#blasthouse

[onmyhonorband-blog]

The Swellers | On My Honor, The Light Under Closed Doors Release Tour. Blasthouse, Atlanta, GA. November 3, 2012

Credit: Jeff Roach (facebook.com/jeffroachphotography)

[umusicians]

UM Exclusive: BlastHouse Release Statement In Regards To On My Honor, The Sheds Show At Venue

On Wednesday, July 16th BlastHouse located in Lawrenceville GA hosted a show with The Sheds, Smalls and On My Honor. As seen from a variety of tweets a situation occured at BlastHouse, resulting in tweets on Twitter and posts being made on  Facebook by band members who were present at the venue and fans reacting to what was just revealed. On My Honor also tweeted about the situation noting disagreements occurred but they were paid and noting an exaggeration was being made out the entire situation. We reached out to BlastHouse to provide a statement in regards to what occurred at their venue on July 16th. We hope the following statement brings light to what truly occurred as with all situations there is more than one side, which is most notably evident in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Danger of A Single Story.” Read a statement from BlastHouse below!

On Wednesday, July 16 we hosted On My Honor/The Sheds/Smalls as part of their summer tour. Cops were called, arguments had and eventually the show shut down half way through. For the past 4 days the internet and our social sites have been littered with rumors, lies and exaggerations of what actually took place that night. People who weren’t even involved, know what happen or even live in America are and have been online bashing, slandering and falsely accusing us, our brand and staff of things we did not do. We’ve been constantly harassed since the incident via internet and for some reason our race keeps coming up into conversation, as if we don’t know we’re black. We have broken our backs and given our hearts to not just our scene, but the music scene itself. Housing bands, booking shows, merching, doing press, tour managing, managing, feeding, supporting friends, bands and strangers. We felt we owed our dedicated supporters…our friends, the few people who didn’t jump on a bandwagon after they saw just one tweet..an explanation on what took place Wednesday. We don’t call it our side of the story but instead, here is the TRUTH:

The tour package for Wednesday included Smalls, The Sheds and On My Honor. Four local bands were also included on the lineup. Our venue has policies, procedures and rules just like any other venue or business. One of these rules is that our load in gate (a 32 foot warehouse garage door) is only let up at certain times. We explain this to every band we book during the booking process via email. It is explained again during the band meeting that we have with all bands after load in and before the show. We explain to the bands how important it is to let us know if they are running behind so that we can be prepared to plan a second load in time for once they do arrive. We also explain that there is absolutely no loading out until after the show.

We do this for several reasons: 1. Order- it helps us keep things in order and gives structure to what we have going on. 2. Fire codes - we have fire codes that say we can’t let huge equipment or object be moved through certain doorways. In other words, if we did load in/out through a regular door we could let bands bring equipment in at anytime throughout the night, but we’re talking about a 32 foot warehouse gate.

NOTE* load in was at 5 for the tour package and 5:30-6:20 for the local bands. Smalls, Honor In Anarchy and drummer for The Word Travels Fast were the first people to arrive. The band and one member of Word Travels Fastloaded in shortly after 5:30. At 6:17, local band Drained arrived and one member of Lights After Dark was seen in the parking lot..we told them (Drained) they had five minutes to get their equipment in, but were notified by the Julian (vocalist for Lights After Dark) that their equipment wasn’t on site yet…so we let the door up for Drained, it took them about 6 minutes to get everything in and the gate went back down. Shortly after Drained loaded in, we called a band meeting with all present bands (Honor In Anarchy, Smalls, Drained and Word Travels Fast’s drummer.) We host band meetings with all bands before every show. We cover basic rules…no water on stage, no cursing in dialogue, no alcohol, no loading out until the designated third load in time.

At this point we’re less than an hour away from show time and three bands still not on site. {Note, we understand things happen and bands run behind but a call, text, message or pigeon to say “Hey we’re gonna be about 2 hours late” is always great and appreciated. } About two hours after load in On My Honor shows up and The Sheds shortly after. The package’s tour manager who arrived with On My Honor approaches Brittany upon arrival and says, “Stop harassing my tour package.” He then goes on to say that Smalls told him they were pulled into a room and lectured….but remember it was a band meeting and every band present was included.

