Music attracts different people for a range of reasons. For Storch, the draw has always been melodies. “That’s what I love to work on in the studio or when I’m doing collaborations,” he explains. “That’s also what I think people recognize most when it comes to my work.” 

It’s relatively common among producers and engineers to rely upon an innate sense of when a song, beat, or melody is on target. But of course that’s never a guarantee of success. Few things ever are. “After doing this for so long, I just have an ear for it,” Storch asserts. “My intuition still comes into play when I’m working with others, but in those cases it also depends on the artist and the label.” 

Storch faced a number of personal challenges earlier in his career. They were serious enough that he was compelled to step away from production temporarily. When he was ready to return, he found that it was harder than he’d expected. “Once I was in a great place mentally and was ready to get back into music, things had changed so much,” he recollects of that difficult time. “I had to learn all the fresh sounds and sonics and met with a lot of new, young talented artists." 

“What helped the most was getting Steve Lobel, my new manager,” the producer continues. “He put in a lot of time not only with me, but with major players in the industry. We fought every battle together and he made those connections to get me back into the rooms with young, relevant artists like Trippie Redd, Russ and Post Malone.” 

As an established producer, Storch is ideally positioned to offer guidance to behind-the-glass newcomers. “Upcoming producers now have social media, which can either shoot artists to fame or bury them in the crowd,” he observes. “My best advice is to stay true to yourself. Stick to what you believe and create your own unique sound.” 

Driven by his ethic as much as his passion, Storch remains prolific. Significant time and effort were devoted to the creation of the KRK Scott Storch CLASSIC 8ss monitor alongside Gibson. He’s also in the early stages of a film about his life. New music continues to be at his forefront, which includes collaboration with his son Jaden. Much of his work now is completed at his home studio, which he’s spent years refining. However, he remains open to producing in other spaces, particularly with artists who are interested in exploring different environments. 

Visit instagram.com/scottstorchofficial 

Label: Yep Roc Records

Type of Music: Americana / Indie

Management: Chris Tetzeli and Nate Meese - 7S Management, nate@7smgmt.com, 303-565-5690

Booking: N/A

Legal: David Wykoff - david@davidwykofflaw.com

Publicity: Anna DeNelsky - Shore Fire Media, adenelsky@shorefire.com

Web: jobiriccio.com, instagram.com/jobiriccio

A&R: Mariah Czap

Singer-songwriter Jobi Riccio caught her big break when she entered and won Citizen Vinyl’s Asheville, NC NewSong Music competition in 2019. Her prize was the professional production of her record by producer and musician Gar Ragland, who also sponsors the contest. Ultimately this led to the completion of her record Whiplash, which dropped in the summer of 2023, and to a deal with Yep Roc Records. 

“Gar knew some folks at Yep Roc through the North Carolina connection and sent them my record,” Riccio recollects. “They were super into it and that’s how I got my deal with them. He spoke with some other labels but I felt that Yep Roc seemed the most artist-driven; they really championed their artists being at the creative helm of everything.

“After I was offered a potential deal, I flew out and met with the folks at the label,” the singer continues. “I played a small showcase for them and Red Eye Distribution, who’s now my distributor. They were phenomenal people and we had the best time. It was clear that they’d listened to every single song on Whiplash. They were fired up about it as a whole body of work and about me as an artist.”

Work on Whiplash began in 2020 but due to the pandemic, it took some time to complete. Several singles from it have been released, the latest being “Lonely Tonight” in August. When Music Connection spoke with Riccio she was on a brief hiatus before stepping back out onto the road in November for a tour of the Northeast.

The NewSong Music contest is sponsored by Ragland’s Citizen Vinyl. In addition to his studio, he also runs a pressing plant and the indie label NewSong Recordings. “At the top of the building there’s an old radio studio where people like [bluegrass originator] Bill Monroe and other folk and bluegrass musicians would play when they’d come through North Carolina,” Riccio explains. “Whiplash was the first record done in [Ragland’s] studio since he acquired it.”

