MUSIC ARTIST: AFI ALBUM: Burials RELEASE DATE: Oct. 22 LABEL: Republic PRODUCER: Gil Norton BAAUER 0 MANAGEMENT: Velvet Hammer Lucky Me/Mad Decent pro- Music and Management ducer Harry Bauer Rodrigues, Group better-known as Baauer, rose from unknown Brooklynite PUBLISHER: Ex Notcem to worldwide fame early Nacimur (bmi) this year when first single BOOKING AGENTS: Kirk “Harlem shake” became a Sommer and Dave Tamaroff, YouTube phenomenon. This William Morris Endeavor fall, he’s heading out on tour (international); emma Banks, with guests AraabMuzik, DJ Creative Artists Agency Mustard and S-Type, and (europe) hopes to release his debut al- bum in 2014. Aiding him with CHART HISTORY: Sing the his jaunt is AM Only agent Sorrow (2003), No. 5 De’mont Callender. Billboard 200, 1.3 million; Decemberunderground Routing: Rather than simply (2006), No. 1 billboard 200, 1 route Baauer across America, million; Crash Love (2009), No. Callender focused on smaller 12 billboard 200, 150,000 college towns with big audi- ences. “i wanted to hit a lot of TWITTER: @AFI the college markets where it’s in the middle of nowhere but has a huge college campus,” people as possible,” says David Benveniste, found- (Havok says that Blaqk Audio will return to the studio he says. “like the Knitting ROCK er/president of Velvet Hammer Music and Manage- once the Burials cycle wraps.) Factory in Boise, Idaho [Oct. 31] or the WOW Music Hall in ment Group. “There was a lot of excitement sur- “It was a really brief period of creation in relation to Eugene, Ore. [Oct. 30].” cal- rounding ‘Mortal Instruments,’ which gave us an our records of the most recent past,” Havok says, not- lender hopes to connect the opportunity to play the song for myriad people and ing that the album was recorded in only six weeks at Los dots between viral popularity AFI Goes To and a live show, hitting new help amplify the buzz that’s going on right now at Angeles’ East West Studio. “[Gil] is a great guy and he’s markets in El Paso, Texas radio.” “17 Crimes” rises No. 32-27 on Billboard’s Al- very positive. Because we were so pressed for time it (Nov. 10), Tulsa, Okla. (Nov. ternative chart this week. was a very intensive process of tracking.” 12), Oklahoma City (Nov. 13), The Movies Charlotte, N.C. (Nov. 20) and “We’re always looking for media platforms to expose The group rolled out a series of six teaser videos Norfolk, Va. (Nov. 21). music to fans,” adds Republic executive VP of A&R Rob directed by Surround beginning in April, eventually Veteran punk band gets boost Stevenson, who signed AFI to the label. “The song ft leading to the unveiling of album track “I Hope You Audience: To gauge fans’ dedication, Callender coordi- the vibe of the book and the movie. The band are fans Sufer” on July 23. “17 Crimes” was released as the for ninth album with ‘Mortal nated a summer tour through of LA Riots and thought it would be cool to give fans an disc’s debut single in early August, with a music video many college markets with RL Instruments’ film synch alternate take on the track. The movie company loved following on Aug. 16. Grime, Ryan Hemsworth and Jim E-Stack. “in July, there’s the idea. It really was that simple.” “With the lack of online presence and activity be- By Emily Zemler no students there—it’s pretty AFI—singer Davey Havok, guitarist Jade Puget, bass- tween Burials and the last album, we saw a golden unconventional to tour then, ist Hunter Burgan and drummer Adam Carson—didn’t opportunity to reintroduce the band with the kind of but I got to see how strong Baauer actually is,” he says. approach the album looking to write singles, however. mystery and suspense their fans have grown accus- “He sold out nine out of the AFI has been a band for two decades, releasing eight When it came time to pen the follow-up to 2009’s Crash tomed to,” Benveniste says. “Their fervent fan base 12 shows on that tour, with albums since its 1995 punk-rock debut, Answer That and Love, which bowed at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 with would engage any sort of compelling content we re- venues ranging from 750 to 1,000 [capacity].” Stay Fashionable. But the act’s latest single, “17 Crimes,” 150,000 sold to date (according to Nielsen Sound- leased. The early marketing was a slow burn designed of the upcoming Burials (Oct. 22, Republic), sets a few Scan), the musicians were merely interested in captur- to build layers leading up to the bigger initiatives— Promotion: Callender and new milestones: Its placement in the flm “Mortal ing where they were at the moment. Writing took place like song releases and videos—and subsequently the AM Only have relied on social and viral appeal to propel Instruments: City of Bones” is AFI’s frst flm synch. over a year, beginning in the fall of 2011, and Republic new album.” fans to shows, though Cal- Burials is the group’s frst album for Republic Records, signed AFI based on a demo version of Burials. The AFI will tour North America, beginning Sept. 12 and lender did coordinate a news which signed AFI earlier this year. The “Mortal Instru- former Interscope act met with various labels but had wrapping Nov. 11, using the live shows as a platform to premiere with Pitchfork to reveal dates. “it’s not like we’re ments” soundtrack is also out on Republic and includes a history with Stevenson, who had tried to sign Havok built interest for the album. The band has also been doing the ‘Pepsi With Baauer an LA Riots remix of the single. The original plays over and Puget’s side project, Blaqk Audio, to Astralwerks confrmed for Australia’s Soundwave tour in early 2014. Tour,’” he says. “We are keep- the movie’s end credits. in 2010. AFI entered the studio to record Burials with The present focus remains “17 Crimes,” which debuted ing it with the local support from the promoters, and the “The goal is to have the song heard by as many producer Gil Norton a week after signing with Republic. at No. 37 on the Alternative chart. TV appearances re- kids that will wear sandwich main in the works, as do additional synch placements, boards and hand out fliers.” though the label says nothing more specifc can be AM Only also fine-tunes its approach by region. “When shared at the moment. we do a blast, we do it to the “There was a lot of excitement “The band has made an outstanding album that I fans in each market, reaching believe will connect with current fans as well as create out to every fan,” callender says. “instead of just sending surrounding ‘mortal Instruments,’ which new ones,” Republic VP of marketing Billy Zarro says. out a blast to his 130,000 “The activity as well as data from our social media plat- Facebook fans, we’re target- forms gives us confdence that we are reaching a very ing each market personally.” gave us an opportunity to play the song —Nick Williams broad base.” for myriad people and help amplify the “We’re lucky to have such a core fan base who are AGENT: De’mont Callender, looking and waiting for new AFI music. But if you’re AM Only buzz that’s going on at radio.” not, there’s so much going on out there that it would TOUR DATES: Oct. 26-Nov. 24 be easily missed,” Havok says. “The hope is that we do —DAVID BENVENISTE, VELVET HAMMER MUSIC AND MANAGEMENT GROUP reach some new people.” SEPTEMBER 21, 2013 | WWW.BILLBOARD.BIZ 33.