Kilby Records: What it Really Comes Down to Is the Music
by Erin Kelleher [ejk0726@westminstercollege.edu]
Issue 239 / November 2008 More from this Issue
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Owner/Founder: Will Sartain and Lance SaundersYear Established: 2008Current artists: Band of Annuals, TaughtMe, Beardof Solitude, Red Bennies, Mike Sartain, The Future ofthe Ghost, and Will SartainNumber of releases to date: Eight
National Distribution: None.
Just radio distro for now
Is Roster Available on itunes? A roster under KilbyRecords is not available, but some of the bands likeBOA and TaughtMe have their own rosters available.
Number of albums sold: "A healthy amount,"according to Saunders. Over 2,000 BOA albumshave sold thus far.
Website: myspace.com/kilbycourt with a link forKilby Records.
Photo by Sam Milianta
Will Sartain and Lance Saunders lead busy lives. Three years ago,they established a production management company, S&S Presents.On Jan. 1 of this year, the two purchased Kilby Court from its previousowner, Phil Sherburne, and have managed the venue ever since. OnOct. 1, Sartain took over The Urban Lounge and is currently runningthe 21+ bar and venue alongside Chris Wright. Saunders is amember of the local hip-hop ensemble Deadbeats and a contributorto SLUG. To top it all off, the two are running their own record label,Kilby Records, which became official on the same day that theytook over Kilby Court. The label currently represents six bands: Bandof Annuals, TaughtMe, Beard of Solitude, Red Bennies, MikeSartain (brother of Will Sartain) and The Future of the Ghost,which features Sartain as a member. Two of Sartain’s solo albums,Bash Your Face In and Beep!, have been released on the label andhis Automatic Body EP will be released by Kilby Records on Dec. 6."Every band is a different dynamic and requires different things. Theones that are touring have completely different needs than the bandswho aren’t touring and are re-releasing albums through the label,"Saunders says. "Take the Red Bennies album. That was originallyreleased almost 10 years ago [June 27th, 1999]. We re-released itbecause, musically, we thought it was a very important album. Wewanted a younger generation to hear it."
The idea of starting a label first came to Sartain while he andSaunders were on a road trip last summer. "We were working reallyhard and booking a lot of big shows [with S&S Presents]. If we haveno overhead and if we made any money, then what else are we goingto do with it? We’re two young, single guys. We want to put the moneywe make into the community to make it a better place for everyone,"Sartain says. Saunders explained that they wanted to start a label thatwasn’t just local, but one that was an expansive national label thatpeople in Salt Lake City could be proud of. "Really, it’s not a moneymaking business, nor is it about Will or myself," Saunders says. " Allthe money that’s made through Kilby Court, Urban and S&S Presentsgoes into the label and to supporting the bands. It’s outlandish towant to make money in this business––it’s about the bands and theirmusic and the hope that they can inspire and influence others thesame way they have for us."
The initial goal of the label was to create compilations fromestablished national bands that Saunders and Sartain would payfor and oversee the creation of. "The idea was for us to pay for wellknownbands to come to Salt Lake and record a couple of songs fora compilation or an EP, but we gave it some thought and decidedthat the best thing to be doing was to focus on the bands that areswimming in the talent pool of Salt Lake City," Saunders says. "Insome ways, it’s a little bit of a failure because I wanted to do more."
As a label, Kilby Records is committed to doing everything theycan for the bands they represent. They are associated with localrecord store Slowtrain who builds websites for the bands. All thelabel’s releases are available for purchase in the store and online atslowtrainmusic.com. Slowtrain is also associated with the Alliance ofIndependent Music Stores, and because of that they are able toget a band’s album into listening stations in places outside of Utah."Band of Annuals are in listening stations in Kansas City and Seattlebecause of AIMS," said Saunders. "And in return, Slowtrain puts alocal band from Kansas City or Seattle into their listening stations."Saunders has also physically taken albums from bands on the labelinto record stores throughout the country when he was on tour withBand of Annuals. "I’d take a band’s bio, press sheet, and album intoa store and ask them to listen to it. It works well with the bands thatare touring, because I could just say, ‘Hey, this band is amazing andthey’re playing up the street tonight,’ and most of the time they’d listento the albums and come to the show and start selling their albums inthe store."