NewSong Music was launched in 2001 followed by Citizen Vinyl in 2020. Interestingly, Riccio’s entry was recorded as a voice memo on her phone rather than professionally. Given the minimal requirements, such contests should be within nearly any artist’s grasp.

Label: Big Loud Records

Type of Music: Country / Americana / Folk

Management: N/A

Booking: Marissa Smith and Josh Garrett - United Talent Agency, marissa.smith@unitedtalent.com, josh.garrett@unitedtalent.com

Legal: N/A

Publicity: Rachel Heatherly - Big Loud, rachel@bigloud.com

Web: zandiholupmusic.com, instagram.com/zandiholup

A&R: Nate Yetton

2023 has been a banner year for country artist Zandi Holup. She connected with several well-placed industry players, which led first to a joint publishing agreement with Kara DioGuardi's Arthouse Entertainment and Turntable Music in partnership with Universal Music Publishing. Ultimately that resulted in a deal with Big Loud Records. Label A&R rep Nate Yetton reached out to Holup when the young artist's publisher sent him some of her music.

“Nate was scouting alternative country artists,” Holup recalls. “He asked if I’d like to meet with him so I went in with my publisher Ben Johnson and played five or six songs acoustically. The same day he said that he wanted to sign me. It was a dream and I couldn’t believe it was happening.”

Of course this raises the question of how she came to the attention of Big Loud in the first place. “There’s a guy named Rob Stevenson with Sparta, a distribution company under 300 Entertainment,” Holup explains. “He handled distribution for one of my songs and after hearing my body of work, called Nate and suggested that he check me out.

“I signed my publishing deal around the beginning of January,” the singer continues. “That happened because I’d been in a songwriting session with Kylie Morgan and we’d written the song ‘If He Wanted To He Would’ together. She suggested that we meet for a second session and bring in another writer to help clean it up. She recruited Ben [Johnson] who also runs the publishing company Turntable Music. After the session, Ben asked if I wanted to sign a publishing deal, which, of course, I did. Later he took me to meet Kara DioGuardi, president of publishing company Arthouse Entertainment. I hustled in Nashville for six years before I got to this point. If you keep going, something will happen.” Observant readers will recognize DioGuardi’s name not only as an industry powerhouse but also as a judge on ABC’s American Idol for two seasons.

Holup’s debut with Big Loud Records is planned for sometime within the next year. Co-written with Stefanie Joyce and Brian Alexander, the single “Gas Station Flowers” dropped in early October. In recent months the country artist has played a number of support dates and currently has 75,000 Instagram followers.

Interestingly, on his first day at Def Jam, Nkhereanye signed Alessia Cara, an artist about whom he was passionate. His instincts were vindicated when the Grammy-winner’s debut Know-It-All earned more than a billion streams. “I believe that life will give you opportunities if you stick to it,” he notes.

Everyone is drawn to music for their own unique reasons. For Nkhereanye, artists’ stories have always attracted him. “I listened to [Bruce Springsteen’s] ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ the other day,” he recollects. “That song is songwriting 101. It’s got a true American story of a guy coming back from the war, the big anthemic hook and it’s passionate and vulnerable. I always tell artists that you don’t have the same fingerprint [as another artist] nor should you have the same stories. Find that thing that resonates with you. The world can feel authenticity.”

To become a successful artist, a modicum of talent is required, of course. But there are other elements that also play a significant role. “Hustle definitely matters,” Nkhereanye observes. “It’s something artists need to have to survive in today’s world. I’m also into artists’ stories. For example, Eminem made you want to know more about 8 Mile in Detroit.”

Throughout his career, Nkhereanye has endured countless difficulties, all of which have only served to strengthen his skills and resolve. “As a songwriter, the challenge is to convince artists to step outside of their comfort zone and to take risks,” he asserts. “The songwriting process is very intimate and you have to get them to reveal themselves. You’re a bit of a therapist. As an A&R rep, today things are so research and data driven. I understand that analytics and data matter but they don’t tell the whole story. I love artist development: taking something that’s a little rough around the edges and getting it into the marketplace.”

