Alone With My Guitar is a fun little song that typically goes over well live, but for some reason doesn't get much streaming play. I'm starting to think it's because the actual music doesn't start until 7 seconds into the track, and it's just sound effects for the first bit. Perhaps I should have stuck the ambient noises at the end of the previous track? Oh well. What's done is done.
Alone with My Guitar, written by 16-year-old Brent. Recorded by the Decibels in 2018.
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
The Make Out Room! San Francisco! The Decibels! Exclamation Points!
The Decibels are performing live (as opposed to what? performing dead?) THIS FRIDAY in San Francisco. Here is the line-up:
The Outta Sorts 7:00-7:30
The Bushrods 7:50-8:30
The Decibels 8:50-9:30
DJs at 10 pm.
I know, you're thinking "Wait?!?!?! This show starts at 7PM and ends at 9:30PM?!?!? I can be in bed at a respectable hour AND still attended a mother-lovin' friggin' rad concert?!?!?!?!"
Yes you can, punctuation whore.
Below is the poster for the event It would make me personally happy if you were able to attend. You are my favorite person. Seeing you at our show makes my day better. And for that, I salute you.
The Outta Sorts 7:00-7:30
The Bushrods 7:50-8:30
The Decibels 8:50-9:30
DJs at 10 pm.
I know, you're thinking "Wait?!?!?! This show starts at 7PM and ends at 9:30PM?!?!? I can be in bed at a respectable hour AND still attended a mother-lovin' friggin' rad concert?!?!?!?!"
Yes you can, punctuation whore.
Below is the poster for the event It would make me personally happy if you were able to attend. You are my favorite person. Seeing you at our show makes my day better. And for that, I salute you.
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Upcoming Shows and a new T-shirt
The Decibels are promoting our latest album Scene, Not Herd by playing a few shows at the end of this month. We're in Seattle on May 24th, Portland on May 25th and San Francisco May 31st. With Memorial Day weekend hitting, hopefully people will be able to come out and listen.
I always enjoy being able to play shows with other bands that I really like. We've got the Knights of Trash, The Cheap Cassettes, The Sellwoods, The Outta Sorts, The Bushrods and a few other bands that I dig playing in the different venues line-ups. So I'm extra excited for these shows because I know I'm in for a good time both playing and hanging in the crowd.
We also have our latest T-shirt available on bandcamp. It's a simple two-toned number (white on black) that features the same logo we use on our drum head.
You can purchase it at the bandcamp merch link (https://thedecibels.bandcamp.com/merch )
where you'd buy our albums. I like that when you buy a record or CD, you also get the digital album included for free. As much as I love having a tangible copy of the albums, I don't have a record player in my car. So having the digital download is very nice.
I always enjoy being able to play shows with other bands that I really like. We've got the Knights of Trash, The Cheap Cassettes, The Sellwoods, The Outta Sorts, The Bushrods and a few other bands that I dig playing in the different venues line-ups. So I'm extra excited for these shows because I know I'm in for a good time both playing and hanging in the crowd.
We also have our latest T-shirt available on bandcamp. It's a simple two-toned number (white on black) that features the same logo we use on our drum head.
where you'd buy our albums. I like that when you buy a record or CD, you also get the digital album included for free. As much as I love having a tangible copy of the albums, I don't have a record player in my car. So having the digital download is very nice.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
FRIDAY! FRIDAY! FRIDAY!
Friday March 22, 2019. The Decibels. The Reverberations. DJ Annimal. And a whole lotta Power Pop fun in Sacramento, CA.
Monday, March 11, 2019
Two More shows in July!
So we just keep adding more shows! There's even talk about another Spain tour in the late summer/ early fall. I've always enjoyed playing live. There's a certain raw art to it, creating something that will only exist for the moment, and getting an immediate response back from your audience. Even when you listen to the best recordings of live concerts, it never captures the energy that someone who is there feels as very real almost tangible human connection.
Anyway, here's the next installment of shows.
July 27 - Los Angeles, CA - Redwood Bar in LA w/ The Night Times
July 28 - Los Angeles, CA - International Pop Overthrow - Fais Do Do
We're still trying to see if we can land a San Diego gig for the 26th if July, to help round out the weekend.
Also, If you're interested in picking up some of out out-of-print albums, we have the digital versions available to download at https://thedecibels.bandcamp.com/
Between Reverbnation, Distrokid and Bandcamp, Bandcamp seems to have the best measurable response from fans. Reverbnation and Distrokid have both been about equal in getting our music on iTunes, Spotify, and other streaming music apps. They both have their pros and cons. If you're curious about which one is better in the whole Reverbnation vs. Distrokid debate, ask me. The articles currently out there are misleading, and you'll end up wasting money figuring out which one is best for you.
Anyway, feel free to check us out online at Bandcamp. I'd imagine around the winter holidays, we'll upload the digital version of our extremely rare (like only 25 copies ever made!) Christmas EP. Until then, keep on rockin'.
Anyway, here's the next installment of shows.
July 27 - Los Angeles, CA - Redwood Bar in LA w/ The Night Times
July 28 - Los Angeles, CA - International Pop Overthrow - Fais Do Do
We're still trying to see if we can land a San Diego gig for the 26th if July, to help round out the weekend.
Also, If you're interested in picking up some of out out-of-print albums, we have the digital versions available to download at https://thedecibels.bandcamp.com/
Between Reverbnation, Distrokid and Bandcamp, Bandcamp seems to have the best measurable response from fans. Reverbnation and Distrokid have both been about equal in getting our music on iTunes, Spotify, and other streaming music apps. They both have their pros and cons. If you're curious about which one is better in the whole Reverbnation vs. Distrokid debate, ask me. The articles currently out there are misleading, and you'll end up wasting money figuring out which one is best for you.
