NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – Major Label Debut is the new podcast series produced by John Paul Bullock and Josh Hook and hosted by Graham Wright of Tokyo Police Club. Set to launch on Monday (October 28), the six-episode first season explores what it means to plug into the corporate machine. Wright speaks with musicians, producers, and industry insiders about the successes and sometimes colossal failures of major label debut albums.
Discussing the podcast, Wright notes, “Over years of writing songs and making records, I’ve become fascinated by all the ways that engaging with the business part of the music industry can alter the creative trajectory of a band. There’s just a million sliding door moments, some of which are obvious but more often they’re subtle. I can, and frequently do, listen back to creative decisions I’ve made and wonder how I would have acted differently if the circumstances had been different in that moment. And since I’m an obsessive music listener, I can’t help but wonder the same thing about records I love.
Everybody knows that art and commerce are strange and uneasy bedfellows, but I’m intrigued by the specific ways that sharing that bed changes the art that comes out of it. People are happy to shit talk the business, which often deserves it, but it’s way less common to hear artists actually wrangle with how their art has been transformed by the commercial necessities of being a working musician. The idea behind the podcast is to try and get into all that stuff. As well as just to talk to artists about how they write songs and make records. Before I was ever in a band, I was a humungous music fan, and I loved any opportunity to peak behind the curtain. Now that I’ve had a chance to walk around back there, I can never resist pulling the curtain back for my fellow obsessives.”
Season One of Major Label Debut features discussions with producer Rob Schnapf on Elliott Smith’s XO, Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket on their album Fear, Bob Mehr on his book Trouble Boys and The True Story of the Replacements, Tim, Mark Arm and Steve Turner of Mudhoney on their album Piece of Cake, Brenda Sauter of The Feelies on Only Life, and Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum on Hang Time.
In each episode, Wright goes in depth about what happens when a band signs to a major label—featuring candid conversations about the intersection of art and commerce.
Season One schedule:
10/28 – Rob Schnapf on producing Elliott Smith’s XO
11/11 – Glen Phillips on Toad the Wet Sprocket’s Fear
11/25 – Bob Mehr on his book Trouble Boys and The Replacements’ Tim
12/09 – Mark Arm and Steve Turner on Mudhoney’s Piece of Cake
12/23 – Brenda Sauter on The Feelies’ Only Life
01/06 – Dave Pirner on Soul Asylum’s Hang Time
