Toadcast #102 – Song, by Toad Records
I do try and avoid shilling for the label on this blog, because no-one wants to read a twice-daily sales pitch, but I reckon it’s okay to have a look forward at what we’ve got planned for the year. That’s what the new year is for, really, isn’t it?
So I’ve got a nice big release schedule drawn up, just like real record labels do, and honestly it scares the shite out of me. I can pretty much plan out my free time for the whole of the next twelve months just looking at it, but there are some great releases in there.
By the end of 2010 we are going to have a back catalogue to be bloody proud of, honestly, especially when you consider that we had only been a record label for about a month at this time last year.
That picture, incidentally, is a somewhat butchered (sorry Annie) version of one of four gorgeous photos on this blog taken of the two new Meursault 7″s.
Toadcast #102 – Song, by Toad Records
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01. Trips and Falls – We Were Like Strangers Today (05.30)
02. Maxwell Panther – My Ex-Identity (09.02)
03. Cold Seeds – Leave Me to Lie Alone in the Ground (17.19)
04. Jesus H. Foxx – This is Not a Rental Car (26.43)
05. Animal Magic Tricks – Smallish Hooves (29.35)
06. The Savings and Loan – Virgin’s Lullaby (36.36)
07. Inspector Tapehead – Sugar on Your Sheets (40.02)
08. Loch Lomond – Holiday (48.25)
09. Meursault – What You Don’t Have (Live on Fresh Air Radio) (58.34)
10. Nightjar – Sweet Annie Lee (66.56)
Just put me down for one of everything. Thanks.
Can I get a mp3 copy of What You Don’t Have? Please please please…
Looking forward to this year’s SbT Releases. Keep me posted on stuff for the blog.
Will be doing something similar for 17 Seconds Records very soon…
Excellent work already done, and fucking amazing stuff on the horizon by the sound of it.
I recall discovering Loch Lomond on this site nearly two years ago now, and so the prospect of their doing a Toadcast seems like the most natural thing in the world. Just fitting somehow. I had no idea you were teaming up with Trips and Falls, that’s very good news. And that Cold Seeds tune is on a whole ‘nuther level. On vinyl, did you say? By the way, I’ve been listening to the tunes on the Last Battle’s myspace more or less constantly over the last few days. Superb stuff. Any chance S,bT Records will be players in the sure-to-come bidding war?
Well said about the Missus too. Her munificence in financing this venture extends all the way to Virginia, where I now sit in a rocker, slightly tipsy, with my ol’ dog at my feet, soaking up the Sweet Annie Lee. Cheers on a great year.
Well there’s a few knocking around Edinburgh in need of signing up, honestly. Last Battle are doing well, Conquering Animal Sound seem to be building quite a head of steam, although personally I prefer the Japanese War Effort solo stuff, and the Pineapple Chunks are hopefully going to be recording shortly as well.
Honestly, though, I really don’t know what we’ll be able to do. The two big issues are money and time. At the moment I am working full time, and any other bands – particularly local ones – I wanted to work with would be in serious danger of being badly short-changed by my simply not having the time to give them the effort and attention they deserve – in fact that’s already in serious danger of happening as it is. If anyone gets pinched by a bigger label or my work situation changes, then that will be a different story, but neither of those things are on the cards at the moment.
The other situation is money. This year we are already committed to getting the Cold Seeds record mastered for vinyl (around £600), and five hundred vinyl (£1000) and CDs (£700) pressed. We’re going to have to re-press the first Meursault record (£1500) which is on the verge of selling out, and also press at least a thousand of the next one (£1500).
Then there’s the CD albums we’re going to have to press: The Foxx, Animal Magic Tricks, Savings and Loan, Trips and Falls and Inspector Tapehead (£3k?). Then maybe a JHF 7″ as well (£1200). And possibly the next T&F album. And then there’s the Loch Lomond EP as well, and whatever else they might generate this year.
Even with those completely off the top of my head prices, that’s an investment of around £10k at the absolute bare minimum – possibly up to one and a half times that when all the sums are done. Then of course if Neil is to record the Animal Magic Tricks album then he will have to be paid, and that doesn’t include any extra expenses we may or may not incur when bands go out on tour – none of which has been properly agreed yet.