National Distribution: None.
Just radio distro for now
Is Roster Available on itunes? A roster under KilbyRecords is not available, but some of the bands likeBOA and TaughtMe have their own rosters available.
Number of albums sold: "A healthy amount,"according to Saunders. Over 2,000 BOA albumshave sold thus far.
Website: myspace.com/kilbycourt with a link forKilby Records.
Photo by Sam Milianta
Will Sartain and Lance Saunders lead busy lives. Three years ago,they established a production management company, S&S Presents.On Jan. 1 of this year, the two purchased Kilby Court from its previousowner, Phil Sherburne, and have managed the venue ever since. OnOct. 1, Sartain took over The Urban Lounge and is currently runningthe 21+ bar and venue alongside Chris Wright. Saunders is amember of the local hip-hop ensemble Deadbeats and a contributorto SLUG. To top it all off, the two are running their own record label,Kilby Records, which became official on the same day that theytook over Kilby Court. The label currently represents six bands: Bandof Annuals, TaughtMe, Beard of Solitude, Red Bennies, MikeSartain (brother of Will Sartain) and The Future of the Ghost,which features Sartain as a member. Two of Sartain’s solo albums,Bash Your Face In and Beep!, have been released on the label andhis Automatic Body EP will be released by Kilby Records on Dec. 6."Every band is a different dynamic and requires different things. Theones that are touring have completely different needs than the bandswho aren’t touring and are re-releasing albums through the label,"Saunders says. "Take the Red Bennies album. That was originallyreleased almost 10 years ago [June 27th, 1999]. We re-released itbecause, musically, we thought it was a very important album. Wewanted a younger generation to hear it."
The idea of starting a label first came to Sartain while he andSaunders were on a road trip last summer. "We were working reallyhard and booking a lot of big shows [with S&S Presents]. If we haveno overhead and if we made any money, then what else are we goingto do with it? We’re two young, single guys. We want to put the moneywe make into the community to make it a better place for everyone,"Sartain says. Saunders explained that they wanted to start a label thatwasn’t just local, but one that was an expansive national label thatpeople in Salt Lake City could be proud of. "Really, it’s not a moneymaking business, nor is it about Will or myself," Saunders says. " Allthe money that’s made through Kilby Court, Urban and S&S Presentsgoes into the label and to supporting the bands. It’s outlandish towant to make money in this business––it’s about the bands and theirmusic and the hope that they can inspire and influence others thesame way they have for us."
The initial goal of the label was to create compilations fromestablished national bands that Saunders and Sartain would payfor and oversee the creation of. "The idea was for us to pay for wellknownbands to come to Salt Lake and record a couple of songs fora compilation or an EP, but we gave it some thought and decidedthat the best thing to be doing was to focus on the bands that areswimming in the talent pool of Salt Lake City," Saunders says. "Insome ways, it’s a little bit of a failure because I wanted to do more."
As a label, Kilby Records is committed to doing everything theycan for the bands they represent. They are associated with localrecord store Slowtrain who builds websites for the bands. All thelabel’s releases are available for purchase in the store and online atslowtrainmusic.com. Slowtrain is also associated with the Alliance ofIndependent Music Stores, and because of that they are able toget a band’s album into listening stations in places outside of Utah."Band of Annuals are in listening stations in Kansas City and Seattlebecause of AIMS," said Saunders. "And in return, Slowtrain puts alocal band from Kansas City or Seattle into their listening stations."Saunders has also physically taken albums from bands on the labelinto record stores throughout the country when he was on tour withBand of Annuals. "I’d take a band’s bio, press sheet, and album intoa store and ask them to listen to it. It works well with the bands thatare touring, because I could just say, ‘Hey, this band is amazing andthey’re playing up the street tonight,’ and most of the time they’d listento the albums and come to the show and start selling their albums inthe store."
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Posted on November 2, 2011 by arkay
Why is that one dude half in shade?
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