We let both On My Honor and The Sheds know that they missed both load ins and that we’ll let the door up again for the three bands who are inside to load out and the four bands remaining can load in. Smalls goes on about 7:20 and the show seems to be off to an okay start. Kids are here and still filling up the spaces in the parking lot and everyone seems happy.

At about 8 or close to it, Lights After Dark come up to the front desk and tell Nicole, “We have to be somewhere at ten. We need to play at like nine. We CAN NOT play last.” (Not that they were on to play last) Nicole is confused and taken back by their tone (it wasn’t even in a, “we have somewhere we realllly gotta be. Could we please play earlier?” But more of an *I don’t care we’re late. We need to load in. We need to play. We need to leave* kinda vibe)

Lights After Dark are regulars of our venue and know our load in/out system. And even IF we were able to get Lights After Dark loaded in and on stage by 9 their equipment wouldn’t have been able to be loaded out until after the show -which wasn’t expected to end until 11. So we asked if the band wanted to leave their equipment and come get it later that night after they were done with their post show engagement. They said they couldn’t do this. The band came back to the from desk and Nicole once again repeated that even if they got on stage about nine after the third load in we wouldn’t be letting the gate up until after the show. She then asked if they were gonna play and they stated that they were unsure.

Brittany about ten minutes later asked the band if they were gonna play they said “I don’t think so. I don’t think we’ll have time.” When the door was let up for the third time, we were told by their guitarist, “We can’t play. I got hit. It would only be three of us.” Members of Lights After Dark then went to social media after the show to say they didn’t “get to play” when they actually dropped the show before it was shut down. Now, while all of this is going on Tim from Word Travels Fast is having a melt down because his band is set to play last or second to it. Ten presales were asked to be sold for this show by each local band, as for most of our shows. HOWEVER. We have never told a band they couldn’t play after showing up the day of because they haven’t sold their tickets. We let the locals pick their set times based on ticket numbers. We place the touring acts in slots that we believe will be best for the bands. Word Travels Fast ended up with the last slot and weren’t pleased with it. Tim approached the front desk with concern about set times and told Nicole, “We didn’t sell tickets. So you’re saying we really shouldn’t be playing?” To which they were answered “Oh, no that’s not the way it works. You guys can definitely still play. It’s just you can’t choose your set time” to which they replied “So we’re last? That’s not cool. Okay.” Tim leaves the ticket window and we know he’s upset about being last but are under the assumption they’re still going to play.

After this, Word Travels Fast’s drummer is seen by Brittany with the tour package’s tour manager by our side door. TM Dan unlocks the door for the drums to be taken out. (Note* we has already told band members not to unlock venue doors) Brittany walks over and tells Dan, “Don’t unlock the door. Lock the door back right now.”

Dan locks the door back and the drummer then walks through the venue and to the lobby of the business next door (our parents own a performing arts academy which is adjacent to us) which we use as an entry and ticket office for our shows. Our staff member, Sarah tells the band, “You can’t take the drums out this way. You’ll have to take it out through the BlastHouse garage door when it goes up.” The guys then tell her, “MOVE!” Brittany sees her having trouble and walks over to restate that the band will have to wait and can’t drag equipment through the lobby.

The guys push pass both Brittany and Sarah and began lugging their equipment through the small lobby. Sarah then calls staff member, Garrick over to take over the situation because the guys aren’t listening to anything they’re saying.

By the time Garrick catches up to the guys, they’re walking out the lobby door (banging it up in the process) and staff member Joycelyn had made her way to the lobby. She (upset and flustered because we’ve been repeating the same rules for half an hour straight now) says to the guys, “Didn’t I tell you guys that you can’t unload through my lobby?!” To which they reply, “WE ARE LEAVING. WE’RE GETTING OUR STUFF AND LEAVING.” She then screams back (profanity used and in angry tone) that they aren’t going to be able to take anything else through the door and have to wait till the gate goes up. Imagine someone walking through your business, breaking your rules and telling you how they’re not going to follow the rules. She chewed them out.

