Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Exigent Records
Posted By Gavin Sheehan on November 10, 2010, 3:31 AM
Nearly
two years ago I setup an interview to Colby Houghton about his very
prominent localized record label, Exigent Records. He agreed to take
part in one, and then... nothing. And when I say nothing, I mean
not a thing, as indicated by this post from the archives. You
could've sworn he vanished off the face of the planet because not
only did he not respond to an interview, he apparently replied to hardly anyone. I
left the space blank until he could get back to us and moved onto other stuff.
Since that time not many people have been entirely sure what was to
become of the label itself. ...Five months ago we got our answer.
--- To
some degree, Exigent had been a near afterthought entering 2010 with
many of its musicians moving onto other projects and company, while
the name itself looked destined to be more of a footnote in Utah
music history. But this past summer former Loom drummer Jarom
Bischoff took over the label and immediately went online to spread
word it was back! Now in the middle of rebuilding and re-branding,
Exigent as a whole is looking to make a comeback and reinforce the
talent within our music scene again. I got a chance to chat with
Jarom about his career and taking over, along with his thoughts on
Utah music and more.
Jarom
Bischoff
Exigent Records on Facebook
Gavin:
Hey Jarom! First off, tell us a bit about yourself.
Jarom:
Hey Gavin! Well... I'm Jarom. I like to rock. I grew up in several
places on the west coast and eventually moved to Cache Valley where I
finished high school. I've played the drums since I was eleven and
guitar since I was fourteen. My parents are both gone so I'm really
close with my two brothers, Paden and Anson... who also like to rock.
I'm LDS which I know is s little strange for someone who likes to
tour in bands, play in dirty bars, and be involved with an open
minded, diverse, and expressive music scene. I support and appreciate
all the different views of Exigent bands and I'm not looking to try
and establish a Mormon ideal for the label... I hate Christian rock
and metal. Also, I'm not homophobic and tend to lean towards the
liberal side politically, though I'd rather not subscribe to a
specific party or school of thought in that respect. I've got a music
business certificate from Berklee College of Music in Boston and I'm
currently at the University of Utah, going for economics. I was in
Loom for the past three and a half years. We did a lot of touring and
had a great time, but ultimately my goals were different from the
band's, so now I'm back in school. They're still goin' at it and I
hope to see them succeed in every way they want to. They are still
some of my best friends.
Gavin:
What first got you interested in music, and who were some of your
favorite acts and musical influences growing up?
Jarom:
My dad listened to a lot of The Police and Led Zeppelin so I got
some of that as a tiny guy, then, when I lived near Seattle during
middle school, my aunt used to let me borrow her CDs. I got into
Silver Chair, Smashing Pumpkins, The Meat Puppets, Nirvana, and the
like. Later, as dumb as it sounds, MXPX's Life In General
had a huge influence on me. Granted I'm not a fan anymore, but that
super-fast punk style really got to me. I got into Bad Religion,
NOFX, Propagandhi, and just about everything else put out on Epitaph
and Fat Wreck Chords around the turn of the century... That stuff I
still like. By that time I was playing in lots of bands and figuring
out what music really meant to me. Near the end of high school,
through a lot of really awesome friends, I found what moves me. Bands
like Planesmistakenforstars, Hot Water Music, The Casket Lottery, Hot
Cross, Botch, Shai Hulud, and record labels like Level Plane and No
Idea had a huge influence on me and still do.
Gavin:
What was it like for you first breaking out onto the music scene and
playing around town?
Jarom:
Assuming you mean in Salt Lake, it was very natural because all my
friends from Logan, Provo, and Salt Lake were all here and playing
regularly by the time I moved here from Pittsburgh. I really got what
I consider my start in the Provo glory days where Blake Donner and
Parallax had formed a genuine hardcore movement. I was lucky to be a
part of it. Playing shows then was a truly moving experience. Friends
then and there were sincere and plentiful... and music was what held
us all together. My experience first playing shows in Salt Lake was
pretty regular in comparison. The scene here isn't what it should be
considering the caliber of bands that hail here. At first (in Loom)
we played a lot to try and build a fan base. It was a lot of work and
we made progress, but it was slow.
Gavin:
Most notably you were a part of the band HiFi Massacre and a
founding member of Loom. How was it for you being a part of both
bands and doing massive touring across the country?
