Wildhearts Rant!!

[silverhearts666]

Fellow Wildhearts fanatics, I come in peace but warn you that this is a bit of a rant which will hopefully provoke some meaningful discussion.

Question.....How much do the Wildhearts really 'want it'?

It's been a few months now since The Wildhearts released their last CD and I think I speak for most, if not all, of the fans when I say it is a brilliant album. Right up there with Earth Versus... and PHUQ.
However, I'm a bit worried that it will sink into oblivion due to the apparent laclustre commitment of both the band and record company.

Sounds harsh?? Let me try and explain.

The new album came out with virtually no lead off single. Almost unheard of for any band to do this.
Sweetest Song was released as a download only but due to the nature of the lyrics could not be played on any radio station. To my knowledge, no video accompanied the single either meaning the Kerrang/Scuzz/MTV2/Rocksound tv markets were missed too.

The tour to promote the album was awesome (I saw them in Glasgow and they rocked like never before) BUT they only decided to play 2 songs off the new album.
All this rubbish about fans not wanting to hear new material is crap. If Ginger or anyone else in the band took the time to read this forum they'd soon see how much the fans adored the new stuff and could quite easily realise that it's what we all wanted to hear.
Also, if I was the record company I'd be pretty pissed about it. The tour, after all, is to promote the CD.

Since the tour..............................nothing. No single releases (and believe me, there's plenty on the CD which is single material - Bi-Polar Baby (minus a swear word or 2), New Flesh, etc), virtually no TV/magazine exposure and some limited updating on the official website......nothing.
Whos fault is this? The record company for not wanting to promote the CD or the band?
Also the fact that CJ has released a new solo CD and Ginger is recording one for an early 2008 release makes me think that the Wildhearts is just a side project.

Then the Christmas tour gets announced - great news!!............Bigger venues - bad news!
I read on another post that Ginger would split the band if they didn't get to play larger venues. Well mate, how do you expect to sell out bigger venues if there has been no work or promotion put in since the last one.
The Academy in Glasgow is approx 2500 capacity and I reckon it'll be lucky to be half full, unless a new single is released and explodes beforehand.
Hopefully I'll be proved wrong but the there was no advert for the gig in the Scottish Mail on Sunday (but there was 100s of others for other bands). Do the record company just expect word of mouth will fill the Academy

Come on guys.....you've got the talent, the tunes and you're better than any rock band around but it's not gonna happen unless you all work hard and really, really want it!!

[nuno75]

I've said it before. I really don't think this is the album to break them back into the mainstream. I think that was their goal last time around, and having generally failed, they've decided to give the fans an album, realizing that maybe their best shot was to please us and not so much try to make a splash in a world where the majority of folks frankly just don't get it. This album is meant for people who've had a strong foundation of other albums to compare it to and base it off of... but as a standalone out there among the uninitiated, it won't fly for a moment.

I love the new album, don't get me wrong... but there's not a single track here that I could imagine rock radio taking seriously right now.The obviously single-intended tunes are too sweet and everything else is too heavy or too long and all over the map, musically.

[Piedude]

No single releases (and believe me, there's plenty on the CD which is single material - Bi-Polar Baby (minus a swear word or 2), New Flesh, etc),
The Academy in Glasgow is approx 2500 capacity and I reckon it'll be lucky to be half full, unless a new single is released and explodes beforehand.

The New Flesh is out September, It just got delayed, which Im guessing might have something to do with recording b-sides for it instead of using the 5-6 cuts from the last album...but thats just my wishfull thinking guess. The video for it is done and just waiting till its closer to the release date. So thats some good promotion before the gigs.
As for record company support, they release everything themselves now with their own company, Round Records. So that might clear a couple things up.
Oh, and their media company of choice who have filmed a few things like The New Flesh video recently have said they're doing something secret with them again starting september, which could be when the next album is starting recording if the rumours are anything to go by...

[Ean]

As for record company support, they release everything themselves now with their own company, Round Records.

You just beat me to it...

While the band have a couple of distribution deals for the UK and Japan (as far as I know there's still nothing for the US due to the Visa/missing SXSW problems - something that will hopefully rectify itself following the upcoming NY gigs), everything record company related is all Ginger, which includes money to actually do anything. It may be that they need to use these other projects in order to pay for whatever's next.

The Sweetest song wasn't really a single, just a taster for the fans (although Bruce Dickinson played it), hence the beeps - Ginger's said it was a joke - but radio wouldn't exactly be biting their hands off to play anything they released. They haven't really been short of magazine coverage though: just search through the WH board, most of it's been posted up there. And half a dozen fairly lengthy radio and TV spots when the album came out too. The website is currently undergoing a fairly extensive behind the scenes rebuild, and it's all done entirely voluntarily by Kris when he's able. Everything pertinent is up there at the moment, including a couple of new bits just last week.

[nuno75]

instead of using the 5-6 cuts from the last album...

Please clarify what you mean by this. Is there talk of using previous album tracks as B-sides this time around?

[Ean]

instead of using the 5-6 cuts from the last album...

Please clarify what you mean by this. Is there talk of using previous album tracks as B-sides this time around?

An early proposed tracklisting had 15 or 16 tracks on it (stuff like Oh Bonita and Zen Requiem) so there are some leftovers from what was released on The WH. Whether they, or all new ones, get released is very much down to the whim of Ginger and whether he feels they're still relevant.

[vanrad]

I kind of agree with a lot of what SilverHearts has to say but I'll also add a couple things to sit on my fence.