The guys turn around to come back in saying that they’re getting the rest of their stuff and leaving. Garrick tells the band that they aren’t coming back in and can only return inside to get their equipment when the gate goes up.

They then start videotaping staff members as we explain calmly that these are the rules and terms we agreed to. They begin to ask, “Why? Why can’t you let the door up RIGHT NOW?” And you know we wonder if they were at The Masquerade, The Ottobar, The Longbranch Saloon or any other venue if they’d question policies the way they do here. We continue explaining that once the third band plays we can let the gate up then they can load out and leave as they wish. The third band is setting up and only has a 20 minute set so it won’t be long. The guys become rowdy and proceed to enter back into the building, saying that they will load out and they’re gonna do it now. Garrick now snaps on them because at this point it’s evident casual conversation isn’t getting the point across.

When the gate went up, Joycelyn told the band that she she actually did not want them back inside the venue and asked if members of the tour package could collect the drum set for them. One member of the band was eventually let in to properly identify the drum equipment that belonged to Word Travels Fast. *Note, Word Travels Fast never loaded in more than the drum set. There were people in the parking lot who knew not one hint of what was going on and just saw Joycelyn screaming at the band. People fail to remember that there is always more to the story and before you jump on a bandwagon to slander a brand, business, or individual know your facts.

The Sheds saw their friends being screamed at and told BH staff, “We’re just not gonna play either.” So when the show was shut down the only band left to play was On My Honor. We let the first three bands load out and had the parking lot cleared.

Smalls received their full guarantee as they were promised. After the show, and after they had been paid, Ashley of the Smalls took to her Facebook page to say they hadn’t been paid AFTER we had given the band their promised 100 dollars cash. Never in our lives have we ever been so disrespected. To say that a venue hasn’t paid when you walked out with $100 cash. How do you forget you were paid? To lie on a business like that…how low can one go to butcher someone else’s reputation.

On My Honor received gas money (half of their guarantee) even though they did not play. We paid the band $50 cash. Yet somehow, “On My Honor didn’t receive a cent for gas.” is circling the internet. We event attached a picture of both checks that we had band members from each band to sign. We actually paid them in cash but had them sign checks as we do with every band just in case something like this happens.

The Sheds dropped the show (due to their friends in the Word Travels Fast lying about being kicked off) so they forfeited their guarantee. Which is the only reason they weren’t paid. They took to social media post show to claim that they were still planning to play when they walked back into help get Word Travels Fast’s drum set…but they had actually dropped about 20 minutes prior to the gate being let up. During the removal of Word Travel Fast’s drum set, members of the tour package entering the venue were mistaken by BH staff as Word Travels Fast members and physically held back, but once the individuals identified themselves as “not in the band” were released and freely allowed inside.

We have rules. Just as every venue or business. Maybe it’s because we’re young, maybe it’s because we’re female, maybe it’s because we’re black. I don’t know what’s so difficult to understand about it, but when you guys go to The Masquerade, The Tabernacle or any other venue if they ask you to do something you do it. If they tell you not to unload through a certain door or at a certain time, YOU DON’T. Why can’t we get the same respect?

We never held anyone’s equipment hostage or did anything illegal for that matter. In fact when the local band Word Travels Fast called the cops on us (for enforcing our venue rules of no loading out at random times during the show) the cops showed up and told our entire staff team, “I don’t know why we’re here. Nothing illegal is going on. If you guys told them to wait for the door to go up, they’re gonna have to wait. If you ask them to wait outside because you feel threatened, they have to wait outside. If they get any crazier, call 911 on THEM. Have a great day.” Yet, both The Sheds and Word Travels Fast went to their social sites after the show to say we held their equipment hostage…don’t you think if we were holding their equipment hostage the cops wouldn’t have left without reprimanding us? No ticket. No warning. They didn’t even tell us to let the door up and give the band their equipment right then. They literally said, “Your venue. Your rules. And right now you aren’t breaking the law.”

Random people who don’t know anything about the situation are saying we shut the show down for no reason. After the cops left, the bands (Word Travels Fast, The Sheds and various members of other bands we can’t specifically identify) and the parking lot crowd of random show attendees, band friends and drama-thirty scene kids continued with the ruckus, videotaping staff members, taunting staff, calling female staff members “Bitch” and whining still about set times. We felt threatened. That’s why we shut the show down.

