The year 2015 is shaping up to be pretty damn great for Aussie music, especially in light of the massive news that one of Melbourne’s favourite riff-rockers are dropping a brand-spankin’ new record and a tour to support.

Dallas Frasca’s success is obviously due to an undeniable amount of talent and drive, but also due in part to the band’s unwavering loyalty to their fans, and the fans’ reciprocal devotion.

From fan sourced videos, drop ins and fan focussed campaigns, the band definitely know how to build a loyal fan base – we chatted to the band about how new upcoming artists can themselves build a loyal and supportive fan base, check it out below.

The Benefits Of Keeping In Close Contact

I gotta say, there is actually nothing better than face to face at shows with sweat flying everywhere, that’s where it’s at. We work hard on our live show and tour our arses off, so we are constantly interacting with humans, after all, that’s what it’s all about. We’re looking forward to heading out on the road this May/June to celebrate the release of our brand new album, ‘Love Army’ on a national tour.

It has enabled us to tour the world and fans keep on coming back to shows, buying our albums and sharing the love through their networks. I think because we keep people up to date with the happenings of the band, we talk to them online, they talk to their friends about us and at the end of the day, there is always room for more rad people in our lives.

Social Media Is Invaluable

Like most bands, we have our social media platforms; Facebook / Twitter / Instagram, and we encourage people to sign up to our mailing list at every show. We send regular newsletters out to our ‘super fans’ with exclusive content and video/song releases before anyone else, and we try and make our social media posts interesting, so there is thought involved in the process. Give people something to talk about, whether it be your film clips / your onstage banter / your wild stage shows or your incredible songs!

[include_post id=”437509″] Social media is integral to building your band’s profile and a great way for fans to get to know who you really are as people. If your posts are engaging enough, your fans will share them with their friends, which exposes you to more people.

We try our best to always reply to every message we receive, because if people make the effort to help us out, then they are totally our friend! Think about your posts before you put them up and what would get the most engagement, that would be my advice. You can share so many things online; ideas, questions, photos, songs, videos, interviews, events and lots more! The more interesting / funny / engaging it is, the more likely someone is to share it or talk about it with their friends.

Believe In Yourself & The Fans Will Follow

There is never any down time for us, so in between Australian tours we are touring UK/Europe and we write on the road these days. We just returned from our 9th international tour and launched the new album, Love Army to ¼ million people on French TV show, Canal Plus. We have landed some big support slots throughout Europe (Patti Smith, Triggerfinger and Earth Wind & Fire in front of 40,000+ people last July at the Le Man 24hr Circuit Race).

Don’t stop believing in yourself as persistence always wins. This industry is made up of knock backs, so you gotta be strong, you gotta know what you want, you gotta build the team around you, never take the word ‘no’ as an insult…oh yeah, and most importantly, write good songs! The more you play, the better you get.

We continue to build our audience through every live show, every email we send out, TV performance, creative social media posts, film clips and strong album releases. In 2013 we signed with French label, Verycords so having a team behind us has really lifted our profile within France and Australian label, Social Family Records, this year.

Take Risks

We are always learning different ways to do things – at the start you have to take risks. I mean, how do you reach out to people in a town where you’ve never been before?

To let them know you’re coming is hard. You need a strong bio/ press release / good press shots (so the local paper will want to print it), work with the venue to ask them for media contacts, send posters to the venue, and a great investment is a good publicist to promote your shows in each town. We made sure to remember to always put the mailing lists out and encourage people to come and say hello after the show (we still do that at every show).

We started off doing residencies to build a crowd (a great way to hone your craft). I know a lot of acts did that in their early days. CW Stoneking and Mia Dyson used to play every Sunday arvo at the Old Bar in Fitzroy.

At the start there was no one, but by the end of the residencies they were jam-packed. They always had merch to sell at the shows!  So work as hard as you can at making that happen, after all, it’s all about the songs, right? Ask lots of people for advice, go to workshops, music seminars and don’t be afraid to make mistakes, be brave!

Work Hard For Your Independence

I’ve always been fiercely independent, however, I am super conscious that people have lots of different views on different matters, that’s what makes the world up, so I take that into consideration when posting things on Facebook.

[include_post id=”444140″]I would never want to offend anybody accidentally. I respect anyone who has gone out of their way to buy a ticket to a show, share our events, bought our music, worn our T-Shirts and spread the word about the band. We are nothing without them. We have the best FANS/SUPPORTERS/FRIENDS in the world!

I am always drawing [inspiration] from other artists. I think we all inspire each other with different ways to think outside of the box. Mama Kin, Courtney Barnett, Triggerfinger and Amanda Palmer are some of my favourites. They all have different elements that are engaging with their fans. Honesty / behind the scenes, day to day stuff / personal opinions that inspire/ awesome live shots, you just have to work out what works for you and resonates with your fans. Keep it interesting rather than 1,000 selfies.

Fan Building Campaigns To Suss Out

We decided to turn to “our streets” when four of the major Australian street-press magazines folded during our 2013 national tour to promote our album. We also noticed Bat For Lashes did a similar thing with their ‘wash off’ foot path album promotion campaign.

We sprinkled recycled ‘love pots’ around the cities in front of popular cafes / pubs etc with flyers. It worked amazingly with people tagging us through all of our social media platforms.

The Meaning Behind The ‘Love Army’ Campaign

Love Army [album] was written across the globe during the band’s five international tours over the past two years and is also the title track for our new album.

The concept for the album was inspired by the Spanish artist Piluca, whom the band met in London in 2012. She spent weeks making these little men out of hessian bags and recycled materials and placed hundreds of them around Brixton (in South London).

They each held signs with messages that would trigger a positive thought for anyone who read the sign. I was so moved at her selfless act, and how people engaged with her art. I wanted to try and continue the theme of the Love Army message, because why is it so fucking hard for people to be good to one another? So, we decided to start up our own Love Army.

We were so blown away with the amount of people that joined up, we declared the 17th April (which was also the release of our brand new album) ‘National Love Army Day’. Heaps of people did so many beautiful good deeds that blew us away. I really hope our music evokes positive thoughts within people as well.

Upcoming Tour Dates

Fri 22 May – Transit Bar | Canberra
w/ Sketch Method + Critical Monkee
http://bit.ly/1DS8v4k

Sat 23 May – GoodGod Small Club | Sydney
w/ Swamp Crocs + Bonney Read
http://bit.ly/1JFmYWC

Thu 28 May – Racehorse Hotel | Ipswich
w/ The Free Loves
http://bit.ly/1Es1pEu

Fri 29 May – Parkwood Tavern | Gold Coast
w/ Drawcard + Phil Barlow & The Wolf
http://bit.ly/1BoOyTX

Sat 30 May – Big Pineapple Festival | Sunshine Coast
w/ John Butler Trio, Violent Soho + more
http://bit.ly/1JswADP

Sun 31 May – Hotel Brunswick | Brunswick Heads
w/ CC The Cat
Free Show

Fri 5 Jun – Pirie & Co. Social Club | Adelaide
w/ Silent Duck + Filthy Lucre
http://bit.ly/1Es1o3j

Sat 13 Jun – Gapview Hotel | Alice Springs
w/ Unbroken Expanse + Bat Hazzard + Shadows On Blue
http://bit.ly/1DMJTM6

Fri 19 Jun – Howler | Melbourne
w/ TBA
http://bit.ly/1GngK89

Sat 20 Jun – Republic Bar | Hobart
w/ Guthrie
http://bit.ly/1AOAZwY