Anyway, feel free to check us out online at Bandcamp. I'd imagine around the winter holidays, we'll upload the digital version of our extremely rare (like only 25 copies ever made!) Christmas EP. Until then, keep on rockin'.
Thursday, March 7, 2019
2019 is promotion time!
2018 was a busy year for the Decibels recording new material.
We created two full-length long play albums. The first was "Big Hits! (plus twelve more!)" which was originally intended to be a just a test of our new recording studio, Lucky Shot Sound. Or maybe we called it Lucky Shot Records? Either way, we had amassed enough equipment to open our own recording studio in the Sacramento area, giving us the sandbox to finally start recording again. It also gave us more control over the finished project.
Our album of all originals, "Scene, Not Herd" was released later the same year. Time will only tell if releasing two LPs in one year was a wise move. There are moments we wonder if releasing the tracks off of Big Hits hurt the sales and exposure of Scene, Not Herd. What's done is done. All we can do is try to get the word out there that The Decibels are back in full force, and hope someone cares.
See, there's always a couple things that has made this journey an uphill battle for the Decibels. First, we always blew the audience away in our live shows, and the records never reflected that raw energy. The second issue - lack of distribution. We owe a huge debt to the small labels that promoted us, especially to the Screaming Apple label in Germany who have been with us every step of the way as a huge supporter. But it's tough for a band from Sacramento, CA to be on a German label, because while our European market experienced growth because of the album, it made gaining any traction here in the states a difficult task. Again, I'm grateful to anyone listening, and every label that's helped us out. But the market just is what it is. And an American band on an over-seas label confuses people. Heck, even Google Play only groups us with Japanese pop bands because one of our albums was released on a Japanese label.
Having easy access to a recording studio, we thought about filling 2019 up with another session of recordings. But with there not being as much interest in Scene, Not Herd as we had hoped, we decided to focus on playing more shows and promoting the album.
As of today, here's what we've got scheduled:
March 22 - Sacramento, CA - Cafe Colonial w/ The Reverberations
May 24 - Seattle, WA - The Parliament Tavern w/The Knights of Trash
May 25 - Portland, OR - The Twilight w/The Sellwoods
May 31 - San Francisco, CA - The Make Out Room w/ The Bushrods
July 5 - Burger Boogaloo After Party - Octopus Literary Salon
We're still looking to add more shows this year, but at least for sure these are confirmed.
Hopefully, if these shows result in better album sales, we'll be able to record a couple more albums. Believe it or not, The Decibels actually have a back catalog reaching back into the 1990's of original powerpop songs that could easily fill quite a few more albums. And we're still writing new songs every day. But if no one's listening, it's hard to keep pushing forward, because recording a good solid album requires soul-draining passion and plenty of hard work. So at this point, our goals for 2019 are to get the word out, to play new shows, and then see if anyone is still listening.
We created two full-length long play albums. The first was "Big Hits! (plus twelve more!)" which was originally intended to be a just a test of our new recording studio, Lucky Shot Sound. Or maybe we called it Lucky Shot Records? Either way, we had amassed enough equipment to open our own recording studio in the Sacramento area, giving us the sandbox to finally start recording again. It also gave us more control over the finished project.
Our album of all originals, "Scene, Not Herd" was released later the same year. Time will only tell if releasing two LPs in one year was a wise move. There are moments we wonder if releasing the tracks off of Big Hits hurt the sales and exposure of Scene, Not Herd. What's done is done. All we can do is try to get the word out there that The Decibels are back in full force, and hope someone cares.
See, there's always a couple things that has made this journey an uphill battle for the Decibels. First, we always blew the audience away in our live shows, and the records never reflected that raw energy. The second issue - lack of distribution. We owe a huge debt to the small labels that promoted us, especially to the Screaming Apple label in Germany who have been with us every step of the way as a huge supporter. But it's tough for a band from Sacramento, CA to be on a German label, because while our European market experienced growth because of the album, it made gaining any traction here in the states a difficult task. Again, I'm grateful to anyone listening, and every label that's helped us out. But the market just is what it is. And an American band on an over-seas label confuses people. Heck, even Google Play only groups us with Japanese pop bands because one of our albums was released on a Japanese label.
Having easy access to a recording studio, we thought about filling 2019 up with another session of recordings. But with there not being as much interest in Scene, Not Herd as we had hoped, we decided to focus on playing more shows and promoting the album.
As of today, here's what we've got scheduled:
March 22 - Sacramento, CA - Cafe Colonial w/ The Reverberations
May 24 - Seattle, WA - The Parliament Tavern w/The Knights of Trash
May 25 - Portland, OR - The Twilight w/The Sellwoods
May 31 - San Francisco, CA - The Make Out Room w/ The Bushrods
July 5 - Burger Boogaloo After Party - Octopus Literary Salon
We're still looking to add more shows this year, but at least for sure these are confirmed.
Hopefully, if these shows result in better album sales, we'll be able to record a couple more albums. Believe it or not, The Decibels actually have a back catalog reaching back into the 1990's of original powerpop songs that could easily fill quite a few more albums. And we're still writing new songs every day. But if no one's listening, it's hard to keep pushing forward, because recording a good solid album requires soul-draining passion and plenty of hard work. So at this point, our goals for 2019 are to get the word out, to play new shows, and then see if anyone is still listening.
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