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November 12, 2007
A hallmark of the indie music scene is the ubiquitous “one sheet.” This is a one page piece of promotional material that tells you how awesome, funny, quirky, artsy, clever, etc. the artist is, even though they more often than not haven’t actually done anything particularly significant in their careers. These also usually include a few choice quotes from previous reviewers.
When I opened my mail and found Ian Axel’s im on to you, I learned that Mr. Axel apparently likes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, because on his one sheet is a picture of him munching down on a good ol’ PB &J, made with Wonder Bread no less (mmm, Wonder Bread)! The other thing I learned is that Mr. Axel apparently loses the ability to chew when someone snaps his picture as he’s eating, because he’s got a chunk of sandwich dangling out of his mouth, and I gotta’ tell you, it’s not a particularly flattering image.
One other significant faux pas is that this one sheet double dips a source (Washington Square News) for quotes about Mr. Axel. It’s just not done. Further faux pas, one of the quotes from the Square News says Mr. Axel is “sounding like Coldplay’s Chris Martin.” I listened to the album. Mr. Axel does not sound like Mr. Martin from Coldplay. There’s no mistaking the two. It sounded more like a hybrid of Vanessa Carlton and Michael W. Smith.
Having said that, Mr. Axel clearly has some ability at writing music and lyrics, which is to say he has some raw tools and potential. I’d really like to see him further develop his writing and creative talents, and then get some other singers and performers to see what they could do with his music.
