Manic Vision

This temporary holding page has been put together to explain the Manic Vision concept in advance of the launch. The visual icons above are a demonstration of how this website will initially look - they are not yet functional, but they will be active on the 25th of November.

You can register now to recieve some freebies, click here to find out more.

The Story So Far:

Manic Vision is the creation of Carl Hitchborn, who is from and lives in the city of Norwich. The company has an ethical stance and includes band/artist management, gig/tour management and promotion amongst many other things.

The whole concept is based on taking on unsigned bands with a view to helping them to earn a living from making and playing music without the need to sign onto a major label. In order to do this, 50% of all profits generated by Manic Vision (MV) (even from income streams such as MV clothing sales) will go towards helping them to build their profiles, pay for recordings and tour costs, which will in turn help them to sell music. Furthermore, each band will have their own company (effectivly their own record label) which will be the vehicle for them to ultimately earn a living. The bands will retain rights to 70% of their music with Manic Vision retaining 30%.

An initial five bands will be selected from the hot bed of talent that is found in Norwich, progressing to bands located further afield (see 'MV Invited 50'). Each band has their own sound, some have stories to tell and have already tried hard to achieve their goals, others are young and raw and have stories to make.

To further embed the ethical stance of Manic Vision, all clothing, which will be Manic Vision branded will be designed by freelance designers and art college students who will receive an initial copyright fee of £20, along with £1 royalty for every item of clothing sold along with 25% of any sales they generate from blogs, social media or websites.

Manic Vision will be web driven, and will include an online shop which will sell music, gig tickets and clothing. A street team and affiliation network will be setup to help drive traffic to the site, and to help others to earn some money from building this ethical business.

The five bands initially signed to Manic Vision have been carefully chosen, based on their work ethic and musical talents, along with their willingness to understand that today in the internet and social media era, with hard work and determination their dreams (to earn a living out of making and playing their music) can become reality through hard work and dedication and most importantly ethical commercial guidance.

The five bands selected all come from the city of Norwich, the proud home of Manic Vision, these bands are:

Fortune Rookie

The line up was complete and Fortune Rookie was born in April 2006 with each member bringing their own musical influence and style to the band.

Fortune Rookie has found their own direction as a result of the bands ever developing song writing skills and musical maturity. Their powerful and emotive modern rock sound has been compared to such critically acclaimed artists such as Biffy Clyro, Foo Fighters, Brand New, Incubus, Inme and Queens of the Stone Age.

Fortune Rookie have attracted a growing army of fans gaining attention from the record industry building a strong fan base.

Fortune Rookie made the final of The Next Big Thing 2007 and have previously been finalists of the UK song writing contest. Tracks have been playlisted on local radio, ILR radio Australia and Solid Rock Radio New York achieving the number one slot in the Karma download rock chart.

The band were invited to record at “Animal Farm/Atomic Studios”, London, in 2007 completing their debut album for release in 2008.

In a recent showcase Fortune Rookie were told that they showed great promise with the very distinct vocals of Royst making the band instantly recognisable. The band was complimented for the originality of songs and their passion for the music from the energetic performance.

Visit Fortune Rookie MySpace

The Dirty Tricks

Formed in early 2007 with a vision of bringing something new and exciting to the music scene The Dirty Tricks were born, bringing together 3 musicians who's history has seem them playing with the likes of Bloc Party and Kings of Leon and playing sold out shows at venues such as the University of East Anglia, Norwich Arts Centre and the London Astoria.

The Dirty Tricks bring back what is good about music with their infectious grooves and sing along choruses. Having toured the UK extensively throughout 07/08/09 and their debut single 'The Believer' receiving critical acclaim in the press and radio play throughout the UK, and with new single 'Free Your Soul' hitting stores soon the band have gained a large and loyal fan base by doing it the only way they know how with long tours and giving every show all they have, making new friends and fans along the way!

October 2009 saw the addition of a second guitarist in the form of Lee Dickerson. "Rock is still alive and its heart is The Dirty Tricks"

Visit The Dirty Tricks MySpace

The Fuzz

The current incarnation of the band formed when an old act some of us were in fell through, with new members Jordan and Jack joining the leftovers. The five of us played together once at a 'Battle of the Bands' school event, intending it to be a one-off, for a laugh. But we enjoyed it so much we decided to start practicing together seriously, and writing more original material to be put together into a set. Now some of the us have grown fuzzy hairdo's because it makes us feel really good about ourselves.

The band name has nothing to do with the police.

Visit The Fuzz MySpace

Kapok

Kapok are a four piece rock band from Norwich. Their unique sound brings together intricate bass lines, driving guitars, hard hitting drums and melodic vocals. Kapok's gigs continue to be as energetic as ever, aspiring to deliver more than just the music they play.

Kapok continue to produce all music they write themselves.

Ignorance is Choice is Kapok's newest and most exciting release to date. The first track, Ignorance is Choice, literally launches the listener into a mix of heavy guitars, slap bass and powerful vocals. Yet again the band has aspired to produce all music themselves and as the final notes ring through it is apparent the band has attempted their most ambitious project so far.

