Five years ago today...

Electronic synth-pop duo Band & The Beat released their third Digital Single for the track "Sweet as Honey".

Happy 10th Birthday to The Harding Street Assembly Lab Record Label

[Repost from The News & Advance; by Emma Schkloven]

[Lynchburg, Virginia] label Harding Street Assembly Lab celebrating 10 years with birthday bash

Nathan McGlothlin can tell a story about every recording his label Harding Street Assembly Lab has ever released.

He’ll happily divulge a misstep in the guitar part on the first single released by his band, or talk about the demos that were recorded before Richmond group the White Laces actually became a band.

There’s the album that led to a show on the roundabout at Fifth and Federal streets in Lynchburg, and the series of delays that caused #30 to be released at the same time as #39.

Founded by McGlothlin and his wife, Joanna, Harding Street Assembly Lab (HSAL) — which celebrates its 10th anniversary and 50th catalog entry with a festival this Saturday — has been giving a voice to Virginia music for an entire decade.

“He’s trying to help support a creative ecosystem that rewards experimentation and that rewards a kind of independent thinking and a kind of independent expression,” says California-based producer Chris Schlarb, who has worked with HSAL on several records.

“It’s a total labor of love. We need things like Harding Street, just like we need people like Nathan out there who are supporting the fringes of the creative world.”

Like most labels, Harding Street doesn’t produce a band’s music or design its album cover. Instead, it connects artists with the right people to help in every step of the record-making process, from crafting the songs to mixing the tracks to making the vinyl it will be cut on.

“We know somebody that does all of the parts to putting a record out,” McGlothlin says. “We can connect you, who don’t know those people, with those people. I think the magical part of what Harding Street does is we do all those things in the name of support.”

Visions of the Lynchburg label began in 2009 when McGlothlin received a call from a fellow musician in Richmond asking if he wanted to help produce a record.

While the other investors eventually backed away from the project, McGlothlin and Joanna decided to move forward. But they decided to do it their own way.

It wasn’t about making money for the couple but about helping artists share their music.

“Harding Street offered me this blank canvas to make whatever I wanted to make,” says former Lynchburg artist Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, who saw his popularity spread beyond the Hill City music scene after competing on “American Idol” last season.

“... They just support you as an artist, and let you do whatever you feel led to do creatively. That is incredibly affirming, and liberating, as an artist. I totally feel like I was able to utilize that opportunity to find my own voice musically. And that process continued after I moved.”

Harding Street’s philosophy wasn’t the only thing that set it apart.

Often, labels focus either on a specific style of sound or genre, or they focus on a geographic area, McGlothlin says. But HSAL doesn’t quite fall into either category.

Yes, there is a Virginia component — after all, the label’s slogan is “doing right by Virginia since 2009” — but there’s just as much focus on highlighting the sounds of the region.

“The way we’ve kind of pitched it is what are the sounds that are either coming out of South Central Virginia or what are the sounds that come through South Central Virginia?” McGlothlin says.

While catalog entry #34 is from Raleigh’s Band & The Beat, the act has played in Virginia several times, so they fit the bill.

Steve Scott (HSAL #38), a British poet McGlothlin adores, lives in Northern California, but he records in an ambient style, and Lynchburg has a big ambient music scene.

“You don’t necessarily always know what you’re going to get when you go into Harding Street[’s catalog],” says Richmond musician Landis Wine, whose bands White Laces and Opin have released music through the label. “There’s always new stuff to explore.”

In the early days of the the label, McGlothlin worked with bands he knew from touring with his band, TLVS, and interesting acts he’d found on Bandcamp.

McGlothlin wasn’t just taking a group’s music and putting it out there, Landis says. He was nurturing these fledgling bands, helping them find their voice and sound in a vast, sometimes intimidating, musical landscape.

