Though they’ve been called “a straight ahead classic rock outfit,” Sexy Ester easily transcends that description on all fronts. Given their berth of influences and styles, there is nothing straight-ahead about this band except their energy and drive. Monomania kicks off with lead single “Holding On,” a devotional to the tenacity of love. “Rock Candy!” glitters with girl-group nostalgia over retro riffs, and “Silver Shoes” is pop-punk perfection. Monomania is full of dynamic organs, powerhouse vocals, and catchy-as-hell choruses that beg car stereos to crank it.
Today we release Marty Finkel’s newest CD Might Be Found. Marty Finkel is the closest thing to a lifelong singer-songwriter you can find. From ditties composed as a toddler to teenaged guitar songs he composed before he knew any chords, Finkel has never been far from a song. After self-releasing three full-length records, one EP (and one record as side project Spinning Swords), Finkel makes his label debut with Slothrop Records. On Might Be Found, Finkel’s songs glimmer with a unique optimism that shines in his songcraft and delivery, showcasing not only the breadth of Finkel’s talent, but also his growth as a songwriter. We can’t wait for you to hear his record! Check out the video for the song “Nobody Needs Your Love (more then I do)”
We’re excited to introduce the newest addition to our roster of artists – Dana Immanuel! Her new CD “Character Assassination” is one the best records we’ve heard in a long time. She’s also the first artist on our little Midwest label from the UK. I think her music will fit right in and we’re looking forward to helping her make a big splash in the US! Give a listen to her new single “SideKick”
September 25, 2012 (Madison WI) – Celebrated Chicago band (and 2011 Chicago Tribune Band to Watch) Paper Arrows releases their new EP, Days of Getting By September 25 on Madison, WI-based Slothtrop Records. This EP begins a new trilogy for the band, whose first three albums spanned a cycle of loss (Look Alive), Recovery (Things We Would Rather Lose) and Redemption (In the Morning).
Says lead singer-songwriter Joe Goodkin, “The new EP, Days of Getting By, is actually a reference to a song on Look Alive, SkeletonSkinandSky (the line is “most days I just get by”) the idea being that after you get through the cycle of loss, recovery, redemption, you’re often times left with a lot of the same stuff you were dealing with before, stuff you put on hold to deal with a crisis, stuff you thought was related to the crisis but isn’t: it’s just part of who you are and the daily struggle. I’m hoping to make it the first step in a second trilogy that is largely about Love… love in every form possible.”
Love permeates Days of Getting By. The second track, “Light Out,” opens with the line “Maybe love is just as strong as we let ourselves believe.” “Light Out” is one unedited vocal take and was recorded and mixed almost entirely in one day. Days of Getting By also features a cover of the Magnetic Fields’ “Book of Love” which daringly and successfully captures the song’s essence while becoming a distinctly Paper Arrows song.
Paper Arrows was formed in 2008 by Goodkin after his longtime stint in the band Burn Rome Burn (2003-2007). They have received heavy airplay on college radio and MTV. In December of 2010, they were awarded a prestigious month-long residency at the legendary Chicago rock club Schubas. Their first three records were released through Quell Music and are available through Quell and iTunes.
Days of Getting By picks up the narrative thread of those first three full-lengths while pushing the band forward into their new theme of love in all forms. The new EP features Goodkin’s songwriting at its best, intricate and melodic while still being catchy. It is their second release on Slothtrop, their first being a maxi-single of “Love Goes On.”
More info about Days of Getting By and Paper Arrows is available at the band’s website, http://www.paperarrows.com or via their record label, http://www.slothtrop.com
Eric Hester has new video for the first single “Daylight” from his 5 Dollar Cover release. It’s a little sad but seems to be doing VERY well on youtube with over 15000 hits over the weekend.
I was recently reminded of one of the oldest myths in the Music Industry. Many industry professionals feel it is perfectly fine to have one rate for musicians and then another much higher rate for Record Labels. While I understand the feeling that record labels have deep pockets and that you are giving independent artists a “break” this just isn’t the case. Especially when dealing with a small independent label like us (or any of a hundred others I could name). The simple fact is you are still charging the artist, even if a record label is fronting that cost as part of their advance. Whatever the label is charged is going to be charged right back to the artist and until record sales (and increasingly live show revenues) cover all those costs the artist doesn’t see a dime.
While I agree that records labels have taken advantage of Artists for years, for smaller independents that sprung out of the DIY movement this is rarely the case. In our case we act as a partner with our artists. If they are doing say, 100 things to make them selves successful before signing with us, we then take on say 50 of those duties after they sign. We are hopefully amplifying the job they have been doing, not by doing it differently, but by using contacts we have already established. We also add quite a few additional opportunities and projects. Working fast and smart with a streamlined budget seems to be our recipe for any kind of success.
