The name recognition of blues-rock group The Rides may not be all that high, but the same cannot be said about its personnel, which includes Stephen Stills, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Barry Goldberg. The veteran “supergroup” is using radio to “build buzz,” and even underscored the importance on noncommercial radio.
Here’s how 429 Records put it in a release: “They are continuing to build buzz with continued radio support for their first single, ‘Don’t Want Lies.’”
They even give a specific shout out to California State University Northridge AAA outlet KCSN 88.3, complimenting the Los Angeles area station with the description “tastemaker.” The label proudly claimed #1 status at the station in recent times.
The single is from album “Can’t Get Enough,” which goes retail 8/27/13 at a Best Buy in New York City. A month-long tour begins the next day that will take the band from coast to coast and to points in between.
RBR-TVBR observation: As usual, the best testimony as to the link between airplay and success comes not from radio station operators but from the musicians themselves. If you want to sell recordings, tickets and other paraphernalia, you want to be on the air.
We wish that the labels would remember that every over-the-air spin is a free advertisement, and with that in mind, work with radio to each industry’s betterment, rather than pursue a performance royalty that will only increase the use of spoken word formats.
