Volume 1, Issue 2 |
With so many new bands and groups emerging onto the musical landscape, it’s kind of hard to sift through the
massive pile of hay to find the needle. But that’s exactly what IAE found when we ran into Miami based, Digital
Funk-Soul/Hip-Hop band…City of God.
From the moment we heard their new single, “High Maintenance Girl,” we knew there was something special
about this band of musical geniuses, and we just had to share their story.
IAE: First, tell us what City of God?
COG: There’s a movie that came out a few years ago called City of God, which had a major influence on us,
being that we’re all from Brazil. It also relates to the book that St. Augustine wrote in 5th Century AD, and how it
talks about the love of money and material things, versus the love of the real things in life. So we wanted to be
that definition in our music. We set out to make good music that makes you feel good, but still have that
substance, versus a lot of the stuff you hear nowadays on the radio.
IAE: How long have you guys been together and what other artists inspired your sound?
COG: We’ve been together for two years, and our sound is inspired by a number of things. Being that we’re 6
individuals who all have our own tastes in music, our sound is a mixture of all of that. We have so many
influences like Michael Jackson, Jamiroquai, and then various artists in Hip-hop, R&B, and other genres.
IAE: What makes your band different from groups like Black Eyed Peas or Gym Class Heroes?
COG: Well, the main thing is that we all play an instrument, and what you hear on our tracks are live
instruments mixed in there. Another thing is that we try to be trendsetters in all we do. So even though our
music is with the times, we still add our own flavor into it.
IAE: Tell us about the concept of ‘Rebirth of Swag,’ and what is the new single, “High Maintenance
Girl” about?
COG: ‘Rebirth of Swag’ was important because we were new and we had no identity in terms of people knowing
who we were, at the time. Being a new band, when you listen to that EP, it was more of a broad picture of who
we are as a band. Because you would get an R&B song, or two love songs, but then a few uptempos; so you’re
getting a well rounded sense of where we come from. Now of course we’re growing with our music and we’re
trying to give people something for the radio as well. So with ‘High Maintenance Girl,’ it’s sort of self-explanatory
in terms of everyone knowing what a high maintenance girl is. But we’re also trying to share a point of view that
explains why men wear the chains, and why we get nice cars, and try to stay in shape and wear fresh clothes. It’
s so we look good in the eyes of a high maintenance girl. Also it’s a good song for our live show because it
brings out that energy in our fans, because they can relate to it.
IAE: What’s the most difficult thing about promoting a song without a major record label backing
you?
COG: Right now the way the music business is, it’s really tough because you have so many people trying to go
independent and put a song out there. When that happens, you have to try and find ways to stand out. When
the resources aren’t there, you have to really grind and do as many shows as you can. You also have to rely on
word of mouth from those shows. Because sometimes you can approach someone and say hey, I’m in a band
and here’s our new single, they kinda look at you like “yea, okay!” They think right off the bat that it’s going to
be mediocre because of all the bad music that’s out there circulating. But when they listen to it, they change
how they view us. But we look back a year ago, and we were nowhere near where we are now. So we’re on our
way.
IAE: So are you guys seeking a major label deal to get that backing you need?
COG: Yes, and no sometimes (laughs). Yes, depending on the deal. If someone can actually take care of what
we need in terms of booking the bigger venues and supporting our vision, like our management does, then yes.
But it’s a blessing that the internet is available to us, because it levels the playing field a little more between the
signed and unsigned artists making music. Now if we could only get radio to open up like that we’d be good
(laughs). But a lot of the artists that the major record labels are pushing aren’t selling anymore, but they keep
dumping money into them instead of finding other acts who can usher in something new. But when you see a
major label artist selling only 15,000 copies, we look at each other and say, “maybe we can do this on our own.”
But if we can push that many units on our own and a major label comes along and wants to help the right way,
then sure, we’re open for it.
IAE: Live shows are so important for indie artists. Do you guys enjoy performing out?
COG: The live shows are the one thing that we’ll always have because we’re a band. If we look at the internet
again, let’s be honest, people are downloading music on Limewire and various torrent sites, so if an artist is
relying on digital download sales to make money, they’re losing the game. You can never burn our live show.
We are a real touring band, so if you have a stage, then we’re there.
