WORDS/ NATE DUKE

Among the many laudable elements of the music scenes in both Central and Northwest Arkansas is the openness and welcoming attitude toward emerging talent. New bands and acts constantly move in and out of our bars and cafés. The Idle Class was curious about the experience of new or emerging artist in two of the state’s cultural hubs, so we went to performances by Fayetteville’s Jungle Cycle and Little Rock’s Blue Side. Talking with the bands after the show, Riede Faires and Blake Capps of Jungle Cycle and Jonathan Bowman and Christian DeSalvo of Blue Side were kind enough to leave us with some wisdom they’ve gained about starting successful bands in Arkansas:

JUNGLE CYCLE: “It starts with getting together with serious musicians. Become musicians- find likeminded people, make music, get a set, play shows or get a recording to show to venues.”

BLUE SIDE: “The key is honing your craft before you start playing, have a finished product before you go and play live.”

JUNGLE CYCLE: “It’s a word-of-mouth operation. Go to shows, meet other bands and ask if you could open for them. This is how we got connected to our studio, Iceblink Recording. We’re getting the opportunity to play at Crystal Bridges because of contacts we’ve made.”

BLUE SIDE: “Call local venues and see if you can get on a bill to open for a band or even headline a show. Talk to the bartender at your favorite bar and ask if their manager would be interested in live music.”

JUNGLE CYCLE: “Once we had our recording, we chose to release on Band Camp. It’s easy to set up a PayPal account, and allow people to stream our music for free or download it for a suggested donation.”

BLUE SIDE: “We like SoundCloud because it’s really easy to share to Facebook and our other social media platforms.”

JUNGLE CYCLE: “ I’d say our ultimate goal as musicians is to get to play on Jimmy Fallon. We love our sound and want to share it with as many people as possible.”

BLUE SIDE: “For us, we’re a young band and a fairly new act (four months) and we’ve had the opportunity to open for great local artists who enjoy our music after meeting them at their gigs and through mutual friends.”

JUNGLE CYCLE: “We’re planning an east coast tour in August, so we’re calling venues from Atlanta to Boston to get our itinerary together. We’ve commissioned some merch, to help pay for the expenses and spread our brand.

Blue Side’s favorite Little Rock venues: Grumpy’s, the Rev Room, Hibernia

Jungle Cycle’s favorite NWA venues: JR’s Lightbulb Club, George’s, Crystal Bridges

Blue Side’s EP “Time Alone” can be found on Sound Cloud.

Jungle Cycle’s EP “Moon Lagoon” can be found on Band Camp.

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