Visit Kapok MySpace

Uncle Stash

Bio to follow!

Visit Uncle Stash Myspace

The MV Invited 50

As part of the Manic Vision concept, another fifty bands will be presented with a single challenge: to obtain as many fan registrations on the Manic Vision website as possible. After a given period (determined by the speed at which fan registrations are obtained) five of these bands will be selected to become an MV band, thus receiving a share in the profit generated by Manic Vision, along with all the support required for them to earn a living from their music. The process will continue with five more bands being invited to join the MV Invited 50.

Each of the MV Invited 50 will come from similar genres of music, ensuring that fans coming to the Manic Vision webiste will appreciate their musical talents, creating a unified database of fan registrations.

Although the MV Invited 50 will not receive a share of the profit until such a time as they become an MV Band, they will recieve many benefits most notably:

A profile display similar to that of MySpace & Facebook, only their talents will not be lost in the millions of band/profile registrations, the MV Invited 50 will be clearly defined making it easy to

Unlike other profile based websites the bands invited on board will receive access to all fan registrations stored in the Manic Vision database - this data being used to inform fans with tours, releases & merchandise.

For UK based bands access to a developing gig/tour circuit to ensure they are playing at the best venues possible, as well as the possibilities of shows in Europe, Australia and the USA. For artists in Europe, Australia and the USA, the chance to play shows on the UK circuit.

All MV Invited 50 bands will have the ability to initiate and arrange for the setup of street teams to promote the MV brand (as a commission base) but most importantly their own shows.

For UK based bands and bands in Europe, Australia and the USA access to merchandising solutions for UK and European distribution, whereby clothing etc can be purchased at wholesale prices to be sold at gigs, or alternatively sold via the Manic Vision website whereby commission will be earned without the need for capital investment in the stock itself - simply generate enough pre-orders for the given clothing design and Manic Vision will do the rest including delivery to your fans.

A unified profile that includes bio listing, events, music player and product listings such as MP3 downloads and merchandise, all purchasable directly through your band's profile page.

The MV Invited 50 - Selection Process

The MV invited 50 will be selected on the following basis:

10 Bands from the USA
5 Bands from Australia
5 Bands from Europe
30 Bands from the UK

To be considered as one of the MV Invited 50, your band must already be established for a period of at least 12 months. In this time you will have proven your determination for success by generating interest in friend registrations on websites such as MySpace and Facebook, and will have generated a large amount of profile views, you will have been gigging and touring to build up your fan base and will have some high quality recordings released or ready to be released.

For UK bands, the following demographic locations and numbers will be applied:

The East - 3
Greater London - 5
The South - 5
The West - 5
The Midlands - 5
The North East/West/Scotland - 7

A maximum of two bands will be selected from any given town/city in each nominated demographic location.

If you would like your band to be selected as one of the MV Invited 50, send an email to:

h1tchy@manicvision.co.uk - providing a brief description of why you should be considered and provide your myspace/website link.

The Manic Vision Designers

The Manic Vision designers are either freelance or student designers. Their brief is to create original designs, some related to music, some not. The designers will recieve an initial fee of £20 for every garment that goes to print, along with £1 royalty for each item sold. On top of this they will also recieve commission of 25% for sales they generate through social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook & MySpace or via their own blogs/websites - this fee topped up with a life time commission of 5% for all purchases made by any new customers referred by the designers.

Each designer will also be showcased on the Manic Vision website, with a variety of designs from each being available for pre-order. Once enough pre-orders are taken the designs will go to print.

Manic Vision currently has several designers on board, all working to create an inital batch of tee designs, however we are looking for more so if you would like to be selected as an MV designer, please send an email to h1tchy@manicvision.co.uk with a link to your portfolio or a sample of a possible design.

MV Charities

As part of the ethical concept, 5% of profit generated by Manic Vision will go to charity, there will be five selected each recieveing 1% of profit - these charities are as follows:

Rethink - mental health charity that provides support to sufferers of mental health illinesses and their families - visit the Rethink website
Oxfam - a charity that helps many people and brings to the attention of us all many issues - visit the Oxfam website
The Anna Mudeka Foundation - a charity setup by Anna to provide funds for school children suffering in her naitive Zimbabwe - find out more about Anna on MySpace
Human Appeal International - believes that every child and especially the orphans have the right to be clothed, nourished, live a healthy life and have access to a good education - visit the Human Appeal website
Macmillian Cancer Appeal - improves the lives of people affected by cancer. We provide practical, medical and financial support and push for better cancer care. Cancer affects us all. We can all help. We are Macmillan. - visit the Macmillian Cancer Appeal website

In order to launch the Manic Vision concept, several shows are being held in the area, including a media launch at the Open Venue in Norwich on the 25th November. The launch will include a presentation to the media along with a showcase from the MV bands, followed up with a low cost gig to children from high schools in Norwich.

Information relating to all of the shows can be found on the Manic Vision MySpace website