Norma Jean, others invade Radio Rebellion Tour

Norma Jean, Between the Buried and Me, Fear Before the March of Flames, Misery Signals and Bless The Fall are playing the inaugural rendition of the Radio Rebellion Tour, which is now underway. But don't take the tour's name too literally.

"We're bands that have our own success without the help of mainstream radio, hence the name 'Radio Rebellion,'" said Cory Brandan, lead singer of the spiritual rockers Norma Jean, who are pushing their recent release, "Redeemer." "We're not really against radio or anything. In all honesty, we feel as if this music is very relevant for today's music industry. The music of all these bands in this genre is relevant and should be played on the radio."

Graham Day, one of the tour's founders and the head of online retailer smartpunk.com, said the tour was created for bands that have achieved success through nontraditional avenues.

"We all had the same goals in mind--which were to get behind these up and coming artists that had some commercial success but without the traditional driver of commercial radio," Day said. "The tour isn't necessarily a slam on commercial radio. All the bands that we work with are making noise without the help of those traditional drivers.

"Our idea was to put together a package of bands and a sponsorship package that would allow the bands to further on their success without the support of commercial radio. The wonderful thing about it is, it's non-recoupable marketing money. The labels don't have to get involved and put in money. We just put the bands on the road and they go out there and play for the fans."

So far, Day and Brandan agree, "Radio Rebellion" has been successful, with many of the dates selling out. Day explained success can be found in the album sales.

"I was talking to Carl [Severson] with Ferret [Records] about their band Misery Signals, who's got the second slot on the whole tour, and he's telling me that they've already sold as many records as they did on their last release in a fifth of the time," Day said. "He's really happy about 'Radio Rebellion.' Norma Jean as well. They're off to a really good start with this record, but they're an amazing band. I'm not surprised."

Day explained the bands were chosen based on a package that was already heading on the road.

"It was a package we felt was worth the 'Radio Rebellion' name. The type of bands, the level of success those bands have achieved, they sort of fit right in with what we were doing," Day said.

Day explained he sees Radio Rebellion going for at least another two years. This year, it features harder acts, but he's unsure of the genres for future tours.

"From year to year, the tour may change. This year, it's heavy. We don't know what it's going to be next year. It really depends on which type of bands fit the profile of what we're looking for, which is bands that have had some sort of commercial success without the drivers of modern radio."