To rising songwriters and A&R reps, he offers this guidance. “You have to learn to critique and be hard on yourself,” he insists. “Your mom or girlfriend may think that your song is a hit but that doesn’t mean that it is. You have to write bad songs [before you can] write good ones and you must know the difference. For A&R reps, it’s important to get your head out of the screen and go live life.”

A veteran of the industry, Nkhereanye remains productive and driven. He aspires to work one day with his production team heroes Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. His vision of the industry’s future includes streamlined operations with markedly smaller staffs.

Contact - linkedin.com/in/tab-nkhereanye-a02b5625; 

Joe Gallo – joe@catchbuzz.co

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, you'd done no shopping and felt like a louse. That’s how things played out last year. But this year you promised that you wouldn’t surrender to apathy’s magnetic melody; that you wouldn’t find yourself at Target five minutes before closing with zero ideas and perhaps even fewer dollars; that you wouldn’t dox your mail carrier (again) because a package ordered 20 minutes earlier hasn’t yet arrived. But procrastination’s justification lurks around every corner. Music Connection knows this and our stocking stuffers feature* has your back. For 2023, such Noel nonsense will be The Ghost of Christmas Past’s problem.

* Pulitzer Prize nomination forms available upon request.

Ernie Ball Eagle Fleece Hoodie

$49.99

Ernie Ball has been a go-to guitar string supplier for decades. All new for this year, though, is their Eagle Fleece Hoodie. Like the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, they’re available only in black and white. The Ernie Ball eagle logo on the chest shines like a beacon to other guitarists and the hoodie comes with enough pocket space to stash strings, an Ernie, a Ball and perhaps even an eagle.  shop.ernieball.com/merch-store.html

Music lollipops

 $14.99 (two dozen)

No one likes to be a sucker. But virtually everyone likes to eat one. Moreover, there are few occasions when candy isn’t a welcome addition to any event. Next to Halloween, the winter holidays are the best thing to happen to candy since Willy Wonka. It’s debatable if eating one of these counts as practice, though. But more outrageous claims have been made in the past and surely will be made in the future. Perhaps even in this column.  tinyurl.com/cwpk6n2h

Pluginz Fender Jack Rack keychain

$34.99

Keys are important: both in everyday life and in music theory. This keychain can help you keep track of one kind. Guess which.

While it’s designed to hold physical keys, it seems reasonable that seeing what resembles a tiny Fender amp daily could serve as a reminder, potentially, of the importance of the theoretical keys. Whatever the case, it makes it less likely that you’ll lose either of them.  tinyurl.com/2bas2dpa

Stacks of cash 

Starting at around $7.99
for “$10,000”

Many musicians dream of stacks of cash in recognition of their many and varied contributions. Far fewer realize such levels of wealth health, of course. But you can make a golden impression and 

help support the dream with blocks of remarkably authentic-looking stage money: phony two-sided currency used in film and TV production. There are countless sources, including stage money outfits such as PropMoney.com and Buzzprops.com. Naturally, stacks are also available from Amazon and eBay. Prices are typically commensurate with quality, so shop around. But also, don’t be a Scrooge.  tinyurl.com/b7hn7fw5 

Rise8 Studios drumstick utensil set 

$16.99

Holiday gifts don’t have to be practical. But it also doesn’t hurt when they are. 

An audition didn’t go as well as you’d hoped? Your bandmates kicked you out because you lost your keys (see the Pluginz Fender keychain listing above)? You simply don’t like salad? Use this drumstick utensil set to pound-out your frustrations with a drumroll on a vessel of veggies. It’s not like produce doesn’t deserve it.

tinyurl.com/272dyxwz

In the Groove: The Vinyl Record and Turntable Revolution
$40.00

Published in mid-October to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the first commercial LP, this book looks at records from 78s to 45s and everything in between. Written by several in-the-know music folk (not to be confused with folk musicians), it also addresses the record-pressing process, 

turntables and other such record-related issues. Is a book on records the same as a record on books? #RhetoricalQuestion.  shorturl.at/gjrD6

