UT San Diego for The Californian: The Narrative intend to tell a tale

The UT San Diego spoke with The Narrative in a interview talking about the band's name, the meaning of The Narrative, the first ideas of band names, the people that told them to give up on music, also talking about their releases, such as 'Just Say Yes' and the uppcoming studio album 'The Narrative'.

Update: The UT San Diego interview is available now through the WebArchive. You can also read the full post below.

The Narrative in 2010, Charlie Seich, Suzie Zeldin and Jesse Gabriel

CALIFORNIAN: The Narrative intend to tell a tale

By Erika Sorocco - For The Californian, NOV. 24, 2010

Everyone has a story to tell, whether it's the result of a long existence spent wandering the world like a nomad, or consists of a short-lived adventure with a close friend. New York-based Jesse Gabriel, Suzie Zeldin, and Charles Seich are no different.

The only minor variation between the trio and many others is the fact that instead of keeping these stories as memories. Two-and-a-half years ago they made the decision to share them and themselves with the world through music via The Narrative.

"We came up with the name while we were recording the 'Just Say Yes EP,'" said keyboardist and vocalist Suzie Zeldin. "At one point, we had put together a list of random band names, mostly from literary terms, poems, or song lyrics we liked and sent them around to our friends. For a short time, we settled on January Window which is from a Sylvia Plath poem. We ended up not liking it after a while and revisited the list and found The Narrative Paradigm which seemed a little wordy and pretentious so we shortened it to The Narrative. We decided it was a good name and have been happy with it.

"Someone even tried to convince us to give it up a few years ago because they wanted it and were going to be super ultra famous. We though it was a sort of funny that they would say that and we obviously said no. Wonder what they are up to now?"

Hailing from Bellmore, New York (Zelden and Gabriel) and East Meadow, New York (Seich) ---- the trio had a slightly surprising matter of meeting. Though Zelden and Gabriel had actually attended the same high school, during their time there, they were somewhat unaware of one another's existence. It wasn't until Craigslist brought them together that the connection (and the musical ensemble) was officially established.

"I don't know if we necessarily have expectations, but we definitely have aspirations," Gabriel said. "The music industry is a pretty bleak place these days. If we could continue making good music, maybe get some licensing deals set in place, and be able to make a living doing music related things exclusively, we'd all be pretty happy."

The Narrative play Friday at The Vault in Temecula, alongside The Secret Handshake, A Cursive Memory, Speak, We Are the Arsenal, and Me & The City. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show is open to all ages. Upcoming shows include Chain Reaction in Anaheim on Saturday and the Troubadour in West Hollywood on Sunday.

"People can expect a pretty energetic set, mostly featuring songs from our recently released full length," Seich said. "They can also expect a lot of eye contact between band mates, some awkward banter between songs and Suzie in a cute dress. We are friendly people and love meeting our fans. The other night I saw a girl in the audience who sang along to every word of every song but never came up to us and introduced herself or said hello.

"Just because you've heard about us on a website or in a magazine does not change the fact that we are still a very small band and are very humble about the position that we're in. We love talking to our fans, finding out how they first heard of us, what their favorite songs are, etc. We also give very good hugs."

The Narrative with The Secret Handshake, A Cursive Memory, Speak, We Are the Arsenal, and Me & The City

6:30 p.m. Nov. 26

The Vault, 41607 Enterprise Circle North, Temecula

Source 

The Narrative featured on Alternative Press' Unsigned Bands, AP Wants You!, issue No. 267.

On 2010, Alternative Press did a review of The Narrative's debut album "The Narrative", saying that "The craftsmanship the trio took into creating the album is evident. Hopefully this will be the last time the Narrative will have to self-release their music; labels, take notice." 

After the release, The Narrative returned to  be featured, this time at the Issue No. 267 "The State Of The Scene" from September 2010. The band appears on the page "Unsigned Bands, AP Wants You!" that you can read below and see the page scan.

