The
music in Utah County has been on a steady rise the past few years,
and a lot of the artists coming out of Provo, Orem and American Fork
are forcing people to do a double-take when compared to anyone out of SLC or Ogden. In the
thick of all this, Northplatte Records is helping continue that trend
giving some of those people a label to release on. One that brings
the comfort of local business and the smarts of a major. With three
years under their belts and some notable albums in the market they
look to be a sustaining creative force for years to come. I got a
chance to chat with co-founders McKay Stevens and Joshua James about
the label and its history, plus their thoughts on local and
mainstream music. ---
McKay Stevens & Joshua
James
http://www.northplatterecords.com/
Gavin:
Hey guys, first off, tell us a little bit about yourselves.
McKay:
I'm from California, first San Diego and then after my parents
divorced at six up to Los Angeles. Up in Utah for school now and
that's where I met Joshua like, five years ago or so through
skateboarding. Skateboarding was huge in both of our lives growing
up. So was music so we became best friends quick and everything else
evolved from there.
Joshua: Born in Cleveland, Ohio.
Raised in Lincoln, Nebraska. Family/friends/god/struggle/life/death
all inspire me.
Gavin:
What first got you interested in music, and what were some of your
early influences?
Joshua: I often listened to Led
Zeppelin, CCR, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Pink Floyd, and The Beatles
growing up.
McKay: So many things got me interested in
music. My older brother bringing home Beastie Boys Licensed To
Ill, Run DMC's Raising Hell and DJ Jazzy Jeff & The
Fresh Prince Parents Just Don't Understand, as well as A Tribe
Called Quest's Scenario when I was in 3rd and 4th
grade. That was huge for me. I've loved so many others since then,
spending a lot of my growing up years in Los Angeles I was heavily
influenced by west coast hip hop such as NWA, Dr. Dre, Snoop, Tupac,
Del etc. I also got huge into the indie movement with bands like
Death Cab For Cutie, The Postal Service, The Shins etc. Way too many
to name. We are both music addicts. We listen to everything really
and always searching out new sounds.
Gavin: How did the
two of you come to meet each other and strike up the friendship
you've had?
McKay: We had mutual friends through
skateboarding and music and then we started skating together and
playing music together etc. That was maybe five years ago or
so.
Joshua: Yes that sounds about right.
Gavin:
Where did the idea come from to start up a local label?
McKay:
We were playing music together a ton and doing a bunch of different
shows together and doing it all ourselves. Kind of as a joke/hobby we
just started calling it all Underground Railroad Records. We went
under that name as just something for fun for a while. Then Joshua's
career took off thanks to his great talent and his amazing manager
Shannon Edgar. After that Joshua said he wanted to start a legit
label, and so we did it. Its all grown since then but it started just
as two friends having fun with it. That's how we want to keep it.
Just like a family. A nice independent label with people who love
music making music for people who love music. Haha, we've been able
to work with some amazing artists since then... RuRu, Desert Noises
etc.
Joshua: Yes, yes, there it is. We hope to expand
further in the future to other bands.
Gavin: You
probably get the question all the time, but why Provo as the homebase
city for it?
Joshua: Provo has good music, I think most
places do, but this is where we have been living, didn't see the
reasoning in moving to find other good bands.
McKay: We
both came out here for college and we really love the music scene
here. So much amazing talent and so many amazing people.
Gavin:
Northplatte was not the original name of the label. What's the story
behind naming it?
McKay: Yeah the original name was
Underground Railroad Records. When things got legit that name was
taken and so we were searching for names. One day Joshua proposed
Northplatte cause it was a town in Nebraska that he had made
fieldtrips to. Sounded good, so we went with it.
Joshua:
Northplatte is where the geese flock, it is amazing, you must
go.
Gavin: When you started putting it together, was it
hard getting things in order or did it all flow smoothly for you? And
what were the challenges you met along the way?
McKay:
Haha, we're still putting it together and figuring things out as we
go along. Things have flowed pretty smoothly though. We've gotten the
most help from Joshua's manager Shannon. Other help from Velour owner
Corey Fox and tons of other people around. Biggest challenges are
selling records these days. People just burn CD's now instead of buy
them. Haha! It's been such a rad experience though. In the beginning
of it all we both just said that we love music so much we don't care
if we lose money on the hobby or not. Most people lose money on the
things that they love like sports/video games/dating etc... you know?
We knew we would spend a lot of money on it but we love it so it is
worth putting your life into something like this.
Joshua:
When we are rich from our label we will give all our money to the
Catholic church.
Gavin:
For those who don't know, who are some of the artists on your
label?
McKay: The artists on our label are Joshua James
himself, the mastermind of it all, RuRu, the boy wonder who we
recorded his debut album Elizabeth when he was 15, Desert
Noises, who themselves were mostly in high school too, and The
Vibrant Sound which brings a totally different element to the
label.
Joshua: We are in the searching process for
other bands and artists that we are in to.
Gavin:
What's the thought process for you when deciding to add someone or
not?
McKay: We love music so much so we are always on
the scene and hearing new people and listening to new records. People
submit demos all the time and we go to a lot of live shows to check
people out. When we really love someone we talk with them and work
things through Joshua's manager Shannon, as we are kind of a sister
label of his label Intelligent Noise.
Joshua: There is
also often a baking competition, if the band has any skills at baking
and or cooking the recommendation for approval goes up by many
degrees.
Gavin:
What was it like for you Joshua when it came time to release your
music on your own label?
