| Contact Information Website:
www.grenadinerecords.com
E-mail:
info@grenadinerecords.com
Snail Mail:
Grenadine Records
PO Box 42050, Montreal, Quebec
H2W 2T3, Canada
Discography
1998 LowBrow's "Our 17.78cm Record" 7"
(as Bittersweet Records)
1998 Tricky Woo's "Ten Tons" 7"
(as Bittersweet Records)
1999 "Syrup And Gasoline Vol. 1" CD
2000 The Frenetics' "Scenery" CDEP 2000 The
Dears' "End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story" 2001 Les
Séquelles' "Et tant pis si cela vous déplait" CD/LP review 2001
"Syrup & Gasoline Vol. 2" CD review 2001 music for mapmakers'
".02" CDEP review 2001 The Dears' "Nor the Dahlias: The
Dears 1995-1998" CD review 2002 Shy Child's "Please Consider
Our Time" CD 2002 Blurtonia's self-titled CD |
History As
Alex explains, "Grenadine Records started off when we met in
University. We were both involved at our campus radio station, CJMQ 88.9
FM, but wanted to do things beyond radio. We started by booking shows and
in 1997 we started Bittersweet Records. Bittersweet started off by
distributing other indie labels' releases in local Sherbrooke (Quebec)
stores. In February 1998, we put out a 7-inch by an Eastern-Township band,
LowBrow. Our second release was a 7-inch by Tricky Woo (in 1998). We then
discovered there was another Bittersweet Records in New York so we changed
the name to Grenadine Records in 1999. With Salgood Sam's
illustration/design help, Grenadine Records was born with the release of
Syrup & Gasoline Vol.1."
What it's like
Although Grenadine is very experienced in the business of putting out
records, they still claim that they learn something new with each release
they put out. "Each release is treated differently depending on
the band's goals and the exact type of music we're dealing with,"
explains label co-owner Alex Megelas, "So far, every band has allowed
us to learn something new. There are certain things that eventually become
routine but we still always want to do something new to challenge
ourselves." According to Megelas, the label's acclaimed Syrup
and Gasoline compilations were especially difficult to put together,
"Both Syrup & Gasoline comps took forever to put out since we had
to wait for all 20 bands to get us their tracks. The first one took a good
year and a bit to put together. Something will always go wrong; the key is
to know how to troubleshoot efficiently."
Some of the bands
The Frenetics: Eric Lapointe, the label's other co-owner,
explains, "Alex booked them on a bill in Montreal (their first show!)
and just really liked the band." Since then, The Frenetics have
released the "Scenery" 7" on Grenadine and have also
contributed a track for the "Syrup and Gasoline Vol. 2"
compilation.
The Dears: The Dears, who specialize in their own brand of pop
noir, have released two albums on Grenadine. The first, End of
a Hollywood Bedtime Story, was critically acclaimed as one of the best
Canadian albums in a long while. Nor The Dahlias, their more
recent release, is a collection of singles as recorded from 1995-1998.
Eric explains, "I went to see them play after they invited me out to
their show. I really loved their performance and emailed them soon after
about our interest."
Les Séquelles: Les Séquelles have released one album, Et Tant
Pis Si Cela Vous Deplait, on Grenadine. Done entirely in French,
it is a thoroughly enjoyable listen. Eric adds, "Alex and I knew
Stéphane from when we lived in Sherbrooke. Les Séquelles were my favorite
local band at the time. They just got better and better so we invited them
on."
music for mapmakers: Music For Mapmakers, a Toronto-based band,
have recently released their .02 release on Grenadine. Mixing
catchy indie rock with instrumental rockscapes, the album is excellent - and
surprisingly accessible. Eric explains, "I saw them perform in
Toronto a few times and asked them to contribute a song on S&GVol.2.
When we saw them play at NXNE, they blew both Alex and I away."
Alexis O'Hara: Eric tells us, "Both Alex and I have admired
her performances for a long time. We are big fans of her art and now she's
starting to deal in the world of music, so it just makes sense."
