Quit while you are ahead.

Kosi, our lead singer has an album of her own which is quite excellent. She had been posting reviews for it on Facebook. I asked her how she got people to review her. She told me she just searched on the internet for bloggers that reviewed Jazz albums and asked if they would be interested. "Ok." I thought. "Sounds like a plan." 

I had no idea of where to start. I never read reviews. Mostly, I think they are a bunch of idiotic, narcissists. I did a search and came across a beautiful piece about Lou Reed written a day or two after his demise. "That's the kind of person I'd like to write about us." I thought. It was on a site called JOONBUG. I googled the author and found her own site NOOdle along with her contact info. I wrote to her and she replied within 5 minutes. "Sure thing." She says. Sight unseen. I sent her mp3s of the album, photos and biographical information. A week later we did a phone interview and shortly after that she printed this:

"The Goddess Lakshmi is a prime example of the thriving jazz and folk sounds that came together during the Harlem Renaissance with nods to the beatnik cool of the early '60s. Harlem is the birthplace of the band and its honed musical style, most evident in the swinging notes carrying the band’s front-woman Kosi through tracks like, “I Want You For My Man”. The Goddess Lakshmi has harnessed a sound that is all their own and with a wealth of experience upon which to attribute it to...

...The new album, LOVE, is the product of one exhausting, yet rewarding journey complete with ‘cuts, scratches, and cigarette burns’. The recording and mixing process ended with a flow of sound amplified by more textural qualities: close-knit rhythm sections, soul-drenched vocals, and story-lines about love: both wanting and losing it."

— Adrienne Bess, FULL REVIEW

"What luck." I told Lia.
"I figure you have to write to 30 of these people to get even one reply. The first one I wrote to replied. Maybe I should quit while I am ahead?"
She scrunched up her face. "How long did it take you to write to one?" She says.
"About 15 minutes, you know, finding them and then their contact info and writing something customized." 
"You should do more."
So I did. I wrote to thirty more bloggers. I found loads of them. Pitchfork, My Old Kentucky Blog, Cruel Rhythm, Brooklyn Vegan. Along the way I set up a Bandcamp page so that reviewers would have instant access to our material. Nothing. Not a blip. I mean... "My Old Kentucky Blog?" What the fuck does that even mean? That loser couldn't be bothered?
Anyways. Take a deep breath. One great review. One really thoughtful and intelligent and flattering review from a decent high profile site. I will take it.