THE NARRATIVE
HQ: Long Island, NY (myspace.com/thenarrative)
NOW PLAYING: The Narrative

YOU LIKE? YOU'LL LIKE: STRAYLIGHT RUN/ THE POSTAL SERVICE / DESTRY

THE STORY SO FAR: Jesse Gabriel (guitar/vocals) and Suzie Zeldin (keyboards/vocals) didn't realize while students at the same high school in Baltimore they'd later start a sunny indie pop band in New York City. In fact, they didn't know each other at all until years later when Gabriel searched for musicians on Craigslist and the pair met in Manhattan for pizza and music talk. "It probably still took a couple of weeks before we figured it out", says Gabriel.

WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW 'EM: Rounding out the band with drummer Charlie Seich and after several battles to secure the MySpace URL and trademark from other outfits with the same name. the Narrative grew through digital means. "We were selling CDs across the world before we'd played anywhere outside New York," says Gabriel. Maybe that's not such a bad thing, though, "I din't think we're hip enough for Brooklyn."

The 267 Issue is available on Alternative Press website. 

Alternative Press reviews The Narrative Self Titled debut LP

The Narrative release their first studio album, the self-titled "The Narrative" one of the major music sites Alternative Press did a review from the 13-track LP and by Evan C. Jones and you can read it below fully.

The Narrative

The Narrative

New York City piano-rock trio the Narrative have been on a tear since self-releasing their debut EP Just Say Yes, two years ago. The group’s momentum has not wavered with the release of their self-titled full-length debut, which checks in with 13 tracks over 52 minutes. Album opener “Fade” starts off with a Postal Service-esque drum machine before keyboardist/vocalist Suzie Zeldin’s velvety smooth voice takes over, leading the band through a big crescendo in the song’s chorus. But if a polished female voice isn’t what you’re looking for, guitarist/vocalist Jesse Gabriel provides a rugged counterpoint to Zeldin, as heard on “Trains” where the duo exchange lines across a bouncy piano riff. Although The Narrative is a bit lengthy (eight tracks are more than four minutes long), the craftsmanship the trio took into creating the album is evident. Hopefully this will be the last time the Narrative will have to self-release their music; labels, take notice.

Self-released http://www.thenarrativemusic.com

Featured song: “Empty Space”

You can listen to The Narrative album on Spotify, Apple Music and buy the CD/Vinyl on The Narrative's Official Webstore

PENN LIVE: The Narrative trio will reveal melodious stories from their debut album in concert Sunday

The Narrative were featured on PEEN Live News with a short post by Cristina Bass for the The Patriot-News on Aug. 28, 2010.

Read the full post below or here to go to PENN Live Website

The Narrative, a young indie-modern rock trio — Charlie Seich, Suzie Zeldin and Jesse Gabriel — will perform songs off their debut album “The Narrative” in concert Sunday at the Champ in Lemoyne.

As heard on MTV’s “Real World Brooklyn” and “Real World Cancun,” The Narrative is known for its intoxicating vocals and diverse lyrical arrangements. This New York-based group is making its mark on the music industry with its story-telling theme.

Also performing on Sunday will be The Scarlet Ending and Close to Consideration.

IF YOU GO

WHEN: Doors open at 6 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: The Champ, 52 Market St., Lemoyne

COST: $10/$8 in advance

INFO: www.championshippa.com

The Narrative - Monoliths Lyrics

 Song: Monoliths

Artist: The Narrative

Album: Monoliths - Single

Year: 2021

Label: Future Billionaires

Lyrics

It was cold in Atlanta

A frigid wind dragged you in

Sat you down beside my kin

And we drove to Savannah

Sullen trees bearing leaves

Susurrating in the breeze

Somewhere there’s a fever rising up

Hearts apprised of universal dust

But if it’s not enough it’s not enough

The monoliths of metal turn to rust

When we bailed out of Georgia

There was fire in the air

Orphaned houses everywhere

So you wept in a corner

Singing names of your friends

Who you’ll never hold again

Somewhere there’s a fever rising up

Hearts apprised of universal dust

And if it’s not enough it’s not enough

The monoliths of metal turn to rust

I’ve been waiting for this

For years for you

Walking around these heads in the ground

I’ve been stowing patience

For years for you

What do you need?