Shy Child: Shy Child have just released a new album, Please
Consider Our Time, on the label. Eric explains how the
collaboration came to be: "Luck. I walked into Kim's Mondo (in New York
City) and heard this great CD playing. I bought the CD and when I got home I
noticed that there was no label on the back, so I emailed them."
Blurtonia: Blurtonia, who have just released a new album on the
label, is Grenadine's newest catch. As Eric explains, "We went
to a show in Montreal and Alex freaked out over Blurtonia's set, bought the
CD, and was so excited about the project that we approached them."
The way Grenadine recruits its artists, as Alex put it, is that "it
just sort of happens... I think at the foremost we do have an idea as to
what we're into releasing on the label so automatically, when we see
something that sort of fits that mold, we're a bit more interested. The
fact that we work with a smaller release schedule and on a long term basis
with our artists, allows us to be a bit more selective in who we work
with.
"I think before anything else, you also have to absolutely love
the bands... Sandra, our publicist, just gave me the nickname "fanboy"
because at our last meeting, I was going on and on about how excited I was
about Blurtonia's sticker concept."
The Audience
Like it's roster, Grenadine's audience is widespread and mixed.
Including everyone from indie rock fans to sixties enthusiasts (who
especially dig Les Séquelles), the label's fanbase continue to grow in
both diversity and size. Alex explains, "I think our artists
tend to attract more of an urban following. I think so far, the city
that's received us the best is probably Toronto."
Eric adds, "We get a good response from the Montreal scene.
Toronto is probably a little bit better for us... some people even think
we're from there. We put a lot of energy into promoting our records across
Canada so this country as a whole is very supportive. Our focus now is to
get more attention in certain American centres. College radio in the US is
starting to support our releases with airplay so I think that's a
rewarding first step. New York and Chicago are also starting to be decent,
with better retail support. Still, it's one step at a time."
Descriptions, Descriptions
Alex and Eric best describe the Grenadine music with three words:
"Timeless Pop Attitude". It is no wonder that it's the
label's official motto. Alex explains that by "pop" he
means "Pop in the sense of widespread appeal, good songwriting,
energy, emotion, experimentation ... eclectic sounds that we really
admire."
Eric adds, "Number one criteria: commitment to the music and the
release. Sounds like a cliché but nothing happens overnight. We're
looking for bands who are willing to go at it for the long haul, quick
with interview requests and willing to tour a lot."
Syrup and Gasoline
Syrup and Gasoline, Grenadine's acclaimed compilation series,
has earned lots of attention from the public in the past. Alex
explains a little bit about the history of it: "Syrup and Gasoline
was a project we started to work on right after I'd left university and
moved to Montreal. After discovering Bittersweet Records in NYC, we talked
about the linguistic duality of the compilation project and since I was
also starting to get interested in French music, we decided to change the
label name so that it'd be bilingual. That's also when we ran a contest in
our newsletter and changed the label name."
As well, Syrup and Gasoline Vol. 1 marked the meeting of
Grenadine and longtime collaborator Salgood Sam, who did the artwork for
the two Syrup... releases.
One of the major aspects of the Syrup and Gasoline releases is
the bilingualism they promote. Both of the label's co-owners hope
that they can help expose both French and English audiences to what both
languages have to offer.
The Future
Grenadine fans have a lot to look forward to in the future. New
releases by Blurtonia and Shy Child are out now, and ones from music for
mapmakers and Alexis O'Hara can be expected soon. As well, Grenadine
have started up a new CD mastering service for independent
musicians. Alex adds, "Although this is still a personal pipe
dream, I'd like to maybe expand into books later on down the road... I've
been getting into Montreal's indie comix scene lately and I'd love to
eventually put out stuff like that too, although for now, the focus is
definitely on the music."
Aside from all the cool new stuff planed for the upcoming months,
though, Eric sums up Grenadine's plans in the best possible to way,
"To continue to support good independent music."
Amen to that.
-Matt Shimmer |