COMIART bass guitar coffee/tea spoons
Starting at $7.99 (set of four)

Comiart bass guitar coffee/tea spoon sets are available in several colors, including black, blue, rainbow and gold. As with 

the lollipops, nimble and nuanced argument would be required to qualify using these as practice. But it may ignite a caffeine-charged inspiration, which is at least a stir in the right direction.  shorturl.at/diFHX 

Music-themed holiday stocking

$9.99

Some may say that this music-themed, 18-inch holiday stocking is too on the nose. But since stockings are worn on the feet, this objection is overruled on the basis of frivolity. Now: to matters at hand. Or feet. What musician wouldn’t enjoy waking up on Christmas morning to find this piece of haute holiday hosiery decking the halls? Most certainly would, but there’s at least one who wouldn’t. First name: The. Surname: Grinch. Do not attempt to approach or apprehend.  shorturl.at/emnv3

Bluetooth headphone beanie hat

$15.99

This tech-loaded lid is both warm and cool. Additionally, there are no earbuds that can fall out, 

get tangled cables or, indeed, be ripped out at inconvenient times. Not that it’s ever convenient. Or warm. Or cool. 
shorturl.at/dfHS4

Guitar Center Lessons Acoustic Guitar Curriculum Book 1

$17.99

Everyone has a friend or family member who owns a guitar but doesn’t know the first thing about how to play it. Every time they happen upon it, they renew the pledge to themselves that they’ll learn how to jam “This year for sure!" You can enable such promises with this book as an excellent starting point for budding musicians. It’s accompanied by online audio and is one of Guitar Center’s top-selling items.  tinyurl.com/3fkpshxm

Miniature Eddie Van Halen and 1957 Les Paul Goldtop guitars
$49.99 each

On Van Halen’s 1982 record Diver Down, the band included the diminutive ditty “Little Guitars.” As the name suggests, it was played on a miniature Les Paul lookalike. It might be hard to pull off “Eruption” on this little guitar, but EVH was fond of saying “If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying hard enough.” Also note that actual 1957 Les Paul Goldtops command five- or even six-figure prices these days. That’s a conversion rate of 2,000 of these little guitars to one real one. Both are officially approved.  tinyurl.com/29znkepu and  tinyurl.com/35658t39

Music Connection: What’s your career path been? How did you come to work for HARMAN?

Frank Joseph: I was a gigging musician for many years and had a recording studio. I was a young man at that point and I realized that I had no business being in business. I began a retail path through Guitar Center. I started at the stores and left as a vice president. I actually joined HARMAN on the consumer side, not the pro side. I started with headphones, helped build out that business and formed partnerships with companies such as Best Buy and Target. I ran the entire consumer marketing for five years before I started on the pro side five years ago and have been with them for almost a decade.

MC: What’s been one of your career highlights at HARMAN?

FJ: Some of the big activations like our road shows, our Pro JBL Masterclass that we just finished in Las Vegas and helping to bring some of our pro install audio products to market. We film our AKG YouTube show Stories Behind the Sessions at our Experience Center for which we bring in various artists and producers. For example, we’ve had members of INXS, No Doubt and several composers. They tell the stories behind some of their epic recordings. It allows us to leverage our facility and our brand.

MC: What sets HARMAN International apart from other gear makers?

FJ: HARMAN is one of a few manufacturers that fits into the category of a true multi-brand, multi-vertical strategy. When you look at HARMAN across all the different verticals it’s not just pro audio. It’s our pro, consumer and automotive business. We’re entrenched in several areas other than pro. We’re one of the companies that stand out because of that strategy. There’s also our ability to leverage our technology across the board. For example, AKG is now in Cadillac.

MC: What’s unique about HARMAN’s Professional Experience Center in Northridge?

FJ: It culminates all of our technologies in one space. So from arena sound to Martin Lighting to our install business. We have the ability to bring in a customer, walk them through all of the different technologies in one location and see it all working together.

MC: There are now four Experience Centers across the world. Are more planned?