IAE: Great managers are hard to find. How instrumental has your manager been in your progression
as a band?
COG: Actually, when we first met Marshall Freeman, our manager, we thought he was an agent or a concert
promoter. It was really cool that he was able to come in and help us out. He’s a great manager, friend, and
advisor. We call him the seventh member of the band, because he understands our vision and knows what we
want. He’s got the same drive and makes the same sacrifices that we do.
IAE: What frustrates you guys the most about the music industry today?
COG: We all have an opinion on that one (laughs). make great music. They’re not putting their best foot
forward and it’s ruining the way fans view music as a whole. We go to live shows of other local bands and you
can tell they didn’t really rehearse and put their all into it, so the show is just halfway there. So the people at the
show start feeling like it’s not worth it to see local bands like us, because of those other bands not doing their
best.
IAE: Do you feel that they’re dumbing the music down?
COG: Yes, definitely! What happened to good music? Sometimes you turn on the radio and you have to
wonder what makes them classify this stuff as worthy of airplay. It’s almost like labels don’t want real music, they
just want it to sound like what’s hot at the moment so they can make a quick buck. We just wish it wasn’t that
way.
IAE: Where can people buy your music?
COG: iTunes, Rhapsody, MySpace, or wherever online. You can download it if you want for free, we don’t care,
we just want people to spread City of God’s music out there as much as possible. You can get it at some local
flea markets as well, some dudes have tables set up with bootleg copies available (laughs). But mostly iTunes,
of course.
IAE: Where do you guys see City of God in 5 years?
COG: Touring and making great music. As long as we follow this path that we’re on right now, we’ll be there
soon. Like you said earlier (in this interview), groups and bands are always going to be compared to someone.
But it’s our hope that a few years from now, people will be compared to us instead of the other way around. A
lot of times we say we’ve been together for 2-1/2 years and people laugh and say “that’s it?” Most bands are
together for so much longer than we’ve been together. We also want to be a blessing to others who are trying
to come up in the music business. We want to be able to show other artists that this isn’t just a cut throat
industry, and there are some good people out there.
massive pile of hay to find the needle. But that’s exactly what IAE found when we ran into Miami based, Digital
Funk-Soul/Hip-Hop band…City of God.
From the moment we heard their new single, “High Maintenance Girl,” we knew there was something special
about this band of musical geniuses, and we just had to share their story.
IAE: First, tell us what City of God?
COG: There’s a movie that came out a few years ago called City of God, which had a major influence on us,
being that we’re all from Brazil. It also relates to the book that St. Augustine wrote in 5th Century AD, and how it
talks about the love of money and material things, versus the love of the real things in life. So we wanted to be
that definition in our music. We set out to make good music that makes you feel good, but still have that
substance, versus a lot of the stuff you hear nowadays on the radio.
IAE: How long have you guys been together and what other artists inspired your sound?
COG: We’ve been together for two years, and our sound is inspired by a number of things. Being that we’re 6
individuals who all have our own tastes in music, our sound is a mixture of all of that. We have so many
influences like Michael Jackson, Jamiroquai, and then various artists in Hip-hop, R&B, and other genres.
IAE: What makes your band different from groups like Black Eyed Peas or Gym Class Heroes?
COG: Well, the main thing is that we all play an instrument, and what you hear on our tracks are live
instruments mixed in there. Another thing is that we try to be trendsetters in all we do. So even though our
music is with the times, we still add our own flavor into it.
IAE: Tell us about the concept of ‘Rebirth of Swag,’ and what is the new single, “High Maintenance
Girl” about?
COG: ‘Rebirth of Swag’ was important because we were new and we had no identity in terms of people knowing
who we were, at the time. Being a new band, when you listen to that EP, it was more of a broad picture of who
we are as a band. Because you would get an R&B song, or two love songs, but then a few uptempos; so you’re
getting a well rounded sense of where we come from. Now of course we’re growing with our music and we’re
trying to give people something for the radio as well. So with ‘High Maintenance Girl,’ it’s sort of self-explanatory
in terms of everyone knowing what a high maintenance girl is. But we’re also trying to share a point of view that
explains why men wear the chains, and why we get nice cars, and try to stay in shape and wear fresh clothes. It’
s so we look good in the eyes of a high maintenance girl. Also it’s a good song for our live show because it
brings out that energy in our fans, because they can relate to it.
