A New Shade Of Blue Meridian


photo: Cesar Vargas

by David Himes
published 6-1-01

Courtesy of Connections Magazine

A major label record deal is seen as an elusive holy grail by many unsigned artists. All too often, the thought of such a deal conjures up images of instant stardom-and the thought of signing with an independent label is overlooked. But if you ask the members of bands like Creed, an indie label certainly has its advantages. Creed is living proof that the right indie label deal can take you as far, if not further than a major label deal. Of course, the subject of major vs. indie labels can be debated until you’re blue in the face. But one thing is for certain: Both avenues carry an element of risk. If you look around, you can see the many carcasses of failed deals on the side of the road-bands and artists left for dead by both major and indie labels.

Our story today will look at the independent side of the industry-a tale that demonstrates the advantages of being a top dog at an indie label over being a piss ant at a major. The latest signing out of O-town, modern rock band Blue Meridian’s recent inking with Phurst Degree Records has been stirring up some controversy in the local scene lately.

On the surface, singer/guitarist/ songwriter Donovan Lyman seems to be taking some flack in the local media for inking a deal with the upstart indie. But an in-depth conversation with him revealed that his decision is a sound one. And make no mistake: Lyman is definitely no idiot when it comes to the music industry. Formerly a radio station music director in his hometown in Massachusetts, Lyman’s controversial decision is based on a wealth of experience and his keen knowledge of the biz.

Part of what makes a major label seem attractive is the size of the company and the money they have access to. By contrast, most indie labels don’t have multi-million dollar bank accounts and operate at a grassroots level. “We have the best of both worlds with this label,” Lyman explains. “It’s an indie label, but they do have the financial backing to spend money on us the way a major would.”

For an upstart label, Phurst Degree does seem to mean business and they’re coming out swinging. Blue Meridian is the second band to sign with the label. The first is hip-hop act Triple Deep. Phurst Degree has already spent a massive amount of money to date on advertising and promotion alone for Triple Deep-and that doesn’t include their recording budget. For instance, the label has been buying advertising in Billboard Magazine, Teen People Magazine, Seventeen Magazine, YM and MTV (no slouch advertising) to promote the act. “Of course, the label is going after a different market for Triple Deep than us,” said Lyman, “but they have every intention of putting the same amount of money and energy into us. They’ll spend more money in promotion than many majors would, so I think we’ve got a pretty good shot.”

A New Blue Lineup

Blue Meridian’s current lineup consists of Lyman, longtime drummer Kevin Kirkwood, guitarist Mike Grier and bassist Adam Sentz. “We’ve been through a few players in the past,” said Lyman, “and I think it’s pretty fortunate for the band that this lineup fell together as the record deal came into place.”

The latest lineup of Blue Meridian could be the band’s most solid yet. This became apparent to me when I saw them open for the Wallflowers at Hard Rock Live last month. The new members certainly proved themselves as they played for a full room at the mega-venue. Grier and Sentz are full-fledged members of the band and not the hired guns they’re rumored to be. They definitely interact well with the two seasoned veterans (Lyman and Kirkwood) of Blue Meridian.

While Lyman makes most of the band’s business decisions, all four Blue Meridian members are musically equal. “For the last seven years, I have written all of the songs,” says Lyman, “but this line-up seems to have more to contribute and is making some very interesting suggestions regarding direction and arrangement. On a recent composition, Adam contributed both words and music on the middle eight (bridge). It’s definitely agreeable to the tune and will certainly stay put. This opens the door for more serious collaboration between members in the songwriting process and I’m genuinely excited about it.”

Kirkwood, who has been with the band for seven years as of this August, is Lyman’s business partner, and has shared band expenses and such. “Kevin is a great drummer and dedicated band member,” says Lyman. “He has a sh#tload of wonderful attributes.”

To further clear up the rumors of he alone being Blue Meridian, Lyman continues: “Kevin just keeps a low profile and because of that, people in the local press perceive him as being less important or whatever, and that isn’t the case. We all have our own unique roles in the band. I do all the stuff behind the scenes, but when we’re on stage or in a rehearsal environment where the band has their instruments strapped on, everybody pulls their own weight and contributes an equal amount.”

“It’s a lot of fun and it’s definitely a musical learning experience,” says Grier. “Mike and I, being the younger guys in the band, are from a different era and we write similarly, but it’s nice to have that in the band and we all understand each other.”

Sentz adds: “Donovan usually comes up with the basic song ideas and the rest of us basically add to it. Some songs end up changing a little and some change a lot.”

On the subject of management, Lyman looks forward to the day when he can turn his business duties over to a manager who can be trusted and works as hard as he does. “I can’t wait until the day comes when I can be just a musician too,” he says.

So how much longer will Blue Meridian be a self-managed unit? “I think the longer we stick it out and the more successful we become without a management company,” Lyman explains, “the more bargaining power we’ll have when we negotiate with one on percentages. I mean, if we would’ve signed a management deal a year ago, they would’ve wanted 25 percent or some crap.”