FJ: There’s been discussion of others but nothing is planned currently. The Experience Centers we have now round up a good amount of support for our global business. 

MC: The Experience Center acts as a studio occasionally for various shows. For example, YouTube mix program Pensado’s Place taped an episode there last year. How do you draw interest?

FJ: It’s not really open for anyone to come in and tape. Usually bookings are made either through a partnership we have with a property or in the case of Stories Behind the Sessions, they’re very planned and part of our roadmap. There are either customers coming through, lighting designers or front-of-house engineers touring the facility. It’s booked about ninety-five percent of the time.

MC: What are some of the biggest challenges in your industry?

FJ: The biggest is continuing to generate new customers. Not a lot of people are playing musical instruments. It’s more content and music creation and certainly we have tools that serve those needs. Another challenge is continuing to be innovative. From a marketing perspective, any organization that deploys a multi-brand strategy, defining the areas that are strategically important, investing in them and continuing to stay on-message are all key.

MC: What’s one of your favorite HARMAN anecdotes?

FJ: No Doubt was one of the bands that had come into South Coast Recording, where I’d interned, to record their debut No Doubt for Interscope. When [drummer] Adrian Young came into the Experience Center to record our YouTube show, we reminisced about that. 

MC: What are the three most important lessons you’ve learned about working in music and audio?

FJ: One, It’s not the music business. It’s the business of music. Two, Things ebb and flow. Everything isn’t at 100 percent at all times Being flexible and adaptable is important. And three, This is a creative business. It’s about the art of creating music.

MC: What’s in HARMAN’s future?

FJ: We’ll continue to leverage the Experience Center as a place to have our customers try our new products and have conversations that will help us build and define our future. We’ll also continue to update them with all of the latest and greatest HARMAN products.

MC: What’s in your future?

FJ: I’ve never aspired to a certain position. I’ve been blessed to work with some great mentors and I’ve learned a lot from them. Most of my jobs have been self-made; the result of bringing a new idea to the table. I’ll continue to do that.

Contact pro.harman.com/lp/los-angeles-experience-center

“I always knew what I wanted this record to be,” Sierota says of producing Echosmith. “I spent a lot of time figuring out how I wanted to tell our story through music. I approach my production as an artist first because I am an artist. I did bring in other writers, musicians and our [former band member] brother Jamie, who helped to co-produce. My sister Sydney’s input was also crucial. She’s a huge part of what we do.”

Echosmith was recorded largely in Sierota’s home studio, which he’s assembled over the past several years. But parts—drums in particular—were locked in at Lucy’s Meat Market in Eagle Rock. Indeed, studio owner Pete Min was also recruited to engineer parts of the record. “He’s smart and creative,” the artist observes. “We then brought in friends and even non-musicians to show them what we’d done and to get their feedback.”

Organically or intentionally, bands will nearly always evolve. Certainly that’s happened with Echosmith, which Sierota ascribes to each song being like its own story or journal entry. “The storytelling on this record is more raw and honest,” he notes. “It feels more personal than before. Every song is related to a story or experience. Sonically it’s really different because we’ve grown as musicians and gave ourselves permission to do a lot more. I’m a big fan of capturing audio in high quality and then running it through something like a crappy foot pedal. You know: getting it perfectly and then humbling it.”

Many creatives struggle with completing projects, not because they don’t have ideas but because when there’s no firm deadline, opportunities for change will always be found. Sierota isn’t immune to such challenges. “I don’t believe that a song can ever be finished,” he observes. “There’s always more that I could do. I’ll hear some of our old stuff and think ‘I wish I’d done something more.’ But there’s value in letting something be what it is.”

Among his favorite studio gear is the Blue Bottle condenser tube mic, Hazelrigg compressors and Chase Bliss' CXM 1978 reverb effects pedal. “That thing is not just a guitar pedal,” he asserts. “I used it all over the record and it was a ton of fun. The sonic quality is incredible. Being able to use faders instead of knobs changes how you’re moving things.”

