I Love HeadFirst

If our band career never takes off, there’s always Chippendales!

Enjoy video clips from the HeadFirst YouTube account.

Believe it or not, HeadFirst did not just open a YouTube account.  In fact, we have had an account for almost three years.  Yes, you read that right … three years.  However, in three years, we never had any video to post to YouTube … until now!  Thanks to Mr. Brian Halsey, we now have footage from our appearance at Relaypalooza last summer.  I have posted the first clip on our YouTube account and intend to follow up with more.  Enjoy!

Social media is nothing new and HeadFirst has been using its share of social media tools for awhile now. We have been writing here on our WordPress blog for years. We also have a presence on the two most popular social networking platforms used today: Facebook and MySpace. And now, HeadFirst is entering the realm of “microblogging.”

Microblogging takes the concept of a blog and condenses it down in size. Instead of posting a full story of text (like the one you are reading now), microblogging relies on short bursts of information. In the case of Twitter, all messages are restricted to 140 characters.

Think of your status update on Facebook. Twitter is essentially focused on that and that alone. It seems silly at first, until you start to realize the potential.

With the character limitation comes the added benefit of fast and easy distribution. Microblogging works with mobile technologies such as SMS texting, so a user can choose to have these short messages sent to their mobile device wherever they may be.

If you already use Twitter, all you really want to know is, “What’s your user name?” To be consistent with everything else we do, our Twitter user name is “iloveheadfirst.” You can check us out now, by visiting:

http://twitter.com/iloveheadfirst

From any Web browser, this is the easiest way to monitor our Twitter updates (known as “tweets” in the Twitter world). However, the real power of Twitter comes from the mobile aspect.

If you already use Twitter, chances are you have some sort of third-party Twitter application setup on your phone. However, if you are not a Twitter user, but would still like to receive HeadFirst tweets on your phone, here’s the easiest thing to do. Simply start a text message on your phone and create a message that says:

“follow iloveheadfirst”

Send this message to 40404. This is Twitter’s SMS number.

That’s it! Even if you don’t know it, you’re using Twitter. You will be prompted to supply a username for the service and, if you are new to Twitter, it will automatically create a simple account for you and automatically start “following” HeadFirst on Twitter.

Eventually, HeadFirst will have enough followers on Twitter to make this practical. At that point, we will begin sending our updates from our mobile devices, not our computers. So, in the beginning, our updates will be sent from a computer. However, when we start sending tweets from our mobile devices, we have the ability to send updates from anywhere at any time.

You may be asking, “What good is this?” I’m glad you asked. Let me give you some examples of how this could be handy.

Let’s say you were subscribed to our blog (what you’re reading now) and our Twitter updates on your mobile device. Now, let’s pretend you read about a gig coming up and you intended on coming, but you spaced it when the actual night came and went out drinking with some friends at your favorite bar instead.

From our gig site, back on my drum throne right before we start our show, I send out a quick tweet that says, “HeadFirst is getting ready to rock the first set at XYZ Pub.” You, being subscribed to our Twitter updates, receive a text message at your table letting you know HeadFirst was starting its gig. After realizing your memory is fading, you look up at your buddies and suggest cruising over to the other pub to check out the band.

See? Cool stuff, eh? We could also use this to communicate last-minute cancellations, delays, or anything else that we wanted our fans to know … instantly!

Like I said, it will take a little time to build up followers on Twitter, but once we do, the possibilities are endless.

Anyway, it’s worth a shot. I don’t think it could hurt anything. Oh, and I should mention that I have no intention of abusing our Twitter account with a ridiculous amount of updates. So, don’t worry, HeadFirst won’t be eating up your text message plan. I had thought about synchronizing our tweets with our blog posts, but I think that would really irritate those of you tracking us via SMS text messaging.

We’ll see how it goes. I merely see it as another way to stay connected with our fans. So, give it whirl, send a follow message to 40404 and see what happens. Who knows? Something magical may happen.

We had a decent rehearsal tonight, despite starting off (and ending) in an awkward fashion.  Right before rehearsal began, I received several phone calls from my kids asking me to come home.  Apparently, we had some issues with frozen water pipes.  However, while talking to my wife on the way home, she informed me that she had everything under control.  I had assumed she knew the kids called me home, but I was wrong.  So, luckily I was able to return to rehearsal.

Anyway, with all six of us back at it again in full force, it did get a bit tense at times.  Occasionally, it got loud as well, but I guess that’s to be expected as we try to pick up where we left off.  We did toss yet another new song into the mix: “Heavy” by Collective Soul.  A catchy little number that most of us knew, so it came together pretty quickly.  We’ve also been working up “Hot Girls” by INXS, “Blood and Roses” by Smithereens and “Baker Street” (the Foo Fighters version).  We have a private gig coming up next month, so that gives us a little extra incentive to get our act together (literally) over the next few weeks.

