When the band, Oh, Hush! wanted a new logo (the old one was reminiscent of an early ‘60s Frigidaire ad), they went to their fans. They posted a call on their MySpace blog, announcing a two-week deadline. After two days, they had five pages of responses, that included a lot of logo entries.

Now, Oh, Hush! caters to a younger crowd, judging from the photos of some of the fans, and not all of them are graphic designers or graphic design students. A lot of the logo suggestions weren’t very good; on the other hand, all of them were better than what the band had before. Obviously, they’re going to pick one of them. And the picking—and picking process—is really good marketing. It’s generated a lot of interest in the band, and their music, and their gigs. Good deal.

Yes, this leads into an “I should do that.” Not the logo—I like the logo my daughter designed for me—but how about an ALBUM COVER? Yes, I could do it myself; I used to do graphic design for a living. But I haven’t gotten around to it. I haven’t even decided what to CALL the thing. Should it be entitled “Christmas at the Roadkill Café”? (There will be a Christmas song on it, and there is a Roadkill Café—in fact, there are several—and it would be an interesting opportunity for some cross-marketing if any were interested.) Or “The Heart by the Side of the Road”? (They are mostly love songs—with a lot of dead animals.) Or use the title of one of the songs—“Dirty Deeds We Done to Sheep,” say?

Maybe that’s the place to start—ask first what the album should be called (given the list of songs that’ll be on it), then once that’s picked, ask for a design (or photo) for the cover based on that title. The important part is not the work. It’s INVOLVING THE FANS.

Do I HAVE fans? I certainly don’t know how many I have. (I assume the number is small.) How do I find out? And how do I increase the number?

Well, I can think of two “pools” of people to start with. I have 86 (at last count) “Friends” on MySpace; if I send out a “bulletin,” it gets sent to all 86 of them whether they like it or not. Second, I have the Southern Oregon Songwriters Association, maybe 25 to 50 mostly writers “on the make” who ought to be interested in something like this; first step there is probably to send them all an e-mail lining out what I’m doing and saying I’ll take you off this list if you ask.

And then we have what I’ll have to call the “joelist”: people I know, or have met, who have expressed a sort of interest in my music because they have either said so or were there somewhere when I played. The list includes (or will include) people who have bought the CD (provided I can find their edresses in my archives). Send them all an e-mail, too, and maybe offer the same deal—I’ll take you off the list if you ask. Otherwise, I promise to be nice and only bother you with something important.

And obviously we’ll add to the “joelist.” Next time I go play with the Friday Night Group in Garibaldi, for instance, take a signup sheet and make the Announcement; ditto when I do the March gig at the Wild Goose. And of course, when the time comes, mention events like the “Name the Album Contest” both in the blog and on the various writers’ Websites I subscribe to (currently, there are 5 of those).

A start? This does mean the assembling of a fan base is being driven by the technology by which it will be contacted, instead of vice versa. Maybe, considering the shortage of time, it has to be. As it is, it’ll take me a while to put it together.

And Folks Out There? Readers? Listeners? Let me know what you think. Is this a viable idea? Please? Thanks.

Joe