Why no festivals - I don't have all the details, but I know there's a few fests would have welcomed them? I might have got my arse to one if they'd played a local to me one!
Does it cost the band to play festivals? Maybe it does... anybody have any details??!!

Anyway I like SilverHearts are as keen as mustard to see The WH album and band do well however they have delivered to me on all fronts this year:
1. New album
2. 1 x tour
3. Another tour on the way

[Ean]

Why no festivals - I don't have all the details, but I know there's a few fests would have welcomed them? I might have got my arse to one if they'd played a local to me one!
Does it cost the band to play festivals? Maybe it does... anybody have any details??!!

Just timing I think. Most festy bills are done waay in advance (I'm pretty sure they started next year's Glasto lineup before this year's event had even started) even if they don't release them until close to the day, so unless someone pulls out there's not going to be a space. There's an interview with one of the guys (I forget which and where, but I think it's on here somewhere) that says they just weren't asked, but with some singles and a new album by this time next year, they were hopeful for summer 2008.

[nuno75]

instead of using the 5-6 cuts from the last album...

Please clarify what you mean by this. Is there talk of using previous album tracks as B-sides this time around?

An early proposed tracklisting had 15 or 16 tracks on it (stuff like Oh Bonita and Zen Requiem) so there are some leftovers from what was released on The WH. Whether they, or all new ones, get released is very much down to the whim of Ginger and whether he feels they're still relevant.

That's a relief. I thought you were saying some of the TWMBD stuff was gonna show up as B-sides. That would've pissed me off... and it's not totally unheard of for bands to do.

Anyway... I've been expecting Oh Bonita to show up as a B-side and kind of expecting Spencers to get left behind as nothing but a bonus track. I won't mind seeing Bonita as a B-side. I've heard it before, but I can't imagine them not bringing it to the West in some form or other. I'm anxious as hell to hear Zen Requiem though.

Someone ought to find and post that first tentative track list so we can see the titles we can look forward to.

[Ean]

Someone ought to find and post that first tentative track list so we can see the titles we can look forward to.

I'll have a look for it, but I've got a feeling it was more of a "Our new album's going to have 15 tracks on it and some of 'em are called..." kind of deal.

EDIT found it...

Found by AndyB on HMV Japan:

"Whilst surfing around HMV Japan, I came across the tracklisting and pre-order page for the new album (with picture of the new line-up). It's called 未定 ... my Japanese ain't that good so I'll leave it to someone else more qualified to translate it!

Tracklisting is:
1 The Sweetest Song
2 Slaughtered Autors
3 Oh Bonita
4 Inner City Overture
5 Rooting For The Bad Guy
6 Bi Polar Baby
7 Borderline
8 Destroy All Monsters
9 She's All That
10 The Hard Way
11 The New Flesh
12 The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
13 Unbroken
14 Zen Reuiem"

[silverhearts666]

Guys,

Thanks for the replies so far.

Vanrad....don't worry dude, I'm more than happy with this years Ginger/Wildhearts offerings and it sounds like next year could be the same again.!

As for the forthcoming tour I'm worried that these larger venues are only half full, the atmosphere isn't as good and the band decide to disband again.

There was no malice intended in my original post and if any of my comments have been proved wrong then it's just because I'm a mere fan looking from the outside and don't seem to have the 'insider info' that a lot of you guys have!! It just doesn't 'appear' that there's much going on in the background to make this band huge.
Probably just a bit of frustration on my part cos I know these guys should be the biggest and best British band around.

[burgerrock]

ok i disagree...

Regarding the tour, i think it would be unwise to have a set chock full of new songs when the album came out on the day the tour started! Yes a small minority of forum regulars would know it, but the vast majority of casual fans wouldn't have a clue.

Regarding press i've seen reviews in Classic Rock, Kerrang, Metal Hammer, Rocksound, bizarre, big cheese, teletext, the sun, mojo, Q, alternative magazine, drummer magazine and im sure there was far more that i didnt see (although most were thanks to the message board)..

On top of this there was a 2 page interview in Bizarre magazine last month, 2 page feature in this months issue of total Guitar magazine, numerous one and two page features in Rocksound magazine, there was a feature on ritch that i saw in Rhythm magazine a month or so ago, and coverage in several issues of kerrang! over the tour and since, including an 'in the mind of Ginger'. There was even a 2 page 'guide to the wildhearts' earlier in kerrang.

I think this is probably the largest (certainly broadest) amount of press that the wildhearts have had in a long time. Even when the poppier 'must be destroyed' was being pushed I dont recall as much press and exposure outside of Kerrang.

The tour finished 2 months ago, and since then they have announced a single release for The New flesh, US dates in October and a Christmas UK tour, so i dont think its gone completely quiet.

I think the amount of news and updates on the site and also on the Wildhearts myspace has been very regular, and ive enjoyed the 'ask scott' and 'ask ritch' features. The Wildhearts myspace sends out regular bulletins and blogs.

Regarding press for the tour, perhaps its just me but im not overly suprised that there hasn't been an ad yet, the dates have only been announced a week ago, and we're still 5 months out. If we're a month away and there is still no ads then i agree thats its a major problem.

Ok counter rant over..

[Ean]

there was a feature on ritch that i saw in Rhythm magazine a month or so ago,

Really?? You kept that one quiet... Don't suppose you'd have access to a scanner?

[burgerrock]

let me see if i still have it

maybe there should be a press section on the website? or on the myspace page with copies of it..

anyway i'll go a hunting

[Ean]

Cheers.

Give Kris a PM and suggest it.

They're all up on the GingerUS Myspace page though.