Fanfarlo’s Simon Balthazar – HuffPost – 7.23.10

Mike Ragogna: What advice would you give to an up-and-coming act, indie or otherwise?

Simon Balthazar: It’s bizarre because, at least here in London, it doesn’t seem like anybody really needs any advice. When we first started, we didn’t have a game plan. I was just writing songs for the fun of it, and we were playing shows because we had friends booking us at clubs. It seems like everyone is so terrifyingly clued-up on what they’re supposed to be doing because before they even play their first gig or release their first demo, there is already a pack of labels hunting them because they have already cleverly planned everything out beforehand. It’s is a little bit unfortunate because, I think, here in the UK, everyone was constantly looking for the new thing, and there is this one-upmanship between the blogs and labels trying to find the new thing, and I think bands are pretty clever playing that out. But I am not sure if it’s the healthiest music climate.