by Zach Fraley
Photos by Shane McCauley
Bands often find success through promotion by third parties. These groups can see exponential growth if their sound is attractive enough to the right people, whether via a record label, media outlet, or more recognizable band or artist. For American Indie band Family of the Year, their big break appeared in the form of singer-songwriter Ben Folds. In 2009, Folds chose Family of the Year to open for his act, and in doing so granted the band an opportunity hundreds of groups applied for but failed to receive. The notoriety and exposure gained through this act acted as a stepping-stone for Family of the Year, which now boasts over 70,000 likes on Facebook.
Yet the music industry isn’t simply a popularity contest. Christina Schroeter, vocalist and keyboardist for the group, realizes that hard work and perseverance factors into success just as much as external forces do. “We’ve definitely worked hard to get where we are, but are also nowhere near where we want to be. We’re a really hardworking band, and it’s kind of crazy that so many factors weigh into the success of the band. It relies on so many people, and that’s frustrating. But we’re still here, and I don’t know if we’ll ever be satisfied with where we are.”
Family of the Year’s most recent recorded work was created jointly in Berlin and Los Angeles, which makes sense considering that the group seems to have an affinity for playing internationally. Schroeter believes that even during a long international tour, downtime can be put to good use. “We were just touring so much after our last record, and we had a three-week break between a festival and the rest of our tour, so we decide to start recording our new record then. Berlin chose us, more so. After that, we finished it off in L.A.”
Another reason Family of the Year has gained traction in various international markets is due to the success of their single “Hero” from their last full-length album, Loma Vista. While many groups avoid touring internationally in order to avoid suffering a financial loss, Schroeter is willing to take that risk in order to play where the majority of the fans are. “Our song ‘Hero’ became a hit over in Germany and a few other countries, so we figured we should go tour over there. I’m not sure we’ve financially come out rich on any tour, so for now it just feeds our ego to tour abroad.”
In the past, the band has partially financed their albums through crowd-funding measures, in a time when that sort of relationship with fans wasn’t as common. Stretch goals included personalized postcards that fans would receive to thank them for helping the band progress further and add to their discography. While these measures helped the initial product, Schroeter admits these procedures don’t give the band a free ride to do whatever they wish. “We used [crowd-funding] when we first started out, and it didn’t end up being too lucrative. But it worked for the time, and it was by no means paying for an entire tour.”
Another area where the band seems to shine is festival appearances. Having graced acclaimed festivals such as Lollapalooza, Schroeter acknowledges that the experience of playing a festival stage versus a concrete music venue lies in remembering why the audience showed up in the first place. “Playing Lollapalooza was one of the highlights of my musical life. The vibe and audience were awesome. It surprises us when people are there to see us, whereas in a festival people come just to check you out. One of the first shows we ever played, a fan came up to us and said they were there just to see us. That was such a crazy feeling!”
Family of the Year will grace Coda Nightclub on November 13, and while the band has no immediate plans to do anything in Philadelphia other than play the show, they do have one item they’d like to check off their bucket list. “Hopefully we have time to hang out, and try to have a cheesesteak while we’re there!”