Breaking venue rules, calling staff members “bitch”, lying on a venue and saying they didn’t pay you after they did, starting ruckus, slandering us online, making false accusations and harassing us. But yet we disrespected them by asking that they wait until the gate went up to load out.

The most hurtful thing about this entire situation is the amount of people who we’ve done nothing but love, support and help we’ve seen jump in this and rage against us.

The amount of bands we’ve paid, fed and house that we’ve seen tweet “BlastHouse” sucks. Let this be a lesson learned to every individual, group and band that jumped on the bash train during these few days to say hurtful and false things about us and our business without having the facts. Let this be a lesson learned that everything on the internet isn’t true.

Let this be a lesson learned that no matter how good you treat some people they will never be grateful. Thanks so much to the few…and we do mean few..,friends who have stood beside us. Thanks to the bands who spoke out and told their stories, shared their experiences.

People tend to think that we don’t like hearing negative things about our venue or complaints about people’s experiences. No, no one likes to hear negative things about their business but we’re mature enough to take it. What we won’t take is being slandered and falsely blamed. There is a difference between criticism and just plain out negativity. There is a difference between a complaint and lie. There is a difference between being a “bitch” and standing up for yourself.

We have done nothing but support our scene. We will continue to support our scene. We will not allow our scene to break us down or make us feel bad for having rules and regulations and standing up to bands. Ninety-five percent of the problems we face with bands are caused by the temper tantrums they throw about their set times or lengths. The ironic thing being, it’s always the band who hasn’t sold one presale, hardly promoted, hardly worked the show that complains about not getting first pick for their time slot. It’s always the band whose guitars aren’t tuned properly that whine about us not micing their cabs. It’s always the bands that have brought no one out that request a guest list. It’s always the bands that only attend the shows they play that say a venue is always empty.

**For the record, if our venue was always empty we would have shut down a long time ago, but we continue to thrive and flourish even through situations such as this.

We’re gonna end this with three quotes: “If people don’t hate then it won’t be right” - Kanye West “Watch who you call your friends- they don’t make them like they used to.” - Major League

“If more bands stood inside and supported each other during the show, watched each other sets, if there was more of that there would be less shit starting outside.” - Joycelyn

If your band is ever in need of an awesome show hosted at an awesome venue where you WILL be paid, respected and receive the best of venue hospitality, contact us: blasthousega@gmail.com If we can help you, we will.

#startedinahousenowweheret

[timeforaheroatl]

This show is this weekend! Join us for a cool time at the Blasthouse! I mean, who doesn’t want free s’mores??

[allapologiesmydear]

Hey guys. I don't know if you've heard or not, but some good people got fucked. Check out the link, and if you can give, please do. People suck. https://blasthouse.bandcamp.com/

[whoisalvinagarrat]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alvin Agarrat (@atumusic)

ATL party with D-Major tonight at #scales925 Empire finale viewing party. #idigdmajor #blasthouse #jrobertsent #mus #nodaysoff @tobias411 @tobiastruvillionofficial @mr23atl @classyj1 @jonessistersfilms @iamkevinbryant

[umusicians]

Blasthouse Release Sedulous: A BlastHouse Compilation

Blasthouse have released their compilation to raise funds after their sound equipment was stolen this weekend. The compilation features music from On My Honor, Uh-huh Baby Yeah!, Light The Avenue, Audiostrobelight and many more! You can listen to the compilation below and buy the album on BandCamp

<a href="http://blasthouse.bandcamp.com/album/sedulous-a-blasthouse-compilation" data-mce-href="http://blasthouse.bandcamp.com/album/sedulous-a-blasthouse-compilation">Sedulous: A BlastHouse Compilation by BlastHouse</a>

[annavzang]

Muggin & boothin for #lovehigh all day! #somanyharmonies #doowop #steptouch #blasthouse (at Blast House Studios)

[wethehopeband-blog]

After the show at BlastHouse! This was a great show!