Joshua: It's stressful, and
hard, and sometimes not worth it. But then it is. So its a very
complex thing. But I enjoy not having to do something for
another label, I release what I want, and when I want to. So in that
way it is liberating. I feel much freedom in it. But watch out for
the devil.
Gavin: Do you have a longterm goal for
Northplatte to become more national, or is your main focus to stay
independent and keep it local?
McKay: We would
definitely like to branch out. Artists like Joshua are already huge
nationally and internationally so that carries the label everywhere.
RuRu is also pretty big nationally. We plan to base ourselves out of
Utah for the most part but we see the label as reaching a wider
audience though always keeping the independent family feel to
it.
Joshua: I think we hope for branching, to
expand.
Gavin:
You've been going for three years now. What's your overall view of
the label and how its developed and grown over the years?
Joshua:
It seems that anything you can do for another artist, such as giving
them a place to record, or helping out financially creates a sense of
fellowship. And from there it seems to help that artist create more,
and maybe even better than before, because they know someone believes
in what they do.
McKay: Its been crazy to see
everything evolve. I don't think either of us expected any of this
when we were first starting out. We have seen so much over the years
and been blessed with great success and priceless experiences with so
many amazing relationships built.
Gavin: A little
state-wide, what are your thoughts on the local music scene, both
good and bad?
McKay: Not much bad at all. So many
amazing things going on in Utah. Some of my personal favorites are
The Neon Trees, Shark Speed, Band Of Annuals, The Devil Whale,
Location Location, Imagine Dragons, etc. There are way too many to
name. Something I would love to see is for there to be more of a
family feel between all of Salt Lake and Provo/Orem or even Park City
for that matter. Sometimes the communities are split apart but I see
nothing but good for the local music scenes in Utah.
Joshua:
Mmhhhmm, indeed! That seems about right. I just wish there was more
Rap.
Gavin:
Is there anything you believe could be done to make it
better?
Joshua: There is always room for
improvement.
McKay: So many things, but that's kind of
how life is. You live and you learn. That's really what makes it so
good. Learning and doing it better next time. I think people will see
in time as we progress even more as a label and with the sound that
we put out.
Gavin: What's your take on local radio,
both major and community based, and how its affected local music and
artists overall?
McKay: KRCL is amazing! They have been
so supportive with us. There is not a ton of others locally that are
really all that helpful to work with. Some of the college radio in
Logan and Salt Lake etc. I think that the radio could help out the
scene so much better than it does. So many amazing artists never get
recognized.
Joshua: I really like KRCL a lot
too.
Gavin:
What do you think of other local labels and the work they do for the
scene?
McKay: The only other one I'm really familiar
with is Kilby Records, and I love the Band Of Annuals and others they
are putting out. I think Will and Lance are huge for the scene in
Salt Lake.
Joshua: Yes!
Gavin: Moving to
the music industry, tell us what your thoughts are on it in general
and the current state it's in?
McKay: Man it's tough to
say. I don't stay too informed on the industry. Our label is so far
from that, haha! We kind of just do what we love regardless of
industry trends. The saddest thing about music these days is not the
industry to me, it is the fact that most people don't value music or
art in general these days. Everyone just steals it for free and
therefore it has no real value in society today. Music has probably
changed all of our lives but we've grown up in a society with
technology where now it has become valueless. That's the saddest part
to me. So many amazing artists can't bring us amazing music anymore
cause they can't make any money doing it and so they have to get
other jobs etc. I think the industry will always force feed us a lot
of garbage but there are so many amazing independent labels now and
people are searching for it these days.
Joshua: In
Canada the government pays musicians to make records, and
tour.
Gavin:
What do you think of the current trends in music that are getting
radio play today?
Joshua: Looks like good music is on
its way up.
McKay: Indie/Folk seems to be huge. I think
there is this huge generation that grew up on Connor Oberst stuff.
People are going back to a time where Bob Dylan was a hero.
Singer/songwriter's are becoming huge in an era that may seem a
little like the late 60's. Dance music seems to be getting huge too.
A whole generation also influenced by The Postal Service, making
beats and songs to dance to like MGMT. So many kids coming out with
music these days grew up on so many different influences and the sky
is the limit to them. I think we'll see a lot more music that crosses
boundaries than we have before. It's become more accepted to be into
all different types of music these days.
Gavin: What
can we expect from you and the label the rest of the year?
McKay:
We may have to keep that a surprise! We're working with some
different people right now but nothing finalized yet so we can't say.
Joshua's new album Build Me This will release in September.
This album is amazing!!! Paste Magazine has been ranting and
raving about it. We're super excited for that as it has been a long
time since he has released a full length album. We'll be working on a
full length album for Desert Noises at the end of fall and that is
going to blow people's minds away as well. You'll probably see some
new talent coming out of the label and you'll definitely see all of
the artists on the label touring like crazy. Northplatte's taking
over, haha!
Joshua: Tonight at The Arizona, tomorrow
the world. Be careful, we are a force.
Gavin:
Is there anything you'd like the plug or promote?
McKay:
Check out the website, buy a record! Haha! There is something for
everyone or everything for someone. Thanks to the amazing people of
Utah who have made a lot of this possible with their support. Thanks
to all our other fans everywhere who have also made this possible.
Come and hang out with us at a show or come skate with us! You can
check out any of the bands sites for tour dates etc.
Joshua: There is
this awesome webpage, SuperCook, where you can type in ingredients that you have
laying around and it will give you recipes to make. I really like it.