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Gig Records
"Doing Things Differently"
Founded in 1998, Gig Records already has the reputation for being "The
label that does things differently". That means that Gig's philosophy is
simply this: "work for the artists, as opposed to the other way
around." In a business driven by one-hit wonders and disposable music,
Gig strives to develop careers for their talent and seeks out artists based
on their uniqueness instead of jumping on every short-lived bandwagon.
The man behind Gig Records is the company's founder and president, Indian,
who started in the music industry as a booking agent for local and national
artists in the legendary New Jersey clubs, The Fastlane and T-Birds. Shortly
after, he began a six-month internship at TVT Records, which led to a full
time position working in radio promotion, marketing and artist development.
He worked on all levels assisting in the development of artists including
Gravity Kills, KMFDM, Sevendust and Buck-O-Nine. After four years at TVT,
Indian realized it was time to start a label that would do things differently
than the majors.
Indian is assisted by other dedicated workers. David Smith, Vice President/
Art Director comes from having a "real" job being a Computer
Illustrator for ten years. Before that he was a DJ for T-Birds and the Melody
Bar in NJ. Lenny Hipp is chief
A&R man at Gig… he comes from a punk pedigree background and was
instrumental in signing many of the bands who dominated the airwaves in the
late 80s/early nineties alternative scene.
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Unsung Hero (Mar
2001)
My Friend Got Busted Just The
Other Day.....
Indian (Gig Records) threw one of his infamous hotel parties at the
conference. Things were chugging along quite nicely until a battalion of security
guards broke things up. Subsequently, a traveling party of various drunkards
converged outside Indian's poo-poo-ed pow-wow, and began to herd aimlessly
down the halls in search of sanctuary-- or rather, the next room with an open
door, music, and flowing beer.
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Asbury Park Press (Feb 2000)
"A Good Gig" by Chris Jordan
Gig Records represents
artist who have performed for ten of thousands of fans and has an office in
London. So why is it based on the sandy streets of Point Pleasant at the
Jersey Shore instead of New York City or Los Angeles/
"The only advantage to that is there's no overhead." said Gig
founder and music impresario Indian. "I work out of my garage. That's
the best thing about it - that and I don't have to deal with the riff raff of
New York City."
If that's the secret, then expect Warner Bros. Records to set up shop on
Route 88 in Point Pleasant sometime soon. Since forming in 1998, gig has
signed Miles Hunt, formerly of the Wonder Stuff; Groundswell UK, led by
ex-Ned's Atomic Dustbin frontman Jonn Penney, Michael Ferentino and Andres
Karu, a Toms River-based duo formerly of the Warner Bros. band Love In
Reverse and now known as Amazing Meet Project; and the label has started to
re-issue records by the legendary punk band the Vibrators.
Indian and the Gig artist say that the label - which is marketed extensively
through its Web site, www.gigrecords.com - is a collaborative effort by all
involved. "All of these guys have been signed to major labels but what
we want is to create a grass roots base and not worry about the short-term or
jumping on the band wagon," Indian said.
Hunt is an internationally know recording star who has seen the dizzying
heights of success with the Wonder Stuff in the '80s and early '90s. He
performed his first acoustic show at the Melody bar in New Brunswick in the
late '80s, he said. Hunt returns to the club for an acoustic show tomorrow
night with Ferentino and Fair Haven performer Virginia. "One of the
things that being on Gig has taught me is to be responsible, " Hunt
said. "Previously, I had a manager and a seemingly bottomless pit of
money to draw from. I lived an irresponsible lifestyle then but I like the
way we do things now."
One of Hunt's first projects with Gig was to embark on an acoustic tour of
the United States with former Wonder Stuff guitarist Malcom Treece in '98.
His solo debut record, "Hairy On The Inside," is available from
Gig. "It takes a lot of effort but there's a tremendous amount of pride
you get in what you do," said Hunt. "When you see the orders coming
into view on the 'net i's like, 'we did this? This is good, it feels good,
let's do it again.'"
The good feeling started by chance. Indian, a 33-year-old who was born in
Newark, worked at several Jersey Shore clubs before joining TVT Records in
the early 1990s. Through his industry contacts he had developed friendships
with many performers. It was only natural that an association with Hunt would
follow. Both the Wonder Stuff and Ned's Atomic Dustbin are from the same
Midlands region of Britain and the two bands are closely associated together.
Today, Gig has 10 artist - including techno and experimental artist who
aren't as well known - and has sold more than 22,000 records. The company
also handles promotion for former MTV-veejay and USA Network's Farmclub.com
host Matt Pinfield. Indian, president, is assisted by Eddie Calabritto, vice
president of marketing, and David Smith, Middletown.
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The Snapper (Feb 2000)
"Millennium Music Conference Spotlights Bands and the Past" by
Jeffery Wettig
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic
hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's
also a negative side." - Hunter S. Thompson.