“Harding Street has helped us grow in so many ways,” says Melody Ouellette, of the Lynchburg indie rock band L.A. Dies. “We have learned how powerful and useful collaboration can be when making music. They’ve pushed us to do things outside of our comfort zone, leading us to try new things musically we probably wouldn’t have thought of.”

Every HSAL release has been fronted with the McGlothins’ own money, something that can be very validating for a young band.

“Quite often, those little acts — those small decisions to help press up some CDs and help get a little bit of extra attention— those are the things that encourage artists to keep going,” says Schlarb, the California producer.

To cut down on expenses, early releases often involved some DIY aspect. McGothlin played as a studio musician on some of the albums. He and his wife would screen-print album jackets, print inserts at Kinko’s and assemble the components themselves.

One time, McGlothlin got a good deal on a large batch of vinyl, so a record ended up being printed in various colors.

Things changed at the end of 2017 with the release of Harmon’s self-titled EP.

“At that point, it had all been about Virginia,” McGlothlin says. “We really wanted to buy back into Lynchburg. Like, there’s a lot of cool stuff that’s starting to happen in Lynchburg, and we want to document that.”

Schlarb flew in to Lynchburg and recorded the album with Harmon over two weeks. He then returned to the West Coast, where he brought in studio musicians to fill out the sound.

“The album sounded so professional we didn’t want to DIY it,” says McGlothlin. “We wanted to do it as legit as we could.”

Harmon’s EP became HSAL’s first release without any DIY components. From there, they never looked back.

Removing themselves from the physical making of the album not only reduced stress for the McGlothlins, it also changed the perception of the label.

“Suddenly, there was a lot more interest in somebody being on Harding Street,” McGlothlin says. “Like we started getting demos, we started getting emails.”

Bands would show up with fully-recorded albums or ideas for artwork. All HSAL had to do was manufacture the product.

“Now, when people come to Harding Street, there’s a certain expectation,” he says. “You’ve got to come with some of those things already dreamed up.”

HSAL’s lineup of Lynchburg-connected artists has continued expanding and now includes current local acts Good Dog Nigel and L.A. Dies.

There’s also artists like Harmon and Nathaniel Roots, known by his stage name KillGXXD, who no longer live in the Hill City but still work with the label, and Wine’s current band Opin, which is based in Richmond.

“We did a really cool compilation — it’s #44,” McGlothlin says. “What we did is we took five Lynchburg bands, like current Lynchburg bands, and we said ‘We will pay for your studio time if you go to the studio and live track a new song and a cover song that we pick.’ They all did, and the cover songs were all old Lynchburg bands, like the old Lynchburg guard.”

Even when bands leave Harding Street for larger labels, McGlothlin continues to support them, says Wine.

“Appreciation isn’t attached to what you are necessarily going to do for them; it’s not transaction-based,” he says. “... When you’re hopping around between labels, sometimes things get a little bit weird, but Nathan’s always been very supportive, very consistent. He’s always wanted to see whatever the artist wants, whatever their vision is, to come to fruition.”

While bands now reach out to them, McGlothlin says he still likes to search on Bandcamp — or, as he calls it, window shop — for exciting talent.

“You know [how] most old guys sit on their back porch with their cup of coffee and they do the New York Times crossword?” he asks. “I’m searching the internet for bands.”

Harding Street, which McGlothlin estimates has put up tens of thousands of dollars, has in no way broken even, but that isn’t the marker of success in his mind.

The ultimate achievement, he says, is that he’s helped create a brand new piece of art that can now be shared and enjoyed.

“To date, we’ve made over 50 things happen, that weren’t there before. We’ve helped almost two dozen artists release things,” McGlothlin says. “It’s not world-changing, but it does change their world.”

Watch Band & The Beat's artwork for "Straight and Narrow / Jimmy's Jam" come to life!