Jarom:
Well being part of the HiFi Massacre was too much fun. Writing songs
with Jeff Wells is, to this day, one of the best experiences I've
ever had in a band. We had great chemistry. Josh Devenport and I had
always talked about being in a Botch style band and it was fun to
actually do it. However, I never toured with them. I decided to take
off on a two year vacation and Adam Loucks was awesome enough to
replace me and they did some tours. With Loom, on the other hand, I
spent close to a year total on the road. Most of the best memories of
my life took place there. It's an incredible feeling to know you have
real friends all over the nation, and it's inspiring to meet the
individuals that perpetuate scenes across the country. It was heinous
though and being gone that much reeks havoc on pretty much every
other aspect of your life. Being in a touring, independent band is
not for the faint of heart.
Gavin:
How did the opportunity come about to take over Exigent Records from
Colby Houghton?
Jarom:
I've always had a good relationship with Colby and worked closely
with him. Running a label can be extremely expensive and that's
pretty damn hard when you have a house, three little girls, and a
wife to think about. He didn't want to see the label disappear when
he decided he needed to drop it and attend to the rest of his life
and neither did I. We worked out a deal that was good for both of us
and I was happy to take over and hope to keep it alive and growing.
Gavin:
Considering all the work it would entail, did you have to do much
thinking over the situation or was everything instant without second
guessing?
Jarom:
The thing about running your own label, is it can take as much or as
little work as you choose to put into it. I knew I'd have a couple
years of finishing school and wouldn't be able to dedicate myself
full-time to a record label. My only goal is to stay out of debt,
release two to three albums a year, and build the Exigent name until
I can put more resources into it. The choice took a little bit of
thought, but I had to jump on the opportunity to run a label that
already had a few releases out and a bit of a name locally.
Gavin:
When you officially took over, what was the first thing you did to
re-establish the label locally?
Jarom:
I officially took over in June and to be honest, haven't had a lot
of time to re-establish or promote the label, being in school full
time this past summer and now in the fall. You will see a substantial
effort in conjunction to the next couple of albums I release to
establish the label. The biggest of which will be this spring when I
release my own album, Slippery Slopes, under the name Harmon's Heart.
Gavin:
Back in 2008 the label had roughly sixteen bands on board. Prior to
you taking over some have left, some were frustrated, others were
doing nothing, others are very active. What have your conversations
been like with all the bands since taking over?
Jarom:
The label has never really had sixteen bands "on board,"
-if by that you mean active. In 2008 there were perhaps five or six
bands who were playing regularly and trying to tour. A lot of the
releases Colby put out were more like temporary projects put out by
Salt Lake's finest in gritty musicianship. I see this as a bad move
financially, but a good move as far as establishing the name of
Exigent as being synonymous with great music. My experience with
Colby was different from a lot of other bands on the label. I think,
in part, it's because after Gaza went to the Metal Blade subsidiary,
Black Market Activities, Loom was his main focus. Colby had a lot of
ideas about running a label, a lot of which involved playing like the
big boys, which is financially risky. Much too risky for me. Trying
to balance finances and everything else that goes into a label, I
think a few bands were neglected because the resources just weren't
there, and Colby didn't really have the time to run a label
effectively. I've had a lot of great conversations with the bands on
Exigent and bands who may one day be. The general consensus seems to
be that everyone is stoked that the new owner of Exigent knows
exactly what it's like to be in a band and give your all. I'm
planning to run the label accordingly.
Gavin:
How has it been for you rebuilding Exigent as a name both online and
in the music scene?
Jarom: ...Ask me in a year.
Gavin:
What have you got in mind for the label moving forward from here,
both on a musical and promotional scale?
Jarom:
I need to get the basics established and approach music promotion
and releasing records from a DIY limited budget angle. In the next
six months I'll have a new Exigent website up and the goal is for it
to be more than a label that says how great its bands are. I'll do
that too, but I'd like to be a resource for out of town bands on tour
and to help spread the ideas of Salt Lake-ians. Releases will have a
stronger digital emphasis than before. It's just cheaper and more
effective. I'm thinking of allowing people to download the whole Exigent library online for free, just at the website, as an incentive
to get them there. I'll get a mailing list going that offers more
than advertisement to people. Press and publicity will have a heavier
local focus as I've found it ineffective to spread yourself thin over
the whole nation. People here will pay more attention than those afar
because the bands are more familiar and play locally so the
opportunity to see them is there. I'll still do regional, national,
and overseas promoting, depending on the goals of each band.