Right. I have more or less agreed with that notion ever since my father got
booted out of the Sharks when I was 16. It has been reinforced through the
years as a band manager and an entertainment writer. It only takes a few bad
apples to spoil the bunch. That is why I was so surprised this past weekend
at the Millennium Music Conference held at the Harrisburg Hilton &
Towers. The scum always rises to the top, which puts the MMC somewhere in the
middle. Most everybody I dealt with embodied everything that is right and
true in the music industry. From MMC coordinator John Harris to the
personalities from sponsors WQXA 105.7 to Gig Records founder Indian, right
down to the many performers and panelist......
The next night I saw a great Steel-Drum band from New Jersey call Alzonia. I
swear they would go great at the Congo Square stage at the New Orleans Jazz
Festival. Following that we ended up back at ABC to see Backdoor Victoria.
They are sporting a new CD called "Torso" and played many of their
new tracks. After that I made it to Zembies for Virginia. She is an amazing
solo act from Gig Records. Indian, founder of Gig is a great guy and has a
knack for finding talent the world over. His other main act is Miles Hunt,
formerly of the Wonder Stuff. Miles was in attendance at Zembies, showing his
loyalty to the label. Virginia went on and entranced half the bar. Her voice
is sultry and seductive. It lulls you in, deepens, then grinds you up. I was
in pieces.........
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East Coast Rocker (Sept
99)
Cover story by Chris Uhl
Point Pleasant, NJ. Not
exactly a hotbed for up and coming record labels, but as their slogan
proclaims, Gig Records do things differently. Found in 1998 by a
seasoned-beyond-his-years industry prodigy know simply as Indian, Gig Records
is run from the calming quiet of his house on the Jersey shore. After all,
with the shrunken time/travel continuum of technology, who needs a grossly
overpriced shoebox in downtown Manhattan to get established as a vital source
of new music? The label boasts an impressive array of artists ranging from
famed international UK based acts such as Miles Hunt (late of the revered
turn-of-the-decade unit The Wonder stuff), mid-70s-bred punk legends The
Vibrators, and former Ned's Atomic Dustbin frontman Jonn Penney's new project
Groundswell UK; they feature as well local burgeoning stateside artists
including Amazing Meet Project (featured in Sept 22 ECR-NJ), Pure 13 and
Perseverance, certainly not Indian.
A genuine music addict, I recently spent a rare cool early Summer afternoon
at his Pt. Pleasant home/headquarters taking business and more importantly
(in typical fanboy fashion), listening to the many musical rarities in his
whoppingly extensive record collection. I could tell you about the incredibly
scarce live bootleg he so kindly burned for me on the spot, but then I'd have
to kill you, and my p.o. wouldn't like that too much.
So tell me, how'd you get the ball rolling? How'd you first get involved in
the music industry?
I used to book bands at
the Fastlane. Back the, I booked bands like 311 and Eat from England. We are
putting a box set out for them, actually. That was Robert Smith's whole
thing, Fiction UK. There may be a possibility of putting out a Fiction box
set as well - with a previously unreleased Cure track on it.
Ooooh, the golden ticket.
Yeah. So if I do a good
job with this box set, they said they might let me do the Fiction box set. We
have it done. Our big thing right now is we are waiting on a tin. I'm talking
right now to someone in China about making it like this (he hands me a rare
limited edition Wax Trax black box set).
Back to the original question, I kind of got into this by mistake. I was
hanging in my yard, and I called a good friend of mine, Jonn Penney from
Ned's Atomic Dustbin, just to see what was up, and he told me that he was
trying to record some new music, but he didn't have any money to get into a
studio at the time. So I forwarded him the money he needed the next day. So
he did the songs and put them on tape for me and I fuckin' loved them.
So I started shopping it around, playing it for people, and no one was
responding. And I was like, "this is genius, and there's so much crap
out there.' So I was like, 'you know what? I could put this out,' and I did.
And things have been going well. We just opened a British office, Gig UK.
Wow! Who's running that?
Les Johnson, who used to
manage The Wonder Stuff, is heading it, and Miles Hunt. It is really weird
the way stuff has been snowballing. I'm at a point now where I can't blast
out enough music- I mean, I could if I had mega-money, but I don't want to
send out 10,000 and have 5,000 come back to me. Right now, they are selling
1,000/2,000 a clip. I have a very interesting situation how I get paid. What
I do is, most of my artist are British, so I sell them there as an import It
seems to be working out well. I guess I have a very unconventional way of
thinking.
Most people onto something
new do.
One of the last things I
did at TVT was start an intern program. I had 140 kids nationwide who do
stuff just because they love the music. So I figured, why not do this in
England? You should see the e-mails I get from England. People kill for Miles
and The Wonder Stuff. So the deja-vu kicked in, and I went to England. I met
a lot of label people there, discussing my idea about the intern program.
I got such a strong negative reaction from one particular guy who'll remain
nameless, saying "that will never here' And I asked him, 'oh really, who
had done it?' No one of course, but it was just assumed it would never work.
