Since moving to Bolivia from the USA in 2018, I’ve been exploring the heavy music scene here in Cochabamba, both as a fan, and as an aspiring musician. And I’ve been constantly impressed by the amount of heavy music being performed, the number of bands and projects that exist, and how much talent there is here.
As I’ve grown roots here, through my band Remaining Daze and various side projects, I’ve come face-to-face with the many challenges that bands and musicians face here, that aren’t necessarily unique to Cochabamba or Bolivia, but perhaps more extreme, and more widespread, because of how things are here. Meaning, economically, Bolivia generally does not provide job opportunities and associated pay on the level of more economically developed countries, and has experienced more extreme political and economic instability over the course of its recent history. Overall, that is to say, that people in the music scene here, at least in my personal experience and growing understanding of my surroundings, generally have fewer resources to invest into their music, and more structural difficulties producing and distributing their music beyond their local scenes.
For example, the cost to record a song or album in a professional studio is mostly out of reach for most bands, or at least prohibitively expensive enough such that it is not often pursued nor attained. The amount of money earned from a full or part-time job, or performing a show, is frequently so little that there isn’t anything left over to invest into recording a band’s original music, or rehearsal time/space, or instrument/gear upgrades, or photo shoots, or video production, or marketing, or online distribution, yet alone living expenses.
And so what regularly happens is that bands don’t record, release and promote their music, and simply keep playing local venues for little or no money, and stop believing that anything more is possible, and don’t try to do anything more to develop their music and get it out into the world. Because, it just is all too difficult, too out of reach, and seems pointless to make the effort and associated financial investment.
So that is why I am starting Smoke Valley Records. Not as a business…I don’t need another one of those…but as a way for me to contribute what I can to the local heavy music scene, in the hope that something good will come of it. Especially, through my actions, demonstrate that something more is possible, and that there is a whole world out there, beyond Cochabamba, beyond Bolivia, beyond even Latin America, where there are potential fans who if they just knew about the music being created here, could experience it, and get excited enough about it to want to support it, it would give bands here a chance to grow their audience, get their music into the lives of more people, and potentially create opportunities for the bands to experience what it would be like to perform their music for audiences outside of their hometowns. Whether that is a one-off concert somewhere else in Latin America, a festival in Europe, or multiple festivals and tours in the USA, Europe and beyond.
But it’s got to start somewhere, sometime with something. And that’s what I can do with Smoke Valley Records, and a few bands to start out with. We’ve got to get great original music recorded professionally, we’ve got to get it out into the world through online distribution, we’ve got to create great-looking imagery of the band through professionally shot photos and video, and ultimately, tap in to the many resources that exist today for promoting the bands and their music to a global audience. At least we have to try. Without trying, nothing more will ever be possible.
I understand this takes resources, not just of time and energy, but also financially, and that it’s got to come from somewhere. There is not some big corporate entity behind this with a seemingly unlimited budget. But rather, just me, and my personal resources, and those of anyone else who wants to contribute in some way, through their own expertise, efforts, time, connections, etc. So, it’s going to take time, require patience and persistence, will and hope. But I am very confident that much good will come of it, and that it will be a worthy pursuit, not just for me personally, but for the bands and fans and the scene who choose to get involved and contribute at least their attention and positive energy.
Finally, here is a list of deliverables I am proposing being able to commit to doing for each band that I invite, and accepts, to be a part of Smoke Valley Records:
– covering the cost of 1 professionally recorded single.
– covering the cost of 1 professionally shot photography session.
– covering the cost of 1 professionally produced music video of the band performing their single.
– covering the cost, and doing the work to set up a custom website domain, and basic website for the band, and hosting it for at least two years.
– covering the cost of setting up a Record Label on BandCamp and releasing the band’s single there. (includes an Artist Pro account for each band!)
– covering the cost of distributing the band’s single to all the major streaming platforms via CDBaby (ex: Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, etc)
This is just the start. I may be open to doing all of the above for more singles, EP’s and albums, but very likely will need additional financial support through crowd-funding campaigns, sponsors, and personal and/or business/community contributions, and potentially from other labels and the bands as well.
I intend to also use my resources to contact other record labels for distribution and support opportunities, PLUS festival and concert organizers for performance opportunities, PLUS media outlets and bloggers for promotional opportunities. And so on. But, all of this is a start, and what I can commit to doing.
Of course, the flip side is that I cannot possibly do this for everyone who approaches me with an interest in putting their music out on Smoke Valley Records. I have to genuinely enjoy the music, and trust and like the band, and have the time, energy and resources to commit to it. Otherwise I just can’t, and won’t. Don’t take it personally. But for those who I do choose to work with, I feel comfortable with all of the above. Oh, and at least for now, all the songs must be in English, because, the largest audiences with the deepest financial resources are where the music consumed is primarily in English.
To be clear, Smoke Valley Records, will not be taking any ownership interest in anything I’ve described above, nor will be looking to be reimbursed for any of the investments I’ll be making into the deliverables above, nor will I be looking to monetize anything above for my own interests or that of the label. In the future, there is no telling what is possible, and maybe if this label grows, and it makes sense for both me and the bands participating to turn this into a business venture, then we’ll see where it goes and there may be ways to monetize the work we’ll be doing together, but for now, that is not my objective, nor intention. So, all of what I have described in the list of deliverables above will be done out of my own pocket, using my own resources, and will not be “billed to the band” in any way present or future. I just need the bands who associate with Smoke Valley Records to do so in good-faith, do what they say they are going to do, be kind, respectful and empathetic, and communicate extremely well. (…AND KEEP MAKING GREAT NEW ORIGINAL HEAVY MUSIC!!!)
If a band wants to disassociate and remove their music from Smoke Valley Records, that’s perfectly fine, just let me know, and it’ll get done ASAP, no problem.
So that’s what’s going on here, and why. Foremost, I am an aspiring musician myself, and I love my band Remaining Daze, and of course will be working on my band as part of this whole Smoke Valley Records thing. But, too often, it seems like every band always has to start from zero, and figure everything out for themselves, and reinvent the wheel every time they try to take the next step. And that’s just gotta stop. We, as bands participating in the Smoke Valley Records initiative, will also need to be willing to share some of our own lessons learned, and be generous with our own know-how and expertise, so as to help grow the scene for everybody involved. Whether that’s promotional know-how, connections with venues, professional contacts, personal skills, developing a press-kit, coaching on stage performance, sharing on social media, going to shows, whatever, there’s millions of ways we can help and support each other, and my hope is that Smoke Valley Records can be the excuse, and the conduit through which, we can all do so, for all our mutual benefit.
And, by the way, the name, “Smoke Valley Records”. My band plays stoner rock, and to me, it just sounded cool, so I am going with it. It was inspired by the smell of grilled meats and associated barbecue smoke that are unavoidable as you navigate the streets of Cochabamba, AND also, the views of this garden city in the valley of the Andes as you look over it from high above, in an airplane, from El Cristo or the Pico de Tunari, you will always see a dusty smog on the horizon – so, that’s where “Smoke Valley” came from. Plus, in my research, the domain name was available, and there were no other businesses anywhere that already had this name, or at least, no record labels with this name.
Thanks, let’s do this!