January 20, 2006
Army of Me Signs With Atlantic
Local band Army of Me are in the process of signing with Atlantic Records, the label Bloc Party and Bjork (among others) call home. They've been gaining a strong following in the D.C. area and beyond, thanks to tireless gigging and promotion over the past 7 years or so. The boys leave on February 6 to start recording their new album, bidding farewell to D.C. Congratulations to local guys done good; we'll always remember where you started.
Image from Redlight Management.
|
Advertisement: DCist Continues Below!
Post a comment (Comment Policy)
Cool. Let's start the sell-out debate!
Well, no one will say they started to suck after selling out...
It just shows you don't need talent to get a major label deal. You just have to sound like everyone else.
Why don't we come down...come down to DC? Because it's uncreative, full of itself, and closes too early at night.
NYC - and we come up to NY because music up there is SO creative and the hot bands are always unique and original.
It's not like AOM ever had the local following that D-Plan or Q & Not U did. That's because rock scene people here actually prefer interesting, adventurous, original music. It isn't always great, but sometimes (like with the two bands above) it is.
I hope they had a good lawyer/agent. Major labels will screw you over anyway they can. Hell, they still deduct "packaging" costs from artist royalties for sales of music on sites like iTunes.
It's really more like MD v. NJ - because these bands don't really come from the cities, they just play there.
And why is it that it is always the people from NYC that start the, 'we are soooo much better than DC' shit anyway? Overcompensating for something?
The funny part is the other band John is in (Hello Tokyo) is leagues better with way more band potential. I wonder what will happen to them, I sure wish I went to see them play at DC9.
By the way, this site has lusted after Army of Me pretty hard and generally doesn't cover much of the quality music running through the city, as marginal as it is compared to places like Chicago, New York, and Austin (I'll give DCist Love is All, I couldn't believe they picked up on that one). Come to think of it, nobody does.
Congrats to John though, he's a nice guy.
Mike, I have to say I'm not sure what you're talking about. We don't review every hot indie act that comes through, but we mention most of them. And while we haven't paid attention to every promising local band, we're certainly working on it. Who are we ignoring, exactly?
The Apes are one of the coolest acts in town—they need your love.
Whoh,
Ryan, poor choice of words on my part I suppose. I didn't mean to upend this site in any way; I read it almost everyday, although not for the music coverage.
I think the major problem is that there is something very endemic going on with DC and music. It's only a short walk from New York or Philly and, for the most part, bands don't feel inclined to take that walk (R5 productions basically keeps Philly afloat and has for years and New York doesn't need to so much as sneeze to pull a band in). Now is that a promoter problem, venue problem, image problem, booking problem…can someone tell me because I don’t know. The most glaring effect of all of this is that many a band decides to make their stop in these parts in Baltimore, and quite frequently (Baltimore-ist, I don't know I've never lived there).
I realize that doesn't answer your question but I'm betting that very few people would be all that interested in us reeling off bands in an effort to one-up each other here, on the back page.
I felt like what I was trying to say was an effort not to call this site or Army of Me a name or say they sucked but to illustrate a relationship that to me existed pretty clearly and another relationship that didn’t. Do I find that funny? Yes. Do websites have taste in music? Yes. Who am I to point this out?
For the rest of the message, most likely poor choice of words, lusted & hard are not appropriate ways of describing most things I suppose, but for someone like me, who loves modern music, I've seen more enthusiasm elsewhere and sometimes wish it were here.
The Love is All comment was probably framed a little askew as well, obviously my poor framing and basic lack of lucid thought are all valid reasons why I probably shouldn't be posting my thoughts, but hell, everyone else does.
Having spent so much time on the music side of things, I think I get touchy about that stuff pretty easily.
You're quite right to bring up the ridiculous number of it bands that tour the east coast and choose to skip DC, often, as you note, opting for Baltimore instead. I don't know why this is. it's certainly short-sighted of the bands, because under-the-radar acts frequently sell out Black Cat and 9:30 in minutes. That's something we should look into.
ohmygodwillyoustupidassindierockhipstersPLEASEgiveitafuckingrestalready.
Army of Me is not "cool" like you are.
But they will get to make their living, for a little while at least, playing music.
I say good for them. But then, I guess I'm not "cool" either.
I know I'm generalizing, but. I think it's because alot of people in bands don't particularly like this administration, or how they might view those who work for it. Look at Yo La Tengo for example. Granted, not a new band. But they used to come through all the time during the Clinton Era. Now they won't step foot in the place.
The funny part is the other band John is in (Hello Tokyo) is leagues better with way more band potential. I wonder what will happen to them, I sure wish I went to see them play at DC9.
Congrats to John though, he's a nice guy.
Hello Tokyo is rad, I wish my friend I had with me last weekend was of age to have gone to the show
but I thought I should just let you know (hope it's allowed to be told! :-X) John's leaving Army of Me. It makes many of us sad as he his a great guy, always has been for as long as I've known him. But for him, it's for the better, so we will deal...
I've never been a fan of Vince's voice, but they work hard and have more than paid their dues in my opinion. Hard work should be rewarded.
those guys do not represent the "dc sound" in any way, shape or form. i hope they leave and claim the lower east side or brooklyn. i'd be embarrassed to have them on dc's hometown resume. while that resume is short--it's still fairly genuine.
