We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dan Alvarado. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dan below.

Dan , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

One of the biggest trends in our industry today is the emergence of social media. It has a massive influence on the public opinion of an artist. New algorithms can be utilized to reach people who are not following you.

This is a huge shift from even 10 years ago. So adapting to that has been a fun part of starting a band in the modern era. We have to make sure that what we are posting online is engaging & has the potential to reach a wide audience.

We started a record label/management company specifically for these reasons. Building an audience through social media is a full-time job.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I (Dan Alvarado, Guitarist) knew I wanted to be in a band for basically my whole childhood. Growing up in the mid-2000s & 2010s was an interesting experience. Music was dominating the internet culture with the integration of MySpace & early YouTube. Those platforms exposed me to extremely early versions of Gorillaz, Drake, etc. My main takeaway from seeing those acts on the platforms was how important aesthetics & imagery were going to be in the industry.

I was living in a small town in Southern Alabama (Foley) around 2007 & my older step-brother was playing guitar in this garage band & performing at a local church. My dad was friends with the pastor so when I went to the church I remember being shocked with how cool it was. It had a half pipe & basketball courts outside. We would hoop & then go inside and hear the band.

It wasn’t like a CCM-style band where everyone was professional & rehearsed. It was very alternative & nobody was being paid. It also spilled over into other gigs. There was this huge underground circuit where Christian artists had their foot into non-Christian style gigs. My stepbrother’s band was on this circuit. I kinda just fell in love with the whole vibe of band life & performing because of the exposure.

The only problem was I still couldn’t play an instrument. I attempted to pick up the guitar when I was 11 but I was extremely discouraged by the difficulty. Somehow I began to gravitate toward drums. In my mind drums had an easier access point. I noticed that the drummer at my local church used a lot of snare & hi-hat. So I tried to embody that during the rare times I was able to play on a kit.

In 2012 my mom bought me an electronic kit & I linked up with one of my friends from high school who played guitar. I was starting to get a very basic grasp of the drums & we decided to start a band to audition for the talent show. We were so bad we didn’t make it in. It was a very humbling experience at the time. The guitar player was pretty good, & I began to be inspired by him to pick it back up.

I got my first acoustic guitar later that year and tried to learn the best I could. The band ended up fizzling out, but I knew I wanted to try to learn more on the guitar. The problem was I had no guidance. I had no idea what it took to be great at something.

In the fall of 2015, I started my first semester at Troy University in Alabama. I was introduced to a new friend on the first day who was an aspiring vocalist. We began to write original music. One night when he was asleep, he muttered the words, “Eleven Twelve at Twelve Eleven.” There also happened to be a niche street in my hometown called 12Eleven BLVD. I decided at that moment to name the band 12Eleven.

It was just an idea for the entire first year. It wasn’t until 2016 that we made our first move when we met our drummer, Pierce Gilmore

At our very first gig with Pierce, we met our future bassist Denver Wallace. He was performing as a drummer for one of the bands alongside us at a local venue in Troy called the DB. We were looking to expand our sound so he agreed to join.

Denver and Pierce were also playing in a popular music ensemble for the music department in Troy. It was through this opportunity that they met Eric McCauley (E-Macc). His dynamic voice and saxophone playing brought a lot to the group. He officially joined 12Eleven in the Fall of 2017.

Even though the band existed as far back as 2017, we weren’t able to gain experience performing until around 20120. when we exited the school setting. We gravitated towards the Florida panhandle because there were a lot of gigs there. People were also very receptive to the R&B/Pop music. Eric established himself as the lead vocalist & we began creating our original discography in 2021 during the shutdown.

In 2022 we released our first two songs & began working on our debut EP. We played an extremely high volume in 2022 and 2023. Our unique sound of sax & guitar, mixed with infectious grooves is a product of a lot of time spent performing together.

A lot of the locals began coming to our shows and in September 2023 we released our debut EP. Because of our music, we have been able to go to a lot of places around the southeast and open for some pretty big people we never thought we would. We love spreading our music & giving people a fun live experience!

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Maintaining high morale is very important in our line of work. We travel a lot and it is easy to get discouraged. Especially in the music industry because you get back exactly how much you put in. Work to perfect your craft & make sure that the people on your team want to be there. Never stop the thought of creating. If you feel like you are burned out, it’s important to take breaks. But always wake up the next day fresh.

As the manager of a team it’s important to make it about the people you managing, Being a good listener is probably the best advice I can give. Let people tell you what they want & absorb that information. It will open up avenues for you to make suggestions and apply managerial strategies. Being overly critical can damage the mindset of someone. I always try to see the positive in an interaction.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

We started by establishing consistent themes. Your digital footprint is something that is pinned on a billboard permanently. The overall aesthetic needs to be consistent and cohesive. It was easy for us because we are a band, & the main goal is to distribute music to people who want it. But so much more goes into marketing a band than that.

Photos, videos, & gig set-up are all things that have to be done behind to scenes. Taking the time to make those aspects high-quality is important. Everything that we post we are proud of. Posting too many low-quality things can lead to a loss of engagement. Playing a bad gig can be bad for business. So it’s important to think like a publicist when I’m posting on social media.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://12elevenband.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/12elevenband/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@12Elevenband/shorts
• Other: https://solo.to/12elevenband

Image Credits
12Eleven Records