What do you need me to do?

Somewhere there’s a fever rising up

Hearts apprised of universal dust

And if it’s not enough it’s not enough

The monoliths of metal turn to rust

Written 

The Narrative song 'Fade' from 'The Narrative' with lyrics

Artist: The Narrative
Song: Fade
Album: The Narrative
Release date: july 27, 2010
Label: The Record Collective/The Narrative
Composer: Suzie Zeldin; Jesse Gabriel 

Listen to The Narrative new song "Fade" from "The Narrative" self-titled album released on July 27, 2010.

Lyrics

We probably shouldn't talk

cause talking leads to thinking

and eyes wide open blank in the dark

We probably shouldn't think

cause thinking leads to questioning

it circles you right back to the start

everything used to make sense

we're testing it and our own strength

oh, no

if we don't leave now

we will break

we will falter, we will fade

if we don't leave now

we will harm

we'll regret what we've

done to ourselves

I probably shouldn't wish

for your breath on my skin

instead the cold air's traveling down

from the vents above our heads

and drinking is no excuse

though it's an easy one to use when

lack of self control has left you making

poor decisions for yourself

everything used to make sense

we're testing it and our own strength

oh, no

if we don't leave now

we will break

we will falter, we will fade

if we don't leave now

we will harm

we'll regret what we've done

ah, what have I done

what have I done

ah, I've gone and hurt

the one I love

if we don't leave now

we will break

we will falter, we will fade

if we don't leave now

we will harm

we'll regret what we've done

if we don't leave now

we will break

we will falter, we will fade

if we don't leave now

we will harm

we'll regret what we've done to ourselves

The Narrative song 'Cherry Red' from 'The Narrative' album with lyrics

Artist: The Narrative
Song: Cherry Red
Album: The Narrative
Release date: July 27, 2010
Label: The Record Collective/The Narrative
Composer: Suzie Zeldin; Jesse Gabriel 

Listen to The Narrative new song "Cherry Red" from "The Narrative" self-titled album released on July 27, 2010.

Lyrics

You look so dumb with your cherry red lipstick on

I can feel you push, but are you sure that this is what you want?

And is that your can-you-see-I’m-over-you smile?

Well, baby, I will bury you if this is going to be awhile

All year long I’ve waited for you to move on

You drove my patience through the floor

With your so dramatic selfish tactics

But you’re right here knocking down my door

With your pretty fingers digging deeper still

You too obsessed with everything thing I do

I’ve been losing sleep but I can guarantee it’s not over you

It feels so good to finally be alone

I was really tired of you torturing my telephone

All year long I’ve waited for you to move on

You drove my patience through the floor

With your so dramatic selfish tactics

But you’re right here knocking down my door

With your pretty fingers digging deeper still

You drove my patience through the floor

With your so dramatic selfish tactics

You drove my patience through the floor

And you keep me coming back for more

With your so dramatic selfish tactics

But you’re right here knocking down my door

With your pretty fingers digging deeper still

The Narrative song 'Winter's Coming' from 'The Narrative' album with lyrics

Artist: The Narrative
Song: Winter's Coming
Album: The Narrative
Release date: july 27, 2010
Label: The Record Collective/The Narrative
Composer: Suzie Zeldin; Jesse Gabriel 

Listen to The Narrative new song "Winter's Coming" from "The Narrative" self-titled album released on July 27, 2010.

