SOLID RESPONSE FOR SECOND COMING'S 'SOFT' AT ACTIVE ROCK

September 11, 1998 [HITS MAGAZINE]

Add Capitol Records hard-rock act Second Coming to the list of bands that a promotional dept. helped get signed. And thanks to that extra push, the band's debut Capitol single, "Soft," is beginning its rise up the Active Rock chart, as well as receiving increasing airplay at Rock.

Active Rock stations playing the song include WRIF and WKRK in Detroit, WYSP/Philadelphia, KEGL/Dallas, KUPD/Phoenix, WIYY/Baltimore, WXTB/Tampa, WXTM/St. Louis, WLZR/Milwaukee, KBPI/Denver, KQRC/Kansas City, WXRC/Charlotte, KRXQ/Sacramento, and WJRR/Orlando. Rock outlets spinning the song include KISW/Seattle, WAQX/Syracuse, KZRR/Albuquerque, and KFRQ/McAllen.

Second Coming, which has performed around the Seattle scene since the early '90s, signed it's deal with Capitol in early May after a spirited bidding war. In fact, former Capitol President/CEO Gary Gersh flew to the grunge capitol to see the band perform on April 10^th. But it was the early persistence of National Director/Rock Promotion Tommy Daley and then Director/A & R Steve Patch that helped sway Gersh.

VP/Rock Promotion Dave Ross remember, "When Tommy was based in Los Angeles, he got ahold of a two-song demo and fell in love with it. He played it for me and our staff and then turned it over to A & R. It's always tough when promotion turns records over to A & R, but he kept at it. Then Steve heard it and flipped out after the first listen. Both of them kept playing it for Gary and the rest of the A & R department. They were pretty relentless."

After Capitol finalized the deal, one of the first things the label did was make minor changes to the bands self-titled, self released album . Three new songs were added to the disc, which was also slightly remixed and remastered. Capitol then started formulating a game plan to release a single and album late in the third quarter and follow that up with a tour. That all changed when Monster Magnet, which had a #1 hit with "Space Lord," asked the band to support it for a month of shows that began on July 16.

Ross recalls, "We weren't going to put them on the road right away, even though they are a great live band. We didn't want the project to move too quickly. But it worked perfectly, because a lot of PD's got to see the band before we even went for adds, and we ended up getting some stations out of the box that normally don't do that kind of thing."

The next result: 27 stations added "Soft" during the first week, which put it into a tie for No. 1 Most Added at Active Rock in early August (R & R, 8/14).

Second Coming also played a big role in helping the label lock up the Northwest. Ross notes, "They already had a relationship with KISW and [APD/MD] Cathy Faulkner, who even held off playing their songs in heavy rotation so she could help them later. And all the touring they did in the area helped us lock up markets like Spokane."

While the band has built a firm foundation in the Northwest, the rest of the country is now beginning to embrace the rock act. One fan is KLBJ/Austin OM Jeff Carrol. "It fits perfectly with what we're trying to accomplish. It's one of those records that will be unique to our station and help set us apart."

The cut is already reacting at the station. Two weeks ago, Carrol says the song was pulling down top 10 phones. "I expect that to increase in the weeks ahead."