Musically, I'm open. I want to continue to put out the wild, loud
rock that Colby's primarily put out, but also anything I think is
worth the effort. To be honest, I'll be releasing a lot of solo
material to build up the press connections and get more releases
under my belt... it's practice.
Gavin:
Are there any plans to bring new bands on board or expand beyond
what you're doing now?
Jarom:
Of course, that's what it's all about. Time frame-wise I want to
focus now on the few bands left on Exigent that are still active.
This may never be a label where I hear a cool band and say, "Hey
you guys are good, wanna put out a record?" And proceed to watch
my bank account dwindle and get into debt. I'd rather not have a
label than owe my life, or any portion of it, to the man. Basically,
I'll take it one step at a time, put out what makes sense, most of
which will be music my friends want to put out, and see what happens. I've got some
talented friends I tell you what.
Gavin:
Going state-wide, what are your thoughts on the local music scene,
both good and bad?
Jarom:
As far as Salt Lake goes, I think things are okay. It could be
better, but I've seen it worse and things seem to be in an upswing. I
guess I'm a little close minded to what is now called "indie-rock,"
which seems to be doing well here as of most places. It just bores me
and seems to be overly image oriented. But if you want crowds, that's
the music you should make. I'd like to see a bigger and a younger
following in the rock scene. With the exception of Kilby Court (and
they don't support metal or screamy music for their own reasons),
there are really only bars to play at and that's a huge problem when
you're trying to recruit a younger crowd. But then the all ages
venues that try to go into business fail quickly and miserably. House
shows and DIY spaces are the answer for now. Go see a show at the
Shred Shed for hell's sake. Good bands every time, good times every
time. Other than that, it's kind of out of our hands. All we can do
is make music, promote it, and hope for the best. Whether or not kids
in high school want to pull their heads out of their butts is up to
them. It's a little depressing to see how much the music scene
depends on young kids, but only because old kids aren't active and
would basically never go to show where they can't drink. If only
there was a way for old and young to come together... As far as the
rest of Utah, I think it's a lot more of the same. There were periods
where Logan, Ogden, and Provo have all had thriving scenes, but there
is a ton of flux. I think the youth in Ogden roll the right way and
know how to go to shows, but I know nothing of an older crowd there.
Logan seems to be mostly tweeners (20-23 year-olds) that are trying to get the scene
going. And who even knows about Provo. It was sad
to see Starry Night go, that's for sure. I don't know what the
current status of Muse Music is, but I hope kids are showing support.
Then there's BYU and Club Velour... a universe I'm not at all
familiar with, but like I said, I'm not generally a fan of
indie-rock.
Gavin:
Is there anything you believe could be done to make it more
prominent?
Jarom:
KRCL and X96 could both do a better job in promoting local music by
playing it at better times, though KRCL tries. I recently found out
that X96 no longer has their "Live & Local" show. That's a pile of
crap. If you ever listen to X96 you need to stop until they start
supporting local music. Radio, in general, is a huge sham. We should
be grateful we have City Weekly and SLUG and go to the events they
sponsor. Shows could be cheaper and more effort could be done to
promote each one. Good high school bands should be sought after and
supported by the older crowd when they pop up... problem is it's
infrequent at best that they do. We need to get more people into the
scene and one thing that would help is if everyone was a little bit
more outgoing and nicer to unfamiliar faces. It can be very
intimidating to go to a show where you don't know people. Getting a
bunch of sour faces and egos, one is not likely to ever come back.
I'm definitely not exempting myself from this. I, like all of us,
could do a better job at making friends. Also, personally invite
non-regulars to come to shows. I guess this is sounding a little
evangelical, but if it's for a good cause... and if a band is good,
buy their freaking merch. Buy all of it. Make a small sacrifice out
of your pocket to support growth in the scene. In summary: Be more
active. The more people there are, and the more we are all friends,
the more fun it is for everyone.
Gavin:
Without simply listing bands on your label, who are your favorite
acts in the scene right now?
