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if OP had 3 less digits in their post count this thread would never have existed

Maybe I don't get it, but I'm sure someone would have started something similar enough eventually. And then promptly gotten called out for trolling/flamed.

But to answer the question I think Deja is what initially blew them up. Everyone in my hometown knew Brand New when that album had just come out. And everyone here is a lumberjack who lives in an igloo. Dudes who played rudimentary guit can learn a BN song to try n swoon chicks. I first knew of them since hearing songs from Your Favourite Weapon on samplers, but after Deja dropped, they were a pretty commonplace name, even way up North. YFW was already good and then Deja was actually pretty unique for the time and style.

 

Ladies prob swoon big time for Jesse Lacey, according to this thread they do, heh...

And besides that I also think The Devil and God kept them on that path. That album was different enough from Deja, just like Deja was a different enough from YFW, before it. A good album, and enough of a departure that it was polarizing for audiences.  I remember a lot of people saying they didn't like it when it came out. But I also remember a lot of fellow musicians loving it, bands mentioning it as an influences in interviews, etc. So of course opinions rub off because some people are taste makers, and even more people will hear of them, so they get bigger.

So they've kept their style fresh enough over the years by shifting from album to album, but never changed too drastically to the point of alienating their existing fanbase. They never strayed too fan off the path.

I saw them live when Glassjaw opened for them a few years back. (Went pretty much just to see gj.) It was a pretty big venue and they actually played it 2 nights in a row, so yeah there must have been quite the demand to see them (and Glassjaw too, of course, but BN were the headliners), for there to be two dates booked in a row at a large venue. They played a good assortment of songs, and they did sound really good live, so that helps. People will (hopefully) keep coming to see you if you are a good band live. And yeah ladies probably swooning. I was never huge into them but I can't say that they are bad and fans prob learn all the lyrics and like to sing along.

So I think it's a combination of things, they've basically always appealed to a similar demographic over the years, and picked up fans along the way gradually with each album. They have a pretty universal appeal in terms of not being abrasive enough to alienate the average person. They can be liked by all genders. Chicks prob crush on the lead singer, but dudes can still like them. Gotta be able to play your own shit well live, couple all that with coming along at just the right time in the right place and it sounds like a recipe for success. I also don't think they ever pushed the God stuff hard enough to alienate people who are not interested in religion, athiests, or people who are agnostic or subscribe to a religion other than Christianity. Well, maybe Theistic Satanists and possibly Nihilists might not like Brand New? They probably only listen to black metal, anyway. Lol/

I think the demand for their vinyl came about a little bit later on, and maybe now it's kind of driven BN collectors into a bit of a frenzy. I think that the other stuff I mentioned has more to do with it leading up to that, though. You have to reach that point before people decide to shell $300, or whatever the case may be, on an album. And they have a pretty catchy name I guess? And neat song/album titles hehe.

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Maybe I don't get it, but I'm sure someone would have started something similar enough eventually. And then promptly gotten called out for trolling/flamed.

But to answer the question I think Deja is what initially blew them up. Everyone in my hometown knew Brand New when that album had just come out. And everyone here is a lumberjack who lives in an igloo. Dudes who played rudimentary guit can learn a BN song to try n swoon chicks. I first knew of them since hearing songs from Your Favourite Weapon on samplers, but after Deja dropped, they were a pretty commonplace name, even way up North. YFW was already good and then Deja was actually pretty unique for the time and style.

 

Ladies prob swoon big time for Jesse Lacey, according to this thread they do, heh...

And besides that I also think The Devil and God kept them on that path. That album was different enough from Deja, just like Deja was a different enough from YFW, before it. A good album, and enough of a departure that it was polarizing for audiences.  I remember a lot of people saying they didn't like it when it came out. But I also remember a lot of fellow musicians loving it, bands mentioning it as an influences in interviews, etc. So of course opinions rub off because some people are taste makers, and even more people will hear of them, so they get bigger.

So they've kept their style fresh enough over the years by shifting from album to album, but never changed too drastically to the point of alienating their existing fanbase. They never strayed too fan off the path.

I saw them live when Glassjaw opened for them a few years back. (Went pretty much just to see gj.) It was a pretty big venue and they actually played it 2 nights in a row, so yeah there must have been quite the demand to see them (and Glassjaw too, of course, but BN were the headliners), for there to be two dates booked in a row at a large venue. They played a good assortment of songs, and they did sound really good live, so that helps. People will (hopefully) keep coming to see you if you are a good band live. And yeah ladies probably swooning. I was never huge into them but I can't say that they are bad and fans prob learn all the lyrics and like to sing along.

So I think it's a combination of things, they've basically always appealed to a similar demographic over the years, and picked up fans along the way gradually with each album. They have a pretty universal appeal in terms of not being abrasive enough to alienate the average person. They can be liked by all genders. Chicks prob crush on the lead singer, but dudes can still like them. Gotta be able to play your own shit well live, couple all that with coming along at just the right time in the right place and it sounds like a recipe for success. I also don't think they ever pushed the God stuff hard enough to alienate people who are not interested in religion, athiests, or people who are agnostic or subscribe to a religion other than Christianity. Well, maybe Theistic Satanists and possibly Nihilists might not like Brand New? They probably only listen to black metal, anyway. Lol/

I think the demand for their vinyl came about a little bit later on, and maybe now it's kind of driven BN collectors into a bit of a frenzy. I think that the other stuff I mentioned has more to do with it leading up to that, though. You have to reach that point before people decide to shell $300, or whatever the case may be, on an album. And they have a pretty catchy name I guess? And neat song/album titles hehe.

 

they probably would have because they would have made it about vinyl, or how amazing their music/albums are or some other fanboy bs no one really cares about/there are other threads already for that.  I was asking about the biz side of it, what was it that caused them to get huge.  also, vinyl exlusivity has nothing to do with selling out 3000 cap rooms in minutes.  this is not about vinyl, or what you* think their best album is, its about finding out how this band went from nothing to enormous over their career.  its really weird, to me, but they figured out how to get huge without burning themselves out or burning out their fans.

 

 

*you as in anyone posting, not specifically you ark

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www.tumblr.com

I think Billy hit the nail on the head there. Tumblr has this huge effect on bands now, for better or worse.

 

Look at Neck Deep and Being As An Ocean. Balance & Composure. And no-one can forget the mighty titan that is La Dispute.

 

When one "cool" kid puts lyrics on top of a picture of nature, that's all it really takes.

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Off topic but I honest to god don't even really know what tumblr is. Truly.

I just found out what exactly instagram was like a month ago.

I feel like there's too much shit going on these days with all these popular sites. I miss the days of just having a MySpace page and thinking I was cool because I had a Xanga journal

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I feel like there's too much shit going on these days with all these popular sites. I miss the days of just having a MySpace page and thinking I was cool because I had a Xanga journal

 

Times were so simple then.

 

I give tumblr no credit. Brand New was a common name around my teen days, and transitioned into drunken Brand New sing-a-longs with friends in my early 20's. I was hardly around anyone who didn't know them.

 

 

 

Oddly enough though, I've only met one person in the past few years that knew Brand New, and they had only heard Daisy.

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