Since starting up on Fancorps how has the response been from the band and the fans? Fancorps changed the whole ball game. It gave Upside everything their fans had been wanting for years that we just couldn't make time to produce.

The response has been nothing but positive. In fact, the only complaint we hear is that we don't use Fancorps enough! Its become a monster. It must be fed multiple times a day or it gets cranky. There's a constant craving for new assignments, new promo materials, new intel, etc. etc. Most of the positive response I hear deals with communication and organization. Fancorps helps all the fans who want to promote the band stay organized and stay in touch with us. That's invaluable. The street team members essentially dictate what type of content goes on the Fancorps profile and how they want to use it. The interactivity and sense of authority keeps them motivated. I like how they stay in touch with one another and throw ideas around on the message boards. That's a blessing for Upside because the band is signed to a small indie label that doesn't have a big promotions department staffed by a few dozen people. What Upside does have is a few dozen fans staying in touch via Fancorps, discussing all the same things a large record label's promotions department would discuss. Can't argue with that.

Fancorps has also drastically changed the way Upside promotes tour dates. For the band's CD release tour in April and May, each band member is responsible for promoting shows in three or four cities. They use Fancorps to stay in touch with street team members in those cities. The idea is to give each guy in the band clearly-defined responsibilities they can manage in one interface. Everybody's still getting a hang of it, but Fancorps has already been the best promotional tool the band has ever had. They plan on using it in a similar fashion for national and regional tours this summer and fall.

Are you involved in the back end as Team Leader? Or is the band themselves or someone else handling it, and how has that been...getting the Team up and running? I'm kind of the dark horse behind the scenes. I give everyone pointers and create most of the graphic content for the promotional materials.

The band members picked team leaders for about a dozen cities they headline and they oversee those members, who oversee the teams in each city. That formula has worked well because it doesn't require the band to spend hours upon hours tackling every aspect of promotion in each city. Instead, the band provides the team leaders with a rough outline of how they'd like to promote the show and the leaders delegate from there. The team members handle all the street-level and Internet promo. We're also trying to start putting team leaders in touch with club promoters and radio folks. Since I share publicity duties with the label, that combination will make for a simple, efficient formula for all.