Blue Material

Blue Meridian has sold well over 3,000 copies of their independently released records. That’s no slouch of an achievement when you consider that many local bands get stuck with what I call the “million seller” (a million copies of a CD sitting in the cellar). Their critically acclaimed album, Brave Angel, bagged them an Orlando Music Award last year for “Best Album.”

“I’m confident that we can make an album of all-new material,” says Lyman, “but Brave Angel and our first EP have a lot of songs that we’re still proud of. The tens of thousands of people we hope to reach with our national debut have never heard “Brave Angel,” “Sideways Silverjet” or any other songs that are popular with our local fans.”

Lyman & Co. have ultimately decided to include around eight of their best newer songs and re-record four or five of their best previous ones for the new album. The band recently polled their fans via the Blue Meridian web site (www.bluemeridian.net) to find out what top five songs they thought should be on the record. “The results of the poll just amazed me,” said Lyman. “We’re definitely taking the results of that poll into consideration when we decide which of our previous songs will end up on the new album.”

The band is leaving the poll results posted on the site for the next couple months. While Lyman was fairly hesitant to name what particular songs will end up on the record, he hinted at “Sideways Silverjet” and “Helly”-one of the band’s most popular live songs. Blue Meridian hopes to record the album throughout the summer and release it in the fall.

When asked where the band intends to record the album, Lyman brought up some interesting points. “When anyone in the band, as well as myself, thought of signing a record deal, we pictured the big advance, the glamour and pageantry,” Lyman reflected. “I imagined going to some exotic, far-away place with the big vibe to record. But then again, there’s an enormous amount of expense involved in that. I’ve heard national albums that, sonically, didn’t sound as good as our last local record. I mean, we can record a good record anywhere. You could spend $8,000 to record a great album or you could spend three quarters of a million to record an average album. …And that three quarters of a million could be much better spent on promotion instead of us getting to be big shots and walking into a studio like Electric Ladyland or something. So we’re going to stay local, support the local studios and save money at the same time.”

Another benefit of signing with an indie label is that a band is more likely to record on a local level, as opposed to recording at one of those exotic studios with a big-budget producer. Phurst Degree understands that the band isn’t going to be successful without a big promotional push. Taking into consideration that an upstart indie label has to work harder than a major, breaking a band on a national level can be more of a challenge. So instead of pissing away money toward a big advance or fancy studio and producer, the label is opting to spend most of the available funds on promotion.

The Plan

To help explain the reasoning behind the business plan of the band and their label, Lyman pointed out a couple little-known facts about record deals and mistakes that are made. In the early days of record deals, there was no advance. Later, advances became a negotiating tool for labels to attract desirable artists. Today, advances have become the norm, even if there’s no bidding war happening.

There was a time when an advance was a good thing. It enabled artists who were eating TV dinners one day to buy Corvettes and act like rock stars the next day. “It seems pointless to reward artists with a large sum of money at the time of their signing when they haven’t even done anything,” says Lyman. “I think it’s a big mistake. Many artists spend the money on bullsh#t, and then take it in the ass when that money has to be paid back.”

Lyman didn’t ask for an advance and the label didn’t offer him one. “The label president and I both agree that that money would be much better spent on promotion for high visibility,” he said.

Another mistake Lyman points out when an artist gets a deal, is that they get the advance, record the album, and are put on a club tour without any visibility or airplay. This results in the artist playing in front of only a handful of people.

“I once saw Speed McQueen-a band signed to Mercury Records-play the Sapphire on a Monday night in front of about six people,” Lyman reflected. “I saw a really cool band called The Katies, who were signed to a major, play the Sapphire twice. But I think the crowd of both shows combined was like 45 people. …And that’s what some labels do. The artist is getting no airplay, they have no visibility and nobody knows who they are in Orlando. Yet the label sends them down here to do a show-and for what? They’re going in the hole with every show. They’ve got a guitar tech and a front-of-house sound guy that have to be paid when the band is being paid next to nothing. Those types of expenditures would be better off being put toward promotion.”

Those words reminded me of a few shows I’ve seen as well, with newly signed acts where the club was dead. For example, I remember seeing a band called Chevelle play at the now-defunct Legendary Station in front of about 12 people. They were a great band, but I felt bad for them because they traveled here only to play for an empty house. I’ve also seen newly signed acts that were upstaged by local bands on more than one occasion.

Some bands or industry professionals may disagree with Blue Meridian and Phurst Degree’s plan of attack. But before anyone prepares to shoot holes in it, I think it should be noted that what works for one band may not work for another. Each band’s individual situation is different.

“I think the business plan for breaking our band with this indie label makes perfect sense,” says Lyman. “The band gets signed, goes in the studio to make a killer album, and the first single gets promoted to radio while the band is still in the studio. By the time the album is done, we’ll already be enjoying airplay in 25 or 30 markets. After getting airplay for a few weeks, we play in those 25 or 30 cities at Sapphire-sized clubs for full rooms.”

Sounds like a plan.