U.S. dates are planned for the New Year. Meanwhile, Sierota aims to produce not only future Echosmith records but other bands as well. “When I move, I plan to build a full-on studio where I’ll bring in outside artists,” he says. “I want to be able to support them in the same way that I support my own band.”

Experience echosmith.com, @echosmith, stem.ffm.to/echosmith; 

Contact Carla Senft and Amanda Curtis - Press Here PR, carla@pressherepublicity.com, amanda@pressherepublicity.com

Experience has long been noted for its potent teaching value. Lessons drawn from challenges are likely of equal worth. “Sometimes the biggest challenge is just to be able to pivot quickly between stuff,” Lang says. “There’s also the challenge of not rushing into things like when I want to add a solo at the end of a song. I don’t want to do it until I can attack it. It’s finding the balance between the delivery of something great and on time while also taking my time. It’s just enough to understand when I’m going to get the best take from myself. There’s also the challenge of having the patience not to push [an idea] on someone. Let the music make that decision. That’s what’s best for the song.”

When Ctrl dropped in 2017, a number of opportunities materialized for Lang including a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music. Recently that deal was renewed. “I didn’t have a manager then and I wanted to be careful,” Lang recalls. “I needed to develop my team first. I learned in school and from Chance not to give away my publishing. By entering into the contract, I learned the importance of having some skin in the game and that publishing is a way that music gets monetized. I’m also developing new ventures along with my manager David Waltzer. We met at a session in 2017. At the time, I needed to link with someone who’d be down in the field with me more than I needed a publishing deal.”

Essentially, there are three key moments in a song’s creation lifecycle: the beginning, when it assumes a life of its own and then, of course, completion. How do artists know when a song has merit and is beginning to work? “When it comes naturally, artists start to get excited and words seem to come out of nowhere,” the producer observes. “You want to grab onto it like it’s a flow state. When a song’s finished, all the parts that are there are the best version of that thing. When I listen to something and know that it’s beautiful the way that it is, I know that it’s done.”

All artists and engineers have favorite pieces of gear and their preferences are as varied as the songs that they create. “My gear is always shifting and changing,” Lang explains. “But right now I love to experiment with the most primitive aspects of tone on the Serge synthesizer. It allows me to get in touch with a new side of music. I also love my [Yamaha] CS-60, which finds its way into a lot of tracks because it’s a warm, organic-sounding synth. There’s also the MPC 1000, which I’ve used for years.” 

Contact Instagram: @iam_c_lang; Kristin.Somin@ledecompany.com, Samantha.Brensilber@ledecompany.com

“I always knew what I wanted this record to be,” Sierota says of producing Echosmith. “I’ve come to the point that I know the steps to get us there. I spent a lot of time figuring out how I wanted to tell our story through music. It’s been a joy to map out that journey. I approach my production as an artist first because I am an artist. I did bring in other writers, musicians and our [former band member] brother Jamie, who helped to co-produce. My sister Sydney’s input was also crucial. She’s not just the singer. She’s a huge part of what we do.”

 Echosmith was recorded largely in Sierota’s home studio, which he’s assembled over the past several years. But parts––drums in particular––were locked in at Lucy’s Meat Market in Eagle Rock. Indeed, studio owner Pete Min was also recruited to engineer parts of the record. “He’s smart and creative,” the artist observes. “We then brought in friends and even non-musicians to show them what we’d done and to get their feedback. I love seeing where those conversations lead.”

Organically or intentionally, bands will nearly always evolve. Certainly that’s happened with Echosmith, which Sierota ascribes to each song being like its own story or journal entry. “The storytelling on this record is more raw and honest,” he notes. “It feels more personal than before. Every song is related to a story or experience. Sonically it’s really different because we’ve grown as musicians and gave ourselves permission to do a lot more. I’m a big fan of capturing audio in high quality and then running it through something like a crappy foot pedal. You know: getting it perfectly and then humbling it.”