The proclivity of up charging labels was so bad when we first started Slothtrop we would have our artists get quotes for items and then send them a check to cover the cost. While this saved the artist and ourselves some money, it had the net effect of making our artists do more day to day work, not less. So it comes to this, if we have a certain amount of money to spend on anything, recording, photography, video, reproduction, or ad space – do I really need to have the artist call in order to get the best deal? The budget doesn’t magically get larger just because we’re the ones on the other end of the phone. Maybe a fair deal is a fair deal. Don’t you think if you treat a label fairly now, that when they do have a larger budget they’ll’ll come back to you. Well I can’t speak for everyone, but Slothtrop will.
Wanted to let you know about a couple of new releases we have available. First up the debut single on Slothtrop Records from Chicago based Paper Arrows, “Love Goes On” a brilliant piece of songwriting which we hope you’ll be hearing in lots of your favorite TV shows soon! (the other two songs on the single aren’t too shabby either).
Next we’ve got the first in a new series of CD’s from Slothtrop Records entitled “5 Dollar Cover” which appropriately enough features songwriters doing 5 songs that inspired them in their formative years. First up is Eric Hester with his first release of new material (even if they are covers) in over 10 years.
Finally the blog section of this website was initially convinced as a way to inform you about all the goings on at Slothtrop Music, not just the releases on Slothtrop Records (we’ve got a management, publishing, and consulting department too!). To get back to our original vision, we will begin posting a series of essays regarding music business topics, things we find helpful, or annoying. We imagine they are going to be pretty unpopular with a lot of folks, as they are designed to help the artist and provide realistic views and expectations about the music industry in general. So be warned………
Well Slothtrop had another great night at the Madison Area Music Awards this week end – with Sexy Ester bringing home 8 awards including Artist of the year! Check out there MAMA awarding wining video “Glitter Baby”!
Well ok we didn’t actually win any awards but our artists cleaned up at the 2011 Madison Area Music Awards last Saturday night. We’re pretty excited to see these hard working musicians garner some well deserved praise. We’ve been telling folks how awesome they are for months and it looks like lots of other folks agree!
First up Sexy Ester cleaned house by winning 4 MAMA’s including – Best Alternative Album for Hubba Bubba, Best Alternative Song for Love Bubble from their CD Hubba Bubba, and Alternative Band of The Year!!! As if that wasn’t enough Sexy Ester’s charismatic lead singer Lyndsay Evans also won Female Vocalist of the Year!
Sexy Ester also rocked the house with a live performance that you can check out right here and handout out some advance copies of their latest single Glitter Baby from their upcoming September release Sequins, Sin, and Appetite (which I’m sure will be winning lots of MAMa’s next year!). Look for a reboot of their website coming soon and the the maxi single for Glitter Baby should be available for digital download from your favorite online retailer June 14th.
Next up – Anna Vogelzang who won Most Unique Album for her Slothtrop release Paper Boats and best cover song for her banjo arrangement of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance from here Slothtrop maxi single Marry Me. You can see a live intimate performance of Bad Romancehere and a video for “Toy Boats” is located right here. Look for Anna’s new release on her own Tall Girl records coming soon!
Last but by no means least – While he’s no longer on Slothtrop Records proper we still consider him a part of the family Mark Croft won a well deserved MAMA for Best Male Vocalist. Check him out here.
Finally I wasn’t able to attend the MAMA’s this year as I was at the Andy North and Friend’s charity event for the Carbone Cancer Center n the Wisconsin Dells. It’s a wonderful affair that I am happy to be involved with. This year they raised over $900,000 in one weekend and that brings it’s three year total to a little over 2 million dollars raised for cancer research! Thanks for an amazing weekend Andy and Sue.
PS- Anna Vogelzang wasn’t at the MAMA’s cause she was entertaining folks at the Andy North and Friends event!
Madison, WI November 19, 2010 – Slothtrop Music is pleased to announce
the debut national release from Madison Wisconsin’s very own Sexy Ester
& The Pretty Mama Sisters “Hubba Bubba.” While the CD is already
receiving radio airplay across the country, and their live performances
are sending shock-waves throughout the region.
“It’s easy to sign a band as talented as Sexy Ester,” says Slothtrop
Music owner Eric Hester, “with all the national and regional attention
they have been receiving we feel lucky to have them. The fact that there
new CD is awesome doesn’t hurt either!”
Laden with intense riffs and Holly-Go-Lightly euphemisms, “Hubba Bubba”
is what great music is all about – FUN! Starting off with the melt in
your mouth deliciousness of “Love Bubble” to the poignant promises of
“Tell Me You Do,” this EP is a wonderful trip back in time to when music
sounded fresh and the producer wasn’t in control. This music is in your
face, fabulous, and fully realized.
Fronted by honey voiced Lyndsay Evans, who controls the stage like the
divas of old ( I’m talking Aretha not X-Tina ) and ably backed by Adam
Edar on guitar, Dusty Hay on drums, Brad Schubert on bass, and Roscoe
Evans on keyboards, Sexy Ester is no flash in the pan. They’ve already
payed a lot of dues slugging it out in the smaller clubs and dives all
over the Midwest. With “Hubba Bubba” fast becoming a staple of college
radio the venues are getting bigger and bigger – with a major tour
planned for the summer of 2011 – Sexy Ester & The Pretty Mama Sisters
are certainly going to have folks talking for a while.
