UPDATE: GGR is proud to have been chosen to manufacture the re-press of this amazing LP….on limited edition sky-blue colored wax! Congrats to the band and Speakertree Records for selling through the first pressing!
Cleveland Rockers the Cloud Nothings are starting to blow up.
Their first release was on cassette, then CD.
As far as I know, this is their first piece of vinyl.
They’re touring all over.
Update: Great post by our friend I ROCK CLEVELAND about the band.
This one was paricularly exciting, as I’m a huge fan of Steve Aoki and Dim Mak Records.
It’s a new Hardcore project from Bob Rifo (Bloody Beetroots) and Steve Aoki called Rifoki.
Hits the streets tomorrow!
The Hold Steady - Clear Vinyl
Unless you have been living under a rock, you should know that tomorrow is Record Store Day. We’re extremely proud to sponsor the event and it’s going to be really fun to see some of the great records we’ve worked on in stores tomorrow.
Two, of special note, are The Hold Steady. This is a fantastic record, and doesn’t officially get released until May 3. Check out the snapshot of the clear vinyl. Less than 700 of these were made.
Also, for St. Louis fans, the fantastic Vintage Vinyl has pressed “Don’t Quit Your Day Job” a compilation of vintage vinyl employee bands. Limited to 300 copies on pink vinyl, we don’t have any sitting around, check out the insert below.
Here in Columbus, Used Kids, Magnolia Thunderpussy and Lost Weekend are all must-drop-bys. In Cleveland, there is a great Walk all over Waterloo, with stops at all of the places to be. More info from Music Saves.
Have an amazing record store day! And let us know what you pick up!
What’s the story behind Gound Records?
I started Gound for probably the same reasons most people start a label, to release records for friends. My friends in For Hours and Ours had been working on this release for a little while, and I had mentioned releasing it on vinyl for them, after a couple months of talking about it we finally started working on it. Fast forward 5 months and a nice tax return check and it’s finally out. I also happen to be obsessed with vinyl records, or any alternative forms of music other than .mp3 and CD’s (records/tapes). I think it was just a long time coming before I finally started being active in my favorite hobby. I still have a long ways to go with this being my first release, but I’m really excited to see where this ends up.
Mike King of Gound Records
Why vinyl?
Why not? I don’t completely bash on CD’s, I buy them myself every so often, but I would rather put out something that I’m really into. I used to burn CD’s and dub tapes all the time, but they aren’t as personal to me as a vinyl record. I love the sound, I love putting the needle on the record, and watching it spin around as the needle glides through the grooves! So why vinyl? Because it RULES!
Who did your album artwork?
The guitarist, Jacob Hamrick from For Hours and Ours did the artwork. He goes to The University of Texas in Austin for studio art. Jacob pretty much was with me through every step of the release, and made my job extremely easy!
Audio-quality-wise, what were the differences in considering an analog vs. digital release (feel free to get as audio nerdy as you’d like)
Well, I have heard the analog vs digital debate quite a bit in the last 10 years as we all have, and can see both sides of it. Regardless of specifics, I really do think that analog recordings sound better, and warmer. Digital recordings to me are just for pure convenience, something that you can put on nearly anywhere, through anything. You can throw it on your car, or in your ears while doing ANYTHING. I never really pay attention to the quality of a digital recording. Audio quality between analog and digital never really even came into mind when putting this record out. /drivel
How much did you know about the process of pressing a record before actually doing it/ what do you know now that you wish you knew before?
I knew very little about the process, but I definitely did a bunch of research right up until the time it started getting pressed, so I wasn’t too caught off guard by anything. The internet rules!
Where can folks get the album?
http://goundrecords.bigcartel.com/
Anything else?
Just a couple thank you’s to the following: For Hours and Ours, Gotta Groove Records, and 512 Wrecking Crew!
Accept Death have been “Rated best looking band in cleveland, since 2005!” This is their first release, on Hydro-Phonic records.
This piece cam out looking and sounding pretty awesome on red vinyl. We were glad they were able to stop by the plant to pick up their order.
Travis from Hydro-Phonic Records with Scott Stearns, who did the cover art for Accept Death.
Ghost Ghost are an amazing 3-piece from Brooklyn, NY. We’re big fans of them, their music and their approach to the creative process. Their album release party for their first vinyl release, Of Innocence and Experience, is tonight at the Public Assembly in Brooklyn, NY. Also be sure to check out their digital release for the RPM Challenge, an entire album based upon the works of Edna St. Vincent Millay. Their responses are somewhat lengthy, but definitely enlightening for bands looking forward to releasing vinyl.
Why vinyl?
We wanted the experience of this album to be special in as many ways as possible for our fans. There is something unique about vinyl that is not limited to just the way it sounds. We love the physicality of records. The way they feel when you hold them, they way they look, even the way they smell. We feel the same way about records that some people feel about books. You can get the same content in a digital format, but there is something indescribably more pleasing about holding and interacting with the physical analog object.
Who did your album artwork?
A very talented friend of ours named Charlie Kemmerer. He’s a painter who lives in Brooklyn and actually paints live on stage with us at every show. One of our goals as a band is to explore the possibilities of truly multi-media presentation. For that reason and because we just really love his work we try to involve Charlie in as much of what we do as possible. Doing a 12″ record also gave us a brilliant way to show off what he can do.
