Utter Trash--Mike Albertson

Sonic Resurrection

An interview with Mike Albertson of Sonic Swirl Records

By Bob Ignizio

Independent record labels come and go. And sometimes, they even come back. Sonic Swirl Records originally came into existence in October of 1994 with the release of a 7” by Cleveland psychedelic rocker Nick Riff. The label, run by Mike Albertson, went on have 29 releases. Most (but not all) were from Cleveland bands, most (but not all) were seven inches. The label was doing well, even getting national attention, but around the middle of 1999 the releases stopped coming. But you can’t keep a good label down, and in 2004 Sonic Swirl roared back to life with the release of ex-Pagans vocalist Mike Hudson’s first ever solo CD and a disc from Vancouver, BC’s The Fiends. And once again, Mike Albertson is at the helm. I met up with Mike at a Lakewood pizza joint, and between mouthfuls of food managed to ask him a few questions.

Utter Trash: How did Sonic Swirl originally get started, and why did you stop?
Mike Albertson: I like to say it started back at my Grandfather’s house, after my grandfather passed away. My parents were cleaning out the house, and I remember being up in the attic and seeing an old record player and not knowing what it was. It was the old kind, the kid’s kind, in a box. And there was a stack of records, and my dad showed me how it worked. I was just fascinated. There were original Elvis and Chuck Berry 45s up there, whatever. That’s how I started, because I was always fascinated with vinyl. Now I’m not such a big fan of 12”, because a CD is more convenient. But I still love 45s because of those memories. Eventually that love led me to start the label. I stopped the label in 1999 because of family issues. I felt like the label was holding back my personal life with my wife and kid. I needed to save up money for a downpayment on a house. I didn’t think I was going to start the label back up, but now 6 years later my kid is in 6^th grade, we’ve got the house and are back on our feet, so I have more time to do the label.

UT: What was the most successful release you did?
MA: For 7 inches, there was a lot of them. The Mortals, the Pagans tribute I did. The Aggravators. They all sold about 1000. CD-wise it was The Spitfires and the Pagans ‘Live Roadkill’. Those both sold close to 3000.

UT: You’ve put out a lot of bands from Cleveland, but not exclusively. Do you want to be known as a Cleveland label?
MA: That’s a tough question. I don’t see myself as a Cleveland label. I deal with Cleveland, there is still some good talent here. But rock ‘n’ roll is all around the world, so why be stuck in one area? When I started the label, I knew I had to find bands that already had records out, who were established and from different areas. I did X-Rays from the UK, The Spitfires from Vancouver, Plan 7 from LA, Great Brain from Chicago. It’s good to do that because it gets your name around everywhere. The doors are open for Cleveland bands to send their demos, but most of the time they don’t. Too many bands think that I should be looking for them, and I do. But when I do look for them I tell them to send their demos to my P.O. Box and they don’t. It’s not about just playing out live, I need to hear the stuff on CDR or whatever. The problem with a lot of Cleveland bands is they seem not to be around long enough for a second release.

UT: What kind of distribution do you have?
MA: It’s actually around the world. I’ve got a lot of distribution companies I use, but the backbone is Get Hip. They get stuff to Japan, France, and Germany. But I’ve got at least 6 distribution companies. It’s nice to see my stuff all over. Sometimes I’ll go on Ebay and look up my stuff, and there’s people from Japan or France selling it. It’s nice to know it got that far.

UT: Any of your old releases you see on Ebay going for big money that you think, “Damn, I wish I still had some of those!”?
MA: Mike Hudson and I were talking about that. I’ve seen The Pagans tribute goes for about 15 or 25 bucks, he says he’s seen it for thirty. The Mortals goes for about 15 bucks. It was the last 45 they did before breaking up.

UT: Is the label strictly for the love of it, or do you make decent money off it?
MA: I actually made a lot of money off it in the nineties. It’s probably one of the very few labels around this area that made money. The problem was, the reason I made a lot of money is because I advertised a lot, and that costs money. So even though I was making a lot of money it was all going back into the label. I look at it now, you have to be realistic about it. I’m just happy to break even. For example, the Mike Hudson CD I just put out. If I put that out back in the nineties, I would have sold 2 or 3 thousand no problem. We’re lucky to sell 1000 today, just because people can download it or burn it. I even have friends of mine come up to me and say, “Can you just burn it for me?” (laughs) It’s tend bucks! I never charge that much. It’s not a lot of money for music.

UT: I know you personally are into a lot of different kinds of music, but does the label reflect all that or is it focused more on a particular style?
MA: I’m going right to rap, I’m selling out (laughs). Garage rock is always going to be a part of my label no matter what. I’m very into the sixties, The Kinks, The Pretty Things. If you’ve got that sound I definitely want to hear it. But now I’m looking for “heavy rock”. Bands that are influenced by the seventies sound, Motorhead, Iggy & the Stooges, The MC5. I want to hear bands bring out Ace Frehley guitar solos again. Simple licks and leads. That’s what rock ‘n’ roll has been missing. Hopefully long hair rock will come back again. But still with that kind of Detroit, Cleveland punk edge to it. I can’t pinpoint what my label is going to be, though. I’m looking at a rockabilly band from France right now. I don’t consider myself to be a rockabilly label, but if I see something that good I’m going to put it out.

UT: What upcoming releases do you know for sure you’ll be doing?
MA: Space Cowboys from Sweden. They’re from Gothemberg. They sound kind of like The Backyard Babies. They have some records all over the world right now. Definitely we’re going to do a Mike Hudson/Cheetah Chrome CD. A bunch of tracks from different compilations, unreleased stuff. The Pagans Tribute Volume 2. The first one was all Cleveland bands except for The New Bomb Turks who were from Columbus. The funny thing is, when they recorded their track they were in Sweden. The Hellacopters were actually on that track with them, playing guitar and doing background vocals. At the time I didn’t mention it on the record because nobody knew who they were. But we’re going to put the first 7inch Pagans Tribute on the CD as bonus tracks.

UT: Do you plan to do any vinyl releases still, or stick with CDs?
MA: CDs. I was looking at pricing on 12 inches because The Black Jets wanted me to put their new one out on vinyl. And I said I’m not going to do it, I could do 2 CDs for that price. I’ll do 7 inches still, but it’s got to be a band where I know I can sell at least 500 copies and can make most of my money back. I was talking to Sal from Electric Frankenstein, and they used to be able to sell 3000-5000 45s. Now he says they’re lucky to sell 1000, and they’re a big band. No matter how good something is, it would be stupid for me to put it out on a 7 inch if I can’t make my money back. If it’s that good, I’ll put it out on CD. CDs are not a bad thing. You can put more music on it, you can bring it in your car. But sometimes vinyl does sound better.

UT: Anything else you want to add?
MA: If there are any local bands out there, you need to send your demos to the label. The MP3 thing, it’s all cool and stuff, but I like to take the music and experience it in my car, at work, in my music room. You can download it and burn it, but I don’t have time for that. Send it to my P.O. Box if you’re interested in the label, it’s simple as that. Even if I don’t sign a band, I like to know who’s out there. That way if I book a show or something I can put you on a bill. I’m always trying to work with the local scene as much as I can, even if they’re not signed to my label.