In a sense this is not a problem at all, since there s no law that says bands can t do both, i.e. get on with the job of releasing their own material while at the same time hoping to attract the men and women with the cigars and cheque-books. Countless bands, from The Cranberries to Def Leppard, have issued recordings on their own or locally-owned labels and later gone on to greater financial glory with a major label. The recent success of David Gray, who now has a major label deal, is further proof.
But it s important that bands are aware of the pros and cons involved in both approaches. Major labels by their nature have lots of money, resources and expertise to market a record to a level most independent movers and shakers only have nightmares about. On the other hand, major record labels can just as easily sign you, record you and ignore you if they discover more easily lucrative material on their hands.
Then again, the royalties you receive from any label deal will inevitably be substantially less than the profit you ll make from doing it yourself. But you will have less to spend on marketing and your sales potential is likely to be substantially less.
As there are definite benefits and deficits from doing it either way you would be best advised to take a long hard look at all your options before making any final decisions. But remember, even if you choose to go the independent route there s still no reason why you should not continue to court the majors.
Meanwhile from Donegal come Boxtie, a four-piece all surnamed Gallagher. This mainly guitar-driven band pack a serious punch on their demo CD. The opening track Beggar Man barges straight in with all the confidence and arrogance of a band with a dozen albums in the racks, with some healthy slices of no-nonsense guitar in the break, a decent chorus and some cheery harmonies. The CD as a whole shows the value of the countless gigs the band have done both at home and around continental Europe.
The opening track is rather unnervingly followed by Fly , a somewhat soppy AOR ballad that could be from a different band altogether, although it does develop a little when the guitar comes in. But songwise it s strictly run-of-the-mill territory. He s Coming Home puts matters back on track, opening with some biting wah-wah guitar and turning into a solid rocking track, with some fine noisy Hendrix-inspired guitar. The vocals, which are reminiscent of Steve Winwood, are a little down in this mix. Boxtie plan to release their debut album this Summer, so that s something to look forward to.
From the other end of the country hail the Limerick-based five-piece Gilgamesh who come on with some intelligent rock with folk and trad influences that would not have been unwelcome in the late 60s and early 70s. Attack Upon Defence shows a band with excellent vocal and musical sensibilities in search of some more focused material. The recording is a little murky so that the fiddle gets lost at times and the track as a whole would have benefited from a little more precision from the vocalists.
Ultra-Transparency has a cleaner, more accurate approach and some fine vocals from drummer Maria Coleman. This time Daniel O Brien s fiddle comes across loud enough and clear. Sixty-To-Zero is better still, with some effective chiming guitar and shuffling drums that recall bands like Eclection. If more time had been given to the sequencing of the songs this tape might have impressed more than it does. Time will also tell whether there s a market for a band who don t seem to have picked up any musical influences that aren t at least twenty years old.
Finally, the noisome Redrum from Sligo offer something much more contemporary with their rambunctious take on pop-rock. Three of them are Mulligans (is this National Family Week?) and all three are left-handed! Still, that didn t stop Jimi Hendrix and Paul McCartney (nor me) and Redrum don t seem to be much handicapped by this defect either. They re loud and proud on Carry On Soldier and even throw in a naughty f**r-letter word on the excellent Gone . Colette Coen guests on vocals on the sleezy Cocaine Yachts and does a fine job of it, bolstered by the scorching
guitars.
LESSON OF THE FORTNIGHT: How many more times must artists be told that when putting together a demo put the best track first?