RAC

Photo courtesy of @shhwittt

 

 Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work (RAC Mix)

André Allen Anjos, Karl Kling and Andrew Maury--the members of RAC--have an extraordinary sensibility about sound and are innovators blazing a bright and unforgettable trail through music. But the reason I love RAC goes well beyond their talent. They are also completely humble and appreciative of their success which makes for a richer and more meaningful connection. What inspired this post today was something that occured about 2 weeks ago. On June 2nd--an otherwise pretty average Thursday for me--the following popped up in my Facebook feed via RAC:

"We're giving away 2 pairs of tickets to BFD 2011! All you have to do is tell us why you think you should go. Be creative, we'll announce winners in roughly 24 hours."

Social media at its finest and as I read this I kind of chuckled to myself and thought, should I even try? I wondered if I could come up with anything RAC would deem worthy of those tickets. I decided I didn't have much to lose so it was worth a shot. After I wrote my little bit and clicked share I knew that there was a slight possibility of winning, but didn't expect as much.

So a day went by, didn't hear anything, and I'd kind of forgotten about it all, but on Saturday morning as I was checking my email there it was.

A message from André offering me the tickets and thanking me for what I had written. To my surprise I had won! I hadn't won anything in a really long time, definitely not anything based on my creativity. Now mind you, it wasn't like 200 people responded and I will say that some of the responses were suspect, but it still made my day. To have that little piece of creativity appreciated by artists whom I respect feels incredible.

This is the beauty of social media. Social media allows artists such as RAC to connect with their fans and to create more meaningful experiences. I love how artists are using this as a tool to engage their fans. During Fleet Floxes' recent tour I saw Robin Pecknold stoke his fans right and left with free tickets to sold out shows. Some of these people weren't even directing their tweets specifically to him, they just happened to be putting the word out to see if anyone had an extra ticket to the show. Social media is also a tool that creates reciprocity. It has the ability to humanize the celebrity aspect of the artist while at the same time providing fans the opportunity of interacting with them. I love how information is disseminated and experiences are created all in real time. Thank you to RAC and to all the other artists who choose to create these wonderful moments. Moments that no doubt, make lasting impressions.