I was overwhelmed a few weeks ago around the time of the Matinee Records 10th Anniversary Concert, which I attended but never blogged about. It really was exciting and fun, seeing Santa Barbarians getting together to listen to Australia's Lucksmiths and Seattle's Math & Physics Club (not to mention Oxnard's own Maria!) play at Red's Cafe downtown near the harbor. All the bands sounded great live, and smiles were ear to ear on everyone's faces. I was a fan of the label before moving to Santa Barbara for school, back when I randomly fell in love with the Pale Sunday and the Young Tradition, so imagine my excitement when I realized the label was in town! I came across this article from the SB Independent this morning, and it's got a lot of great information about the label and its founder, Jimmy Tassos (who pretty much runs Matinee all by himself!).
“Jimmy has not only been a tremendous help, but a great friend to us for a long time now, and that’s one of the really great things that has come out of this band,” said the Lucksmith’s Marty Donald. “It’s more important for us to work with people who are passionate about music than those who are concerned with how many records we’re going to sell. And I think Jimmy has shown that with that approach, success will come.”
With 10 years of history now behind the label and a legacy that has Matinée Recordings firmly established as one of the leading collectors of pristine pop, Tassos is turning his attention toward the future. The reality of the music industry is that, for good or bad, you never know what lies around the corner. And with some of Matinée’s longer serving artists currently on hiatus, Tassos is now fostering some new blood, which will ensure that the next 10 years will be just as dynamic as the first.
“There is so much about a label that is out of your control,” confided Tassos. “You never know what bands are going to get popular or who is going to sell, or even what is going to happen with bands — whether they’re going to continue recording, or if they’re going to break up. A lot of the bands I’ve worked with have been around for a while and are now busy with life and music is taking a backseat. So, in the last two months, I’ve signed five new bands. It’s a very exciting time for [us].”You can read the rest of the article by Brett Leigh Dicks online (which I definitely recommend doing).
