collaboration between our audience and the band. And we invited people to participate and record on the new album. It made a big impact on This Is War.

Where did this Summit interactive material end up on the album?

Yeah, they appear on every single song except for two or three.

Another tactic you undertook was a live chat on MySpace. What were the results of that?

It was inspiring; it was exciting. We enjoyed it a lot and we’ve done it now and I’m not so sure we would repeat that but maybe in a different way we would build upon that idea. It was definitely an interesting thing to do and we learned a lot from it.

If the band had come out back in the days of vinyl, how do you think they might have been perceived? Could 30 Seconds to Mars have created the same musical profile in a pre-Internet world?

Uh, not in the way that we’re doing now. We certainly utilize new technologies and we’re able to further some of these ideas and make these projects work in a way they wouldn’t have been able to in a different age. We’re takin’ full advantage of the digital age here and it’s exciting to use some of the new technologies to help implement creative ideas.

Read the full Steven Rosen‘s interview at UG!

The 145-page book contains the full tablature for all rhythm and lead guitar tracks on the album, expanded album artwork, track by track commentary and an introduction from the band, as well as a digital download of Cosmogenesis which includes isolated rhythm guitar and solo tracks, and more.

Obscura's Cosmogenesis cover

What gives a cool twist about this is all the added bonuses. The artwork on Cosmogenesis is incredible, and fans of the band should definitely check out the expanded artwork. The other huge bonus I like is the fact that a digital download of Cosmogenesis with isolated rhythm guitar and solo tracks is included. I mean, it really gives a complete package here.

The one thing I wish is that bass tablature would have been included somehow. Seeing the technical shredding death metal virtuosity that Obscura unleashes, each member brings such a unique talent, and if you listen closely, bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling really makes his bass a lead, counter attacking the guitars with such brilliance!

Anyway, all of you guitar players need to pick up this sweet deal, and shred along/attempt to shred along.

The Internet phenomenon and the masters of viral promotion, the band did it again – this time creating a weirdy video for the new single “WTF?” and uniting with Design Miami/, FENDI and technologically-pioneering designer Moritz Waldemeyer to stage a “groundbreaking” design performance at Design Miami/ this week (Design Miami/ is an international fair for limited edition design).

OK Go in LED suit jackets

The fair is taking place right now, December 1st through December 5th in Miami Design District. While the topic is hot, I decided to leak few excerpts from a just conducted by UG’s Amy Kelly interview with the band’s singer Damian Kulash.

Damina talked the live show at Design Miami/, the band’s album Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky, coming out in January, and his thoughts on music marketing. Be sure to check out the full interview on Ultimate Guitar when it’s up later this week – interesting stuff.

What are the specifics involved with that show?

[...]

We’ve been dreaming years of making these laser guitars. The guitars themselves, they have lasers out of the headstocks. So it’s kind of like an extension of the strings. We talked about this back and forth for a couple of years. Fendi, the ultra-fashionable, Italian designer and Design Miami/ approached Moritz originally and said, “We want to do an event that would be something that no one has seen before.” He was like, “Well, I have an idea. I’ve been talking with this band for awhile and we want the guitars to do this.”

They were just awesome. The head designer for Fendi and Moritz got together, and they talked about what a Fendi guitar should look like. We asked Gibson if they would build guitars for us because they have been wonderful supporters. Gibson gave us some guitars, and Fendi covered them in leather and fur. Moritz then covered them in LEDs and lasers.

You created quite a buzz with both “A Million Ways” and “Here It Goes Again.” After those began to circulate, did it make you realize the limitless opportunities that were available for bands who think outside of the box?

It opened a whole new world for everyone else. We as a band have always been trying to chase down our crazy-ass ideas. The thing that unites OK Go and makes it easy for us to make decisions together and get along and work together is to have the opportunity to chase down our creative ideas. We love music, but we don’t particularly want to have to write the same song over and over and over again. So every time we have an opportunity that makes us say, “Wow, I’ve never thought of that before” – then that sounds like a story I’d want to tell my grandkids. That’s the thing that makes us go.

[...]

OK Go in video for "Here It Goes Again"

If you’ve got Pearl Jam selling, you have to find yourself the other 30 bands that have singers that sound exactly like that. The last thing you’re going to do is put the money on the guy who is dancing in his backyard. You’re certainly not going to be like, “Yeah, that’s a great idea!” There’s a lot of money you could lose. I remember when we first turned in our backyard dance video to our label, the person whose job it was to promote that, his word-for-word response was, “If this gets out, you’re sunk.” There’s a whole different crew of people who work on the label. This was years ago before people realized the power of videos on the Internet.

I’m not saying that we had this all figured out. It’s not like we had some big Machiavellian game plan. We did know that if you make cool shit, crazy shit, shit that people aren’t expecting… if we like it, our friends will like it. If our friends will like it, then our fans will probably like it. That’s why a band exists. That’s how a band exists. There are people out there who like your shit. I don’t think any of us had any idea that our video could be downloaded 50 million times or that dancing in our backyard would be an Internet sensation. At the same time, why not?

What would you recommend to new bands in terms of marketing? Are methods like YouTube and webcasts still viable methods?

At the end day, make cool shit. It’s so ridiculously oversimplified. It’s true that YouTube is no longer outside of the box or cutting edge. It’s become the main medium for videos. People make their videos for YouTube now, not MTV. Music videos had to exist for a very particular reason, and they would be released on that show Friday Night Videos or whatever. People made videos that made sense in that format. Now that world doesn’t really exist anymore.

So we’re thinking of new ways like events, something like a totally insane performance. Instead of shooting a video ourselves, you have 1,000 people show up with flip cameras and that’s your video. Then you have 1,000 handmade shots. You don’t get what to control what they’ll look like, except you get to control the performance.

So is that a video? Is that an event? What is that? It doesn’t really need a name. It’s just a cool idea. Things are exciting. Thinking about it like, “I have a band and I need to figure out a clever marketing plan” – that will always fail. If you look at it like, “I have a band and I want to make cool shit” – if you’re really good at that, it will market itself.

Here is a bonus: a “making of” video for “WTF?“. It’s called (oh dear) “HTF?” (stands for How The Fuck). Recommended for checking out: