Al Scorch
Date Signed: Sept. 28, 2015
Label: Bloodshot Records
Management: Self-managed
Booking: Benjamin Montalbano - Shotwell Booking
Legal: Loren Wells - Pierson-Wells
Publicity: Josh Zanger, josh@bloodshot records.com
Web: alscorch.com
A&R: N/A
Al Scorch is an entertainer, road warrior and storyteller in the vein of classic artists like Woody Guthrie, John Prine and Billy Bragg. After releasing an indie album, Tired Ghostly Town, Scorch felt his limitations. “I was very much a D.I.Y. artist and realized I wanted some help with this stuff,” he explains. “I thought Bloodshot would be a good fit because they don’t treat artists as a product, they include them in a lot of decisions.” And, just like his transparent and poignantly direct vocal delivery, Scorch did nothing fancy when approaching the company. “I emailed owner Rob (Miller) and the label people to come to a show. Two sentences; ‘I like your label, maybe you’ll like my music. Come to the show,’” says Scorch. “The label is interested in the music, not you and all your accomplishments. If they’re interested in your music they’ll care about you later.” Scorch’s Bloodshot debut Circle Round the Signs is available now.
•••
Dreezy
Date Signed: August 2014
Label: Interscope Records
Management: N/A
Booking: N/A
Legal: N/A
Publicity: Yvette Gayle
Web: dreezyworld.com
A&R: Aaron “Dash” Sherrod, Roderick “Pusharod” Bullock & Joie Manda
With no prior experience with labels––in fact, she’d never imagined a career in music––22-year-old rapper Dreezy (a.k.a. Seandrea Sledge) showed innate common sense when major players responded to her track “Ain’t For None.” First, it was WorldStarHipHop and Universal, then Atlantic, Sony and RCA. Later there was Interscope, and her decision to sign with that label boiled down to “They see me as the bigger artist that I am. That’s something the other labels weren’t really talking to me about.” It didn’t hurt that they’ve hosted mega acts like Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and Mary J. Blige. An advance facilitated the artist’s move from Chicago’s south side to Los Angeles and the label’s muscle aided in scoring a raft of guest appearances, both from others on her debut album, No Hard Feelings, and as a featured performer herself.
“Don’t come into a situation being desperate,” Dreezy warns. “Have a lawyer read over your contract and don’t sign anything for some little money,” she advises, “because that’s nothing compared to the money you could screw yourself out of.”
•••
Jevon Doe
Date Signed: March 2015
Label: Atlantic Records
Management: Bradley Beckwith & Brandon Kitchen
Booking: N/A
Legal: N/A
Publicity: [email protected]
Web: jevondoemusic.com
A&R: Shawn Barron
We like the persistence and work ethic the young, multi-talented hip-hop artist Jevon Doe demonstrated between his initial meeting with Shawn Barron, Atlantic’s VP of A&R, at a music conference in Los Angeles four years ago, and finally signing and recording his label debut album. Initially, Barron was impressed with a few tracks the young Texan presented, but felt that he needed to up his presence online and grow a solid fan base before pursuing a deal. The two kept in touch and Doe regularly sent Barron tunes to appraise. Eventually, new songs by the artist, recorded on his friend’s phone voice-memo app (including one that ultimately became the title track to his Atlantic debut The Story of My Life), inspired Barron. “He really liked the new material and appreciated the way I was growing as an artist and dedicating myself to attracting fans online,” says Doe. “He told me to find my way back to L.A. to make something happen.”
