Unsigned Act Gets CD Into Wal-Mart Stores Nationwide
Five Times August is set to re-release a remixed/remastered and retitled version of its first album, “The Independent” (originally called “Fry Street”) on July 24, 2007. In addition to the remixing and remastering, the album will officially see national brick-and-mortar distribution with the re-release via Wal-Mart. The difference between this album and other CD’s in the rack beside it? No record label of any kind has anything to do with it.
Since “Fry Street” was originally released, nine songs from the album have been featured on television shows like MTV’s “Laguna Beach,” the CW’s “One Tree Hill,” and Oxygen Channel’s “Bad Girls Club.” These placements helped catapult Five Times August’s “Fry Street” sales to over 100,000 in online digital stores like iTunes, and over 11,000 physical copies of the CD from FTA’s online store.
A one-man project based out of Dallas Texas, Five Times August is really another moniker for 23 year-old Brad Skistimas. Skistimas started Five Times August in 2001, creating an online reputation of being one of the first entirely independent artists. Skistimas creates and designs his own merchandise, CD artwork, and website, while maintaining one of MySpace’s top music profiles (www.myspace.com/fivetimesaugust).
Says Skistimas: “The music industry is rapidly changing these days, and it’s my firm belief that an unsigned artist can make it on their own without the money and image of the corporate music market. Though I didn’t always believe this, after meeting with several major labels in 2006, I realized not even they know what to do anymore. I’ve had offers that many other unsigned acts would probably snag in a minute. But, I’m doing so well on my own. I’m actually doing better financially than many new major label acts. It’s not to say I’ll never sign, the right offer just hasn’t knocked on my door yet. ‘Making it’ isn’t limos and parties to me, it’s paying the mortgage on my house with money I’ve made entirely out of my music. It’s amazing and gratifying, and I’m very lucky to be leading the way for this new way to do things.”
Skistimas plans to release an album of new songs in early 2008. He will continue touring the U.S. throughout the remainder of 2007.
Five Times August achievements:
Charts:
Over 11,000 CD's sold independently throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe
Over 100,000 in Online Digital Download Sales
#2 Unsigned Acoustic & Pop Artist on Myspace.com (WORLDWIDE)
#1 Artist at Awarestore.com & iSound.com
Televised Song Placements:
"The Way You Do" - The CW's One Tree Hill (episode 69)
"Better With You" - MTV's Laguna Beach (episode 106)
"Better With You" - Lifetime's Monarch Cove (episode 101)
"Better With You" - Oxygen Channel's Bad Girls Club (episode 103)
"Save It For Later" - Oxygen Channel's Bad Girls Club (episode 103)
"Save It For Later" - MTV's Laguna Beach (episode 203)
"So Typical" - MTV's Real World /Road Rules Challenge : The Dual (episode 15)
"Wherever" - MTV's Laguna Beach (episode 204)
“Wherever” - MTV’s Reunited: The Real World Las Vegas
"Up To Me" - MTV's Laguna Beach (episode 208)
“Up To Me” – MTV’s Reunited: The Real World Las Vegas
"Roll Into You" - MTV's Laguna Beach (episode 212)
"First Time For Everything" - MTV's Laguna Beach After show (on mtv.com's overdrive)
“Do It Again” - Oxygen’s The Bad Girls Road Trip
www.fivetimesaugust.com
www.myspace/fivetimesaugust
― scott seward, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 16:08 (eighteen years ago)
oh and the future is now death of the majors etc etc blah blah blah...
how can you not be a smash hit with Lifetime & Oxygen on yr musical resume
― Curt1s Stephens, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 16:31 (eighteen years ago)
guy's name is SKISTIMAS and yet he chooses to hide behind a 'band' name for his solo project.
― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 16:40 (eighteen years ago)
i wish every day were skistimas.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 16:41 (eighteen years ago)
it can be, if you just believe
― pretzel walrus, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 16:43 (eighteen years ago)
a Skistimas for the rest of us...
― henry s, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 16:49 (eighteen years ago)
Yeah but how did dude's music get on all these TV shows in the first place?
― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 17:05 (eighteen years ago)
sexual prowess
― Curt1s Stephens, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 17:08 (eighteen years ago)
also: sorcery
one of the first entirely independent artists
hmmmmmmm.
― ian, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 17:36 (eighteen years ago)
Yeah, really. That was a headscratcher. Maybe Jandek's white collar day job is working against himself here.
― Kevin John Bozelka, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 17:38 (eighteen years ago)
I guess the difference between being "independent" and being "ENTIRELY independent" is whether you decide to make up a label name to slap on your self-released CD.
― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 17:41 (eighteen years ago)
"You Painted Your Teeth" - The CW's One Tree Hill (episode 69)
"Only Lover" - MTV's Laguna Beach (episode 106)
"When the Telephone Melts" - Lifetime's Monarch Cove (episode 101)
"Quinn Boys" - Oxygen Channel's Bad Girls Club (episode 103)
"Naked in the Afternoon" - Oxygen Channel's Bad Girls Club (episode 103)
"They Told Me I Was A Fool" - MTV's Laguna Beach (episode 203)
"The Electric End" - MTV's Real World /Road Rules Challenge : The Dual (episode 15)
"European Jewel" - MTV's Laguna Beach (episode 204)
"Nancy Sings" - MTV’s Reunited: The Real World Las Vegas
"John Plays Drums" - MTV's Laguna Beach (episode 208)
“Carnival Queen” – MTV’s Reunited: The Real World Las Vegas
"I Passed By the Building" - MTV's Laguna Beach (episode 212)
"Janitor's Dead" - MTV's Laguna Beach After show (on mtv.com's overdrive)
“Point Judith” - Oxygen’s The Bad Girls Road Trip
― Curt1s Stephens, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 17:42 (eighteen years ago)
xxpost!
― Curt1s Stephens, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 17:43 (eighteen years ago)
"jandek? in aisle 2 past the dot.com display. no problem, hon."
http://invent-tech.net/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/WalMartDisplay2.jpg
― scott seward, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 17:56 (eighteen years ago)
Looks more like 24 to me. http://www.splicedonline.com/98reviews/lebowski.jpg
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 18:00 (eighteen years ago)
There are always a few facts missing in these Cinderella stories, but the Cinderella story is the marketing strategy so they have to keep the details under wraps.
― Hurting 2, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 20:22 (eighteen years ago)
having a mortgage at age 23 no matter what your career is like = DUD.
― gr8080, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 20:30 (eighteen years ago)
Kinda like how Ani diFranco's parents hired a Harvard MBA (at $30k/year) to manage their daughter's career when she was in high school.
Uh-oh, did I say that out loud?
― Sara Sara Sara, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 20:31 (eighteen years ago)
i listened to the songs on myspace - it's definitely above average sadboy Americana-rock, like a more refined version of what I imagine most of the other bands in Austin to sound like.
― Hurting 2, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 20:35 (eighteen years ago)
um, he's from Dallas, not Austin. (Probably from Denton actually, or a UNT alum. 'Fry Street' is the student drag there.)
― milo z, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 20:41 (eighteen years ago)
His myspace page says he's Austin-based
― Hurting 2, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 20:43 (eighteen years ago)
how did he get those songs onto those shows?
not to be too much of a skeptic (GOOD FOR HIM, JESUS, THE DREAMM!!!), but this seems like when that kid Nick McDonnel got that book published and everyone went apeshit cuz he was only 18. his mom, of course, was a high-ranking publishing industry type.
― the table is the table, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 20:50 (eighteen years ago)
Home Video got a song on CSI somehow and they're not that big. I wonder how ppl do that kind of thing indeed.
― Trayce, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 22:47 (eighteen years ago)
it seems like music supervisors for network TV either use the same stuff over and over for different shows or copy each other, because once a song/band's been on one show, they pop up on like 5 other shows. I guess all it really takes is to get your foot in the door once, and maybe that doesn't require real industry connections per se.
― Alex in Baltimore, Tuesday, 10 July 2007 23:02 (eighteen years ago)
I'm currently interning for a music supervisor (two, actually) and from what I can tell they do approach the music without personal bias and more about just what fits whatever they're putting the music to. I catalog incoming submissions and even self-released CD-Rs labeled in sharpie get cataloged and listened to so it's quite possible the guy just got lucky the first time a music supervisor decided to use his music.
― Bus Driver Stu, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 02:19 (eighteen years ago)
Ok maybe he was lucky. But this is a pretty short press release. There's more than enough room to mention how his songs appeared on these shows and maybe explain why dude has a mortgage at 23. Again, not unheard of. But too much information was sacrificed for a nifty narrative.
― Kevin John Bozelka, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 03:10 (eighteen years ago)
Bus Driver Stu that sounds like a really good job!
― Trayce, Wednesday, 11 July 2007 03:44 (eighteen years ago)
Came across this site today trying to find some feedback on the press release. Hope I'm not too late to respond, but for those of you wondering how I got the song placements, you are partly right about luck. One of the music supervisors for MTV found my music online in 2004 and placed one of my tunes on Laguna Beach. After that I finished up another album in 2005 and sent it to him in hopes maybe he'd use another, but he ended up using about five more for the second season of the show, which was more than I could've ever hoped for. The other placements have (again) luckily sort of fallen in my lap (I think music supervisors are all in the loop with each other). So that's how I got the placements.