Lyrics

Are you in danger, you swore by a ship wreck

And now you are stranded sinking like a ghost

So sit by your door, and wait for me to storm in

But I swear, I swear I'm never coming home

And the winter's coming close

And my body is growing cold

And I'm trembling in fright, oh my

Cause I am a sinner with a crooked smile

And you took to the rhythm of a no good liar

I drown in the mirror, you notice thing is damn disease

And I never surface who I want to be

I'm shaking with bruises; I can barely stand my shame

Knowing every inch it hesitates

And it breaks and it breaks, and it breaks

And the winter's coming close

And my body is growing cold

And I'm trembling in fright oh my

Cause I am a sinner with a crooked smile

And you took to the rhythm of a no good liar

I am a sinner with a crooked smile

And you took to the rhythm of a no good liar

Cause I am a sinner with a crooked smile

And you took to the rhythm of a no good liar

I am a sinner with a crooked smile

And you took to the rhythm of a no good liar

I am a sinner with a crooked smile

And you took to the rhythm of a no good liar

I am a sinner with a crooked smile

And you took to the rhythm of a no good liar

I am a sinner with a crooked smile

And you took to the rhythm of a no good liar

I am a sinner with a crooked smile

And you took to the rhythm of a no good liar

The Narrative song Don't Want to Fall from The Narrative album with lyrics

Artist: The Narrative
Song: Don't Want To Fall
Album: The Narrative
Release date: July 27, 2010
Label: The Record Collective/The Narrative
Composer: Suzie Zeldin; Jesse Gabriel 

Listen to The Narrative new song "Don't Want To Fall" from "The Narrative" self-titled album released on July 27, 2010.

Lyrics

This is a decision that I've known for a while made

I remind myself as I'm walking up to your gate

Through the wire and diamonds, 

I can see your shape

Your fumbling around with your keys

You say we can sit and stay but

I'm trouble keeping up with your pleasantries

Don't you find them unsettling, can we go walking

It's probably a good idea

yeah It's probably a good idea

'Cause I don't want to fall in love with you again

I'm so afraid I'm capable of it

And after time I can't accept 

You're still the song on my breath

You're not easy to forget

Moving in rhythm footsteps align

I'm doing ok till your arm brushes mine

And then I panic 

Thought I've figured it out

But ill take it all back

As we pass the closing stores and lit up cafes

There are so many of them these days

So many strangers 

Their walking around

In our place, in our place

And suddenly it's all unclear

yeah suddenly it's all unclear

Yeah this probably was a bad idea

yeah this probably was a bad idea

'Cause I don't want to fall in love with you again

I'm so afraid I'm capable of it

And after time I can't accept 

You're still the song on my breath

You're not easy to forget

We used to own these streets, 

Head to head you're spinning me

And now we say that we were young

And what we had has come and gone

We used to own these streets, 

head to head you're spinning me

Our backs against a concrete wall

Your body falls and on the intercom, 

the intercom

The intercom, 

the intercom

We woke the neighbors

It's no wonder they hate us, 

on every single floor

The Narrative song 'Silence and Sirens' from 'The Narrative' album with lyrics

Artist: The Narrative
Song: Silence and Sirens (Styled as Silence & Sirens)

Album: The Narrative
Release date: july 27, 2010
Label: The Record Collective/The Narrative
Composer: Suzie Zeldin; Jesse Gabriel 

Listen to The Narrative new song "Silence & Sirens" from "The Narrative" self-titled album released on July 27, 2010.

Lyrics

The silence and the sirens

they're altogether frightening

the sounds of someone dying

and I am only missing you again

so here's a cheers to treason

and giving me a reason

for drinking well this season

when you will learn to leave this lonely bed

for every word he said

and will you still come around

to keep me on the ground

we might be better off then

with every inch of distance

so you don't have to cope with

the pulsing sound that caught you from the start

and caught me off guard

and will you still come around

to keep me on the ground

and will you still come around

'cause I've been breaking down

she said "please don't do this

yeah you know we're still the best of friends"

(every choice you make)

"and you know it's not like that it's just been way too hard"