If anyone thinks they can do a better job covering local music, feel free to drop us a line - we're always looking for people who are passionate about local music and who can bring their own perspectives to the coverage on this site.
could someone pls post link to dc's hometown resume - haven't seen it yet and want to know what's cool. (Officially cool, I mean, according to the people that decide.) Thx!
yeah, and please define the "DC sound"?? We could all use your enlightenment. In my opinion, it's a new day, and we should make room for new bands to make their own statement. I'm proud to have a band from DC make the national scene. By the way, Brian Baker from Minor Threat (#1 on your "resume") produced Army of Me's first record. Bravo to Army of Me. Bravo to DCist for convering something that is big news in DC.
Look, if you aren't into a band's sound or style, that's fine--it's your choice. HOWEVER, I would appreciate it if you (all who have posted thus far, in general) would please NOT knock a group of hard-working, kind, motivated, and talented individuals who most certaintly have their shit together. Outside the fogged lenses of your Buddy Holly glasses, there are people that work hard every day to make music. And regardless of whether it tickles your fancy or not, it would be immature and ridiculously un-hip to blindly ignore their efforts. There are plenty of people around here that love this band. Deal with it.
Army of Me have been playing together for quite some time now, and have developed an incredible work ethic and individuality in their sound. And I say "individuality" with extreme care in my word choice, as I cannot name any other band that sound exactly like them. I have more respect for Army Of Me than I have for any one of the 324439354 post-punk indie new-wave bands out there right now, putting out identical sounding records with mediocre emotion lying beneath the distorted guitar licks.
If you've got nothing to give but negativity towards a group of people with whom you more than likely have no credibility to bash, try keeping it in your pants next time. I say: Congratulations to Army of Me.
A lot of nice people work hard and are still uninteresting.
High five Alyssa, well said. I like Army of Me, just as I enjoy most of the bands many of you probably think you're so damn indie-hip for listening to. Stop being such snobs, these guys have put a hell of a lot of soul into making this happen for themselves and they deserve it. Cheers and all the best to each of them.
Will Rast is a local musician worth checking out.
www.myspace.com/willrast
nah, army of me kinda blows goats...sorry.
Army of Me has worked extremely hard over the past 7 years. They ARE a pop rock band... but with a definate individual style. They are great guys... very very humble...they deserve the fame that is coming to them. You guys need to stop being so narrow-minded.
Army of Me has worked extremely hard over the past 7 years. They ARE a pop rock band... but with a definate individual style. They are great guys... very very humble...they deserve the fame that is coming to them. You guys need to stop being so narrow-minded.
If there are really bands which would really skip DC because of the administration, they're stupid. This is the bluest big city in the country. They could ask anyone in DC and we'd tell them that they needn't worry that the crew from Smith Point will come twenty-five blocks to the northeast to see Bloc Party. The crowd will be reliably northeast liberal, just like at that show they played in Providence.
Maybe DCist is helping to illuminate the Federal-DC v. Local-DC distinction.
Now, if they're not coming because DC's indie fans are a bunch of whiny sourpusses who sulk, sit on their hands at shows, and don't know when to shut up and let another man have his day, that's more justified.
Great I can make some coin on that Cactus Patch CD and they one they were selling in an floppy disk when their major comes out... Saw them once right after the name change when they were still a trio and was amused. Saw them a year or so later when they added the second guitarist and was annoyed. They went from hard rockin' pop to that Jeff Buckleyesque singing, etc sound that annoys me.
Is John really leaving the band? Please elaborate!
Last I heard John is leaving to work full time with Hello Tokyo.
Some people work hard at brand identity, some people work hard at artistic expression, some people work hard at both. If you're going to throw around terms like "hard-working" and "crap" you really ought to define them a little more completely, like, for instance, "relentlessly self-promoting" and "vapid, derivative posturing, almost completely devoid of emotional resonance," respectively. If Army of Me triggers a DC metro area feeding frenzy where anyone with an EPK can get a free van and 15K to make a record, then more power to them, there's going to be some really good music that gets a wider audience, and some really awful music that's going to get a much wider audience (if they go to Fairfax; yeah, I said it). If AoM run off to Record Label Land and continue making the same kind of music that got them signed to the same major label that just signed Death Cab last year in an attempt to squeeze some cash out of the more accessible end of the indie world (do you believe in coincidence?), then I reserve the right to not give a flying crap. Sure, they're more palatable than a certain other might-as-well-be-sponsored-by-Urban-Outfitters local four-piece I could name (you know who I'm talking about, look for the trucker hats and the brand new faded jeans), but seriously, we all know background music when we hear it, right?
Army of Me writes horrible songs with cheezeball lyrics. That being said, they can play thier instruments and the singer has a great, altough highly stylized voice. I hope they do not come to define the "new" DC sound because there are many other great bands in the area...although apparently none that "work as hard" (this should not be a criteria used in judging a band).
Is it a coincidence that Army of Me's music became big in DC during a Republican period in the city's history? That is the question ;)
Someone deleted my last comment. That's cool. Censorship it neat.