Pre Order Jeff German’s 12 Rounds on Limited Edition Vinyl!
February 19th, 2014Slothtrop Music Signs Ohio based Jeff German to 3 album deal
January 7th, 2014For Immediate Release
Madison, WI, January 7, 2014- Slothtrop Music is proud to announce their recent signing of Ohio based Blue-Collar Rocker Jeff German. Mr. German was introduced to Slothtrop through the Sonicbids website.
“We are excited to have a songwriter of Jeff German’s caliber on our label”, said Slothtrop Music president Eric Hester, “he represents everything we love about music- great songwriting, exceptional musicianship, and a solid work ethic.”
Jeff German grew up listening to his older brother’s record collection: Bowie, Mott the Hoople, Stones, Faces eventually morphed into The Clash, The Damned, The Jam and then into Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran. His entire musical pursuit strongly tied to that collection and his southern Michigan roots. “I am the son of a strong union electrician.” says German, “I am a husband, a father and a grandfather. I am a 50- year-old man who, after taxiing teenagers around and coaching High-School Hockey, has a few hours left in a day to cobble together some songs and some tunes.” These influences shine in his amazing musicianship and add depth and sincerity to his songwriting…..all three are qualities much overlooked in todays music scene.
Mr German is the latest artist signed to Slothtrop through their Sonicbids submission system. This system allows Slothtrop to find bands interested in being on their roster with a Sonicbids electronic press kit (EPK). The system is hosted at Sonicbids.com.
“Sonicbids has saved us from storing a ton of paper press kits and CD’s,” says Hester, “it has also allowed us to find some truly great artists we are excited to know and work with.”
Jeff German will re-release his debut album “12 Rounds” for Slothtrop on March 18, 2014 with the first single “Sit and Think” receiving a special Limited Edition vinyl pressing featuring hand numbered original artwork.
For more information on Jeff German, visit:
reverbnation.com/jeffgerman
sonicbids.com/band/jeff-german-the-blankety-blanks
jgblanketyblanks.com
We’re Crazy for Sexy Ester’s New Release “Monomania”!
March 26th, 2013Though 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.
Marty Finkel finds himself on Slothtrop Records
March 19th, 2013Today 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)”
Dana Immanuel’s Character Assassination
March 12th, 2013We’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”
Paper Arrows Release “Days Of Getting By!”
September 25th, 2012FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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
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New Video for “5 Dollar Cover”
September 5th, 2012Eric 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.
It Costs How Much?
August 21st, 2012I 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.
New Releases and some changes!
August 8th, 2012Wanted 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………
More MAMA’s
June 2nd, 2012Well 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”!