The Birth Of A Cockroach:
So, you gotta be nuts to want to launch a label group in todays economy. Sometimes I wish I was born tone deaf like my brother.. or a braindead Country pig-fucker .... Happy listening to Major Label Alterno-trash, as heard on GOSSIP GIRL. I'm told many people are "OK" praying at the alter of AMERICAN IDOL... Hanging on every slurred, shitfaced word coming out of (or into) Paula's mouth. Sucking Simon and Randy "Dog" Jackass off at every comercial break. Unfortunately, I was born with a mad passion for all things music. I grew up on The Stones, Bowie and The Ramones.... I saw Skynyrd and Ricky Nelson before their respected plane crashes, Thin Lizzy, Mother Love Bone & The Dead before tragedy, and Jagger at age 34 (another face lift and he'll be 34 again) .... For God's sake, I saw Iggy drop his pants, and Chrissy Hynde kiss his feet....
And then I lost my way....
In 1989 I got a gig in the mail room of PolyGram Records in SF... and quikly worked my way into a sales gig. There was a 7 or 8 year period in the post "Hookers & Blow" era of the record biz that rocked. I was a medium fish in a medium pond, and I felt like I had the keys to the kingdom. I went to every show, party, dinner, reception and free lunch I could take in without exploding... It was Rock N' Roll Soddam & Ghamora. We played a lot of golf in the hallways, chipping wiffle balls at the interns. I don't remember getting a whole lot of "real" work done... But then again, I was a widget. I did one thing, and one thing only.... In my 15 years in the Majors I learned how to spend $2 or $3 on advertising for every dollar of actual sales, and how to charge back obscene meals, golf rounds and car washes (and you wonder why CD's cost $20). I learned absolutely nothing useful for todays record business. When the crash came, my collegues and I were nothing more than dumb dinosours marching into the tar pits. Many of the people I came up with are now out of the business, and working in the real world. We had lost our musical souls... our passion for "real" talent, and our sense of reality. I use to say "when you think you're a bigger rock star than those you represent, it's time to shoot yourself in the head... or sell shoes". I started to believe my own hype.... then I got laid off. Friends and collegues stopped taking my calls, or returning e-mails. Many of them fell off the planet... until they got the axe... Then we were BFF's again. Funny how that works.... Fuck 'em!!! Let 'em all work at Taco Bell. I want to love music again... and do it all over again. This time I'm going to do it right, and for the right reasons ... THE MUSIC! THE BANDS! THE PEOPLE! THE JOY!!!!!!!!!!
Cockroach Media is my shot at musical redemption. I'm working with artists that make a living a few hundred records at a time... Bands that tour non-stop, playing every club, bar & truck-stop along the way... and they love it!!!! I'm feeling their passion and love for what they do.... and I love it!!!
I started CRM because 2 friends asked me to... had no clue what to expect, or even if it would work out (so far, not so bad). I want to thank Ron @ ZKR and Darron @ DC-Jam for sharing their excitement, love of music, knowledge & friendship with me. I want to thank the guys that run the 2 dozen or so labels that jumped on the train along the way. You put a lot of trust and faith in CRM, and I'm working my ass off for NOT to let anybody down. Last year was an amazing ride... ups & downs & new ideas that would make my Major label collegues spill their free lunch. 2010 will be more of the same, only bigger and better.
1 year & 150 relaeses later...THANK YOU!!!
Cheers,
Jimmy "DeRoach" White
January 16th, 2010 (The "Year of The Roach")
