It starts with a single band and their first album. Then a friend walks in the front door with his band. Before you know it a third old mate decides to stop the hunt for a new record company and brings his record along. In a few short months others join the group and together they begin to create a new model. A self-controlled model. A commitment to the group and the decision to own their work. To own their creation. To own their lives. Combined muscle. Combined enthusiasm. Combined talents. A United Artists for the 21st Century Record Industry.

These are Artists with a past. Albums. Bands. Deals. Tours. Cargo USA. Capitol. Rough Trade. Stunt. Feedbach. US & European tours. All had hopes, successes and failures within the cogs of the machine. For them the machine wasn't the answer. But none of them let it beat them. Fired with a commitment to keep pushing, still driven by a passion for great music, for the best visuals, the best packaging they kept at it. Now nothing is left untouched by these singular hands.

It just happens that these guys are also artisans. Photographers, designers, sound engineers and writers, they all kept on in the face of successes and failures. Bad deals, troubled tours, life changes and business frustrations couldn't change all that. Driven by the need to express and do it well, with nothing substandard. No pandering. No question. Every aspect they determined was important to their vision. A vision of business ideals, of responsibility to the audience, to the artist and to themselves.

Whatever this label may be though it isn't an altruistic exercise. It's just as simple as breathing.

This year is a brand new start. 6 scheduled records out in '07 and everything coming from the hands of these Artists. Everything you see and everything you hear. Old Artists. New Artists. And a heap of cross-pollination going on. Bands combining. Members writing new songs with someone from another band. Teaming up to make something new. In fact the side-projects nearly outweigh the main ones. And there are more waiting in the wings.

There is a lot planned. A lot already happening. A lot to celebrate. Artistic freedom. A good laugh with old friends. A chance to write a few good songs and share them. An opportunity to sweat and fight to birth a new creation. ...The new life has begun. Come on. Join the adventure.

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DEMO POLICY

We gotta be honest. If you send us a package it'll only be going into the recycling bin and give our triceps a work out when we play "toss-the-demo".

It's not due to our snobby attitude (although when it comes to food...well, we ARE snobby). It's just that for now, we've only got a small budget and far too many records to put out. For the forseeable future we've got our hands full plain and simple.

This is a new model. We are all on trial here trying to prove us Artists can get along well enough to actually help each other exist and make another record. Tough stuff ain't it?

The best we recommend is to do what we are doing (or watch us and learn what NOT to do...). Work your tail off building your own thing. Exert some effort. Break the rules. Yours and everyone else's. Push yourself to create great honest work. Get involved. Join your art community. See some shows. Make a difference. Empower yourself by DOING not waiting. Start your own co-op label. Team up with other like-minded folks around you and push...hard. It's the old punk DIY ethic on a wider scale.

And when you get out there, keep us posted on your progress. We get juiced hearing about other folks grabbing their passions by the balls (uh, maybe an unfortunate bit of allegory there...).

Anyway, dig in and remember to enjoy the hell out of it all!