I was not convinced - 'nobody has done it, but it will never work' was a weak
argument. And Miles told me that people in England are so afraid to try
different things and fail, so they in turn discourage others from trying so
there is no chance of others pulling it out. Right now, we are busting out
50,000 postcards at festivals and such. I like the whole street marketing
approach to things. I have a bunch of one-liners that people laugh at all the
time regarding my approach to the music business. My biggest problem with the
way music is promoted is the fact that shit is sent to radio, and if it
doesn't catch there, it's done.
A perfect example is Love In Reverse. It was Howie's Klein's number one
priority.. They go for radio adds, and the only station that adds the thing
is WHTG because it's in the backyard. The next thing, it's dropped! Here's
Howie Kleine, President of Reprise saying it's his priority. Not for nothing,
but if that was my priority, I'd be like, 'alternate marketing plan!"
Let's try to get this song on '90210,' or whatever. It just does not happen
like that, though, it's so frustrating.
Especially with a
developing band like that. You have more freedom to try different angles,
because the band is eager to go out and do stuff to support it as well.
Look what happened at
Universal How the fuck do you drop bands like Reverend Horton Heat and
Weezer? If you don't sell gold nowadays, that's the cut. Take KMFDM on Wax
Trax who we distributed through TVT. I love the band, but they did the same
record 11 times in a row. They sell 200,000 each time, with no airplay, and
guess what? They all make a living, and they were all happy, and everyone was
fine with it because they know don't have to budget $300,000 for this band
because they'll only sell 200,000 records.Look what happened at Universal How
the fuck do you drop bands like Reverend Horton Heat and Weezer? If you don't
sell gold nowadays, that's the cut. Take KMFDM on Wax Trax who we distributed
through TVT. I love the band, but they did the same record 11 times in a row.
They sell 200,000 each time, with no airplay, and guess what? They all make a
living, and they were all happy, and everyone was fine with it because they
know don't have to budget $300,000 for this band because they'll only sell
200,000 records.
That's my approach. When I'm spending money with a band, I say listen, the
radio promo guy wants $4,000 for this. I have the band meet the guy, if they
like each other, fine, we'll do it. If not, forget it because I learned that
you shouldn't have people that don't really like your music working it. You
can sense it. My whole thing is, I'm always telling bands that they think
when they sign a recording contract that they can kick up their feet and
they're done. no, that's when you have to work the hardest. The way you deal
with the winds of change in this case within the music industry is, if you
are growing something, make sure your roots are strong enough so that if a
little wind comes your way, you don't blow over. This way you will always
have your core audience and you grow from there, then other things will
follow.
Look at Korn. A couple of years ago they couldn't get arrested. But every
time I picked up a paper they were opening for somebody until they built
enough momentum to pack the Roseland as headliners. Then K-Rock had to play
them. They couldn't be ignored by radio anymore because they were huge.
You have an interesting
policy on the business side with your bands.
I split everything 50/50
with my bands. I think I'm the only label that does that anymore. I get
slacked for it. People tell me I'm crazy. I'll never make money. But I don't
treat them like bitches; I'm their bitch. The money will come. I'm a big fan
of karma. I believe if you do the right things for the right people, those
people will do the right thing by you. I've turned down three distribution
deals because I like stuff simple. We're pressing and distributing 4,000
units by ourselves Why would I take someone telling me they'd double that to
8,000 - and not get paid?
I use The Orchard, that's Richard Gottehrer's company. They also have a
label, Sol3. The Orchard makes the records available to all the on-line
retailers. Anybody with a record can do it. You pay a $40 fee per record and
it stays on there forever. It's a fulfillment You pay them a 30% distribution
fee, but only on what they sell. With a regular distribution deal, they flood
the market with your record, and you dont' get paid. Me, instead of selling
10, I sell five, and I get paid on the five. At this stage of the games, for
me and my artist being the small operation that Iam, that makes more sense to
us. Those other guys gave me the whole spiel, but come on, I was born at
night, but not last night. I get it all the time, people warming up to me,
trying to be my friend, and they have an agenda.
It seems your TVT experience gave you invaluable exposure as to how the other
side works.
I've been fortunate
working with Matt Pinfield and going to a lot of functions, seeing how things
work. I go to all the conferences around the country. Gave and whatnot. These
panels feeding everyone this feedback stuff is such b.s. People say you can't
burn bridges, but fuck it; then I won't cross their bridge. I want to do
right by people and I like to keep shit simple. Someone once told me there's
an ass for every seat. I feel confident that's I'm a good judge of music, and
if I find something I like, it's my job to find the right seat for the right
ass. It's that simple.
I truly care about the craft, I listen to music. I love music. I'm a music
fan. I'm a frustrated musician. I sucked as a guitar player, so I asked
myself how I can be involved in this. I said to myself, 'let me book bands.
Let me go work for a company. Let me start my own company.'
Mission accomplished -
though you've only just begun.
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