The DIY ethic has long been a major part of the punk and metal scenes. In genres that have so often been snubbed by the general public, it’s hard for that kind of ideology to not develop: in many cases, if the scene doesn’t produce something itself, it wouldn’t get produced at all.
Some musicians, though, take their craft to extremes, and not only record and produce their own music, but create the very label and distro through which that music is released. That’s no easy feat, though: we got in contact with some of the musicians behind our favorite local labels and distros to talk about what it’s like to run your own label.
Divine Mother Recordings is an Eastman-based label run by Clifton Carr (currently of Dead Hand). It was formed in 2011, with a first release of the discography of former Macon band Shikami, Invincible Under the Sun, which he’d been sitting on for a few years since the band’s split. “We recorded it and then split up about a month later,” he said, “and only one or two people outside of the band had heard it. Same thing with [Don’t Open The Door]. We kinda fizzled out to everyone having hectic work schedules and didn't break up, we just didn't have time to do it anymore.”
With the two albums recorded and yet unreleased, Carr said he started thinking about forming a “label” (air quotes included) to get the music he’d had a hand in all in one place--preferably somewhere accessible. He contacted the rest of the former Shikami band for permission and then moved forward. “I planned on [the Shikami CD] and a comp of local bands to spread the word and that was it,” Carr mentioned. “I'm really surprised it has gone past that.”
He’d gone into the label with little prior experience. Having been in multiple bands, he already knew where to get CDs printed and how to package them. The business side, on the other hand, was more of a challenge. “All trial and error. It still is. With every release I learn new things.”
An underground label had been considering Shikami around the time the band split up, but as they were unable to tour in support of the EP, the label passed on them. Carr admitted that, while he’d picked up on some things from that experience, he was “young and depressed” about the end of Shikami, and “let a lot of stuff slip through the cracks.” More of his experience was gained, rather, with Monster Party, which did get signed--but not with a deal that turned out well. “We were naive,” he said. The label wound up doing little more than putting the band’s music on iTunes, which they received no royalties from, and distributed the band’s album, which the band paid for. “I don't know what a contract that takes care of a band actually contains,” Carr admitted. “I don't do contracts anyway. Its all a handshake and an agreement between whoever I'm working with and I.” As it turns out, if he loves the music, that’s all that’s needed. “All I want to do is help bands that I love get their shit out there so they can be heard,” he said. “Bands don't need a label to make it. At all. Not in this age of instant information. All that is needed is a strong will and hard work.”
Loving the music, though, is a hard requirement. “If I don't love the music or believe in it,” Carr adds, “I won't waste my time or yours.” With emails coming in all the time from bands looking to release their music, Carr makes good on that promise. While he does listen to each band he’s sent, he no longer has the time to send out rejections to every single one, either. Though, with the music being his central requirement he adds that “one email isn't going to convince me.”
The only exception to that thus far was Mississippi crust punk act Quiet Hands, a band Carr discovered through email. “They blew me away,” he said, “and I made my mind up after listening to 2 songs of theirs that I wanted to work with them.” As Carr’s then-current project Grievances was looking for someone to record a split album with, “it just all worked out.”
Carr added then that he has, on occasion, enjoyed a band and wanted to release their music, but things fell through for a variety of reasons. “Schedules, money and stuff like that,” he listed. “Mainly money.” Wrist surgery in April of 2014 brought things to a standstill for a time as he paid off the medical bills. Once he was done, he was able to put more money back into the record label. “Vinyl is so expensive that you really don't make any money back,” he said. “You're lucky just to break even. So it takes a while to build the budget back up between releases.” He has, though, made several mental notes of bands who’ve emailed him that he would like to work with at some point, listing the bands Crawl, Canopy, Bloodmoon, Close the Hatch, and Drones for Queens.
Despite the financial and logistic difficulties of pressing releases to vinyl, it’s still his favorite medium to work with. "It's an experience to put an album on and listen to it while reading the lyrics and everything else," he mused. "The flipping of the record. The taking the record out of the sleeve, it's more involved than scrolling through an iPod playlist. I think it forces the band to make their album better since its harder to skip tracks with vinyl. Tapes too. I'm glad to see those mediums gaining popularity again."
He clarified that he had nothing against CDs either, of course, as long as it isn't "a sharpie scribbled CDR." Bands, he said, should "[take] pride in [CDs] and make it look as good as it sounds." He isn't sold on digital-only releases in the slightest, however, saying he'd "take a physical album over downloads any day."
For awhile, he said, CDs weren't going anywhere and records weren't being bought. But now vinyl is making a comeback.
It isn't the easiest format to work with, he admits. Besides the obvious matter of expense, it also crops up sequencing and mastering problems and takes an estimated two to three months to get the actual records. And the difficulties don't stop there—once the records are in hand, they still have to be distributed.
"That is part of it that I am still learning how to do," Carr admits. While he's had little difficulty getting distribution deals in Europe and Australia, the United States is another story. He's got his fingers crossed that some of the U.S. distro deals in progress work out.
He has managed to get DMR releases in a few stateside record stores, though—
Fresh Produce Records in Macon and
Criminal Records in Atlanta, to name a couple. Most of his business, though, is done through mail order. "It's basically [all] been word of mouth up to this point," Carr said, "and it has done OK."
Social media, though, isn't his strong point. "If it wasn't for the label I wouldn't be on Facebook. A big challenge for me is to keep the Instagram and Facebook pages active." He added that, with so many bands and labels out there, it's getting harder and harder to stick out without a large marketing budget.
As for actually running the label, it's something of a juggling act—working eighty hours a week, having a child, and also being in an active recording/touring band. "I wouldn't trade anything for it though," he added. "I think I've finally figured out how to balance it all."
When asked what advice he'd give a band who wanted to start their own label, Carr had this to say:
"Go for it! But don't do it unless you really love the music you want to support. If all you wanna do is make money then go sell plasma or something else instead."
Dead Hand is currently finishing up the last part of recording for their first full-length album set to drop in February. They also have a short tour with Machinist! lined up for the month, and another tour in April.
Divine Mother Recordings can be found on the following sites:
"Men With Many Hats" is a series of articles highlighting local Georgia record labels run by local Georgia musicians.
Original article taken from MACON METAL February 2015.
