Portland duo Priory took a big risk to land their deal. But after the members left their jobs and began logging 10-hour days for 18 months in their home-built studio, they attracted management interest. Soon after, they found themselves at the top of no fewer than 10 labels’ wish lists. Ultimately they chose Warner.
“We quit our jobs and locked ourselves away for a year and a half to make our record,” says Brandon Rush. “Once we’d taken it as far as we could, we sent it around to different people. One of them was Gary Gersh at The Artists Organization. He called us within a few days saying ‘We think these songs are incredible. We’d like to fly down and see you.’ Kyle [Sears] and I were losing it. We knew Gary and it was a very exciting time.”
“Working every day, even when
we didn’t feel like it, was what
paid off for us.”
In less than a month, the band signed a management deal. It soon began to pay dividends. “Within a few weeks, we had almost every major label interested,” Rush recalls. “We began meeting with them all and it was surreal. But we went with Warner based on the fact that [Chairman & CEO] Cameron Strang told us, essentially, that we could do whatever we wanted; we had absolute creative control. We chose them because of the freedom they allowed us along with the label’s vision for its future.”
“Working every day,” Sears says, “even when we didn’t feel like it, was what paid off for us. We were always in the studio for 10 hours a day. Without that dedication and personal belief, it would have been impossible for us to get where we are now.”
Need To Know will drop in the fall. The single “Weekend” hit YouTube in early July. Within a month, the view count had topped 100,000. Priory will begin its tour on Sept. 27 at the X96 Toyota Big Ass Show in Salt Lake City along with Neon Trees, Phantogram and Capital Cities.
– Rob Putnam