Many creatives struggle with completing projects not because they don’t have ideas but because when there’s no firm deadline, opportunities for change will always be found. Sierota isn’t immune to such challenges. “I don’t believe that a song can ever be finished,” he observes. “There’s always more that I could do. I’ll hear some of our old stuff and think ‘I wish I’d done something more.’ But there’s value in letting something be what it is. Outside input is helpful as is a timeframe. We announced that this record was coming out before it was finished. Ultimately, there’s no such thing as perfect but when our foster kids sing along or dance to a song, we know it’s ready.”

Among his favorite studio gear is the Blue Bottle condenser tube mic, Hazelrig compressors and Chase Bliss' CXM 1978 reverb effects pedal. “That thing is not just a guitar pedal,” he asserts. “I used it all over the record and it was a ton of fun. The sonic quality is incredible. Being able to use faders instead of knobs changes how you’re moving things. It feels organic. Every producer should have one.”

The three most important lessons he’s learned as a producer are:

• Give yourself space for contentment.  

• It’s okay to learn to do things in the way that you want to do them.

• Find a balance between needing and appreciating outside input but not being directed by it. The song is what should direct the production.

Echosmith dropped July. A tour planned for the fall kicked off in Europe, with U.S. dates to follow in the New Year. Sierota aims to produce not only future Echosmith records but other bands as well. “When I move, I plan to build a full-on studio where I’ll bring in outside artists,” he says. “I want to be able to support them in the same way that I support my own band.”

Contact echosmith.com; all socials = @echosmith; music - stem.ffm.to/echosmith; Carla Senft and Amanda Curtis - Press Here PR, carla@pressherepublicity.com, amanda@pressherepublicity.com

Label: Hopeless Records

Band Members: Zayna Youssef, vocals; Jayce Williams, guitar; Sean McCall, guitar; Ryan Cullen, bass; Chris Kearney, drums

Type of Music: Emo/Punk influenced

Management: Joe Marro, joseph@lessermatters.com, kirk@lessermatters.com

Booking: Lisa Schiffman, lschiffman@tbaagency.com

Legal: Paul Sommerstein, ps@paulsommerstein.com

Publicity: Brandy Robidoux, Brandy@hopelessrecords.com

Web: instagram.com/sweetpilll; linktr.ee/sweetpill

A&R: Eric Tobin

Five-piece band Sweet Pill measured out melodies on the road for a substantial part of the past few years. The investment paid off when the quintet was offered opening duties for Michigan band La Dispute. Kirk Harrington, La Dispute’s manager, also recognized potential in the band and he partnered with Joe Marro, Hopeless Records labelmate The Wonder Years’ manager. Together they formed Lesser Matters, which became Sweet Pill's management company. The investment earned further dividends when Eric Tobin, A&R rep with Hopeless, saw the band at an L.A. show. He flew out to Chicago to catch another set and to offer a deal. But he wasn’t alone in his interest. The principle of scarcity kicked in and three other labels made swift offers. Ultimately, though, Hopeless carried the day.

 “It was pretty organic,” singer Zayna Youssef recalls. “Eric Tobin at Hopeless liked Where the Heart Is, the record we put out with [previous label] Topshelf. Early this year he talked to our manager who let us know [of his interest]. But other A&R people also heard [about] it. We had one offer come in and then three more immediately after that. It was overwhelming because we’d just released our EP the previous year and went on our first-ever U.S. tour.”

Tobin was determined to sign the band, but Youssef remained circumspect. “This was all new to me and I didn’t want someone to own my music forever,” she recollects. “But Hopeless really wanted us and even put up money to consult a lawyer. Tobin was extremely genuine throughout the process and that’s what got me. He kept sweetening the pot and believed in us. We sent the contract back and forth a few times. It wasn’t like ‘Here you go’ and we jumped on it.”

Now signed to Hopeless Records, the four-song EP Starchild is in the works with a target release of spring, 2024. Meanwhile, the lead single “Starchild” debuted in late September. In addition to a number of dates, Sweet Pill played fabled fest South by Southwest in early 2023. The band’s first headlining tour is slated to kick off in April commensurate with the drop of Starchild. – Rob Putnam