(pushes me away)

she said "please don't do this

yeah you know we're still the best of friends"

(I'm better now)

"and you know it's not like that it's just been way too hard"

(but you're not here to find it out)

and will you still come around

to keep me on the ground

and will you still come around

round, round, round, round

cause I've been breaking down, ah

The Narrative song 'You Will Be Mine from 'The Narrative' album with lyrics

Artist: The Narrative
Song: You Will Be Mine
Album: The Narrative
Release date: july 27, 2010
Label: The Record Collective/The Narrative
Composer: Suzie Zeldin; Jesse Gabriel 

Listen to The Narrative new song "You Will Be Mine" from "The Narrative" self-titled album released on July 27, 2010.

Lyrics

Green eyes staring as the room spins baby from behind your desk

Until you know you look so good with your pale skin in your bright blue dress

Well I talked and I learned and my tongue couldn't turn its tricks on you

So I tripped and perspired and fled from your island to plan my next move

And all this time I'm waiting for a taste of what you hide

But I'll know better when I am in too deep

You will be mine

You will be mine

You will be mine

You will be mine

Sit tight, baby, we'll be just fine slurring over drinks for two

But it's only a chase if you've been holding out

Still, though the wine is tempting you

And you talked and you learned that my heart wouldn't turn

But it's too late now to lose

It's the catch in your speech, it's your clothes at your feet

And the way you dance to how I groove

And all this time I'm waiting for a taste of what you hide

But I'll know better when I am in too deep

You will be mine

You will be mine

You will be mine

You will be mine

Sorry honey I'll be late tonight

Sorry honey I'll be late tonight

Don't wait up for me this time

Don't wait up for me this time

Sorry honey I'll be late tonight

Sorry honey I'll be late tonight

Don't wait up for me this time

And all this time I'm waiting for a taste of what you hide

But I'll know better when I am in too deep

You will be mine

And don't ask what this ring is for,

I have yet to realize

But I'll know better when I am in too deep

You will be mine

You will be mine

You will be mine

The Narrative song 'Trains' from 'The Narrative' album with lyrics

Artist: The Narrative
Song: Trains
Album: The Narrative
Release date: july 27, 2010
Label: The Record Collective/The Narrative
Composer: Suzie Zeldin; Jesse Gabriel 

Listen to The Narrative new song "Trains" from "The Narrative" self-titled album released on July 27, 2010.

Lyrics

Trains on train tracks 

Are made to come back

From every place that 

They have ever been

At 7: 30, 

Sunday off the peak,

I knew she'd leave me

But not like this.

You know 

You're the reason that I felt alive out here,

For so long I've been waiting for my chance to disappear.

For wooden sleepers,

The girders lie still,

A cold reminders

Of what you had to do

We're not like train tracks,

Sometimes we have to move

And never come back

Despite the things we lose

You know 

You're the reason I've felt out here,

For so long I've been waiting for my chance to disappear

And this town 

Is just a strip of bars and street we call names

It's strange 

To know that you'll watch me slowly as I pull away.

Trains on train tracks

Are made to come back.

The Narrative song 'Empty Space' from 'The Narrative' album with lyrics

Artist: The Narrative
Song: Empty Space
Album: The Narrative
Release date: july 27, 2010
Label: The Record Collective/The Narrative
Composer: Suzie Zeldin; Jesse Gabriel 

Listen to The Narrative new song "Empty Space" from "The Narrative" self-titled album released on July 27, 2010.

Lyrics

So tell me, if you're ready

Then why are your palms sweaty?

Grab tight, your knuckles white

Wind up and swing with all your might

All that will be hanging, by days spent in the dark.

Have you had enough, have you had enough?

You build yourself a house, a house that's not a home.

If every shadow is your own, is your own.

Time stands still, your movement froze,

And staring down at what you broke,

And walk on, the dust will lift from the ground,

And settle into new found comfort in your empty space.