IAE: What’s the most difficult thing about promoting a song without a major record label backing
you?
COG: Right now the way the music business is, it’s really tough because you have so many people trying to go
independent and put a song out there. When that happens, you have to try and find ways to stand out. When
the resources aren’t there, you have to really grind and do as many shows as you can. You also have to rely on
word of mouth from those shows. Because sometimes you can approach someone and say hey, I’m in a band
and here’s our new single, they kinda look at you like “yea, okay!” They think right off the bat that it’s going to
be mediocre because of all the bad music that’s out there circulating. But when they listen to it, they change
how they view us. But we look back a year ago, and we were nowhere near where we are now. So we’re on our
way.
IAE: So are you guys seeking a major label deal to get that backing you need?
COG: Yes, and no sometimes (laughs). Yes, depending on the deal. If someone can actually take care of what
we need in terms of booking the bigger venues and supporting our vision, like our management does, then yes.
But it’s a blessing that the internet is available to us, because it levels the playing field a little more between the
signed and unsigned artists making music. Now if we could only get radio to open up like that we’d be good
(laughs). But a lot of the artists that the major record labels are pushing aren’t selling anymore, but they keep
dumping money into them instead of finding other acts who can usher in something new. But when you see a
major label artist selling only 15,000 copies, we look at each other and say, “maybe we can do this on our own.”
But if we can push that many units on our own and a major label comes along and wants to help the right way,
then sure, we’re open for it.
IAE: Live shows are so important for indie artists. Do you guys enjoy performing out?
COG: The live shows are the one thing that we’ll always have because we’re a band. If we look at the internet
again, let’s be honest, people are downloading music on Limewire and various torrent sites, so if an artist is
relying on digital download sales to make money, they’re losing the game. You can never burn our live show.
We are a real touring band, so if you have a stage, then we’re there.
IAE: Great managers are hard to find. How instrumental has your manager been in your progression
as a band?
COG: Actually, when we first met Marshall Freeman, our manager, we thought he was an agent or a concert
promoter. It was really cool that he was able to come in and help us out. He’s a great manager, friend, and
advisor. We call him the seventh member of the band, because he understands our vision and knows what we
want. He’s got the same drive and makes the same sacrifices that we do.
IAE: What frustrates you guys the most about the music industry today?
COG: We all have an opinion on that one (laughs). make great music. They’re not putting their best foot
forward and it’s ruining the way fans view music as a whole. We go to live shows of other local bands and you
can tell they didn’t really rehearse and put their all into it, so the show is just halfway there. So the people at the
show start feeling like it’s not worth it to see local bands like us, because of those other bands not doing their
best.
IAE: Do you feel that they’re dumbing the music down?
COG: Yes, definitely! What happened to good music? Sometimes you turn on the radio and you have to
wonder what makes them classify this stuff as worthy of airplay. It’s almost like labels don’t want real music, they
just want it to sound like what’s hot at the moment so they can make a quick buck. We just wish it wasn’t that
way.
IAE: Where can people buy your music?
COG: iTunes, Rhapsody, MySpace, or wherever online. You can download it if you want for free, we don’t care,
we just want people to spread City of God’s music out there as much as possible. You can get it at some local
flea markets as well, some dudes have tables set up with bootleg copies available (laughs). But mostly iTunes,
of course.
IAE: Where do you guys see City of God in 5 years?
COG: Touring and making great music. As long as we follow this path that we’re on right now, we’ll be there
soon. Like you said earlier (in this interview), groups and bands are always going to be compared to someone.
But it’s our hope that a few years from now, people will be compared to us instead of the other way around. A
lot of times we say we’ve been together for 2-1/2 years and people laugh and say “that’s it?” Most bands are
together for so much longer than we’ve been together. We also want to be a blessing to others who are trying
to come up in the music business. We want to be able to show other artists that this isn’t just a cut throat
industry, and there are some good people out there.
| City of God - Recording Artists/Band |
This band of Miami musicians are spicing up America’s music scene with
Brazilian flavor
Brazilian flavor
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