The Wal-Mart deal happened because my manager and I work hard. I don't blame your skepticism for missing details (I'm can be the same way with merging artists), but this was a goal we set out to accomplish since 2005. We did a lot of research online and finally e-mailed the right person, who in turn e-mailed one of their contacts who got back to us. For a while it was a chain of e-mails but it finally worked out :)
As for any other details you're wondering about, I'd be happy to answer them for you. I'll bookmark this page and check it from time to time or you can e-mail me at b✧✧✧@fivetimesaug✧✧✧.c✧✧
Thanks for commenting, Brad w/ Five Times August
― FiveTimesAugust, Friday, 20 July 2007 15:49 (eighteen years ago)
That was cool of you to respond - thanks. You have gone up in my esteem.
― Hurting 2, Friday, 20 July 2007 15:50 (eighteen years ago)
And my complements on the hustle, btw.
― Hurting 2, Friday, 20 July 2007 15:51 (eighteen years ago)
‘Making it’ isn’t limos and parties to me, it’s paying the mortgage
bo-ring
― Tracer Hand, Friday, 20 July 2007 15:58 (eighteen years ago)
But by that standard, Tracer, you've made it. Surely.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 20 July 2007 15:59 (eighteen years ago)
How is this guy any more 'independent' than someone like, say, Tiesto?
― Siegbran, Friday, 20 July 2007 23:42 (eighteen years ago)
yeah, the fact that he came here and just wrote that is kinda great, even if i am not a fan of the music per se.
― the table is the table, Saturday, 21 July 2007 00:15 (eighteen years ago)
Ned if you consider "making it" limos and parties I made it several years ago - paying my own mortgage is a LOT more ambitious!!
― Tracer Hand, Saturday, 21 July 2007 11:11 (eighteen years ago)
But then why are you calling it boring!
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 21 July 2007 13:07 (eighteen years ago)
Sorry to be so boring everyone :) I'm off to splurge on drugs and alcohol now...
just kidding.
I feel I should explain a little bit more on what the term "true independent' means, well, to me anyway. The thing about Five Times August is if you ask me a question on who does what for the music, you will get one of three answers:
1.) Brad does that 2.) Kelly does that 3.) Brad and Kelly both do that
I didn't make my own indie label, though for the Wal-Mart thing I had to make up a name for paperwork purposes, I just put "FTA Records." I designed and manage the official website, myspace page, and facebook page. Answer my own e-mails. Design my own merch, and do a lot of the promotion myself. Kelly (my manager) books the shows, handles finances and contracts, and also handles promotion as well. It's a very compact team.
We only recently hired a publicist and the press release you read was the first thing she did for us, which is mainly a shorter version of the bio off the official website, which I suggest you read for more information that'll fill in some of the gaps you're looking for.
Up until earlier this year, I even packed and shipped out my own website merch orders. Even while on the road I would bring shipping supplies, pack up orders in hotel rooms, and find a local post office to ship from. That became a lot of extra work and took away from other important things, so I finally put together a store with Awarestore.com.
I should also let you know I'm not getting things done with mommy and daddy's money, nor do I have a friend or relative in the industry that's 'hooking me up' - I have built my career from the ground up and while I'm still far from where I want to be, things are happening exactly how I want them to, which is more important. The music industry is 'bleh' to me, and I want to show musicians that if they work hard enough they can stand on their own.
I'll keep going if I don't stop now, haha. Someday I'll write a book :)
Anyway, I've gotta get back to my limo and head to P-Diddy's house for a party..
-Brad w/ Five Times August
― FiveTimesAugust, Sunday, 22 July 2007 03:50 (eighteen years ago)
Holla atcha boy for me
― Hurting 2, Sunday, 22 July 2007 05:53 (eighteen years ago)
THIS SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT GOAL FOR ME
― Tape Store, Sunday, 22 July 2007 05:57 (eighteen years ago)
christ I can't believe this motherfucker is 34
― how to diss a peer completely (unregistered), Sunday, 18 February 2018 23:48 (eight years ago)
four years pass...
failing to make ends meet as a GOAT-tier singer-songwriter, 39-year-old Brad Skistimas (Five Times August) resigns himself to a life of honking red noses and oversized rubber shoes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sr2TxcVM9I
― a lesson before djing (unregistered), Tuesday, 1 November 2022 22:21 (three years ago)
Last Skistimas…
― (We're Not) The Experimental Jet Set (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 1 November 2022 22:44 (three years ago)