“Years ago you got signed by a label for a certain amount of records, today you may get a deal for one and get dropped if they don’t like it before the music even gets to market ! ” – John Gagne @Skidbone
Listen to the Interview
Episode #301 : A.V.A Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax : http://www.blogtalkradio.com/avaliveradio/2016/02/25/episode-301-ava-live-radio-behind-the-music-with-jacqueline-jax
GETTING TO KNOW JOHN GAGNE SKIDBONE
by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio
Music business…
the business has changed drastically in just 5 years ! Everything focuses on streaming & social media sites ! Years ago you got signed by a label for a certain amount of records, today you may get a deal for one and get dropped if they don’t like it before the music even gets to market ! But on the plus side, this has made it easier for anyone with a little knowledge to push their music and possibly make a living off it without the help of a huge corporation !
The best way to overcome any obstacles is to learn from the mistake, apply it and keep going !!!
Social media…
I think we’ve already pretty much covered the fact that social media is embraced by Skidbone as we know that it IS the biggest place for fans & artists to gain a larger bond than ever before in history. Even some of the webinars my brother and I attend highly recommend Facebook as THE HOT SPOT !
Singles vs an album…
I’m not sure how we feel about that one as we’ve never done either before so we released more or less both. We originally released 2 singles and the whole EP, a mistake I have learned from. Now we have trimmed it to one single, Heavens’ Homes to try to wet the fans appetite to buy the EP.
We have marketed the EP and single rigorously all over the internet using internet radio such as Jango & mp3 sites that sell the EP mp3 such as iTunes & Amazon & Google Play.
Everywhere I see a slot to place our music is what has gotten us to this very spot speaking with you, so …. it works !!!
I would love to have 5 minutes alone with
…
Alice Cooper. I grew up loving his music and singing his songs and even today my favorite album is his Last Temptation. A work of art, he is the master of showmanship both onstage and off. He is a perfect model of rock n’ roll . Another would be Michael Sweet of Stryper. These choices may be quite diverse but believe me they both really sing about the same things in a different way.
I am most afraid of
…
Our music not being accepted as well as we would prefer & becoming a flop but many times you must flop like a fish in order to learn.It’s kinda like falling off a bike.
My personal definition of success is..
That would have to be seeing how people are affected by a positive message to bring joy & a little medicinal healing thru our music. Of course a few sales would be a little cool too!
I feel our biggest success story is…
staying together with the same purpose and goal. It is extremely difficult trying to keep 4 grown adult men in the same room focused on the same idea. (yes without nude women, sports or cars at the same time!) Actually we sprung a sneak debut in a local club that went over really well. I am very proud of that and the fact that my brother was having some problems that were very hard to deal with, yet he pushed it to the back of his mind and got on stage for me. That made me proud and that is a success story as in the story of Jack Russels’ Great White playing for 16 people, you measure your success with your own eyes & soul.
My over all goal for my life & career is
…
Make a living writing beautiful music to help people relate to and/or get thru their problems. I/we are already pursuing our new career in music and can’t wait to get out and meet our fans in person at the shows. It’s great that we already know most thanks to social media.
3 Ways that I challenge myself…
1) Most days I spend my time searching for new avenues for the band online & spend the time setting our songs up on them and so forth.
2) Of course this is a challenge that takes alot of time away from writing and creating so I push every day 24/7.
3) Listening to rehearsals for what is known as the next song without vocals as I professionally record each get together when alot of jam sessions are recorded & words/melodies are created later . this is a continuous process necessary to the progress of Skidbone as we have found it’s a great way to come up with new material while pushing us to want to create more and more music … WE LOVE THIS ! THANKS SO MUCH .
As a young child around the age of 5…
(1965) I met Dave Gibson (who always played his older brothers guitar without consent) and we started a garage band in my basement with my gold sparkle Sears drum set with The Monkees on the front ! We were inspired to play by another band in my basement @ the time my Dad was managing & of course … THE BEATLES , THE MONKEES , & THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY !!! Jump ahead to my teen age years in the 70’s a few bands later.. my brother Bones has since picked up a bass as we had no bass player & he learned how to play songs on one string … he later moved onto all 4..
Heavens’ Homes…
is a song based on the belief that God has promised rooms for His believers in heaven. It was mainly written by Adam while he was facing a difficult time at different home situations & realized Gods’ promise for him and all believers that we will have a normal room when we need it most.
Our producer/engineer Jim Martignetti of OFF THE WALL STUDIO realized something was missing in a “dead spot” in the song & Bones had previously thought of a scripture to add instead of a lead so being a song about Heaven my brother Bones decided a boooming God type voice speaking scripture about Heavens’ homes would definitely bring the feel we want from yesterday to today that definitely helped the song fulfill its’ potential . Jim is an awesome producer / engineer, definitely a part of our team that will help us to move forward.
Itunes: http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1048668350?ls=1&app=ituneshttps://amzn.com/B016QL3T4U
Fans can expect…
a 70’s type feel integrated with today’s clean sound with some great harmonies . We wanted to create songs that fans can play air guitar or drums or bass to. Songs that you can also sing along to as the words & sounds are “EASY” . So this EP puts that all together with 5 songs that alot of people can relate to the feelings in the songs.
Music is medicinal & we want to channel that in a positive way.
We are all from Leominster, Massachusetts…
& music is sort of laid back as we have a few small venues and eateries which host the occasional acoustic performer , but travel a few miles outta town & you have Worcester & Boston which are huge in music & if you travel the other direction towards Gardner etc.. there are some awesome clubs there & Fitchburg too. Alot of cover bands … not many like us that choose to write.
One big place that stands out for us in Leominster not many know about so it’s a real hidden treasure … The Living Stone Foundation , a sanctuary dedicated to God made all from stone infused with scripture..Bob Tellier & his wife Carol dedicated their land & many peoples talents work as a team to constantly update it. It has been a huge inspiration to Skidbone & will be for a lifetime. Some of our pictures were taken there & many more will be . (Picture Above)
As a team we like to frequent fans in hospices & hospitals & our main goal is to help people by staying in contact with them thru social media & in person… maybe a prayer or a visit with a free CD … music helps & heals … the artists should step out not just with music… but in faith & in person . I think charities may be in our future if our bank account ever allows !!!
The Band:
Adam Gibson / guitars & vocals
Bones Gagne / bass & vocals
Dave Gibson / guitars
John Gagne / drums & vocals
Social Media:
Website: http://skidboneband.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/skidbone
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Skidbone
Music page: https://skidbone.bandcamp.com/releases
Itunes: http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1048668350?ls=1&app=ituneshttps://amzn.com/B016QL3T4U
Reverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com/skidbone
MUZOIC: http://muzoic.net/release/album/skidbone-skidbone-ep