How Effective is Word-of-Mouth?

I'm itching like crazy for November 21st. Trampled By Turtles is holding a CD release party at First Avenue in Minneapolis, and I can't believe I have to wait two whole months. TWO WHOLE MONTHS. The craziest part? I've never seen them live, I've never heard them on the radio, I can't honestly say I've ever listened to an entire song of theirs. But they have this crazy-amazing reputation among the friends I made at school-- the friends I shared my own favorites with. And when I mentioned Chris Thile (the God of the Mandolin and King of Progressive Bluegrass) to a friend who I later learned also plays a little mando, he immediately replied, "You know Trampled by Turtles, right?" No, I don't, but now I have to.

Word of mouth, indeed.

So I'm rounding up a few people who also migrated to the Twin Cities area at the same time I did, and we'll be there. Actually, I'll be there if I have to go alone. I'll probably end up throwing a few dollars their way for that album, too. If there's one thing I know about these particular friends, it's that they know great live music, and I can't continue to miss out on TbT any longer.

-Courtney

How Effective is Word-of-Mouth?