Audio-quality-wise, what were the differences in considering an analog vs. digital release (feel free to get as audio nerdy as you’d like)
That’s an interesting question because we hadn’t yet decided on release format when we began recording the album. That’s one of our regrets, because I don’t think the quality of our recording represents everything that is possible with analog — though we think the finished product sounds really beautiful, I’d like to push the envelope even further. We’ve talked about recording an analog album all the way through. That means tape and splicing, analog console, everything. Why? Because it really is special. If you spend as much time listening to older records as we have you can actually hear the change in production quality that happened when studios switched from analog to digital consoles. And then again from analog tape to hard-drives or from outboard gear to plug-ins. It’s an aesthetic difference that is harder to measure than something more objective like signal to noise ratio. But it’s there and it’s important. That’s not to say you can’t record an album yourself at home in a digital studio and then have it cut and pressed to vinyl and have it sound terrific– you can. That’s exactly what we did. We didn’t pay a penny for studio time or mixing. We did that ourselves. We decided we could make a bigger impact and get a better product by taking our limited funds and investing them in mastering and making a record. It definitely doesn’t fit the old model of putting out an album. But I think it was exactly right for us, our fans, and this project.
How much did you know about the process of pressing a record before actually doing it/ what do you know now that you wish you knew before?
We didn’t really know anything about the process when we started, but we’ve learned a lot along the way. There are some helpful websites out there that can outline the process but we learned the most from just talking to people in the industry. Gotta Groove in particular was really patient with us and took the time to help educate us and make us feel comfortable every step of the way. That was one of the best parts of the experience.
Another highlight was the suggestion given to us by our mastering engineer Alan Douches (from West West Side Music). He suggested the lock-grooves that appear on either side of the album. Those are loops with music in them that will hold the needle and keep the record playing indefinitely. We love that idea and they way it came out, because it represents something that actually can’t be done on a CD or MP3. That’s pretty special and adds to the experience.
As far as what we wish we knew at the beginning was how much time to budget for contingencies when planning our record release. Making a record is a highly technical manufacturing process with a lot of stages and it takes a lot more coordination and time than pressing CDs. We missed out on having records with us at SXSW and that was because we hadn’t started the process early enough.
Where can folks get the album?
It’s available for order online at http://store.ghostghost.net and of course it will be for sale at all of our shows.
Anything else?
The Gotta Groove Records party at SXSW was a blast, thanks again for inviting us. I hope it happens again next year, and even more people get to check it out.
We also hope more folks by turntables and that the younger kids just coming up find a way to get interested in them. We have a policy of providing free record copies to first-time turntable owners. It’s just honor-system. But we think it’s important to support the technology.
We’d love to actually work with a turntable vendor or create our own site where you can sign-up for free records if you buy a turntable. Maybe we could revive one of those 10 LPs for a penny programs that I got so in trouble with as a kid or a DIY record-of-the-month subscription service.
— This is a new feature we’re trying out, we’d love to interview any bands or hear your feedback, what would you like to know? Please leave a response or send an email to tyler @ gottagrooverecords.com
Following SXSW, I’ve gotten a bunch of questions about my custom messenger bag. I’m a vinyl nerd and the two of us with an office in Columbus (Tyler and Matt) are both regular bike commuters.
I’ve wanted to get a messenger bag from Seagull Bags ever since I moved here three years ago.
They offer seasonal bags and do amazing custom work. Mine has a custom embroidered logo on the outside, was all custom colors. (red velcro, red inside, dark blue outer, lighter blue on the flap. Plus custom pocket for water bottle and a special pocket for holding vinyl. I’m usually biking around carrying some samples just in case, but mostly use it when I’m traveling, or in case I ever decide to drop into one of my favorite record stores. I can’t thank the folks at Seagull enough, they did an unbelievable job. Check out their website for some even more badass bags.
Gotta Groove Records has been in business since summer 2009. It’s been a fantastic journey for all of us.
We’ve learned hands-on the process of setting up a vinyl manufacturing plant, tweaking all of the machines to produce high quality vinyl and locking down our quality assurance process, to put out only the highest quality vinyl records.
We all got into this business because we love working with artists and labels, love creating unique items for their fans, and love listening to great-sounding vinyl.
That’s why it’s with a heavy heart that I am announcing Gotta Groove will be shutting down our plant and scrapping all of our equipment. While many of our loyal customers and fans have been heralding the resurgence of vinyl, we’ve been filled with doubt. That’s why, starting today, we are proud to announce that Gotta Groove Records is being re-launched as Gotta Groove 8-Tracks.
That’s right, in our pursuit for sonic excellence, we believed that we’ve pushed the boundaries of vinyl as a medium and are happy to be able to offer our audiophile customers the superior sound that can only be achieved from magnetic tape. Combined with the portability and legendary durability of the format, we think this is a win-win for everyone.
Thanks to everyone for their continued support, and please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions!
– Tyler
Alex Bleeker and Jamie Granato stopped by the plant yesterday to pick up “These Days” 7″
Yet another awesome release from Group Tightener. We love these guys.
The Hot Rails are a kick ass 70s rock band from here in Cleveland.
Here they are on tour with their brand new release, SIngle Entendre.
It’s a pretty bad ass colored vinyl, done on recycled vinyl. In their words:
“We are happy that we choose the orange recycled vinyl. The records looks and sounds amazing! The album artwork printing is equally impressive.”
Check them out at The Hot Rails.com or MySpace.