BRYCE VINE Date Signed: November 2017 Label: Sire Records Type of Music: Pop/Hip-Hop Management: Matt Maltese - OK. rad Artist Development + Management, 818-590-6383, matt@ok-rad.com Booking: Josh Rittenhouse - APA, 310-888-4272, jrittenhouse@ apa-agency.com Legal: Damien Elahi - Warner Bros. Records, 818-953-3468, damian.elahi@wbr.com Publicity: bobbie.gale@wbr.com Web: brycevine.com A&R: Rani Hancock As in many industries, connections made in college can often prove invaluable down a later career path. Certainly they’ve paid off for New York native Bryce Vine. He became friends with producer Nolan Lambroza (a.k.a. Sir Nolan) while they were both undergraduates at Boston's Berklee College of Music circa 2008. They worked together on a number of things pre- and post-college. After Vine recorded “Drew Barrymore,” Lambroza was positioned to take it to an old friend at Sire. But the path was neither easy nor direct. Vine met with several labels earlier in his career, including Virgin and Island. Sadly, no offers resulted. That all changed when Lambroza introduced him to Sire label head
“It weighs you down when you keep hearing ‘no.’” Rani Hancock. “When he told me that Rani loved my music, we set up a meeting,” Vine recalls. “I instantly loved her. And she wanted to do the deal. I knew I wanted to build a career with her over everybody else. We’ve been working non-stop ever since. It weighs you down when you keep hearing ‘no,’ but it’s a huge relief when you say, ‘Let’s keep doing [music] the way we started doing it.’ When that turns around, then everything else does too.” But of course landing a label deal is never the ultimate aim. Indeed, once one is secured, that’s when the real challenges begin. “You’ve got to be ready to do the work that’s required for when you do get signed,” the artist observes. “When I put out ‘Drew Barrymore,’ it got traction. All of a sudden I was walking into a label not realizing that they were trying to sign me. In the span of a week, I had offers that I’d never had before.“ Vine's "Drew Barrymore" dropped in late 2017 and has already earned more than nine million Spotify listens. Currently Vine is on the road with pop outfit Timeflies, a tour that kicked off March 21 in Atlanta. “Touring is the best part of the job,” he says. “It’s where it all comes together. It’s why we do all that we do.” – Rob Putnam
HORSESHOES & HAND GRENADES Date Signed: Jan. 25, 2018 Label: Tape Time Records Type of Music: Bluegrass/Americana Band Members: David C Lynch, harmonica, accordion, spoons, vocals; Collin Mettelka, fiddle, mandolin, vocals; Russell Pedersen, banjo, fiddle, vocals; Adam Greuel, guitar, dobro, vocals; Samual Odin, bass. Management: Mike Polans - 7S Management; Scott Leslie - Majestic Music Management, hhg@7smgmt.com Booking: Jason Kupperman - Paradigm Talent Agency, jkupperman@ paradigmagency.com Legal: Collin Mettelka Publicity: Todd Brodginski, Todd@ReckoningPR.com Web: hhgmusic.com A&R: Phil Einsohn - Time Tape Records, phil@7smgmt.com
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anager Mike Polans began working with bluegrass/Americana quintet Horseshoes & Hand Grenades last August. As luck would have it, the company Polans works for, 7S Management, also handles The Infamous Stringdusters, a likeminded outfit 12 years into their career. As the groups toured together, they formed an intimate bond. “There’s a real friendship between us,” insists Adam Greuel, guitarist for the newcomers from Wisconsin regarding the relationship between them and their Grammy-nominated brethren. Having recorded an album over five days in January of 2017 with Trampled By Turtles singer-songwriter Dan Simonett, they found
“Diving into things blindly is rarely the best route.” themselves pondering how to release it. (Their first three studio albums had been released independently.) There’d been an offer from Nashville’s Thirty Tigers, but personnel changes meant that deal would never blossom. Fortuitously, the Stringdusters had been contemplating creating their own label. Fast forward to Feb. 16 and The Ode is Tape Time’s inaugural release. The concept behind Tape Time is simple––a home for artists, by artists. The situation allows them to talk frankly about goals and concerns. Says Polans, “We were able to jump in and really approach the label thing from an artist’s standpoint.” “Like any positive relationship,” reveals Greuel, “there are candid conversations we’re able to have that keep things running smoothly.” He insists any deal be based around positive relationships. “It’s easy to get excited about signing with a label, but diving into things blindly is rarely the best route.” – Andy Kaufmann May 2018
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