NEW MUSIC VIDEO FROM BAND & THE BEAT

Band & The Beat
"Sweet as Honey"
Sweet as Honey [Digital 45]
Fort Lowell Records

CHECK OUT NEW MUSIC FROM MOYAMOYA + BAND & THE BEAT

Listen to and pre-order now the brand new singles from both moyamoya + Band & The Beat!
 

MARK ROBINSON (TEEN-BEAT, UNREST, FLIN FLON) REMIXES BAND & THE BEAT'S "21"

NEW SYNTHPOP / ELECTRONIC MUSIC FROM RALEIGH NORTH CAROLINA

Dream pop duo, Band & The Beat, have two brand new songs:
"Straight and Narrow" and "Jimmy's Jam!"  Check them out here:





Both songs will be officially released on Tuesday, March 29th...
But you can actually buy them now directly from Band & The Beat's own Bandcamp page!

ALSO, CHECK OUT BAND & THE BEAT'S NEW WEBSITE: www.bandandthebeat.com

Photography by Steven Haley

RALEIGH + RALEIGH + CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA

moyamoya + Band & The Beat are about to take over the Triangel Area of North Carolina!   Catch them both together live, this week: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday - January 27th, 28th, and 29th.  Two shows in Raleigh NC, and then one in Chapel Hill NC!  See y'all at the shows!

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27
Schoolkid's Records
Raleigh, NC
w/ moyamoya, Band & The Beat
(ALL AGES)

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28
Slim's Downtown
Raleigh, NC
w/ FKB$, moyamoya, Band & The Beat

FRIDAY, JANUARY 29
Nightlight
Chapel Hill, NC
w/ Midnight Plus One, moyamoya, Band & The Beat

BAND & THE BEAT WINTER TOUR

Band & The Beat are coming for ya' Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, this Winter, starting this Sunday!  Be sure to "put on your red shoes and dance the blues!" 

BAND & THE BEAT - WINTER TOUR
JAN 17 - Neptune's Parlour - Raleigh, NC - w/ T0W3RS, Slang, Hotline

JAN 27 - Schoolkid's Records - Raleigh, NC - w/ moyamoya (ALL AGES)
JAN 28 - Slim's Downtown - Raleigh, NC - w/ FKB$, moyamoya
JAN 29 - Nightlight - Chapel Hill, NC - w/ Midnight Plus One, moyamoya
JAN 30 - Norfolk Taphouse - Norfolk, VA - w/ Quincy Mumford & the Reason Why
JAN 31 - Galaxy Hut - Arlington, VA - w/ DKvDK
FEB 1 - The Golden Pony - Harrisonburg, VA - w/ Cool Ghost, Humanzee
FEB 2 - Motorco - Durham, NC - w/ Adrien Reju, Elijah Wolf
FEB 19 - The Cave - Chapel Hill, NC - w/ An Occassion For Balloons, TLVS
FEB 20 - Speakertree Records - Lynchburg, VA - w/ TLVS
FEB 21 - Strange Matter - Richmond, VA - w/ Anousheh, Dazeases
MAR 2 - Tin Roof - Charleston, SC - w/ infinitikiss, Sweatlands
MAR 3 - The Erasery - Savannah, GA w/ Bands With Melody, Matt Aker
MAR 4 - 1904 - Jacksonville, FL - w/ moyamoya, Tambor
MAR 5 - 529 - Atlanta, GA - w/ Chelsea Shag, Big Brutus
MAR 6 - New Brookland - Columbia, SC - w/ infinitikiss, Grace Joyner

BLURT MAGAZINE INTERVIEWS FORT LOWELL RECORDS

Yours truly (AKA: James Tritten) of Fort Lowell Records and Band & The Beat recently sat down with Blurt Magazine for a (quite lengthy, in my own words) interview.  Make a nice cup of tea, and settle in for a while.  Then, read here.

BAND & THE BEAT INTERVIEW WITH YAB YUM

Yab Yum Music & Arts reviews Band & The Beat's debut Digital 45 "21," along with interviewing James Tritten about being in a band with your spouse and making phat beats!   Check out the interview here: https://www.yabyumwest.com/2015/11/band-the-beat-21.html.

