The (currently unofficial) Bucky Covington Street Team

(Tl; dr alert! Shorter post next time, I promise. If you have more "pre-street-team" ideas, please post them in comments and I'll expand the post and credit you profusely. Thanks--B.B.)

One of the hippest musical groups ever was formed earlier this year. And what you may not have known until now is that you (yes, you) are already a member.

Bucky Covington doesn't have an official street team, of course. That's usually something that record labels or companies like Fanscape organize near the time of a debut CD or a first concert tour nowadays, although the organically-grown kind is best of all. But it's never too early to start thinking past the Idol tour, past the awkward post-season 5/pre-season 6/Bucky's-in-the-studio quiet hours, and into the future--which, if we all play our cards right, could include that "going platinum" thing. (We'd all like that, yes?)

Supporting Bucky's been so much fun--I haven't met a Bucky fan yet who regrets a single moment of redialing, posting or (you lucky people!) Bucky-Bashing. We've got a lot of great music to look forward to--and a lot more supporting to do, too.

Here are a few street-teamish things to try right now--they may not seem like much, and most of them will likely be a pleasure. But they're all helpful, as silly as some of it may sound. Buzz is everything, y'all...

Point people you know in the direction of Bucky Covington Online, and encourage them to check out his original songs. Believe it or not, a lot of casual American Idol viewers have no clue that Bucky is actually a very talented singer/songwriter with a much edgier side than the show let on. No reason for them to stay in the dark any longer, is there? (A couple of my buds couldn't quite understand my enthusiasm for That Nice Country Guy on Idol until they heard "Can't Be Wrong." Then they understood. Bucky's really his own best advertisement...)

If you haven't started a fan site, consider it. Doesn't have to be anything fancy--even a simple "Go Bucky!" page with a few links and some fun photos will do nicely. Multiple fan sites look good when people (newspaper reviewers, media types, curious music lovers) type "Bucky Covington" into Google, so hey--don't be shy. (And please let me know when you're done...I'd love to link you. Freewebs, Geocities, Tripod, Blogspot, your ISP's space--free to use, if you don't mind a few ads here and there. Go for it!)

Embrace the summer madness. Yes, this tour really doesn't need any buzz, as you well know if you're trying to get (or upgrade) a ticket. But there can never be too much buzz for Bucky himself, can there? The "don't be that guy" rule for concert attire is usually suspended for American Idol tours--there are so many names on the bill that it isn't obvious who you came to see, and as far as hipness goes...um, it's an American Idol concert. Your hipster cred will be confiscated at the door of the arena anyway, so you might as well let your (Bucky) freak flag fly! Rock that crucial BSTee or make a one-of-a-kind light blue number of your own, and most of all, scream and cheer like a maniac whenever he's onstage. (For some of us, this is going to be utterly redundant advice, I know. Ahem.)

Basically, if the local newspaper reviewers make note of the fact that the "eighth-place finisher" got one of the most enthusiastic receptions of the night, we've done our job. Tour buzz should never, ever be underestimated, since concert reviews are frequently posted online to be read by the whole wide world. It sure didn't hurt the second-place guy from Season 2...

No promo stuff? No problem. Traditionally, street teams have passed out stickers, promo CDs, flyers promoting gigs and whatnot; obviously, that won't be relevant for a while, but there's no time like the present to let the world know that you're looking forward to Bucky's debut CD when it does happen. Team Covington and Bucky Country have some great banners and support graphics available, or create your own. The tricky part? Use them outside the Bucky fansite/Idol online world. It's fun to get a reaction to your Bucky avatar, signature or icon at your Live Journal, crafting board or snowboarding group. (It'll be a conversation starter, for sure...and you might ultimately recruit a new fan or two, or three.)

Bucky's earned a rep for being creative, unpushy, determined, talented and flat-out nice--and the same is true of his audience. As he makes the transition from Idol finalist to recording artist, there will no doubt be some terrific fan-generated promotional ideas out there, and it'll be cool to see what we come up with as the months go by. Later on, there'll be more concrete options involving radio, venues and more--this 2004 article from the Tennessean is an interesting look at some street team strategies for artists Dierks Bentley and Sawyer Brown, and there might be a few tips in it for us, down the road. But for now, we can bask in the joy of being here for the beginning of a very promising career.

Stay tuned...news post next time! (Let's just hope there's some actual good news...)