What did I do this summer? Oh, I started a record label! Here’s the true story. In 2015 I start recording some songs of my own, and releasing them online in Bandcamp and to the streaming services thru Distrokid. Now, when you put stuff out through Distrokid, they assign a unique number which becomes your default label name. Mine was “676723 Records DK” and that was fine for a few releases, but at a certain point I wasn’t having it and wanted to name my label. So I upgraded my Distrokiddie and set out to come up with a good name. I asked on FB and crowd-sourced for fun, and some really cool and creative names came in! But I didn’t feel any of them enough and I was flummoxed and stopped thinking about it for a while.
Berkeley Cat Records popped into my head one day and I knew instantly that was it. I immediately called Shannon Wheeler and asked can he draw me a cat, sleeping in a circle as they do, on a record player? Done, couple days later he sends me the logo and voila, a label is born.
What does a record label do in 2019 and beyond? Well for me, we upload stuff. I don’t want to print CDs or vinyl because it’s a hassle and we cats must have our naps. Besides, “hard product” is very hard to sell if you’re not on tour, and I’m not on tour, and touring costs a lot and because naps. The basements and mom’s attics of the world are filled with boxes of CDs and LPs from artists who pressed ’em up with high hopes. I don’t have storage space for that.
Do I miss physical media? Am I nostalgic for it? Well, yes. But the wonderful thing about digital product is that it doesn’t exist. I mean it does but it doesn’t. It is created on-demand only when someone wants it. And there’s no shrink-wrapped chunks of plastic to eventually choke some poor dolphins.
The song that made me want to make my own label is “I Can See It Now.” Not sure why, but that was it. And I’ll release whatever of my own stuff thru Berkeley Cat that I feel inspired to, and I don’t know exactly what all that’ll be! Which I find entertaining and exciting.
More recently, my UpTones mates and I were talking about re-releasing some of our early stuff, which has never been on iTunes or even on CD. Just vinyl and cassette. So this record, OUTBACK, a six-song puppy from 1986, we re-mastered and got ready and now it’s coming out. Rescued from the oblivions of time.
Paul Jackson took his original cassette artwork – which was a photo of a painting of his – and recombobulated it into the new cover image. Paul also joined me at Coast Mastering for the transfer from analog and mastering job, which, was a bit suspenseful at first! Will this work, we wondered? Worked beautifully by the sure hand of Michael Romanowski, record mastering master.
After this appointment, Mr. Jackson and I repaired to the Missouri Lounge for pints. It’s right by Fantasy Studios, where Michael now has the room which was the legendary Studio C. Studio C was also one of the first rooms the UpTones recorded in 1983, and by gosh I have some tapes from those sessions which I hope/plan to release by and by. It’s a bit more of an endeavor because they need to be mixed.
Sitting in the lounge there as countless other musicians have done pre- and post- sessions in the Fantasy building, we reminisced a bit and howling laughter ensued. And, we agreed that after getting OUTBACK out into the wilds, we’d revisit some other material we’ve made, within and without the UpTones, and release that too. Why not?
There are also a few records in the brewing that I didn’t make, that friends of mine made, or are making, which also will likely come out on Berkeley Cat! I have to remain mysterious about these for now, but dang, I am thrilled about it.
Buy the OUTBACK! Share the OUTBACK. Pick up a Berkeley Cat Records two-tone coffee mug. Follow us in the Facebonk. It’s all on our site:
https://www.berkeleycatrecords.com/
Thank you! And Happy Caturday.