Ludo’s trial by fire

image by medigirol

After years of building a fan base, countless credit card bills and two days without sleep, Ludo found themselves signed. And they did it by playing a house party.

“We are still paying off some of those credit cards,” guitarist Tim Ferrell said.

Ludo is a band of humble beginnings. They started in open mic clubs across the Midwest crashing on peoples’ floors, only able to sell cheap burned CD and always asking friends for help. And they would play anything. “It was harsh,” Ferrell said. Yet, he also knew, “we had to do this.”

Ludo’s key to success was not a drive to become rich rock stars. It was what Ferrell describes as, “Coming from a place that this is the only thing  we can do.” They never did it for the money, because there has never been much money.

According to Ferrell being a musician is one of the worst ways to make a living. The amount of work that goes into making each dollar can be worse than making minimum wage. But, the members of Ludo stuck with it for years. They were willing to do whatever it took, and the confidence to go on.

They gained their fans like any young band does, by begging their friends to come to shows. Growth came from creating a network of bands in similar situations. Ludo could bring out 20 people to shows in St. Louis. Out of town bands would get Ludo’s audience in St. Louis, and then Ludo would go to the other bands town to play for that band’s 20 friends.

Ludo was able to convert other bands’ fans into their own. Their growth came from their humble beginnings. Ludo learned to write strong songs and to market themselves from playing open mic nights. When the band only had 15 minutes to play they had to be awesome, or at least create something original to get people’s attention. They also learned something just as important, the show did not stop after they got off stage. To get dedicated fans, as well as a place to sleep, Ludo spent time after they played hanging out with people.

“We made an effort to make ourselves available and approachable,” Ferrell said. “And, it was meaningful.”

Even the invasive act of sleeping on a stranger’s couch meant that these people were no longer strangers, but people they had shared experiences with. By having nothing they learned how to use their best marketing tool, themselves.

As the band grew over time they begin creating a street team of fans they called ninjas. The benefit of the street team was more than just a way to make new contacts; it also helped the band keep in touch with their closest fans when the band was not around.

But, as Ludo gained fans they did not gain interest from record companies.

“Getting signed was a long and painful process,” Ferrell said. Record companies were getting more selective about who they signed as the industry started losing money. “You have to have something to offer. Record labels want something that is easy. They want someone who is stable, has been around and has a bunch of fans.”

Record labels want to know they can get their money back.

Over the years the band had always stashed away as much money as they could for recordings. They preferred to sleep on floors than hotel rooms. All so they could save what little they had for recording.

In 2004, Ferrell created Redbird Records and Touring LLC, and he made Ludo an LLC. Making the band a business allows Ludo to write off business expenses and get insurance through the band.

The band continued its number one goal of gaining fans, and the connection with their fans is what ultimately got Ludo an agent, music lawyer and signed by a record label.

Ferrell found that music professionals did not “get” Ludo. Having professionals listen to their music was not enough. Ferrell and the other members of Ludo did what they have been doing for years, begged these people to come to shows.

In 2005, the band recorded the EP “Broken Bride” with money they had saved. By the time they played  in December of that year Ludo could draw more than 1000 fans in their hometown.

They were signed by Island Records in early 2006 from two performances at the SXSW event that year. Yet, Ludo was never invited to play SXSW.

Ludo played at SXSW four times, but never at a club or sponsored event. They found house parties.  In 2005, they had two house parties set up in the Austin, Tx. area. After they played the first house party, the band went out of state to play another show the next night.

Buzz around SXSW grew, and record label representatives got themselves invited to the second house party in Austin that Ludo played that week.

The second house party was the following night from when they played out of state. The band flew back to Texas and got to the party after being awake for 36 hours straight.

“We killed at the show,” Ferrell said.

It worked. Ferrell said that he thinks the record label people never really understood their music, but they could see that Ludo worked hard and had a great fan base. The band required very little work and could make the label money.

Island Records jumped on Ludo and signed the band soon after. And it happened because Ludo did what they have done from the very beginning: they connected with their fans, and they played anything they could.