[thedrumforge]

Flashback - Joel and Joey working on Drumforge 1 at the Blast House in Madison, Wisconsin

[whoisalvinagarrat]

Party with Empire's D-Major, Tobias Truvillion, this Wed @scales925 for the Empire finale viewing party and Premiere or "The Products of the American Ghetto" Official Trailer @mr23atl @jonessistersfilms @classyj1 @tobias411 @tobias411 @blasthousega #mus #jrobertsent #scales925 #blasthouse

[umusicians]

Blasthouse Launch Compilation To Raise Funds After Theft

UMusicians Co-Founder Brittany and Publicist Nicole (On My Honor, Of Fortune and Fame, Light The Avenue) are putting together a compilation which will be released this week, to raise funds to replace all sound equipment that was stolen from Blasthouse a music venue in Atlanta, GA this past weekend. The compilation will feature bands of various genres.

For those interested in donating to Blasthouse prior to the release of the compilation, you can donate through Paypal. Their Paypal email is: garrick35@hotmail.com. We'll be updating you on UMusicians as to when the compilation will go live. Read a message from Brittany and Nicole below!

So on yesterday we came into work to discover that our entire sound system had been stolen. From the mixer board to cables, mics and monitors...everything gone. We seriously put everything of ourselves into BlastHouse, our shows and work. We can't even begin to explain the pain that we've been through these past 2 days. We've been through a lot this year and this is like the rotten cherry on top but we still refuse to let it break us down. We are working on a compilation featuring various bands of different genres that will be up for donation within the next 2 days. All proceeds will go towards the purchase of a new PA system and sound equipment. Please, if we have ever done anything for your band..given you a show, fed you, housed you just help us share the word and compilation around. We aren't big on asking for help, but we really need it this time around. Until the compilation is complete if you would like to make a paypal donation our paypal email is: garrick35@hotmail.com - Anyone who donates before the comp is live will get the link emailed to them as soon as it's released. And if you know any information regarding the theft please come forward and let us know. Please continue to send us your prayers, we need them. - Brittany and Nicole

[runningonemusic]

17 track album

BlastHouse recently had their sound system stolen and released a compilation to help them raise money for a new one.  "What Have I Become?" is available to download through this comp as well as music from On My Honor,Audiostrobelight, Uh-huh Baby Yeah! and more.

[umusicians]

UM CONTEST: The Swellers -11/12 Blasthouse

The Swellers is UMusicians Artist Of The Week, and we have a contest today for fans of the band. We’ve teamed up with BlastHouse to give one lucky reader two tickets to The Swellers show on November 3rd in Budford, Atlanta. The contest will end on November 2nd at 11:59pm EST.

To win tickets to The Swellers Show you must do each of the following things:

"Like" UMusicians on Facebook

"Like" BlastHouse on Facebook

Write on UMusicians wall: I want to win tickets to see The Swellers!

[umusicians]

Why is that blast house article full of bs?

Hi Anon, the BlastHouse article is a statement from the venue in regards to what happened on that day. This is an official statement from the venue, which is similar to what the other bands involved in this situation have also done, where they tweeted or created a Facebook post with what they say occurred that day.

[umusicians]

UM Industry Profile : : Nicole and Brittany Ginyard (Blasthouse)

This week on UMusicians, we are bringing you various interviews from people working in the music industry. Through these interviews we hope to bring you insight from those working in the field that you are interested in venturing into, or helping you just learn some new facts.

Blasthouse is a music venue run by Brittany (UMusicians co-founder) and Nicole Ginyard (On My Honor, Light The Avenue, Of Fortune & Fame publicist). As the girls stated, music has always been a part of their life and to see the drive and determination they have it makes Blasthouse truly special! Check out our interview with them below!