That assumes, of course, that we make absolutely no income from record sales at all, which won’t happen, and you can always squeeze in new projects if you are desperate enough to do so, but honestly I do think I’d struggle.
And with all the above, and a full time job, I had also better not neglect the blog. This whole musical enterprise hangs around this blog, and providing good enough material to keep an audience will still be the lifeblood of the label itself. I need to keep doing sessions and interviews with other bands and supporting the stuff of people who have nothing to do with the label, and stuff like that takes time.
So, erm, taking on new bands might be a difficult thing at the moment, even if Tom Waits gave me a call. The good thing though is that in Euan’s Mini50 Records and Kilter there are a couple of really promising new labels starting up around here and, although they both have a couple of bands they’re working with already, hopefully they might be able to step in where people like myself, SL and 17 Seconds Ed might be struggling to do more than we already are.
A somewhat longer answer than you wanted, I guess, but that’s pretty much where my Christmas musings have left me. Scary. Exciting. But scary.
Jesus Christ Toad, this all sounds rather mental. Please remember to sleep at some point. I promise never to greet about being busy ever again. If Tom Waits calls, just get him to call me.
I particularly enjoyed this Toadcast – possibly my favourite yet to be honest. Getting to know the inner workings of how a label works and grows is just not something that you can get from any other podcast I’ve listened to, or produced. Your candid approach helps a lot too, and your homage to Mrs Toad was truly endearing.
For what it’s worth, I think you have the balance right when it comes to promoting your own label. Your set up is always going to leave you walking a tightrope and there will always be those who seek to criticise, but I suspect you know yourself that this is unjustified.
Also, even though I have large-ish hooves, I particularly enjoyed little hooves. Power to the Toad in 2010. Hope to catch up with you soon, now I have re-emerged from my stable of hiding.
Sounds like a subscription could be needed – a bit like Rough Trade’s Record Club.
Cold Seeds – Leave Me to Lie Alone in the Ground is awesome.
They’re all awesome – strange, distorted and gorgeous. I am really, really looking forward to that release. Hopefully ready for Homegame, although that might be pushing it.
Young Gun…..Go For It!
And yes, put me down for one of everything as well. But don’t post them out as the fuckers keep getting lost.
So I’ll take that as a yes? tee hee.
Actually, an annual subscription club might not be a bad idea. If people pay up-front for all your releases for that year, at a modest discount I suppose, then at least you’d have a predictable floor for your market, which might alleviate the collywobbles a bit when you consider your expenses. I for one would be all over it.
The only issue with that would be the unpredictable nature of the year’s release schedule, but it’s a really good idea in principle.
Good podcast, Toad. Time to change the site to Song by Toads? Or Song by Mrs Toad? Good stuff. It almost brought a tear to my bovine eyes. I really liked the bit where Floyd meowed and I shouted through to my girlfriend “What the fuck are you DOING!?!?”. Great confusion. Sounded like it was in the living room. You mixing this in 5.1?
“You mixing this in 5.1?”
More like Seven and Seven.
Sat up well past 1am listening to the podcast last night. Enjoyed Floyd’s contributuion, and as for the stuff about Mrs. Toad; don’t feel bad about being sincere!
Looking forward to all this and more : )
I’m really looking forward to that Cold Seeds thing.
That’s the first time I’ve heard Leave Me To Lie Alone In The Ground, and it really is unusual and quite gorgeous.
I was also lucky enough to have Neil play me one of the other tracks from the session straight off the mixing desk a couple of days after they did the recordings, and that track – whatever it was – was just spine-chillingly good. It was absolutely spellbinding.
I suspect the complete record is going to go down very well indeed when it’s finally unveiled.
Well we really really want the Cold Seeds album ready for Homegame if at all possible, but that is going to be a very tight squeeze. At the moment it sounds absolutely fucking gorgeous, with one jaunty little number left to add in.
Jaunty little number? So they’ve decided to leave the cover version of Agadoo on there?
Great!
Honestly, it is rather jaunty.