In high school my band (check us out) wanted to record a full-length record. No label would ever touch us, so my friend bought a digital recorder and we tracked the whole thing in his basement. 400 drum takes and a thousand Mountain Dews later, we had produced 23 tracks of original music. We designed the album cover, burned the CDs, packaged and sold them ourselves at shows. It was one of the most rewarding and interesting experiences of my musical career.
Fireproof Records, an independent label run by the members of the band Pontiak, began in a similar way. The Carney brothers -- Jennings, Van, and Lain -- had the band, the recording equipment, and the songs. They had developed their sound much more than my high school group, but had not garnered the support from any major labels. Their solution? Hire a lawyer, get some legal stuff down on paper, and start a label through which they could record, press, and release their album Valley of Cats. True DIY, rock ‘n roll grit. And, “While it’s not always a barrel of monkeys,” the boys are enjoying the hard work and are continuing to learn and grow.
Even though running a label is hard work, the brothers have done well for themselves. They have released their record, toured the country, picked up some love from the Baltimore City Paper, and gotten some airplay. While they state that running the label efficiently presents them with problems, they seem to have a decent grasp on what they need to do.
One might ask the very important question, “Is the band worth hard-earned dollars, time, and energy?”
I would answer that the group just finished a national tour in support of Valley of Cats, and that I caught the show at DC 9 about a month ago. Of the three bands that played that night, Pontiak played with the most intelligence, passion, and adrenaline. Despite poor level balancing by the sound guy, the music hit hard, and while I could not understand the lyrics I understood the pounding drums, stomping bluesy-rock riffing, and booming bass. It got into my arms, my legs, and I found myself beating my thigh with both fists. If self-abuse is not a result of true rock ‘n roll, I don’t know what is. The crowd dug it, too, and Pontiak also won the Largest-Draw-of-the-Evening Award.
The masses have spoken. I have spoken. And now, Jennings, Van, and Lain speak for themselves, their band, and their record label.
1) The obvious one: why start an independent record label?
We should start by saying that Fireproof and Pontiak are comprised of the three Carney brothers Jennings, Van and Lain. We started Fireproof Records to release Pontiak's first album, Valley of Cats. I have always wanted to start a label and because we were able to record ourselves we decided to formalize the process and start a label.
2) What was the process you had to go through to get the label up and running?
We are still in the process. We owned most of the recording equipment, so to start it was a question of getting things down on paper, hiring a lawyer. Running it productively and efficiently is always a challenge. It's all about who you know and how much money you have. We are working day and night on both.
3) Do you do all the promotions, distribution, etc? If not, who does it? How wide is your distribution? How do you promote?
Currently we do everything in house. Because we are still small our physical distribution is local and done by us. However, there are plans in the near future to possibly get physical distribution. We also distribute digitally through Itunes, Rhapsody, Napster, Music Net and a few more to get to the wider, global market. We also do all our own promotion. Promotion can be very expensive these days and sometimes what you get is hardly more than a list of addresses. We would rather put in the hours and do it ourselves. At this point, it's more rewarding for us. That is not to say, however, we wouldn't form a partnership with a PR team if the right one came along.
4) Have you had interactions with other independent labels? If so, is there a sense of community among labels?
Pontiak's first EP White Buffalo was released by Organ Grinder Records, an independent label in London. They are good friends of ours, I went to school with them at Oxford, and between us there is a camaraderie born from a common goal. Their success gives us joy and hope. We are also good friends with the DC label Diver City Records. They released Pontiak's new album Valley Of Cats on vinyl. It is rewarding to have friends who know what it is like trying to build something from the ground up.
5) Do you actively seek out new groups, hold auditions? Do you want to expand your list of bands?
Currently we are focusing on two projects, Pontiak and Needle Seeds. Although we are not averse to the idea of expanding, we have not made any formative efforts towards signing other bands. If the right one comes along, excellent.
6) Where does the money come from for the label? Where did the startup funds come from?
Our pockets have been emptied and we have to be clever within legal bounds.
7) Has the label been profitable? Was profit one of your goals?
The label is designed to record albums and get it into the hands of people who will listen and if that makes us money along the way, great. We have done well considering we treat profit as a luxury. However none of us expect to make a living off the label at the moment. If we were able to, that would be awesome, though it would be somewhere down the road.
8) Another standard question: Has MySpace increased your presence/record sales?
I don't think so, though it has been useful for meeting other bands and for getting a few shows. We use it, but we neither rely on it nor put much stock in it.
9) Is there a place/Web site for independent record labels to come together as a community, discuss plans, etc?
That's a good question, we don't know of any, but we would like to if they are out there.
10) Most important question: Are you having fun "doing it yourself"?
Absolutely. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences any of us has had. It's serious work and keeps you busy all the time but there is so much to gain. It's not always a barrel of monkeys but it's pretty sweet.
11) Has working as an independent label gained you any recognition from major labels? Is that even important to you?
No, but we haven't solicited any, nor do we spend much time trying to get noticed. Starting a label is like starting any business, it takes time to make your mark and get on your feet. We are interested in getting our label going. If a major label wants to help, we'll look at the contract, but as of now we are happy where we are and where we are going.
12) Independent record labels are often the reason certain music becomes prolific. Epitaph Records and Dischord Records, two labels that started and remained independent for 20+ years, have brought underground punk/indie/art/whatever you wanna call it to a wide audience. Is this part of your mission? Or, do you think you are in a place to push forward the best and brightest of underground music in the D.C./Baltimore area?
We are willing to do whatever we possibly can with the bands we have. We don't really have an overall agenda or manifesto that dictates policy. And right now we don't think of ourselves as bei