TRACK OF THE DAY: BAND & THE BEAT "21"

Stereo Embers Magazine features Band & The Beat's debut single "21" as their Track Of The Day!
---
““21” is a darkly sparkling, driving and drifting dream-pop noir opus that is mesmerizing and mood-altering. A fast-ticking beat and Motorik bass-like line runs through most of the track, creating a propulsive, nocturnal ambience. Globular synth notes are dropped on top, along with distortion-spangled synth notes and Tracy’s slightly disembodied vocals that float at the forefront of the instruments.” ~ Jen Dan, Stereo Embers

ORDER BAND & THE BEAT '21 [DIGITAL 45]' NOW ON BANDCAMP

TURNTABLE KITCHEN PREMIERES BAND & THE BEAT

Our dear friends at Turntable Kitchen, an amazing blog site I might add, have an exclusive premiere for Band & The Beat's debut single "21," coming out officially on Tuesday, October 27th. Check out their website here, and listen to the Digital 45 in advance!

You can pre-order now from us (look to your right)!

INTRODUCING BAND & THE BEAT [FEATURING TRACY SHEDD]

Ladies & Gentlemen...

It is with great pleasure that we announce the debut release for Band & The Beat.  Tracy and James Tritten (of Tracy Shedd, from Teen-Beat and New Granada Records) have started a new band, called Band & The Beat - a husband-wife dream pop duo, featuring synthesizers and a drum machine, from Raleigh NC - and they have a brand new Digital 45 release due out Tuesday, October 27th.  The single is "21," which is accompanied by the virtual b-side, "Buoy."   You will have to wait a few weeks before you can hear "21," but for now you can take a listen to "Buoy" here:



Band & The Beat is supporting their debut release with a tour through North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia beginning Wednesday, October 14th.  Below are the dates; don't forget to bring your dancing shoes!  PS: Handmade Band & The Beat T-Shirts are going to be available at the shows (pictured below ./ order online here)!

Oct 14 . Durham NC . The Pinkhook . w/ Jphono1, Schooner (solo)
Oct 17 . Raleigh NC . Slim's . w/ Jason Herring & The Mystery Plan
Oct 18 . Chapel Hill NC . Local 506 . w/ Nuns (Oklahoma)
Oct 19 . Knoxville TN . Pilot Light . w/ Bark (mems. of Tim Lee 3), Psychic Baos
Oct 20 . Nashville TN . The Basement - 8:00pm - New Faces Nite
Oct 20 . Nashville TN . The 5 Spot - 10:00pm - $2 Tuesday w/ Derek Hoke
Oct 21 . Nashville TN . The Basement East - New Faces Nite
Oct 22 . Athens GA . Flicker . w/ Tabloid
Oct 23 . Charlotte NC . Petra's . w/ Jason Herring & The Mystery Plan, the Edwards Brothers
Nov 1 . Durham NC . Duke Coffeehouse . w/ Free Pizza (Boston MA)
Nov 7 . Chapel Hill NC . The Cave . w/ Tim Lee 3, Kenny Roby

Band & The Beat T-Shirts:

BAND & THE BEAT (FEATURING TRACY SHEDD)

Folks, our very own Tracy Shedd and yours truly have a new project called Band & The Beat. To start, we've taken some of Tracy Shedd's hit singles from her career, and we synthesized them; meaning, we are playing them with an analog synthesizer, electric piano, a drum machine, and electric guitars. Rest assure, we've got a number of brand new tunes in the Dream Pop Perculator, as well as plans for an October Tour! There is no pre-programmed sampling going on here, folks; this stuff is coming at'cha' 100% live! Take a listen below, and stay tuned to this site, as we will have more to report out about Band & The Beat soon!

Photo by Steve Haley