6 Degrees of Participation. That's what the theme of this blog is today. Being almost on the eve of the release of Santa Clara's new single "Save Me" onto radio waves April 12, you can feel the sense of excitement and anticipation in the air. Have you ever wondered if calling in can make a difference in such a competitive industry? Well let me tell you this story that happened fairly recently. Some of you may be familiar with the band "Delirious", a Christian rock group that will go down in history for redefining Christian music as well as being able to attract mainstream audiences. They were the first Christian rock group to win the respect of those within the industry to the point that during their career, they got to open for artists like Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams and so much more.....
On Nov 29th, they did their last ever concert on stage after an announcement that that after 17 years each of them would be going in different directions. Though they accomplished much in their career and impressed many, they never had a single that actually made it into the UK's ultimate mainstream charts, that being Radio 1. A couple of weeks before Easter, some fans came up with some crazy idea to start downloading "History Maker" to see if they could get it on the charts.
The funny thing about ideas is that that often times they get pretty contagious. And they can get not only contagious but infectious when a bunch of people say "I'm in...let's do it! Let's get an inspiring song on the charts" So all these crazy Christians in the UK started aggressively downloading it as part of the campaign to get this one song on the charts for easter. Could they do it? Could they do something to mark the career of Delirious 4 months after their career was officially over. The results speak for themselves Martin Smith, the leader of the band was beyond impressed and had some interesting words to say about the whole campaign. You can read it here and for your info, the song "History Maker" is one of the songs on the playlist I have on the blogsite.
http://www.delirious.co.uk/html/news/20100404/344/history-maker-no4-in-uk-mainstream-charts.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/nottingham/hi/people_and_places/religion_and_ethics/newsid_8604000/8604615.stm
http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/music/Delirious_A_number_four_pop_hit_and_a_Farewell_Show_CDDVD/39294/p1/
I really wish I could have been part of that campaign but unfortunately, only downloads from the itunes UK counted to get Delirious on the charts. Even though you or I (who live outside the UK) couldn't have participated in putting Delirious on the map, we can certainly participate in helping Santa Clara make a name for themselves here in Canada. We really can help shape the future of this amazingly talented band. The odds stacked against a band with no major music label and no history are very great.
But you and I can help them beat those odds! How? Just by calling into your local radio station and requesting "Save Me". How about getting involved in 6 degrees of participation? And no, this campaign is different than the one I described above. Their music is for the mainstream market and purely for entertainment. And by calling in , we can give this band a chance in a "dog-eat-dog" industry.
I certainly have witnessed personally what the power of individual support can do. It is YOUR visits to this site that put "Making the Same Difference" on the map. The blogging world is extremely competitive too and getting exposure is really difficult. But each one of your individual visits and support and encouragement caused this blogsite I created that I thought would be small and intimate and has taken it to a place where this site is being seen by people from all over the world and getting a wide degree of exposure.
Like I've stated earlier, the odds area against a band trying to make it in the music industry and a blog trying to make a name for itself in the blogging world with millions of other sites. But here we stand, both Santa Clara and I. Whether you've visited this site or called in to request their song, either way you've helped put us on the map and given us a fighting chance of actually making it. Thank you!
To begin shaping Santa Clara's history, go to their website www.santaclaramusic.com for a list of radio stations in Canada that you can call into to request "Save Me". If you want to sample "Save Me", simply go to http://www.myspace.com/santaclaraband Remember that the official radio release of "Save Me" is April 12th And if you want to to go all the way from 6 degrees of participation to 1st degree participation, then you won't want to miss their show on May 1st where they will be playing down at "Sugar" here in Victoria BC along with the band "Armchair Cynics". You never know who you might see there Even though I'm making plans to go back to South America, I'm still trying to see if I can make it so I can be there. Tickets are available at the door or through "Lyle's Place". For more visit their fanpage on facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Santa-Clara/13488900734?ref=ts
So 6 degrees of participation.....how about it?
