PK Cali Mid State Fair July 26
San Luis Obispo, CA - It is official; PK successfully nailed their opening act for Aerosmith this past Monday night. This is the first major gig for the Templeton group, which has been playing together on and off since high school. The day began with the band’s interview and live performance on KZOZ, leading to a mad dash for sound check amidst a second radio interview at the Mid California State Fair and an exclusive interview with NBC affiliate KSBY. The show brought a whole new audience to the group, with hundreds stopping by their merchandise booth, buying music, t-shirts and signing up for the band’s mailing list. PK also gave away tons of demos and launched a promotion with iTunes, which will allow fans to receive a free single. With no slowing down after the incredibly solid and well received performance, PK jumped right back in the rehearsal space to work on their set for the upcoming summer tour and to write new songs for the sophomore album planned to launch in January 2011.
Part of what makes PK so special, is how they divide responsibilities between band members and their management. From booking the band on gigs, event planning, travel arrangements, video production, PR, merchandise, online marketing, managing all communications, graphic design, fan clubs, newsletters, networking, basically anything and everything that goes into making a band successful on a shoe-string budget and staff seems to be really working well. For example, PK would go to the area high schools and play lunches and dances to get those same teens to the all-ages clubs to get fans as well as to practice their performance chops. This concept will be utilized for their upcoming tour, as the band ventures into new territories, such as Santa Barbara and LA County to get the kids excited about the show that weekend at the local venue.
“It’s like giving potential fans a little taste test as to what we have to offer. Nowadays, you get inundated with so much music as with everything else. You’d think that because it’s easy and cheap to record in home studios and self-produce your own CDs, it would speed up the process to success. But everyone is doing it. How do you stand out among the thousands…it can destroy a new band if all they try to do is online promotion. So why not bring it to the kids directly? And what better way to get fans who will grow with the band too,” says bass player Mikel Van Kranenburg.
The success of this triumph and the ongoing popularity of the band in the SLO borough warrant a big shout out to PK’s Street Team, especially to Kandice Maxine and Stephanie Headley. These super fans over the last year have volunteered and been at almost every show, selling merchandise and talking up new listeners to join the mailing list; they have been the reason for the local success in Fresno, SLO, Bakersfield, Santa Jose, Berkley and the online push with “friending “on Myspace and Facebook. The PK Street Team is also responsible for getting the word out on PK’s world-wide music video on YouTube www.youtube.com/
“The opportunity we had with opening for Aerosmith was exactly what we were looking for; a way to expand our fanbase and hit a different crowd from our usual teen scene. Our website has received over 1000 views in the 24 hours following the show and our music video views went from 5700 views on Monday afternoon to just over 6200 views today. It’s satisfying to see numbers like this and I think we are definitely heading in the right direction,” smiles Matt DePauw.
For more information on PK, please contact Erin Cameron or Lam Nguyen at info@creativecollectivemanagement.com or call 602-318-6269 (press information)
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About PK
The Indie rock and roll out fit known as PK formed in 2007 when they released the highly regarded EP entitled "Casting Shadows". After a year of forming a strong following in the central and northern parts of California PK released a 3 song untitled demo exhibiting their new musical direction. The new three songs show a maturity in song structure and composition that attracts a much wider range of listeners while still keeping the spark that attracted fans in the beginning. PK released their latest full length "Into the Roaring" on January 8th, 2010. Members include Travis Hawley (lead vocals), Nick Fotinakes (guitar, vocals), Mikel Van Kranenburg (bass, vocals), Matt DePauw (lead guitar, vocals), and Kevin Menesez (drums). PK is managed by The Creative Collective.
