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It’s long overdue, but the time has finally come to unveil not only MY NEW WEBSITE, but ALSO the video for “Elephants” that I promised so long ago!

Big thanks to director Ryan Stober and visual effects guru Robert Morris for bringing this masterpiece to life for my massive budget of $0.  Pretty impressive if I do say so myself…

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IN RELATED NEWS: If you haven’t heard or downloaded my new album “Love Is Here To Stay,” you’re in the right place.  You can buy the digital version right here from this handy little player for $4.99….or listen to the whole thing for free.  The album consists of completely remixed, remastered, and re-recorded songs originally part of the ABCs series (RIP), and a few new ones.  I hope you enjoy it!

Physical copies are limited and currently only available at shows, so I suggest coming to Brooklyn Bowl on June 29th or Rockwood (Stage 2) on  July 6th.

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Any soccer fan worth a damn knows that the US is a POWERHOUSE not to be reckoned with.  Just check the history books, and you’ll see what I mean.  So after the inevitable beat down the US puts on England on Saturday in the World Cup, you’re probably gonna be looking for some way to celebrate.  Luckily for you, The Margarita Club is back in full force….this month’s theme: “Absolute Carnage.” Come on out to Pianos at 4:30, and we can all make fun of Dan for being English.

If you can somehow stay on your feet till 11pm, yours truly will finally be getting back to the basics over at THE REAL Rockwood Music Hall. It’s very rare that I play acoustic shows, and it’s a completely different set of material, so a lot of these songs have not seen the light of day in a while.  If you’ve been attending the band shows, you may have forgotten what my voice actually sounds like….this is your chance to refresh your memory!

Casey Shea (sans band)
Saturday, June 12th – 11pm
Rockwood Music Hall
FREE
*Nate Campany @ 8, Will Knox @ 9, Wes Hutchinson @ 10

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In Other News: I entered a competition sponsored by Alternative Apparel, and I’m currently in 1st place…of course there’s only 5 entries so far, but still.   Apparently if I win, I get a trip to New York!!!  It’s a little video of me covering of Aqualung’s, “Brighter Than Sunshine.” Watch and VOTE FOR IT HERE!

Unsigned Artist Competition Sponsored by Alternative Apparel

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Tonight I’ll be playing the NEW AND IMPROVED Rebel Spirit Music series at Flux Studios.  Basically the show takes place in a recording studio, and you watch us try to capture a bit of magic….the key word is “try” – I’m not making any promises.

It’s free if you RSVP HERE or send an email to rsvp {at} rebelspiritmusic.com.  Drinks are $5, and the lineup is great – Rachael Platten, Wes Hutchinson, and Jon Solo.

If you’re tired of getting your ears bombarded by my band, this show is for you….

Rebel Spirit Music
Tonight, 8pm-11pm
Flux Studios - 154 E 2nd St. btw a and b
FREE with RSVP

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[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

Look at how mature we are! We’re enjoying a leisurely drive to SC. No show tonight, and we’re excited for a relaxing evening with some of Patrick’s relatives.

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From the sounds of things, this show will sell out, so if you’re planning on coming, don’t risk it.  Get your tickets today!

The Dig Album Release Show!

Casey Shea
Saturday, June 5th – 10PM
Mercury Lounge
$10

GET TICKETS HERE

**The Red Lions @ 9, The Grates @ 11, The Dig @ Midnight

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In Other News: I changed my myspace profile picture for the first time EVER and added some new tracks from “Love Is Here To Stay!”

Some of you may be thinking what the hell is myspace?!!?  Good question…..I guess it’s sort of like the AOL of Social Networking sites.  Personally, I’m holding onto my myspace AND my AOL actually, cause if Kanye West has taught me anything, it’s that the past will be cool again.

In MORE Other News: I will have copies of “Love Is Here To Stay” available at this show!

In MORE MORE Other News: I will be singing a song with The Dig at some point during their show.

In MORE MORE MORE Other News: We’re sad to announce that Matt Basile will be playing this show.

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The alienation of the music buying public was set into motion by the general disdain and lack of customer service coming from major labels during the last few decades. As far as the labels were concerned they bestowed the public with their heavenly products, to be bought sound unheard, and en masse. If the customer was disappointed with the product then the general reaction was: “Tough luck,” if you could even find someone to speak to, hidden high up in their ivory towers. Very slowly this contributed to getting us where we are now.

For a certain period in history, the music industry had society in the palm of it’s hand, with permission from all to interrupt their day, tell them about the world and sell them quality products. Then the industry got bloated and arrogant, and when we had a chance to win over a new generation of music buyers, we failed. With the right approach, an ear to the street, and a penchant for innovation our industry could’ve avoided the current down turn, and we’d still have been at the forefront, rather than lagging behind several other forms of entertainment in terms of relevance and excitement. When you stop listening to your constituents, you lose. (See Rome, MySpace, New Coke, GM, etc.)

A New Dawn, A New Day, A New Hope

These days, we all live in a small town and everybody is the mayor of their own virtual neighborhood. If we do wrong by someone, even just a little bit, they will spread the word in their neighborhood. Social media has empowered everyone with a voice that can be heard. They tweet, blog, they update their status, and even if they only have 25 followers on twitter, a story can spread from there. If you blow someone away and “onto the powerful The Consumerist. This one example of doing the right thing and providing a great customer service will then become a marketing event more powerful than money could buy. But it’s a double-edged sword of course. Dave Carroll’s bad experience with United Airlines, and his subsequent viral music video led to embarrassment for the airline, forcing them to apologize and admit their mistake.

Bringing Customer Service Back

There is no reason for the music industry to be exempt from dealing directly with customers, listening to what they have to say, and adapting our business models accordingly.
As brick and mortar music retailers slowly fade away, we return to the age where record labels and artists move towards the direct-to-customer model. Partially out of necessity and budgetary constraints, but also fully by choice we at Family Records find ourselves smack-dab in the middle of this revolution. We are in constant communication with our customers via e-mail, twitter and facebook, whether they buy directly from us, or from a middle man like iTunes, Target, or Amazon. We do our best to make every customer interaction positive and memorable, and something that can help spread the word on our artists. When we make a mistake, we don’t deny, we apologize and make it right. When we’re asked for help, we try to make something happen for the customer.

Some recent examples of how we try to do our little part in the customer service revolution follow. When twelve year old Wakey!Wakey! fan Garen sent us a note expressing sadness for not being able to attend a 21+ concert, and enclosed a video of him covering “Brooklyn” at an open mic, we tweeted the video out and sent him a personal message from the band. He was ecstatic and will be a fan for life. While our customers wait for their orders to arrive, our fulfillment master Andy sends them a surprise free digital mixtape, that often sparks a nice thank you note or a tweet to their friends. When someone writes on their personal blog, we send them a thank you note, which sometimes leads to a tweet from their end spreading the Family gospel. Listening to our customers is a lot of work, it’s also very satisfying and it helps us grow our customer base. When customer service is done right, it’s the best marketing you can have. When marketing is done right, it’s not a bother. It’s a service.

Below is a video from Andy Sernovitz’s blog, where Mike Faith speaks on an extraordinary moment he had on Virgin America Airlines. Andy asks his readers “When is the last time you told everyone you know about an amazing customer service experience?” I’d like to look at the other side of that equation and ask you: When was the last time you blew your customer’s mind by providing an amazing customer service experience?

Related Reading: “How I almost ignored our single best source for customer feedback.” (read)

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Than we experimented with making my head smaller…

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Than we experimented with making my head smaller…

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Me sleeping at SXSW, after Tanya’s new app.

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Tanya got a new iPhone app.

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