Eyes drowning, surrounding colours bleed into the air

And the life you stood by dissolves in arbitrary lines,

You drew just to have something to cross.

Have you had enough, have you had enough?

So dirty up your hands, the hands that used to,

This whole foundation let go, let go.

Time stands still, your movement froze,

And staring down at what you broke,

And walk on, the dust will lift from the ground,

And settle into new found comfort in your empty space.

So tear it, rip away my pain my memory

Stare at all the nothing you created.

Tear it, rip away my pain my memory

Stare at all the nothing you created.

Time stands still, your movement froze,

And staring down at what you broke,

And walk on, the dust will lift from the ground,

And settle into new found comfort in your empty space.

Review Rinse Repeat: Unsigned Spotlight - The Narrative

The Narrative posted on Review Rinse Repeat about the band's formation story with Craiglist and a small biography about them. You can read all the post below (recovered in 2021). At this time, Review Rinse Repeat did a review for the band's album debut 'The Narrative' that will be posted soon. The post below is was reviewed by Tanya Gelman.

The Narrative, Suzie Zeldin, Charles Seich and Jesse Gabriel

Hey! We're The Narrative, a three piece indie/pop/rock band from Long Island, NY.

This whole band thing started in 2006 when Jesse Gabriel (guitar/vocals) posted an anal retentive Craigslist ad that I (Suzie Zeldin - vocals/keys) was crazy enough to respond to. Craigslist is notoriously full of weirdos, and Jesse claims he wanted to avoid those at all costs. The reality of the situation is that this is just one of those rare times where two weirdos wound up being pretty good for each other. As an interesting side story, we had actually gone to high school together and didn't figure that out until a week or so after we started working together. To say we live in a small world is an understatement. It was a sort of creepy fate, I suppose. Sometimes you never really get to leave where you're from!

Throughout the next year or so, we spent way too much time in my tiny apartment putting together the pieces of what would become our first release, the Just Say Yes EP. Don't get any funny ideas - no hanky panky, we were all about the music! A lot of people ask us if we date or have ever dated, and while we love each other in a very familial way, we like to clear the air on that subject every once in a while.

While working as a duo, we realized we wanted to record an album that at the very least felt like a full band. We were lucky enough to be introduced by Bryan Russell, our producer, to Charles Seich (drums/percussion). Charlie is often referred to by people who see our live sets as a "drumming machine", "solid", and "fucking amazing, whoa". Needless to say, we're glad he's on board. Aside from being a totally awesome drummer, he's at least as weird as us (probably more so), and he's a key instrument in our writing process these days. After some months of working with Charlie and his bassist friend Brandon Strothman, we released Just Say Yes in mid-late 2008.

Fast forward a year: Charlie, Jesse and I begin to write and record our first full length record. With the help of our good friend Ari Sadowitz on bass, and Bryan Russell - we can't get rid of that guy - we were able to flush out thirteen new songs. The writing process was fairly simple - either Jesse or I would come into practice with a skeleton of a song and we'd work it out, rework it, and mold it into something we were proud of. When we write, we try to keep ourselves open to experimenting with any ideas that get tossed into the mix, regardless of what biases we're bringing with us into the practice room. The same goes for recording. We try not to walk into any situation having already sold ourselves on a particular sound or idea, because you never know when someone might have a very different idea that adds an element that makes the song better.

The record hits super soon - July 27th - and we couldn't be more excited. We worked super hard on it for over a year, and hope it shows. We're still at a sort of grassroots level where we do everything ourselves. A lot of people get the wrong idea and think we're doing our dream jobs being musicians for a living or something and it's just this easy wonderful thing. We don't exactly make money doing this! We all work various "real" jobs to help us get on the road or fund recording. Truthfully, though, the music side of things is so much more time consuming and so much more work than any other jobs we've ever had. The music business is a tough one to be in these days, and we know we have to work our asses off to survive. We have a bunch of amazing friends and fans who have been supportive and helpful along the way, and that has kept us constantly driven.

