local indie label forecasts global migration

The business plan for Broken Sparrow first came to Nate Groth after he scored an unlikely hit in Europe. The multi-instrumentalist who has played everything from heavy metal to “shimmer-core” Americana was trying his hand at an electronica project, called Intelevision, when he contributed a song to a compilation released by Archenemy Records. When the comp made its way out of the States, listeners around the world latched on to Groth’s song. “I’d get these e-mails from Portugal, and Finland, and Japan, and people were like, ‘We love your track, we love your music, where can we get more of this?’”

“Unlike some of the other bands that I was in, where I was working my butt off, playing all these shows, putting up fliers all the time, getting out there for no payoff—all of a sudden I didn’t (have to) do anything at all,” recalls Groth. “It was a track that I had written in a couple afternoons, and it was getting me more attention.... I ended up playing a show at the Somerville theater, opening for Cibo Matto, and I was just scratching my head going, ‘How did this happen?’”

Groth learned a lesson in marketing: all you need to do is put the right song in front of the right people, and they’ll respond—but the “right people” may be scattered in pockets around the world. Those are the fans that Sid Lindner (a.k.a. Sid Alexis) and Groth have targeted  with both their band The Hotel Alexis and their Broken Sparrow label, which just released its first full slate of albums.

“I wasn’t going to build a local following and then expand from there. I think that model of promotion is a little bit defunct at this point, with the Internet and everything,” says Groth. “My idea with the label was that we’re going to step five steps ahead and just act like a real label, and see what happens.”

Something similar happened to The Hotel Alexis. Lindners’ band (which includes Groth on vibraphone, Gregg Porter on Drums, Kim Torres on bass, plus a host of folks sitting in) self-released its debut, “The Shining Example is Lying on the Floor,” under the Broken Sparrow name in 2004. A quiet album of Americana that barely hints at the noise and space jams that the band unleashes on stage, it built a following around the country with almost no promotion. Aquarius Records, the legendary record store in San Francisco, gave it a strong review on their Web site, Dusted Magazine awarded it the #3 slot on their Best of 2004 list, and Parasol Records recently signed up as its distributor.

This summer, Broken Sparrow finally took off as a full-fledged label, releasing its first slate of records on Aug. 23. The label’s sound so far blends husky voices and ballads with unusual timbres and drones—from Hotel Alexis’ use of vibes and pedal steel, to “Lights Out,” the debut EP by Nat Baldwin of Tiger Saw, who sings in a yearning, Andrew Bird-like croon over raw, solo double-bass. Most of the acts on the label have ties to Portsmouth—Testface’s David Snider, who released “Doctor Won’t You Get Us To Dawn,” is based in Oregon but came from the Seacoast—but Groth wants to sign acts from around the country and use better-known artists to help promote newer acts. To spearhead that first batch of records, Groth also released a vinyl edition of “New Mother” by Angels of Light, the latest project from the Swans’ Michael Gira.

Back in 2003, Groth bought the vinyl rights to Angels of Light’s first three albums. “How I Loved You” drops in October, and “Everything is Good Here/Please Come Home” will come out early next year. Gira licensed Groth to print 500 copies—no represses—and Groth turned the albums into collector’s items for Gira’s “obsessive fanbase,” splurging on a double-spine sleeve and heavy cardstock paper. “It was just jawdroppingly expensive,” says Groth, “but it looks fantastic.” “New Mother” has already sold out, and Groth has seen record stores selling it for over $40. Unfortunately for Broken Sparrow, that success persuaded Gira to now handle his own vinyl releases and pocket the cash himself.

Groth and Lindner, who recently relocated to Colorardo, run Broken Sparrow with help from other Seacoast talents: Laurel Brauns, the singer, songwriter and proprietress of The Red Door’s Hush Hush Sweet Harlot series, handles publicity, and WSCA vet Jay Boucher takes care of radio promotion. Broken Sparrow is just the latest indie label to hit the area, joining Kimchee Records (home of Chris Brokaw, Blake Hazard, Willard Grant Conspiracy), and Important Records in Newburyport, which has released vinyl and CD from an international roster of indie and experimental acts like Merzbow, Current 93 and Stephen Malkmus. (Important co-released the Angels of Light albums with Broken Sparrow, to help Groth get the production off the ground.)

For next year, Broken Sparrow hopes to put out a larger number of releases, and they’re aiming to build a brand that’s recognized around the world. “I’m just going to know—if some kid out there is in a record store, flipping through some records, and says, ‘Huh, what’s this Testface business? Well, it’s on Broken Sparrow? That’s going to be good. I’ll pick it up.’ That (would be) success.”


Broken Sparrow live
www.brokensparrow.com
Nat Baldwin is currently the label’s only locally touring artist. He’ll return to The Red Door in Portsmouth for the Hush Hush Sweet Harlot series on Monday, Oct. 24 after playing gigs up and down the East Coast with Tiger Saw, Jason Anderson, The Sanguine, Castanets and others.