Well, I'm officially charmed!

[sadiane]

So, Empires. EMPIRES. AKA - that random, unsigned, Chicago-based bandom band that people get all capslocky about because they are an actualfax REALLY GOOD BAND who make REALLY GOOD MUSIC and are total faily dorks. You should check them out. Try their website , where they will give you their first album, HOWL FOR FREE, and their second album,

Comments

[patchworkwounds]

EMPIRES ♥_____♥ I am so charmed by them. And they're such a good band

[sadiane]

EMPIRES! I wonder if they actually have meetings where they talk about how to fail in ways that are really endearing. Like when the BOWLING ALLEY they were playing at turned out to be closed, and they just did a show out in the parking lot. And then posted a video of it to their myspace.

I love how every time anyone talks about them, they specify that they are ACTUALLY a good band. Because we all listen to a lot of mediocre music in this fandom because we LIKE THE PEOPLE, and suddenly, the music is VERY GOOD even without the people behind it.

[themadlurker]

OMG THIS. Except I did not notice the return address, oh good lord. HOW ARE THEY REAL?

[sadiane]

THEM! I don't even know! They care SO VERY MUCH! They seem so HONESTLY HAPPY that people listen to them!

And it's sort of really nice to know that the money we spend on their stuff actually gets to them, after reading things various places about how little of the money we spend on albums and merchandise and tickets actually gets back to the people who make the music most of the time.

[hieronymousmosh]

A personal THANK YOU NOTE! On a post-it! From Tom Conrad! HIDDEN INSIDE MY CLOTHES!

Oh, that's just ADORABLE.

[sadiane]

It's ADORABLE, but also a TINY BIT CREEPY, in the most charming way possible! "Hi! I was in your clothes!". I wonder if he leaves little post it notes hidden all around him - if Jon Walker goes on tour and finds little "have a good show" messages folded into his shoes, or if the rest of his band has to check their bags for random yellow messages.

[sadiane]

SO VERY CUTE.

I have heard-tell that he sent out PERSONALIZED MIXTAPES for people who put in big orders/ have gotten to know the band. Which. AWWWW. Tom is a very strange boy, and he tends to take some VERY CREEPY pictures (I'm not entirely sure he's not plotting Ryan Ross's demise, based upon his stint as Panic's tour photographer a few years back), but he seems VERY NICE, if not especially good at expressing that?

[sadiane]

TOMRAD! Someday, there will be a fan whose reaction to HAVING HIS HOME ADDRESS will not be "oh, I should send them cookies and vodka!"and instead will try to take things or throw them into car trunks. I do love that they seem so very unconcerned about this, though?

I love the post-it note. And how it's not ON TOP of the hoodie, but hidden inside, in a very endearing and slightly creepy way. "Hi! I was in your clothes!". TOMRAD. If his pictures didn't succeed in making me a fan forever, then this certainly did.