Jun 11
18
Behind the Scenes at Sarathan
Well well well….
It’s been a long time since we’ve posted. Though it may appear as though we’ve been off in La La Land, we’ve in fact been hard at work. Doing what, you ask? Well, I’m glad to tell you.
Back to the beginning…. Back to October, when we last posted on this blog. At that point we had recently hired music networking power house Amy Bauer. Together we were working to update our image, reassess our marketing approach, and form even deeper bonds within the musical community. We and our devoted team of interns visited thousands of websites. We listened to the artists on these blogs and stations and got a better sense for what each service was about, all the while taking avid notes. In the end, our Google Documents were bulging and bursting at the seams with the loads of information we had gathered. It was getting to be impossible to maintain!
And so we set about finding a new database. Weeks were spent looking for something flexible, something that would work for a company whose marketing procedure is anything but standard fare. Finally we decided on SugarCRM. Once we had chosen our weapon, we then had to undergo the process of familiarizing ourselves with a new database system, attending conferences, chatting with technical help, customizing that system to work for our purposes, uploading the new data, and then training the staff in how to use it.
Meanwhile our artistic team was hard at work rebranding the Sarathan website and newsletters with a simpler, cleaner look. We also began rethinking some of those big questions, like, “What do artists need most from labels in 2011?” and” How can we provide those services effectively and efficiently?” We started drawing up clear, stepwise plans for promoting not only our label artists, but also other artists whom we respect. As we attempted to wrap our brains around the monstrosity of a task that was before us, we also reconsidered company structure, devising clearly delineated roles and responsibilities for staff and interns.
We hired all-star Christina Eichelberger, and soon after that, we took on a new artist. Their name: My Goodness. The music of My Goodness was swiftly taking a hold of Seattle; we really had no other choice but to grab them while we could and clutch them to our chests like the prized rock ‘n roll jewel that they are.
My Goodness released their debut full-length album on April 19, 2011, just a few weeks after the label signing was announced. Once again — a flurry of activity as we leaped through all the hoops presented when you have a baby band that needs a website and branding along with an incredible new release that deserves all of the attention that can be given.
And here we are today. I’m still reeling from all that has happened — far more than can honestly be summarized in this blog entry. But as I take a step back from my tasks this Friday evening and catch my breath, I have to smile at all we’ve gone and grown through. Certainly I’m at a different place now than I was a year ago. I have tried, failed, and succeeded at so many new tasks. I’ve learned how to collaborate with personalities that are very different from my own, and I have been willing to make significant changes in the name of progress. Now I am engaged to be married, and a whole new life of lessons and challenges awaits me. What exactly will that look like? I have no clue, but I can’t wait to find out.
Ending, what is it but a new-turned page, A rubbing out of all the antique score, A re-birth and a coming into age Of much that never had a chance before. - William Dunlap Sargent
~Kara
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Get your free sampler!
6 Songs
6 Artists.
All FREE.
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Right now, the Sarathan Sunset Sampler is listed as the #1 most popular free mp3 album on Amazon! CRAZY!!!
So what’s this EP all about? Who’s on it?
1. Abra Moore – Female singer-songwriter formerly of Poi Dog Pondering. Gentle folk-rock with lovely, warm vocals. Recommended if you like Hope Sandoval, Norah Jones, Sinead Lohan, Poi Dog Pondering.
2. Peter Bradley Adams – Guitar-based acoustic folk, warm male vocals, and poignant lyrics, featured in many motion pictures, from a former member of Eastmountainsouth. Recommended if you like Damien Rice, Patty Griffin, William Fitzsimmons, Ray LaMontagne, or Ryan Adams.
3. Two Loons for Tea – Electro-acoustic chamber-pop w/ stunning female vocals. Sensuous melodies, eclectic range of musical genres, and colorful, poetic lyrics. Recommended if you like Zero 7, Bat for Lashes, 4AD artists, Sia, or early Portishead.
4. Shane Bartell – Indie folk-rock from Austin TX. Provocative and descriptive storytelling and infectious and soaring male vocals. Recommended if you like Trashcan Sinatras, Morrissey, or Josh Rouse.
5. Chrisopher Blue - Sparse and rootsy guitar, piano, and drums with a smoky baritone voice, and songs that unfurl gloriously despite a resigned melancholy. Recommended if you like Ray LaMontagne, Ben Harper, or Mark Lanegan.