As of late, we've been focused on getting the word out about the release. We just got back from a two day festival out in Michigan, and we'll be playing a NYC record release show on 7/29 at The Gramercy Theatre with Relient K. We also have some east coat dates booked for the end of August. We'd be very grateful for a solid tour opportunity, and hopefully that will happen for us sometime in the future. In the meantime, we'll be doing what we always do - trying to spread the word about our music, playing in front of everyone we can, and continuing to practice our current songs and write new ones. If you can, come hang out at one of our shows. If you don't like the music, you can at least chat with a few entertainingly friendly yet strange people.

Source (WebArchive)

RM64 Artists Record: The Narrative posts about the release of self titled album

On June 15th, 2010, The Narrative posted at their blog in RM64 Artists Record that they were finally releasing their self titled album 'The Narrative' with a self release, independently.

Suzie wrote the post talking about the release and the difficulties of this release and their future for promoting the album. 

Read the full post (now archived)

Well hello everyone! Suzie here. Typically, I’m responsible for the lovely Narrative video content you see on RM64 every so often, but the past few weeks have left little time to sift through footage of the 3 of us trying to take ourselves seriously. Apparently, we can’t do that when there’s a video camera present (without multiple takes). However, we do take ourselves very seriously when it comes to the business side of our band.

That being said, we are getting ready to SELF-RELEASE our first full length record. Yes, self-release. We kept telling ourselves we’d sign to a label if we got an offer that made sense, but I’m not quite sure anyone knows what makes sense when it comes to putting our records these days. If we put all that work into a full length, paid out of pocket for all expenses related to that endeavor, does it then make sense to go and give 90% of that to a bunch of people we probably could only get to know over the course of a few weeks, or maybe just one fancy dinner at Nobu? I guess maybe? Maybe if they promise to really promote our record, you know, “push it” and really get it out there. Or mayyyyybe we’ll sign our contract, give up ownership of the record and then 2 weeks later someone else will be having dinner at Nobu and we’re leaving 10 messages a day with the secretary. What’s our recourse? Suing them? We’re artists! We’ll never have the money to win that battle. Sigh. The music industry is a weird place so here at The Narrative camp, we’re taking things into our own hands.

What can you do as a band with practically no money and minimal resources? That’s what we’re trying to figure out. I still genuinely believe that word of mouth is the most important piece of marketing out there. Unfortunately, you can’t just sit around hoping for something to happen – you have to make it happen. So here’s what we’ve got in the works:

PUBLIC RELATIONS – One way or another, we need to get people talking about our release. Every time I see an interview or a feature of some kind, I jot down the who, what, where, and when and put it in my crafty excel spreadsheet (I am such a nerd with excel, it’s embarrassing and also totally awesome at the same time). Little blogs and music webzines still CARE about MUSIC – they don’t care that Jesse and Charlie don’t grow their hair long enough to flat iron it, or that my EMO-SWEET BANGS come and go with my lack of ambition for haircuts. They’ll write about us if they like our music, and reaching out to them personally makes a lasting impression. I know that by doing this, we’ll have people writing about our record, and even though it might not be the biggest outlet, it still matters A LOT (my opinion!). Lucky for us, we have some friends in the land of the interwebs, and those friends are pretty damn influential (ahem, absolutepunk L.O.V.E. you)  – having those guys talk about our release will be key for us too. If you can swing it, hiring a PR agency to help get your stuff out there is a nice amenity, and perhaps we’ll have an announcement for you all about that very thing in the next few days ;) In the meantime, there’s the bio… the one-sheet…and of course there is the…

MUSIC VIDEO – Honestly, I have been told on a number of occasions that we need a music video. The idea of actually having to be in one of those is a total jump for me. How does my writing songs with my band and then being obsessed with the business side of things make me qualified to be in a music video? this is so nerve-wracking, but regardless – you people say it’s important! So we’re working on getting that going too. So far what I’m learning is CONCEPT trumps EVERYTHING. I guess a good idea goes a long way no matter what you’re doing. You could have a great looking video, but if it’s not engaging enough, you might lose your audience. This doesn’t necessarily mean it needs to be complicated. Here’s a video by James Blunt that is super simple, looks amazing and despite the fact that there’s a whole lot of *nothing* going on, I find it hard to turn it off until I’ve seen it through to the end.

