POSTED: Tuesday, September 22, 2009, 10:22 PM
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| Photo | Brion Shreffler |
| Joey Sweeney gives a speech. |
Emphasizing that his Philebrity blog has always been inspired by music, Joey Sweeney, standing in front of the steps leading up to National Mechanics in Old City, laid down the vision for the nascent Philebrity label and agency. The imprint, he says, will be about making music accessible to fans while giving bands needed support to navigate the ever-shifting economic realities of the music industry. Philebrity, says Sweeney, would not own a band's entire catalogue but would rather act as an agency group with a boutique record label, assisting its bands in obtaining licensing agreements and placing songs on TV and the radio. After his speech, Sweeney went on to explain that the label is cognizant that these media, in addition with touring, are where bands have to look for most of their revenue. All releases will be vinyl pressings with a download code supplied upon purchase of the much more tangible wax 12-inch. It's a move Sweeney sees as in-step with the return to vogue of the vinyl aesthetic. While he won't rule them out, Sweeney says the label will try to move away from CD releases. So it was with expectations high that the label's first signing was introduced ' The Blood Feathers, a band led by Ben Dickey and Drew Mills. The band released an album, Curse and Praise,' in 2005 (listen) prior to an extended hiatus, with its current lineup coming together early this year. They opened with their first single, "Don't Know You At All," off their forthcoming album Goodness Gracious ' to be released prior to Thanksgiving ' and drew a crowd with subdued-but-raucous riffs and a touch of swaggering old school rock 'n' roll. Catch them at Johnny Brendas on the Sept. 28 (they open for Flashy Pythons), or, for the low-low cost of your e-mail address, you can download their new single along with 4 bonus tracks (3 are demos). "It's more important to make people a fan ' especially with new bands ' and to find something that works for both parties," says Sweeney of his label's easy-access model. More photos after the jump...
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| Photo | Brion Shreffler |
| The Blood Feathers |
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| Photo | Brion Shreffler |
