Sydney, Australia (Signal Room Official Website) - Signal Room, the Australian rock band born on the set of cult science-fiction TV hit Farscape, recently embraced Cafepress.com as the way to satisfy their fans' requests for band-related merchandise.
Based in Sydney, Signal Room is self-publishing a new CD. The financial investment merchandise sales usually require in production, inventory and shipping, and the back-office technology to support it, was out of the question. Enter CafePress.com. Their capability for one-off production of t-shirts and other merchandise keeps the band from having to maintain an inventory in various styles and sizes and eliminates the risk that they may be left with unsold goods.
At www.cafepress.com/signalroom, Signal Room is able to accept credit cards and ship inexpensively to Europe and the U.S., home to the majority of the band's fans. 'It's a huge hassle dealing with payments in different currencies and shipping from Australia to anywhere,' admits Stephen Edwards, the band's guitarist.
Though Signal Room exists in its own right, a lot of people find it through Farscape. Drummer Wayne Pygram says, 'it's inescapable. It will always be a part of who we are, but it doesn't define us. We're not just actors who got bored and decided to start a band. We all have serious music backgrounds and two of us also happen to be actors.' Farscape is an international phenomenon and as a result, Signal Room fans are scattered around the world.
'It's surprising sometimes, but we do have fans everywhere. We're using the proceeds of our CafePress.com sales to fund our upcoming CD,' says actor, song writer and vocalist Anthony Simcoe. 'It's great because it gives the people who like our music, no matter where they are, a way to directly participate in the process and we can't thank them enough. This wouldn't work if we had to spend money on printing t-shirts and carrying inventory.'
Anthony Simcoe, Ka D'Argo on Farscape, and crew member and guitarist Stephen Edwards began working on Simcoe's songs while filming in Sydney, Australia in 2001. Wayne Pygram, who portrayed Scorpius on Farscape, and bassist Gerry Kortegast soon joined to complete the line up. In 2002, they played live in LA and sold out their first EP recorded prior to the trip.
Playing live in Burbank really got the fans' attention. 'The first time we played LA was at the 2002 Farscape Convention,' says Anthony Simcoe. 'It was sort of off the cuff. We had just recorded and wanted to test the interest level.' The crowd went crazy. After recording a new EP produced by Tim Whitten (Hoodoo Gurus, The Church), the band returned to play LA and then New York in 2004. Since then, fans have had to be satisfied keeping up with the band online at their website, www.signalroom.com, and on www.myspace.com/signalroom. With their presence on Cafepress.com, Signal Room gives their fans a new way to get involved with the band and show their support.
Signal Room is currently in preproduction on their new CD. They hope to kick off promotion of that CD at the 2006 Farscape Convention in November hosted by Creation Entertainment in Burbank, CA. Fans will be happy to know that the band and Creation are currently in talks regarding their appearance.
