How Ne Obliviscaris Are Living On The Generosity Of Their Fans

Progressive-minded, globe-trotting metal act Ne Obliviscaris recently graduated to a status where select international acts now support them in their homeland. Violinist/clean vocalist Tim Charles admits it's surreal that they'll take German post-metallers The Ocean on the road. Ne Obliviscaris plan to record in early 2017, and audiences on said jaunt will get a preview. "We're really excited to get a chance to test-drive new material live and hear what our Aussie fans think of the stuff we're working on for album number three," he enthuses from Italy.

Their groundswell of support is attributable to much hard graft, but also risk-taking. Ne Obliviscaris previously shattered crowdfunding records to facilitate international touring. Earlier this year they launched a unique campaign via the Patreon platform, by which fans subscribe to essentially keep the band afloat. Those pledging membership receive ongoing rewards like exclusive content and merchandise.

"The way to get anywhere as a band is to tour, but at the same time if you tour as much as we are it makes it almost impossible to hold down a normal job."

The band's goal is a monthly total of approximately $17,488, the equivalent of Australian minimum wage when divided amongst members, to pursue the band full-time. "We're not there yet, but we are earning like a part-time living from the band," Charles explains.

"It's the reality that we're not a bunch of 19-year-old guys just out of high school. Most of us are in our early to mid-30s. I've got a four-year-old girl, our guitarist Matt [Klavins'] got a wife and two kids... The way to get anywhere as a band is to tour, but at the same time if you tour as much as we are it makes it almost impossible to hold down a normal job. So you end up in this middle area where no one will hire you, or they'll hire you and then you'll get fired three months later, which is what happened to a couple of the guys earlier in the year. We came home for four months, a couple of the guys managed to get jobs by lying about the fact that they were in the band," Charles chuckles. "That's what happened to our singer Xenoyr. Once they found out that he was in a band leaving for a US tour they fired him on the spot, because they never would have hired him if they knew we toured as much as we could."

Although lambasted by some pundits, the modest wage has afforded a semblance of certainty amid the industry's volatile state. It must be preferable to "spending 12 years never getting paid a dollar to perform in this band", and losing tens of thousands per overseas tour.

Devotees enlisting ought to be validation that the sextet has established a symbiotic relationship with their following. "It's definitely been a learning experience. It was a new idea we had, so there wasn't anyone else to copy and learn from. We just had to learn as we went along... Our fans have been really good at communicating with us, and been really supportive. The aim is to keep improving what we're doing over time, and make it as worthwhile as possible for fans, so we can keep them involved and make it like a collaborative partnership."