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License this music for commercial use through Pump Audio
The Scarlet Dukes
Certain General
Certain General
Certain General
Phil Gammage
Voodoo Martini
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A tribute to one of the most influential New York rock record labels of the 1980s.
1980s History (by Stephen Graziano) | 2000s History | Discography | Press | Audio Clips Sampler
Sourmash Press
Attaching a label to local musical acts
from The Daily Progress, May 20, 2002
By BRYAN McKENZIE
Daily Progress staff writer
Stephen Graziano sits and sips a latte in the same coffee shop where he once slung grounds and foamed milk into hot mochas, then spreads pages on the table that help explain his new job as independent record label executive for SourMash USA.
It's a small record label, small enough to fit in Mr. Grazianos head, desk and Internet site. Far from the smooth-dealing, limo-riding, deal-making star-handlers of the big labels.
"It's not about any of that. It's not about the wide-based pyramid of the major labels where you sign hundreds of bands and one band makes it big and those profits subsidize the others," Mr. Graziano says. "You have a lot of great bands that sell maybe 5,000 records to their fans and the majors see that and sign the band and the next record sells 50,000. That's an incredible jump in the fan base, but to the label it's a disappointment because they want to sell hundreds of thousands of records so the band loses its contract. SourMash is about getting good music out to people who need to hear it."
A familiar path
At 44, Mr. Graziano has been on this trip before. Hes been a promoter. Hes been a band manager. Hes spent time as a rock music journalist for regionally prominent magazines including NYRocker in the 1980s.
He's even run the SourMash USA label before, back in New York in the 1980s when he issued recordings of East Coast bands. One band, Certain General, got hot in France for awhile before the band, the arrangements and the label tumbled down. Mr. Graziano revived the SourMash USA label to release a compilation of Certain General recordings.
While SourMashs first incarnation was East Coast, the reborn business is very much a Charlottesville effort. All of the albums are edited and mastered at Charlottesvilles Virginia Arts Recording Studio. Artwork is done by Pixels, located near the Downtown Mall.
A search of Charlottesville
The label is looking for local talent to put down on digital disc. It recently released Wisdom, a recording by Charlottesville-based Darrell Rose and the Afrikan Drum Festival.
"Charlottesville has a great music community and a lot of talent and it seemed like a great time and a great place to revive the label, Mr. Graziano explains. I was looking around after the Generals recording was finished, trying to think of who I liked that wasnt recorded and I happened to be at an Afrikan Drum Festival performance. I thought, Darrell Rose and I have to talk."
Its not the last conversation Mr. Graziano plans to have. He knows the area and the music scene well, having worked as volunteer manager and deejay at WTJU-FM. He's also not giving up his day job.
He will continue his primary job as food delivery administrator, providing delivery service for customers of the Flaming Wok restaurant.
"They're great people to work for, and the job doesn't make a lot of demands on my mind when Im not working so I'm free to concentrate on other interests, like music and the record label", Mr. Graziano says, his words punctuated with restrained hand movements and earnest looks. "This is what I love and thats more important than just making money."
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