Artists will eat the RIAA one day.
August 26, 2008
This is Bullshit.
Artists will eat the RIAA one day.
July 07, 2007
Why SKUM?
The reason Chad and I formed SKUM is not to change the music industry but to help bury it. The days of jerk off middle-men industry execs are ending and SKUM is here to help prove it.
No longer will artists need to rely on FMradio or labels to get their messages out. We firmly believe there is no need to sign the rights of your music away to anyone. Signing with a mainstream record label today is a great way to insure that your creations are no longer yours. Who in their right mind would want to do this? Industry execs are jumping out of skyscraper windows in hopes of figuring out how to fly again. It just isn't going to happen... their days are ending.
Big concerts (+10,000 people) and big album pressings (+500,000 copies) require a whole lot of appearing very BIG and very similar to someone else who is already very BIG. If your art fails in the least to meet industry criteria, or violates the RIAA mission expect to never get signed or at the very least to get signed then shelved. I never said industry execs were stupid; (they are lazy, but far from stupid.) when an exec heres something that they personally like but know will not sale +100k copies, they will still remain committed to getting you to sign the rights of your music over to their firm. After they get your signature they will slow the whole process down and wait for someone else like you to hit the charts or sadly wait for yourself to make yourself recognized. In essence they will wait for you to become more recognized before ever putting a penny into you.
Why does a band or an artist need industry? They don't. Unless of course they are idiots, whose prime objective in making music is to become famous. We at SKUM have no remorse for your type. So hey don't disgrace yourself, just wake up and realize that you can do everything and so much more on your own, without industry.
MAINTAINING CONTROL OF YOUR ART (your image, your name, your purpose, your music) IS ABSOLUTELY PERTINENT. Anyone who tells you different is USING YOU. Email Chad or I if you want to talk more about taking control of your art and making use of the free tools readily available that can help you get in control of your art and push it out there to be shared among the masses. The revolution of artist empowerment is still just getting started and no one can stop you from participating in IT - except yourself. Stay true to you and you will never lose.
-SKUM
Technorati Tags: music business, future of music, independent artists, diy, hardcore mentality, self made, truth, integrity, death to the middle man, you dont need a record label, solo
July 01, 2007
New Throwdown record - "Venom & Tears"
In the spirit of SKUM we wanted to take some time to support our brothers over at TrustKill records by announcing Throwdown's newest album: "Venom & Tears", I just listened to "Holy Rolling" over on the TrustKill website and all I can really say is go LISTEN TO this shit for yourself then be sure to come back and let us know what you think.
Alternative Press says that "Venom & Tears" is the most anticipated album of 2007, I know we at SKUM have been looking forward to its release since we heard they were working on it. You can PRE-ORDER it now on the TrustKill website. 
March 07, 2007
Baghdad Heavy Metal Band
Check this shit out from the Vice magazine guys. In 2003, just after the US toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein, Vice magazine published an article on the only heavy metal band in Iraq, Acrassicauda. The Baghdad-based band was formed in the last few years of Saddam’s rule and aside from the typical problems every band has, they also had to deal with the stigma of playing dark western music in an Islamic state under Baath party rule, while coming out of a decade of war, sanctions, and poverty.
VICE found their story inspiring and after interviewing the band they were excited to be living in a newly freed Iraq, and their future seemed limitless. They even talked of recording an album. Things took a turn for the worse, however. After a few months respite, the situation in free Iraq deteriorated quickly and by the end of the year, after a few key insurgent attacks‑the bombing at the UN building, the massive strike at the grand Shi’a mosque in Najaf‑Iraq started to unravel.
VICE stayed in touch with the band through this time and in the fall of 2006, with the insurgency reaching a fevered pitch, VICE Co-Founder Suroosh Alvi and VBS Producer Eddy Moretti decided to visit them.
Sorry about the lack of updates lately, rest assured SKUM is still alive... - PARKS
Technorati Tags: metal band, baghdad, vice magazine, iraq, war, freedom, fear, anxiety, rage, anger, hardcore, Suroosh Alvi, Eddy Moretti
November 16, 2006
Still Out There
Finally met up with Chad (briefly) yesterday. He was out in the galleria area heading up a little PR campaign for the disenchanted.
He looked healthy and on top of his game. I handed off this book for him to flip through during his trip back in to the unknown.
Good seeing him again.
October 28, 2006
Corporate Fire
Look how easy it is to fire the corporate world and get shit done yourself. Here's a quick example of how simple it is to come up with an idea, brainstorm it over with a friend, and then walk outside and make IT happen.
So last year in July, Chad kept getting this vision of this guy in a suit, tied to a building that was on fire. He also had other visions that I'll let him share with you at a later date... Anyway, it was hotter than a whore in church outside and I thought to myself what a great day to dress Chad up in one of my black pinstripe suits and climb him out on a hot inner city roof to shoot the mock images that I would need to draw up this vision he kept having...
Here's a small video of our day. If you go to the SKUM RECORDS myspace page you can actually find Scott Vogel of TERROR fame sweating in the end results.
Anyway, thanks for dropping by, don't be scared to comment...
Technorati Tags: skum, hardcore, straight edge, punk, record label, chad smith, scott vogel, TERROR, tshirt, logo design, GTD, DIY
October 20, 2006
Voice from the Dark Side
Chad called tonight. He's back in Houston from a little voyage to the dark side, but you'll have to get the full story directly from him. He's going to be checking in to a downtown hotel for a few months to concentrate on his latest project. I'll ring in with more details soon. Probably be meeting up with him to watch the movie below sometime soon.
Anyway, just wanted to let you guys know the Skum King's back in Skumcity...
October 19, 2006
Frontline: The Monolith EP
So I've got a few albums laying around that still need to be sent off to production. But I love these recordings so much that I thought I would share them with you. Who knows when and if we will ever package these up.
Meet Jason Garcia AKA "Lord Ronin"
Jason Garcia, front man and founder of Frontline a metal act from Victoria/Austin/Houston is not new to the music business. He's been making music since he first found out that he could. This means teaching himself how to play almost every instrument out there, figuring out how to record shit the right way, excerting the creativity that it takes to mix it down and the technical know how of mastering sound to perfection. Jason certainly wears many halos and horns when it comes to making, performing and distributing music.
Download "Cheated" off of The Monolith EP. Skum Records helped Frontline record this back in 2005, but we have yet to release it in its packaged form. Primarily because we are a young label learning how to deal with the new business models of music distribution and promotion. Also, Frontline the band has apparently been put on hold while Jason builds a recording studio in the hill country of Austin and works on his other inventive projects.
As you can imagine Frontline has not been playing out that much, and that means they are not touring, which translates to a record label -- they don't need CD's to sell. Only touring bands sell CD's these days, right?
Anyway... we'll put it out eventually... primarily because I love this recording. Jason actually mixed and mastered all of these songs on the Monolith EP. Let me know what you think about "Cheated". I'll post the whole EP over the next week, so be sure to subscribe to the Skum RSS feed and check back.
-PARKS
**UPDATE**
I posted the full monolith EP on to our sister site www.HardcoreMp3s.com
click here to download
I posted the full monolith EP on to our sister site www.HardcoreMp3s.com
click here to download