MARKETING – This is something that I’ve been thinking about a bunch in relation to the new album. What can I do that’s cheap and effective? Realistically, our marketing budget might be like, what… one Free People dress? (HEY FREE PEOPLE! HEY! HOOK A GIRL UP!).

There is a really interesting thing going on right now, and I’m 99.9999% sure my band will be getting in on this on the ground floor. There’s a company called TADCAST MUSIC that is doing something really innovative and creative. They are partnering with YouTube video producers who have tons of hits on their pages, providing them with a platform where they can select music from artists (like ourselves), and use it in their videos. From the artists perspective, when your music is played there is a link that pops up and if the viewer clicks through to wherever your link takes them (smart place would be iTunes), you pay a per-click through fee. The beauty of it is, you set your cap for this type of marketing and no matter how many times someone clicks through, you only ever pay up to the cap you set. And if no one clicks through, you pay nothing. Pretty beautiful right? Only pay for the marketing that is 100% effective in bringing potential customers directly to your store… as opposed to the BANNER AD which to me seems like a giant waste of time for an unknown band. If there’s no brand recognition, I can’t see a banner add being super helpful… but who knows, maybe we’ll try it sometime as an experiment. I’ve been addicted to Google Analytics the past week or so, and am curious to test it out on a cheap banner ad somewhere in the world, if only to prove that banner ads are pointless for bands like ours at this point in the game.

TOUR DATES – So yes, on top of just getting the release to even come out on time, reaching out to get some PR on a DIY level, calling our production folks every 30 minutes to see if our hard proofs our ready, we’re also trying to BOOK SHOWS. Seems easy? It’s not… I believe Jesse wrote a blog on the subject, and I remember it being painfully accurate. Booking shows is damn hard.

In order to make it a little easier and to keep ourselves motivated, we’ve teamed up with a band called The Scarlet Ending who are out in Syracuse, NY (alert: hot & talented twin sisters in a band together). We’re pooling resources, splitting up the duties and attempting to get together a string of shows that will hopefully turn out well because of how invested we all are in making them turn out well. I’ll let you in on a little secret that’s excellent for collaborations like this if you aren’t already using it… GOOGLE DOCS (sorry, getting nerdy again). We’ve got a fantastic document going with all our tour dates, venues, and notes on progress – we can change dates around without having to call each other every 5 minutes and we’re always up to date with what the other is doing. Pretty rad, if I do say so myself.

So, as much as I’d love to continue rambling about everything going on inside my head in relation to this release, I have a to-do list of about 30 items sitting next to me and band practice looming in just a few hours. A few things on the list: Registering new songs with BMI, post office trip to mail out merch, checking in with our merch and web designers on all new stuff to support our all new record and the list goes on and on… definitely enough for a 2nd installment of BRAIN OVERLOAD which maybe I’ll write sometime next week ;)

xo, Suzie

  *This post was archived in 2021.

Listen to The Narrative's Self Titled on Spotify

NJ.com: Indie-rock trio the Narrative gives its album a dramatic arc

When The Narrative released their Self-titled album, the site NJ.com (New Jersey Local News) and featured the band's album recording process and interviewed them. The text is by Tris McCall, for Inside Jersey.

The power-pop songwriter isn’t alone. The Narrative joins a wave of young, independent bands that recently have reaffirmed their commitment to the album concept, lavishing attention on sequencing, packaging, cover art, typesetting and, in some cases, old-fashioned storytelling.

You can read the full album review at NJ.com