6. Lisbeth Scott – You’ve already heard Lisbeth’s lovely voice in many soundtracks including Munich, Narnia and others (Steven Spielberg calls her voice “amazing”). Recommended if you like Sarah McLaughlin, Sarah Brightman, Dido, Paula Cole, or Shawn Colvin.
WYOMING is the most recent incarnation of artist and Los Angeles native, Jacob Bercovici. Wyoming’s music lies somewhere between the more mellow moments of The Shins and The Eels with some Leonard Cohen underneath; an acoustic and solo approach with a full sound. Well-crafted and catchy melodies are common in this introspective project and Bercovici’s warm and benevolent voice here is an ideal carrier.
Upon moving back home to Los Angeles from New York city recently, Bercovici became Mr. Sandwiches, and wrote the demos which would lead to a record deal with Columbia Records. Over the next year or so, while producing records for the likes of The Lady Tigra and Warpaint and touring with Julian Casablancas, Bercovici would record songs late at night, in a crap apartment in Echo Park. His new record, The New Sky is the end result of those times.
‘WYOMING’ – OPENING FOR ‘ONE ESKIMO’
@ The Triple Door – 10/14/10
216 UNION ST. SEATTLE, WA
Mainstage Doors @ 7:30pm
www.tripledoor.net
MORE WYOMING SONGS AND INFO CAN BE FOUND @
www.myspace.com/thesoundsofwyoming
Jim from Feral Children has a tattoo written in Icelandic on his chest. He thinks it reads “Bleed Now, Cry Later.” But tragically, he is wrong — very VERY wrong.
Now we want to send Feral Children to play in the Iceland Airwaves Festival so he can have a nightclub full of native Icelandic speakers tell him the truth.
Help Jim learn the true meaning behind his Icelandic tattoo by voting to send Feral Children to Iceland. It’s easy: just click and vote!
Vote for Feral Children to Perform at the Iceland Airwaves Festival!!
And yes, we’ll say it again: Jim really does have a tattoo in Icelandic! Watch this video and see for yourself!
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Also, be sure to check out their performance @ THE SEATTLE WEEKLY REVERB FEST 10/9/10 @ THE SUNSET TAVERN – 9pm :: 21+ :: 5433 Ballard Ave. NW!
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Like what you hear? Then help send Feral Children to the Iceland Airwaves Festival by voting for them on the Seattle Weekly Poll!
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Preface from Kara: As you may have guessed, we’re seeing a lot of lovely new faces at the Sarathan birdhouse! Without further ado, let me introduce Damien Goyenechea, who will be managing the interns in the marketing division….
"Damosara" Goyenechea
One fine day during the sunny month of August, I was out in the slums of South Tacoma performing my current line of work, which is wholesaling used cars: I buy a car, fix it, and sell it to you… not exactly what I envisioned for my future after receiving a bachelors degree in geography, but it pays well and makes for a fun hustle. As an artist, I tend to romanticize everything, so I decided to treat this as my ‘Jim Croce driving semi-trucks before his big record deal’ era. While underneath the hood of a ‘93 Mercury Topaz (a fine little runner contrary to belief), I received a phone call from a man who said he worked at Sarathan Records, had received my resume and would like to meet with me. While being gainfully employed by a Seattle record label has been a dream/goal for some time, when the phone call came in, it seemed too good to be true. I had heard of Sarathan Records and appreciated their roster and comedic approach to the music industry; but was honestly a bit pessimistic that an actual job would come to fruition. I met later that week with the Sarathan ‘birdies’ as owner Jonathan Kochmer calls them and we hit it off to say the least. During my first week, I’ve been trying to keep my cool and remain stoic and professional, but the Sarathan peeps somehow seem to weave up an accidental comedy routine every five minutes which has been leaving me in shambles.
You can imagine my surprise: Being hired to a record label in the midst of a recession, while the music biz is still undergoing a great degree of change. I have realized over time that the music biz is what you make of it. People will always NEED music — live and recorded. There will always be an abundance of artistic people in any given city, who possess the vision, drive, and talent to make life-changing music that we crave on a daily basis. It is simply a matter of finding that talent and pairing it with good management and solid experience. The Seattle scene always seems to be on the cutting edge and has consistently introduced fresh sounds to the rest of the world. There are currently a handful of bands I would like to work with in this town, and I look forward to discovering new talent in the future. As I sit here and listen to the seagulls from the Sarathan office window, I’m happy. I’m a believer that good taste will prevail, and it seems the fine folks of Sarathan Records are proving that to be true. Looking Forward!!
