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Pray For The Soul Of Betty Rocks L.A.
An Up-And-Coming Band Talks About Surround Music, DVDs, & DualDiscs
By Tricia Spears
The Key Club on Sunset in Los Angeles was the place to be on Tuesday night, June 28, 2005, as Constantine Maroulis and the band "Pray For The Soul Of Betty" celebrated the release of their debut album.
Over 600 fans showed up for the sold-out event to see their favorite Idol perform with the band in what can only be described as high-energy rock. The predominantly female audience went crazy with excitement as the group took to the stage and never let up until they brought the house down on the last song.
Starting at 6:30 p.m. with a "Meet And Greet," the crowd stood in line waiting to experience the thrill of getting up close not only to Constantine, but also to the very entertaining drummer Hamboussi, guitar player Joao Joya, and bass player Taylor. Autographing photos, CDs, and such, the boys made a point of making each fan feel special, further adding to the excitement of being there.
Now, what does all of this have to do with Surround Music, you ask. Well, we needed an excuse to get there, so we came up with some very interesting surround music related questions for the band. They are as follows:
Widescreen Review, Tricia Spears: As a band, are you truly independent in that you are working off your own label and not that of a large budgeted label?
Pray For The Soul Of Betty, Taylor: It is totally our own label, Baby Julius Productions, owned and operated. Distribution through Koch adds a little money and muscle, but it's minimal for sure.
WSR Spears: How familiar are you with the audio and video formats of surround music; surround music DVD-Audio and Video; SA-CD; and dual disc that are being released by some of the major labels?
Taylor: It is a format that is being considered by the band very seriously for our own future, so yes, we are aware.
WSR Spears: As an independent band, do you hope to release in any of these formats?
Taylor: Yes, we think the band has something to offer visually, so we're into it.
WSR Spears: What type of production and costs do you think would be required of you in trying to release just a DualDisc?
Taylor: As with any release, we would estimate a substantial investment, but as always, we would enlist friends and contacts to help us keep the cost down.
WSR Spears: Do you feel that these formats can make it more difficult for an up-and-coming band like yourself to compete against a major label that is releasing these formats?
Taylor: In a way, yes. With this release, we have learned the harsh lessons of being indie. The toughest one is placement——we can't get on a shelf in the front of the store, we can't get a listening station, no co-op, no advertising—it's tough. But we're really psyched that over 25,000 fans have our CD and feel that we're building something really special here.
There's something about not being on a major that allows a fanbase to be more of a family.
WSR Spears: As a band, do you feel that releasing in these formats is essential in helping build a media and fan base?
Taylor: Yes, we think it is extremely important, especially for fans who can't get a chance to the see the band, which in our case, will be all summer because of Constantine's contractual obligations.
We wish the band the best of luck and look forward to reviewing their next release, which I'm sure will be in some sort of surround music format! For more info on the band, go to their website www.prayforthesoulofbetty.com. Widescreen Review will continue to follow the band and will post updates on www.surroundmusic.net.
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