Alternatively what would you say has been the most rewarding part for you guys and why? Pete: The best days by far are watching our bands perform big festivals or big shows in front of sell out crowds, knowing that my own hard work has got them in to that position. Basically, giving the bands the tools, and platform to express themselves in ways they couldn’t have done alone. Alex: Watching While She Sleeps in front of 3500 people at 11.30am at Sonisphere last year. Christ almighty. I'm so proud to have been a part of their story. I also sat down the other day and realised we’d had bands on Radio One for the last three weeks in a row, and had bands in both the current and previous issues of Kerrang!, Rock Sound, Big Cheese and Front.It was at that point I realised...Shit...people are actually taking notice of us! For me personally though, my proudest moment was signing Devil Sold His Soul. I’ve been a fan of the band for ages, so to get our small bedroom label to the level where a band are happy to step across from a label like Century Media is a great personal achievement
“The best days by far are watching our bands perform big festivals or big shows in front of sell out crowds, knowing that my own hard work has got them into that position” How important do you think it is to have independent record labels throughout the UK, and what do you think they bring to the music scene? Pete: I think the UK independent scene is absolutely thriving and its labels like ours, Basick, LAB, Wolf At Your Door, TDON that continually invest huge amounts of money into bands and artists to keep motivating and inspiring fans in the UK and beyond. Im not suggesting we are the only reason but i would say a lot of our hard work contributes towards what major companies around the world go on to benefit from, albeit retailers / media sites or bigger labels. Alex: I definitely think it’s crucial, not just in terms of developing bands, but in terms of developing talent inside of the industry too. If you intern at a major, you’ll end up in one business function. If you end up at an indie, then you’re gonna get a great basic knowledge of a range of label and industry functions.
What else does 2012 hold for Small Town Records? Alex: Well, we’ve got some cracking releases. We’ve just done Shadows Chasing Ghosts’ Second album, and the debut full length by The Elijah. Obviously, the new Devil Sold His Soul album is coming out on the 17th of September. There will be a new single for that sometime in August too, then there is the debut album by Floods. That's another cracking release, and people should make sure they give them a listen. We have a storming new single by The Hype Theory too, and we’re looking at maybe another couple of brand new singles from both Campus and Violet, as well as potentially speaking to another couple of acts. Watch this space!! Pete: More bands. More releases. More getting stressed!!!