The exchange was short, but I felt it needed to become a full-on blog post. To give you a little context, I have about 3,000 Twitter followers, she’s got 1.3 Million. I just broke 1,000 fans on Facebook, she’s got six times that. So when I say that Zoe Keating is 100% independent and has never been on a major label or part of some slick industry power team, it doesn’t mean she’s at my level, still trying to grow the fan base enough to survive. She has gone forth, become fruitful, and even multiplied.

And yet, there’s this:

@matthewebel: Since touring is my weakest link, I’ll be watching you as you do this process. I really want to get out on the road again.

@zoecello: Yeah, I think its the missing piece in most DIY careers. I don’t know any booking agents.

I’ve said it many times on stage, in interviews, and when talking to music start-ups and record label people: Booking is the only thing independent musicians are getting no help with, and the last thing we need are venue suggestions and how-to advice. If Zoe Keating’s having a difficult go at it, God help those of us with 1/450th the follower base.

Who out there will step up to the plate and fill this need?

Last weekend I played a show for the awesome crowd at FWA. There’s something about the convention that puts everyone into a fun-loving, energetic mood. I really want to play more conventions like this, even make a tour out of them if I can.

I Need Your Help!

Because I spend so much time releasing two new songs and a live recording every single month, I really don’t have much time left over to email conventions and festivals repeatedly.

If you want to help out, you can do that for me! All you really need to do is:

1. Pick your favorite geek conventions (comic, anime, furry, sci-fi, whatever) and track down the people in charge.
2. Then send them emails or call them up and try to get them interested in booking me as a live performance. Send them MP3′s, point them to my live performance videos, whatever it takes. Just keep emailing/calling them until they tell you NO or they want to get in touch with me.
3. Don’t worry about things like payment or travel, once they’re interested in the music I’ll deal with them directly. The hard part is getting their attention in the first place and getting them interested in booking a show!

What I Don’t Need

I don’t need a list of websites to check out or names of conventions I should contact. Like I said earlier, I don’t have the time to follow up on every suggestion people throw at me. What I need are people to get in touch with these conventions directly and have them contact me.

I don’t have a “my people” to contact “their people”, you are my people. You are the only people that matter. If you’ve got a favorite convention you go to every year and they need live music, then I need you to take action and get me out there.

I’m counting on you, just as I always do. Thank you.

ENN January 11, 2010 (Download MP3)

It’s House Concert time again, and I need your help! I want to play in living rooms across the Northeast in the next year, starting with YOURS!

It’s really easy to host a house concert, the details are right here at http://matthewebel.com/houseconcert/

I think I’m going to call this ENN, the Ebel News Network. Not very original, but I don’t care…

ENN September 21, 2009 (MP3 download)

I want to try and update YOU, my fans, once a week by a quick and dirty audio post. Via the miracle of podcasting, you can get these little blurbs from me by adding http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MatthewEbelBlog to your iTunes or other podcast catcher. This week I’m covering:

• New recording to be released today: Waking Up Alone
• Now booking shows via Virtual Assistants
• Sellaband is changing… not sure how or why. Stay tuned!

Once upon a time I tried to book a full-on tour of house concerts, not realizing that two evil monsters stood in my way: The monster that spread most of my fans out all over the globe and the monster that jacked up gas prices over $3 a gallon. This summer I’d like to try something a little less ambitious but a lot more plausible.

If you’ve got a big living room and/or a backyard that you’d love to turn into a concert hall for an afternoon/evening, I’m interested in playing there. Right now this will have to be limited to my local area- let’s say within 100 miles of Boston -but we’ll see how things progress from there.

If you’re interested, please take a look at www.matthewebel.com/houseconcert/ and get in touch with me there!