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Candlebox formed in Seattle in 1991 amidst the city's grunge rock renaissance. The top ten singles "Far Behind" and "You," coupled with tours supporting Living Colour, Rush, Metallica, and Aerosmith, propelled the band to the top of the charts and helped their album sales exceed 5 milllion.
The band, however, disbanded in 1999, following several lineup changes and a general distaste for major record label politics.
The spring of 2006 brought the release of 'The Best of Candlebox' on Rhino Records, and an opportunity for the band to put aside past differences and reconnect. Plans were quickly put into motion for a summer tour, followed by a new studio record in the fall of 2006.
Having opted to retain total control of their future and fund the tour themselves, the band did not have major label resources or other outside funding to finance the tour. Thus, they faced the challenge of reconnecting with old fans after such a long absence, as well as attracting new fans, in an effort to book & complete a successful tour.
Knowing well that great amounts of success could be achieved by a band on a grassroots level, Crucial Networking developed Candlebox's online presence from the ground up. The first priority for the project was conveying a modern look for the band to the masses, updating the decade-old images still lingering from the late 90s when the band was last active.
Beginning with a trip to St. Louis in May 2006 for a promotional photo shoot with the band as well as live performance photography, Crucial Networking set out to create a robust but user-friendly web site that would involve the fans as much as possible and keep them coming back for more.
The project was executed in several stages, beginning with a small, one page site that showcased only tour dates as they were announced and a mailing list signup. A slightly more in-depth version of the site followed next, with the addition of news & tour pages, but most notably, a message board, to allow fans to congegrate and discuss the band, the tour, live recordings, and any other points of interest. An official taping policy was drafted by Crucial Networking, officially letting the fans know that recording Candlebox performances for free distribution online was not only allowed, but actively encouraged.
While assisting the band all-along with promotion on their myspace page, Crucial Networking put the finishing touches on their all-flash web site, driven by a php/xml-based Content Management System on the backend, designed to allow the band to quickly and easily update the site themselves from the road. The web site has continually offered features not commonly found elsewhere: free downloads of live songs, exclusive photos, and constant interaction with the band themselves via the site's message board and tour journal.
Candlebox's summer 2006 tour has been a tremendous success, drawing huge crowds and selling out shows throughout the United States. The band has reconnected with their existing fans and continues to attract more on a daily basis. In just a few months, the online community supporting the band has flourished and swelled into the thousands by way of their myspace page, mailing list, and message board.
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There’s nothing more convenient than being able to update your web site yourself, in real-time. From anywhere.
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If you want to be taken seriously on the web, you need to look the part. You run a world-class business. Show people that you do.
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