Boots on the ground, part twenty-eight: A recipe is not a meal

When it comes to writing, making a list is cheap. There’s no narrative; there’s no flow. There’s no moral; there’s no art. Reciting a list of the things you’re going to cook is much easier than preparing a seven-course meal — but it’s much less satisfying! Still, lists are important tools for enumerating and summarizing. A set of bullet points gives a sense of the larger concepts they reference.

I’m trying to put some thought into this intro, because the rest of this post will be two long lists. So if there’s any real writing to be done, it will be here at the top. Over the past year, I’ve posted about 15,000 words on ARS, describing the ideas and actions behind my fledgling record label. I’m grateful for those of you who have been reading along, and I hope that I made the journey interesting. Y’all can use the archive link below to read the series from the beginning, if you like. But this first list is a high-level view, summarizing what Grumpy Old Bear and its artists achieved in 2012.

Keep in mind, this is what almost-failure looks like. I’m not wallowing in self-pity, but I am offering information. If you consider the fact that a pizza and a pitcher runs about $50, a decent guitar around $500, and an older used car around $5,000, the label’s income for the year would be measured in pizzas. The expenses, in cars.

And this is what it took to get there. Here are our 2012 achievements:

Caren Taylor & Bill Zimmerman
Demos and tracking
“Self Destructive” video, dropped to YouTube April 2012
“Just Another Town” single, released November 2012
Press release push to 180+ print and web outlets

Chris Taylor
“In Those Days” album produced by Bart Hafeman, released August 2012
Promotional push on AirplayDirect.com, resulting in track downloads by radio stations on five continents

Trip Like Animals
Bubbleator Sessions tracking and mixing
“The Bubbleator Sessions, Vol. 1: Trip Like Animals” album, released December 2012
Press release push to 200+ print and web outlets
Reviews and features in Seattle PI, Seattle Weekly, and other outlets
Web radio airplay on SoKing Internet Radio
Sold album to Marmoset Music for synch placements

Norm Bowler
Recording and mixing completed for “Mermelada” album
All tracks released as singles
Web radio airplay on SoKing Internet Radio
Shopping two country songs to the Nashville market using a professional music rep

Talent Scouting & Development
Spaceship Cabaret – self-produced album dropped to Soundcloud; web radio airplay
Andy Glover – EP in progress. Initial tracks dropped to Soundcloud
Lili Nyste – Demos recorded and dropped to Soundcloud
Bruce Jennings – Demos recorded and dropped to Soundcloud
Dick Bowler – Recording in progress
Jack Mozie – Development
Stacy Israel – Development

Artist Spotlight
Created a 30-minute artist interview show, and sold it to SoKing Internet Radio
Produced and aired six episodes, with more on the way

Boots On The Ground
26 blog posts on AnotherRainySaturday.com, telling the story of starting and running the label. Series is still running.

Business
Researched and hired an experienced entertainment attorney
Formed Grumpy Old Bear Music LLC
ASCAP membership as both artist and publisher
Company presence on Soundcloud, with 49 tracks and 1800+ plays
Company presence on Facebook with 160+ followers
Company presence on Twitter with 30+ followers
Signed contracts with Chris Taylor, Caren Taylor, and Trip Like Animals

I’m not sure whether that’s a mountain or a molehill; it felt mountainous. But I do know that going into 2013, I have much more momentum. At the beginning of 2012, I had a name, an idea, and a couple microphones. But here’s what I have on the books at the beginning of 2013:

Trip Like Animals
Register Trip Like Animals’ songs with ASCAP
Finalize Marmoset contract with TLA
Get completed agreement with TLA on file
Work on getting TLA booked for Capitol Hill Block Party 2013

Chris Taylor
Tracking on Chris Taylor “So Much Fun” single
Chris Taylor “In Those Days” press push
Finish mixing rough tracks from Chris Taylor album release show
Get completed agreement with Chris Taylor on file

Andy Glover
Mix and master Andy Glover “Visions of the Future” EP
Finalize “Visions of the Future” cover art
Schedule “Visions of the Future” release and press push
“Visions of the Future” release party?

Other Artists
Finish tracking Caren Taylor “Rivers” and “Patterns” singles
Finish tracking Dick Bowler “How Can You Love” single
Finish tracking Bruce Jennings “Brown-Eyed Boy (Loves Green-Eyed Girl)” single
Tracking with Jack Mozie, “Won’t You Stop Breaking My Heart Please”
Tracking with Stacy Israel, “Joplin”
Possible remix with The Last Great Love
Benefit single with The Treehouse Dreamers
Possible benefit single recordings with NorthWest Musicians affiliated artists
Development talks with Spaceship Cabaret – let’s release “Magic Hour”!
Development talks with Bobby Znak
Development talks with Lili Nyste
Development talks with Starry-Eyed Samurai

Business
Close out income (pizzas) and expense (cars) books for 2012
Prepare semi-annual royalty statements for artists
Register Norm’s songs with ASCAP
Sign up for SXSW, and book air and hotel
Buy logo-printed thumb drives for swag, and load them with label music
Attend SXSW in March – learn, listen, drink, and make connections!
Look into label presence and on-site recording at Folklife 2013

There is one other thing a list provides – the illusion of control. Knowing that the list exists somewhere and can be reviewed, sorted, and prioritized adds to one’s peace of mind. I’m hoping I can also get the satisfaction of crossing these items off, one by one, as I tackle them in the coming weeks. Which will lead to more stories, which I hope to tell here. No more lists for a while. Keep on rockin in the free world, y’all.

{Catch up with Norm’s “Boots on the Ground” series about starting a 21st century record label by reading the full archives of his column here.

{Photo by Jeremy Burgin, used from Wikimedia.}