Johanna Martinez: What was the inspiration for creating BlastHouse? Brittany Ginyard: My sister Nicole and I always knew we wanted to be in the music scene but we weren’t sure exactly what it was we wanted to do. We started a band with a few friends which didn’t work out very well, haha. We decided to call the band quits because we realized that being in a band just wasn’t for us. A few years later we had a house show on March 5th of 2011 with former bassist Nate Flynn of Sing it Loud. We had such a blast putting on the show and planning it. We fell in love with that side of the music business. After that first show show we knew we wanted to own/run our own venue. Nicole Ginyard: When I was 15ish one of my favorite bands was a band called Sing It Loud from Minneapolis. When I was 17, they broke up. I’m really emotional when a favorite band of mine calls it quits, and this time was no different. About 7 months later, their bassist, Nate Flynn, announced he was doing an acoustic solo house tour. As soon as my sister and I found out about it, we immediately hit his tour manager (Lindsey) up and made arrangements for us to host an Atlanta show. It was our first time hosting a house show but we put it together with lots of thought. We booked a local band to open up and even put tickets online for purchase and mailed them out. Nate played a bunch of SIL songs and I remember just being so happy. I never thought I’d hear some of those songs live again…yet alone in my own living room with my friends. After the show, Brittany and I were just on a happy high. I remember us talking about it for a couple of days and then we were finally like, “Let’s do this. Full time. Let’s freaking do this.”

JM: How did the name BlastHouse come about? Brittany: If I can remember my mom was the one that came up with the name. When we had our first show she we didn’t want to just say “house show.” So, we decided to come up with a name. We all sat around for about two hours coming up with names and that’s when my mom came up with BlastHouse! Nicole: My mom came up with it. Haha Or maybe it was my dad, I don’t really remember which one actually. I just recall like sitting at the dinner table and one of them saying, “You guys need a name. Something cool and youthful…BLASTHOUSE.” It was Brittany’s idea to keep the words together. People ask us why don’t we change it since we aren’t in a house anymore, but there is more to it than being in a house, it’s how we run our shows. Our shows are just as intimate as they were in our living room now that we’re in a building. We always said we’d keep the name..as a self- reminder of where we came from and how we started.

JM: What is the goal you’re trying to accomplish through it? Brittany: We’re just trying to create a fun safe environment for people of all ages to come enjoy good music and have a great time! Also, doing whatever we can to help out local and touring bands. Keeping the local music scene alive! Nicole: Our goal is to be more than a venue , but a home. We go to a lot of shows and are heavily involved in the scene. Our parents own a management/booking company and so shows are a way of life for our family. We know what it’s like to go to a venue and have to deal with douchey staff or promoters. We just want to bring a positive twist to the local scene. A safe haven for kids..a venue that parents know their kids will be safe at and not have to drive all the way downtown to get to. We’re all ages, non/alcoholic and drug free. We have a back room that we allow the parents to sit in if it’s too loud and our mom will pass out ear plugs/bottled waters. Our interns and staff are all our friends. They don’t work for us, we work together. People can see how down to earth we are and If there is a problem, they know where to find us and tell us personally. Our goal is to make kids feel like they’re at their friends house. Everything is personable and it’s a goal to stay that way forever. We make sure that everyone who attends a show or plays at BlastHouse feels loved.

We want to have multiple locations down the east coast. So if a band is doing a tour we host more than just their GA date…we want to help them out in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina. That’s an ultimate goal for sure.

It’s also a personal goal of mine to be known for the cleanest venue bathrooms in America. I consider the amount of people who come up to me during a show to say, “Dang, those bathrooms are clean” a great accomplishment.

JM: It appears to be that young adults started this revolution. How difficult was it to put your inspiration together and make it happen? Brittany: It appears to be that young adults started this revolution, how difficult was it to put your inspiration together and make it happen. At sometimes the inspiration comes easy at other times it doesn’t. It just all depends! Nicole: We’re both pretty sure of what we want and knew exactly how we wanted to run our venue, so when I look back, it all seems pretty easy. We were underage (16 & 17) when we had our first show, so we did have to get our parents’ permission, but fortunately they were pretty chill with it. There would be nights where we literally had 30 people we didn’t know in our living room, and my mom would be walking around telling them to come back and drive safe. Having our parents on board as much as they are helped/helps out a butt load. It was difficult at first when we would get invited to hang out with our friends or miss a birthday because we had a show booked, but we’ve grown to adjust and adapt while balancing our social and BlastHouse life equally.

Then there are the people who think that just because we aren’t old enough to buy alcohol we aren’t old enough to run a venue. And the countless issues or judgemental situations that are based on our race or sex- but we’re pretty good at ignoring that type of stuff.