Rehearsal took a very odd twist at the end when Jeff performed “show and tell” with a baggie full of several dried private parts that used to belong to a raccoon.  Yes, you read that right.  Jeff is our “outdoorsy” kind of guy who always has an interesting (and sometimes frightening) story for us.  I have never been into stuff like that, so it’s always an education when Jeff’s around.  As you can imagine, the band members came up with some creative and colorful phrases to describe the contents of the bag … none of which can be printed here.  However, the most popular phrase would make for a great punk band name, I’m sure of it.

‘Til next time! 

Happy 2009, everyone!  Sorry for the accidental email over the weekend containing our song list.  That was not intended to be a new blog post.  It was just supposed to be a new page within the site.  Regardless, thanks to Jeff for compiling a complete HeadFirst song list.  I had been maintaining a partial list for quite awhile, but now you can see every song we have ever learned!  We will work hard to keep this list updated as we learn new material.  Now, when someone asks what we play, we can point to this list.

Brian and Tim have returned to the band after taking some much-needed time with their families.  The band is rockin’ and rollin’ once again and eager to be out and about this year, jammin’ at a variety of venues and parties.  Look for more updates in the coming weeks and months.

The band is glad to be back at it again.  We hope to see you very soon!

HeadFirst was invited to play at HJ’s home Friday night. HJ’s friends, family and fraternity brothers (Ball State ATO) showed up to break in his newly renovated basement and watch the Ball State vs. Buffalo football game. Attendees were treated to performances by the band before, during and after the game. Complete with multiple television screens, a fully-stocked bar, game area and stage, HJ’s new basement is bigger and more plush than some of the public bars we have played. Awesome, indeed. Thanks, HJ. We had a blast!

Gas prices got you down? Running out of beer money? Need some extra dough?

How would you like to take home 15 – 20 percent of our next gig?

Yeah, that’s right. I am willing to offer a “finders fee” to anyone who can book HeadFirst at a bar or private party. The catch? It must be a bar we have not played yet. Don’t worry, we have only played a few. Know someone throwing a private party? Private gigs count too.

HeadFirst has five (5) members plus one (1) sound guy. So, keep that in mind if you choose to pursue this. If you have any potential leads, contact us and we will work out the financial details.

FYI, no payments will be made to our “street agents” until the band has been paid. This should prevent any fraudulent gigs from being booked. Can’t be too careful these days.

Crazy idea? Possibly. However, this could lead to new gigs for HeadFirst and extra green in your pocket. So, stop laughing and start pounding that pavement.

Remember to use our website as a promotional tool when you’re out talking to people. Our promo page includes audio samples as well as promo sheets and song lists you can download and print.

Good luck! Who knows, you could become HeadFirst’s next booking agent!

Send all inquiries to headfirst@iloveheadfirst.com

I just wanted to get a quick “thank you” out to everyone who participated in this year’s RelayPalooza. Later this week, when I have more time, I’ll write more about the event. But, for now, I wanted to congratulate everyone on a very successful event.

All the bands and other performing acts were great and, personally, I had a great time rockin’ out with HeadFirst, jammin’ on “Smooth” with Big Daddy Caddy and taking tons of photos throughout the day. Saving Jane and Blessid Union of Souls were awesome as well.

If you missed the event this year, too bad. We warned you it was going to be great. Maybe you’ll listen next year!

For everyone who put your heart and soul into this event (you know who you are), thank you! It was a great day!

Gotta love Indiana weather, eh?  We’ve had some stormy nights here lately, especially at our last Hot Shotz gig.  While we were jammin’ away and enjoying the comforts inside the bar; the tables, chairs and umbrellas were blowing into the parking lot outside.  My sister’s house was struck by lightning.  Wild times.

Although we’ve been dealing with rain and storms throughout the past week or two, the 5-day weather forecast actually shows a break on Saturday with some sun and a high of 82 degrees.  So, why not make plans to join us Saturday, June 14th, from 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM as we join forces with Blessid Union, Saving Jane, Big Daddy Caddy and a host of other musical acts to rock Arbuckle Park in Brownsburg, IN for the American Cancer Society.

If the weather clears up, as predicted, it should be a great day full of fun and lots of awesome music.  Your lawn will be too wet to mow anyway, so come out to the park, go barefoot in the wet grass, toss a football around and groove to some cool tunes.  We’ll see you there!