MUSIC CONNECTION

The Lashes

Since the very beginning, Seattle’s Ben Clark knew the Lashes were a work in progress. He wanted a real band with the right people to go all the way to the top. He wasn’t interested in playing with anyone who didn’t have the same passion or wasn’t ready to ruin their life for it. “It’s all about selling yourself to the world. If you’re not going to sell yourself to the world, who else is going to? That’s really what it comes down to,” says vocalist Ben Clark. “If you’re willing to ruin your life for rock & roll, then that’s the best shot you got.”

After years of building their act, compiling killer songs and playing every show they could, the Lashes recorded an EP just in time to get signed by Look Out Records. The demo became their EP and was released the following year. It was a showcase at Austin’s South by Southwest Music Conference that would lead to their major label debut with Columbia Records.

When Clark gives advice, he talks about having many tricks up your sleeve. Simply passing out demos in front of The Viper Room won’t cut it. Networking, creating an internet presence, and booking shows is just the tip of the iceberg. “You should never stop pimping yourself,” says Clark. “Rock & roll bands should pimp themselves, stand up and say, ‘Hey, I’m good, dammit, and I’m worth listening to!’ They should look at what hip-hop people do. Rock & roll bands should take to the idea that you’re going to have to sell cassette tapes out of the trunk of your car to get people to listen to you. That’s how M.C. Hammer did it. That’s how every successful rap artist does it. They spent a long time passing out demos and selling tapes out of their car. They come at the world saying, ‘Even if I’m selling cassette tapes out of my car, I still have something that’s worth listening to.’”

––Oscar Jordan