Over the years we’ve filmed a lot of bands who at the time they stepped into the Jam Van were virtual unknowns, but if you checked back in with them a year or two later, they were tirelessy touring the country and playing shows to adoring fans and making real life money to keep gas in their tour van tanks. Now, that’s not to say they fully “made it.” As there are so many different levels to making it in this game. So a dilineation must be drawn between “making it” and “finding success.” While making it should be reserved for those bands that are towering above the rest on the main stages of festivals across the world, finding success can be used to describe a much larger group of musicians who have worked hard enough to at least for a brief period of time subsist in this world off of revenues they generate by following their passion and performing their music. These bands are on their way to making it, climbing that ever so tedious ladder that is the music industry.
At any rate, when a band is done performing in the Jam Van it’s not uncommon for us to pontificate on the realistic potential of them succeeding in this world. Of course we believe all of the bands that play our rig are on their way to stardom, but the reality is that this is a dog eat dog world and not everyone makes it out of the pound. There are however those mutts in the fight that we have strong confidence in, we have more than just an inkling that they are going to survive. In fact, we’d be surprised if they didn’t. I would keep eyes on this lady right here, because if we were gamblers, we’d say take the money line on Heartwatch, they seem like they are built for long climbs to the top…