Jarom:
Well... I won't leave some of my favorite bands off the list just
because they once released something on Exigent. But, here you go,
the list of local faves: Accidente, Eagle Twin, IATO, Reviver, Palace Of Buddies, Laserfang, Muscle Hawk, Subrosa, Gaza, Cache Tolman, God's Revolver, St. Boheim, Danger Hailstorm, Mike The Dork, Boots To The Moon, and JP Haynie. I said I usually don't like
indie-rock, not always.
Gavin:
What's your opinion on the current airplay on community radio these
days and how its affects local musicians?
Jarom:
Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt... that was the sound of a big, juicy fart.
I think it affects local musicians the way it always has. It directs
the focus of the masses to total BS music with no heart (in general,
not always) and it gives locals something near-impossible to compete
with. It's mass media, it's all the same. I can give KRCL some
credit, they have a variety of shows and no sponsors to answer to.
And as previously mentioned, X96 is a joke. Luckily for us, pop-music
is on its way out. As of May, total album sales were lower than
they've been in forty years. I can only assume they've continued to
drop. Please keep stealing music everyone!!! On the flip side, I
think that if radio stations played local music during prime times
and in the regular mix, that would be a huge step in the right
direction. They're not trying hard enough, if at all.
Gavin:
What do you think of file sharing these days, both as musicians and
a music lovers?
Jarom:
I think it's good. For small bands, it's value in promotion far
outweighs the supposed loss in sales. For Nickleback, it hopefully
takes a few sales away... but it still promotes them as much as I
wish it didn't. Frankly I'm tired of the controversy and it's time to
accept it as a permanent change in the music industry. Even if I had
a problem with it, it wouldn't matter one bit. I say go nuts, under
the condition that you share awesome finds, go see the band when
they're in town, and buy merch from them, which happens naturally.
All you have to do is add some content you can't steal to online
albums and you have a marketable product. The future of music is
about access more than product, but that'll play itself out.
Personally, I don't file share, but I do share! A lot! People have
always shared music. My younger brother just burned me a copy of the
new Middle Class Rut amongst other albums, but I'll be damned if I
don't go see them next time they roll through. Remember mix-tapes?
File sharing is the same thing, just on overdrive.
Gavin:
What are your thoughts on local music shops and how they help out
Utah bands?
Jarom:
I think Graywhale is awesome at helping local bands and all the
other record stores blow at it. Now I may be biased because Graywhale
carries Exigent releases and other stores won't, but that's really all
the evidence I need to see whether or not there is effort to support
local music. Record stores that don't consign should go out of
business. I'd understand qualifying what they will and won't consign,
but just saying no completely... that's the opposite of what a record
store should be about. They're really missing the mark. Graywhale
also sponsors local shows and helps to promote. At the same time, I
wouldn't be offended if they'd make a bigger deal of local
new-releases, but hey, it's a work in progress. As an individual you
need ask where the local section is when you go into a record store.
If they don't have one, or if they can't point out a few local
releases, you need to walk right back out.
Gavin:
On the same token, what's your take on other record labels in the
city and the work they do for the music scene?
Jarom:
I think they're all pretty cool. I really don't have a personal
relationship with any of them save Lucky, of Sound vs. Silence/Gator
records. He's a super guy and he does a great job releasing cool
music and promoting it. But there are a few other labels around that
I think release good music and are trying hard to extend their circle
of influence. I like material that's been released on Kilby, 8ctopus,
and Running Records. Admittedly, I don't follow or work with other
local labels as much as I'd like to.
Gavin:
What can we expect from you the rest of this year and going into
next?
Jarom:
You can expect me to finish this semester of school without becoming
too distracted trying to pimp the label. There is a possible second
release from an Exigent band that could be out in the next couple of
months, but regardless of that, Harmon's Heart will be out this
Spring and you can expect to see a lot of promotional work going on
then. Expect a functional and innovative website up around that same
time.
Gavin:
Aside the obvious, is there anything you'd like to plug or
promote?
Jarom:
Nah man, nah. Just the obvious. Harmon's Heart coming out this
spring and check out Exigent Records on Facebook. I'll
be sure you all know what's going on as times approach. Besides that,
please become more active: Ask record stores where their local
section is, call radio stations and ask them to play local music,
file share it up, and bring people to shows.
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