JM: What can you tell others looking to follow the same path back in their residing place? Brittany: Have fun, don’t ever take no for an answer and always be kind. Nicole: Just because it’s a house show/house venue doesn’t make it any less professional or serious. Have a plan, rules and outline. Let your neighbors know what you’re doing and find out time for noise limits in your area so the cops aren’t shutting down your show. Make sure people know where to park and where they are allowed to roam in your house.

Stock up on patience, a lot of faith and more patience. You have to be able to overlook a lot of things- things people say and things people do. Everyone won’t support you, but believe in yourself always and forever.

Most importantly, have fun. The moment you forget to enjoy yourself you’ll start hating it all.

JM: Is there anything that you learned about the music industry and would have never guessed before creating BlastHouse? Brittany: It’s a dog eat dog world. It’s hard to find people who you can truly trust. When you find those few people you can trust, hold on to them tight and treat them right. Nicole: I always had this kinda back thought when we were first starting out that all our peers/aunts/uncles would be happy and support us. It was unbelievably difficult to learn that not all my friends or even family would support me. There are certain people I’ve known for years who pretend like BlastHouse doesn’t even exist. They don’t even acknowledge or want to talk about it. I never realized how difficult it would be to not have people believe in you, but it’s definitely the hardest lesson I’ve learned: not everyone will be happy for you, so be happy for yourself.

I never would have guessed how rare of a find genuinely grateful people would be in this industry. You have to do what you do for others because you want to & not because you’re expecting something in return, because a lot of people won’t say thank you or appreciate your hard work.

JM: How much effort does it take to get a show together? Brittany: I can’t even explain how much it takes to put on a show! We’re constantly having shows and events so we’re always working. But it’s worth it! I love my job! :) Nicole: I takes little to nothing for someone to book a show. But to book /host a successful show it takes a lot.

A lot of our shows are booked with touring bands and so we take the duty of finding local support. Depending on how many shows we are working on at the moment this can be extremely difficult. We usually try to get 2-4 good locals per show depending on the number of touring bands playing. It can take up to two weeks to confirm local support and this is the most frustrating part to me just because it seems like an ever-going chain of emails. We have reminders set on our phones reminding us to tweet/post about shows that are coming up. We personally print flyers/pass them out at the local malls and physically call up people, inviting them out to shows. We put a butt load of effort into our shows. One thing we are really big on is communicating with the locals leading up to the show, so we talk with the bands several times leading up to the show- just making sure that everyone is promoting properly and working towards a great show success. So there is definitely a lot of behind the scenes efforts and work that get out into a show that a lot of people may not know of.

JM: What has been the greatest learning experience through the development of BlastHouse? Brittany: There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not learning something. Everyday is a day for me to learn something new. Nicole: Learning myself has been one of the greatest experiences I’ve gained from BlastHouse. I’ve learned just how strong + dedicated I am.

Patience (remaining peaceful). I’m definitely learning to be patient. I freak out very easily and BlastHouse has definitely taught me that worrying does nothing for your situation. If your PA went out, screaming about it won’t bring it back. If a local drops off fifteen minutes before the show, ranting about it won’t change their attitudes.

Brittany and I both are perfectionists and so the hours leading up to a show we’re mostly spazzing over everything that doesn’t go 100 percent correct. It’s extremely difficult to say “this isn’t going right but I can’t freak out,” although it’s something that we’re learning to do with every show.

Greatest lesson of all? Hard work does pay off.

JM: What is one valuable tip you will give to upcoming artist? Brittany: Stay humble & shine bright like a diamond!

JM: Where do you see BlastHouse in five years? Brittany: Still putting on shows. I’d really like to see our local music scene come alive again. We’re slowly but surely getting there! Also, being able to help out touring & local bands all over the country in an even bigger and better way! Nicole: In five years I’d like to see BlastHouse with our multiple locations established. Hosting mainstream as well as celebrity artists and thriving brighter than ever.

Check out Blasthouse on the following websites: https://www.facebook.com/BlastHouse https://twitter.com/BlastHouseGA http://blasthousega.tumblr.com/ http://instagram.com/blasthousega