~Damien
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Aug 10
24
Bands to Check Out
You know what’s cool about interning at a record label?
Well okay, lots of things are cool about it. But one thing in particular right now is all the music I am exposed to that I otherwise wouldn’t know about.
One of the projects I am currently working on is finding artists on http://www.last.fm, a website where you can create playlists and network with other music lovers, and right now I’m looking for bands that have similar styles to the bands at Sarathan. All music, no matter how original it is, is still influenced by other bands, styles, genres, and sounds.
Thus, most of my day consists of listening to artists that appear on the playlists I have created on last.fm. I can type in “’60s garage rock” and bands like the Kinks, Rolling Stones, LOVE, The Beau Brummels, and others will pop up. When a band appears on the playlist on last.fm, you can then read their biography and what other people have said about the song that is playing. To experience more recent music, today I typed in “Grizzly Bear, Local Natives, and No Age”, three bands said to have similar styles to Feral Children. The list of bands that I discovered could go on forever, but some of my favorites I heard were The Morning Benders (try the song “Waiting for a War”), The Wavves singing “Convertible Balloon,” Volcano Choir’s song “Husks and Shells” (cool fact: the musicians in Volcano Choir also make up the band Bon Iver) and FanFarlo singing “Harold T. Wilkins or How to Wait for a Very Long Time.”
Fanfarlo
Volcano Choir
Wavves
The Morning Benders
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I’ll leave it up to you to decide how similar these bands sound to Feral Children, but even if you don’t agree, hopefully you’ll still enjoy the songs!
~Greer
Posted in Interns Uncategorized by .
It seems ridiculous that it took me three or so years of working at Sarathan for me to finally meet Peter Bradley Adams. Back in 2008, the entire Sarathan team got to see him down at SXSW – that is, everyone except for me, the newbie who stayed behind to man the fort and run last-minute errands. And there simply haven’t been any opportunities since then. He rarely visits Washington.
That said, I’ve been promoting every interview, every show, every music video, and every little twit he tweets for the past three years. Honestly, I am more familiar with his voice and image than I am with some family members.’ That’s why it almost felt like I was greeting an old friend when we hugged hello at Cafe Du Nord the other night – almost. I couldn’t help but think to myself that, until that moment, I must have been just another “K” name with a “Sarathan” tagged on the end to him. And suddenly, for the first time in my life, I felt like one of those creepy, obsessive fans. Except, I reminded myself, this was my job, not an obsession. (Later, as if he’d somehow heard my inner-dialog, Peter played a song in his set that he called “Stalker Folk.” It was freaking adorable.)
After our initial greeting, Peter claimed to be out-of-wits from all the travel and went to clear his head before the show. I’m not a very intimidating figure. Still, I hoped my presence wasn’t in any way stressful to him. My friend and I found seats in the back and chatted until finally he approached the stage.
There are a lot of people out there writing gentle music to guitar or piano. While I love the concept, I can’t help but find a lot of what’s out there… well… boring. It’s a sad fact, but that which is intended to soothe can so easily slip into snorable. Not so with Peter Bradley Adams. He has found the perfect balance of lively finger plucking and soothing melodies. While our minds were stilled, our souls were stirred into wakefulness. I know that sounds corny, but it’s the best way I can think to describe the effect of his melodies. What a wonderful gift to offer the world.
And then — hopeless romantic that I am — this mental image filled my mind, that of this weary soul traveling from stage to stage, delivering a moment of peace with his passage, but never quite finding that quiet within himself. It’s a familiar, sad story, one that many a guitar has wept. But there is no winning, for should the songster ever find the lasting solace that he dreams of, the music would drift off into silence, and what a tragedy that would be! Call me crazy, but on some level, I long for the angst that once breathed life into my melodies.
I shook myself from my reverie. I always hated it when people heard my songs and suddenly thought they knew me. I wouldn’t want to be caught dead doing the same. (Musicians often like the idea of being private people and having deep, dark secrets, even though we tell those secrets again and again in song.)
