Phoenix: ‘We never could have done this record on a major label’

From an interview that Phoenix’s Christian Mazzalai did in San Francisco—

Q: What’s going on with your label and how they dropped you?
A: We have our own label. Before, we always did everything, but we had to fight to get it. We are tired. We wanted not to fight. We never could have done this record if we were on a major label. Like, we rented a boat on the Seine. We also rented a hotel room in New York. Almost all the budget was spent on inspiration only. A major company would never understand it.

The new Phoenix record is genius!  Check out their video for their new single ‘Lisztomania’.

Ari Hest Ditches Major-Label Life

As Ari Hest continues his relentless touring, press coverage continues to praise his bold move to abandon a label deal and strike out on his own.  Hest’s new Springsteen/Car Stevens-influenced new CD ‘Twelve Mondays’ features re-worked versions of 12 fan-selected songs, culled from his recently-completed, trailblazing ‘52’ project, during which he wrote, recorded, produced and released one new song per week, for 52 weeks in a row.  Stream songs here: www.brickwallmgmt.com/arihest/

Hest has generated steady national and regional attention for his ‘52’ and ‘Twelve Mondays’ releases, with coverage including multiple appearances in USA TODAY, and PERFORMING SONGWRITER MAGAZINE, as well as placements in ACOUSTIC GUITAR MAGAZINE, NBC’S WEEKEND TODAY SHOW, PASTE, regional TV and numerous other outlets. THE WASHINGTON POST’s Mark Jenkins recently described Ari as “an urbane folk-rocker with a sonorous baritone,” and added,  “a Byrds-style jangle lifts “I’ll Be There,” a tune whose punch line is unusually wry for Hest: “I’ll be there/To make you miserable,” the chorus jauntily promises…”  Hest’s version of ‘Hallelujah’ is being used in Season 2 promos for ‘The Cleaner’ on A&E.  Here is one of our favorite Ari Hest songs “So Slow”.

Anti Flag – Back from the backlash

After two albums with RCA, including last year’s more polished “The Bright Lights of America,” Anti-Flag sounds like it’s back to its thrashy DIY roots on a fast and furious ninth album, its first for indie SideOneDummy.  “Bright Lights..,” is produced by producer Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex), and is a more experimental record reflecting some tough personal issues for the band members, not the least of which was the murder of bassist-singer Chris #2′s sister.  We saw Anti Flag a few years back and thought they were amazing live, then they signed to a major label and somehow simultaneously the fire went out.  The albums they made for RCA were mediocre at best.  This album is a major return to form–and they recorded it in their home rehearsal room/studio!!  Check out this new song from their new record, it’s called ‘On Independance Day’.

Dredg on their own!

The band called Dredg has never had a big hit single or a major national TV appearance.  Over its past 15 years, the group has made a profound mark on the Bay Area scene while galvanizing fans on both sides of the Atlantic. They have been ignoring commercial trends and following its artistic instincts with a mix of meticulous perfectionism and wild experimentation, studious contemplation and aggressive abandon.
Dredg is still the same four guys who came together to play punk and metal in 1993 at Los Gatos High School: Hayes, guitarist Mark Engles, drummer-keyboardist Dino Campanella and bassist Drew Roulette. But as the members enter their 30s, having spent half their lives making music together, they find themselves at a crucial juncture. The band will release its fourth studio album, “The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion,” on Tuesday on its own Ohlone Recordings label; longtime label Interscope dropped the band shortly before the record was completed.  Check out their video for the single from their last album ‘Bug Eyes’.

The Boxer Rebellion: Big iTunes success, ineligible for Uk charts

The Boxer Rebellion ‘outselling Kings Of Leon, Coldplay on iTunes’
Despite the success, unsigned band is ‘ineligible’ for the Official UK Charts

The Boxer Rebellion’s new album was outselling acts like of Kings Of Leon, MGMT and Coldplay on iTunes, even though it is a self-release.  Despite the success, ‘Union’ has been barred from entering the Official UK Charts this Sunday (January 18) – because the band have only released the album digitally.  The Boxer Rebellion were signed to Alan McGee’s Poptones label but currently have no record deal, and they self-released ‘Union’ on January 11.  To everyone’s surprise, the album, and its lead single ‘Evacuate’ have both become download successes, and rose to Number One in the iTunes US Alternative Chart.  The album also sold well on iTunes UK, where it got to #4 in the Album Chart.  Fans on the Boxer Rebellion messageboard have been campaigning to get the rules changed.   A website administrator, posting on behalf of the band, wrote a message asking fans to contact the Official Chart Company.  Check out the video for ‘Evacuate’ here!

Fischerspooner to self-release album

You know the cultish art collective group Fischerspooner–their live shows are the stuff of legend.  Classically trained musician Warren Fischer and theater experimentalist Casey Spooner met at art school in Chicago, where they bonded over ideas that were decidedly ambitious. Years later, as the New York electroclash staple Fischerspooner, the duo signed to the English record label Ministry Of Sound for a rumored $3 million. The duo’s 2001 debut, #1, out-glammed Gary Numan and copped Kraftwerk to dazzling effect, while its follow-up, 2005’s Odyssey, was subtler stuff—electro-pop crafted with assistance from David Byrne and Linda Perry. The group is also known for elaborate stage shows—a mix of choreography, theater, and gratuitous lip-sync—that include as many as 20 performers. So it came as no surprise that when EMI initiated a company-wide bloodletting in 2007, Fischerspooner was not spared. After four years of silence, the notorious spectacle-makers have returned with a self-released new album, Entertainment, and a new stage show.  We have always loved the vision of Fischerspooner, though they have never quite had the breakthrough songs, they continue to be very inspired and unique, and we wish them well going it alone.  Check out ‘The 15th’ from their last EMI album.

Joss Stone trying to leave EMI

Joss Stone really wants to get off her sagging record label EMI, and to that end she is willing to pay back £2 million to the company to free herself of her deal.  Joss received a £7.5 million advance in 2006 for a four-album deal, and Joss is willing to return £1.2 million of the advance as well as £800,000 earnings from her forthcoming album ‘Colour Me Free’ in order to leave the label.  EMI does not want to let that happen, they are accusing Joss of being in breach of her contract, saying she failed to hand over the master tapes for her second album for them by the agreed date of December 31 last year.  The Rolling Stones, Radiohead and Supergrass have all left EMI since it was bought out by Terra Firma in 2007.  Lily Allen has also been critical of EMI, claiming they put back the release of her second album ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’ because of internal politics.  Joss is a very talented, ‘franchise’ artist, and EMI losing her would be another nail in that coffin.  Check out Joss here doing an inspired rendition of my beloved Dusty Springfield’s song ‘Son Of A Preacher Man’.