Cary Brothers Connecting with Fans

How the Blue Eyes Singer is Keen to not Let his Fans Down

Jun 20, 2007

With his new album Who You Are in stores, Cary Brothers tells Suite101 about his special relationship with his fans, in part 2 of our special interview with him.

One of the things that has made Cary Brothers such a favourite with his fans (apart from his rugged looks which have won him an army of female admirers) is his open-door approach. Never one to shy away from mixing with his fans after gigs, or emailing them frequently, he's a breath of fresh air in today's often soon-forgotten environment.

Here, in part 2 of our interview with him, Cary tells us how he's determined to keep that contact alive, even though at times it can be easier said than done.

Special thanks go to Cary for being such a wonderful and genial interviewee, and to Jenna LoMonaco at Girlie Action Media for arranging everything.

Cary Brothers Interview Part Two: Personal Connections

Suite: We were speaking earlier about your MySpace profile. On there, as well as your official website, you seem to have a very open community feel there with your fans. For instance, your first 500 pre-orders get a signed copy of the CD – do you think that kind of relationship is often bypassed by a lot of other bands once they've reached a certain level of success?

Cary: Well, as long as I can have it under control, I'd like to try keep it under control. I love the feel of being connected with my fans – that's why I love touring so much. Just being in the same room as someone who's come to see you, or bought your record; there's a connection right there unlike anything else. I'd had a little bit of success with soundtracks and my own records, but it wasn't really until I hit the road that I was able to see people after shows night after night, and make these personal connections with them. It's when the whole thing started making sense to me, so I will go out of my way to try and make time to respond as much as possible to everyone who writes to me. Unfortunately, it gets harder as you go along.

Suite: Right – obviously the more success you have, it's going to be harder to keep that going.

Cary: Yeah, the more records I sell, the more my time is going to be taken up with other aspects of the promotion side. So it's a Catch 22 situation – my fans are what make me successful, yet it's the success that can take me away a little bit as well. So now, I come home and it's either sleep or answer 500 messages on MySpace – it's a delicate balance and one I'll try to maintain as best I can. Some nights I do have to sleep (laughs).

Suite: You mention that it's a lot harder now to keep connected with your fans the way you have up until now. Is an example of that your Free Song Of The Week that you have on your website (Cary had been putting up an unreleased song on his website each week, although recently it's been updated less as his touring schedule takes its toll)?

Cary: Well, I'll try keep doing that as much as I can, but again I think the touring kinda prevents me from doing things that I want to do, like the song of the week on the website. Now that this record is done, though, I'm going to start writing a lot of new stuff, for new albums, B-sides, etc, so hopefully that part of the website will be up and running again soon. One of the things I love doing is throwing stuff up that's unfinished, just to see the reaction from people. Not even from a point of view from the fans judging the songs – more like just sharing new songs and music with the fans that have helped me get to this point today. It also lets them see how it sounds at one stage, whether it's as a demo or at a live show, and then hearing how it sounds 2 months later as a full studio song, so it's a lot of fun.

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