Peter came out into the audience after his set. We chatted some more. According to the rumors he’s a genuinely nice guy, and as far as I can tell those rumors are spot on. He invited us to have some drinks but we were forced to decline, as I had to leave soon. My friend and I were lucky enough to catch some of Mary Gauthier’s set before we left, though. She’s got a great sense of humor. I’ll have to look into her more.
So that’s the story of my first meeting with Peter Bradley Adams! I have photographic evidence to prove that it did, in fact, finally happen.
By the way Peter’s Traces is on sale for only $5 this month on Amazon, so if you haven’t looked into it yet, I’d recommend doing so now. It’s great music for a first date. 
Happy hunting. Or something.
~Kara
There we are!! (Photo by Jen Wheeler)
Aug 10
13
From GaGa to the Underground
As the new intern here at Sarathan Records, I was asked to write a blog post about anything my little heart desires. I decided, then, to write about the people here at Sarathan.
There’s something to be said for Sarathan’s motto on the blog: “The best music from the nicest people in the music business.”
As somebody who is eager to pursue a career in the music industry, I’ve met my fair share of people through networking meetings, interviews, and phone conversations. I can safely say that I’ve talked to almost all of the music elitists in Seattle, from record label managers to radio station personnel to music venue owners. One person told me that I wasn’t right for his position and then proceeded to get the name of his radio station wrong as he walked me out the door. Another person told me there was no hope in finding a career in music business and that there was no money to be made anyway, and of course, as he said, it is all about the money. I’m not here to bash or rant on what the music industry has become, I merely wish to make the point that today, with the economy where it is and with technology consuming our lives the way it does, the people at Sarathan really are some of the nicest people I have ever met.
Not only does this hold true – which is a big claim to make but I am happy to back up if needed – but they actually know about music. Surprisingly, it isn’t as common as you would hope that those that are working in the music industry actually have a passion for their work. Of course Sarathan knows about the bands it’s promoting, but those that work here, their knowledge goes far beyond their own music.
Because I was born in 1988, my middle school and high school experience coincided with the rise of mainstream gangster rap (50 Cent) and the teeny-bopper craze (Nsync, Backstreet Boys.) I’m not trying to belittle this music – on the contrary, I danced to it at my school dances, went to concerts and screamed my head off, and blasted it in the car on my way home. However, none of my friends were as interested in learning about other kinds of music and actually resented the music that their parents listened to simply because they thought it was necessary to be rebellious. I prided myself in learning about all kinds of music from different generations and genres. I thought it was important to know about not only mainstream music but also independent, and not only contemporary but also classic. I longed to discuss how one band was influenced by another, how the chorus of the rap song we were dancing to was actually a sample of a song from thirty years before, how the idea of putting on a dance performance and creating an image while singing a song didn’t start with Britney Spears but actually was experimented with years before.
I didn’t find this musical common ground until college when I started working at my campus’s underground radio station. I worked with people who knew and understood music the way that I knew and understood it, where I could psycho-analyze Eminem and they would totally get it. I knew when I graduated I needed to find another group of people similar to those that I had finally discovered in college after years of searching. Then I found Sarathan Records.
Here at Sarathan Records, they know what they’re talking about, whether it comes to Lady GaGa or The Velvet Underground. They care about music; they love it, they experience it, and they make their lives about it. This is what I’ve been looking for.
-Greer, the new intern!
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This means that this month only, they’re offering Traces for five bucks – almost 50% less than the usual price.
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It may sound strange that we’re so pleased to sell this beautiful album at such a diminished price, but we know that the best way to help independent artists like Peter is to build their audience. We’re willing to go to extra lengths to build their careers – making music affordable and giving away great songs with no conditions.
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Plus, we recognize this opportunity for what it is, an alternative to competing in the “lowest common denominator” race for big profits that overwhelms commercial media, and a means for bringing artistic merit to a smaller but very appreciative audience.
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Of course, we aren’t opposed to building up that audience either.
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On that note, we hope that you’ll support Peter today by helping spread the word about this sale.
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Won’t you help us spread the word?
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Kara
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We just finished the tracking on our new ep!! 1 week away from mix and completion. Where should we have our release party?! -neil
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