JOHN KIVEL (from Kivel Records)By Nicky Baldrian
JOHN KIVEL (from Kivel Records)
By
Nicky Baldrian
In the space of a
few months Kivel Records has grown into a much respected record
label, thanks to the recently released and much loved albums from
Attraction, Radar, Stone Angel and Funny Money. All these bands
have been welcomed with open arms - and have been receiving
glowing reviews from the music press the world over, each of
Kivel's releases are superbly crafted classy melodic rock and AOR
records. I thought it was high time to catch up with the man
behind the label, John Kivel himself, here's what went down.....
Nicky:- Tell me your history up until the formation of Kivel
Records?
John:- Well, First I would like to say thank you for this
unexpected pleasure Nicky. Now onto your questions! My history,
well I have always been in love with Melodic rock and MHR since I
was about 13. A close friend of mine, who was like a big sister
to me worked for a major label and she used to give me advance
albums before they hit the streets. Bands like SOUTHGANG and
TROUBLE TRIBE and whatever she had that week for me. Hanging
around her, I found myself learning alot about the inside of the
biz from things she told me, how things were done, the wrong way
and the right way. Most importantly,...WHY BANDS DIDN'T MAKE
MONEY!!
I also use to
roadie for bands , but where I made my biggest connections was as
a Freelance photographer.I managed to land photo passes for just
about every band you can think of. There's also a few album
covers floating around out there that have been done by me. HELL,
95% Of KIVEL RECORD releases are all done by me !! With the
exception of maybe one or two band shots.What can I say, I like
all angles of what I do and I try to do it all. I get out from
behind that desk dammit!!
Nicky:- When and why did you decide to start a record label and is there anyone else involved?
John:- Wow! Good Question! Well, I started kicking the idea around when I saw alot of these bands/companies put out what I felt was not quality controlled product. You know I would buy a c.d. that had a small buzz, and the production was weak or the artwork was poor. I finally got sick of saying ,"I CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS!". Plus, there were all of these great bands that I knew of or were friends with that didn't have the chance to get out there. So I started doing this to put out bands that I had a personal love for. It was never about money, I couldn't care less if I made a million $$. I just wanted to get bands like ATTRACTION and RADAR out there for people to enjoy and hear, as long as I made my investment back I didn't care. Just as long as people were enjoying it. The music is what matters!
As for my staff, well I am surrounded by people that are equally inspired by this music. They are all musicians or former musicians. My Graphic designer Stephen Jensen who does an outstanding job with covers like the RADAR , SHANG HAI and soon to be released TOUR DE FORCE, used to play Guitar in a band called BARRACUDA. Jason Hopper , who is my A+R guy use to play Drums in a band with me. Then I have another Photographer on staff, KENT MILLER (First FUNNY MONEY cover) who played drums in too many bands to mention. Plus my Illustrator Kyle Hildreth is an outstanding Musician as well and Dave my web master is an excellent Bassist and Vocalist. You see nothing but Rockers in this place! Even my Secretary is constantly listening to Our releases at her desk.
Nicky:- How have
you found the competition so far?
John:- HEALTHY! I think there is plenty of room for everyone
here. The AOR fans are very smart, they will buy an album
regardless of whose released it as long as it rocks their stereo
for them. I see alot of the other labels releasing some good
stuff, I even own some of them! From STEELHOUSE LANE, VON GROOVE,
to HAREM SCAREM and SAVANNAH. If your concered if it has hurt my
sales,..Hell NO. My bands are kicking some serious ass out there!
But honestly I enjoy the competition, it just makes me work
harder on my next release.
Nicky:- How do you
get the finance to back the signing and recording of a band?
John:- I have this secret pot of gold that I have hidden that I
stole from a leppracaun! Just kidding, I ask what the band's
budget will be by deciding how much studio work they might need,
artwork etc etc.. Then I basically pay for it. No two band's have
worked on the same budget. After the release I just handle the
money wisely and sometimes re-invest it right back into the same
band to further that release. I try to keep the cost as low as
possible, that way the band can actually make money! That is a
major mistake, labels make. They give all of this money to the
band to spend, and then the band NEVER sees a dime, because they
are spending forever trying to pay it off! A record deal should
be looked at as a credit card with a very HIGH interest rate.
Steve Whiteman who used to be in KIX, Has actually made MORE
money on KIVEL than in KIX!! He is the perfect example of what I
do, decrease the spending to allow the increase of profit.
Nicky:- It must be
a gamble in this day and age to go with our beloved genre of
melodic rock, how do you know when you sign on a band that your
going to recoup the money's invested in a band?
John:- I would say no to that. For me, it's all about the bands.
I will only release a band that I would go out of my way to see
on a Wednesday night. I could'nt care less if they sold 500000
wouldn't mind it, Im not stupid. I just want to be excited about
it. If I wanted to do this for money I would have started
releasing RAP artists instead. I have yet to lose any money on
any band on my label. Not band for a newbie label huh?
Nicky:- You seem to
have single handedly made a name for your label in such a short
time, what would you put this down to?
John:- I have!?!?! Wow! It's nice to know that I have
accomplished so much in such a short time. I think it would have
to attribute to my love for it all. It's honest. I run this label
as I would want my label to be ran if I was in a band. This is
nothing more than label run by musicians. We know what it's like
to be on the other side of the fence. I recently had Brad from
ATTRACTION call me the other day with some gear problems. He
knows he can call me because he knows I will help him and
understand. I had him a new ampo within the hour for the gig! I
even got up on stage with another band and we did some Foreigner!
When was the last time you saw David Geffen doing that!?!!? HA
Ha...
Nicky:- How do you
see your label fitting alongside the likes of MTM, Now And Then
and Z Records?
John:- Very Nicely. You tell me. How do I fit?
Nicky:- Do you have
any plans for live gigs from any of your bands in Europe?
John:- YES! We are talking to some people about bringing RADAR
and some of my other bands over there. It's all in the talking
stages right now. I promise that you will be rocking with me soon
to my bands LIVE!! Oh, and yes I will be on hand for the
festivities.
Nicky:- The
reaction to Attraction and Radar has been awesome, do you think
that people are ready to start listening to good songs once
again?
John:- I think so. The angry thing can only go so far. It is such
an exhausting emotion that eventually people want to lighten up!
Plus the "SUMMER DAYS" are here!! What a better choice
of music to listen to at the beach than AOR/MHR!!
Nicky:- Where did
you discover Attraction and Radar?
John:- Actually I grew them in my Lab in the basement of KIVEL
RECORDS! Seriously, ATTRACTION plays this area all the time. I
used to go and see them play and photograph them in concert. I
knew various members of the band,so when it was time I made them
the offer. RADAR, I used to go and see as well and knew them as
well. I called them up asked them to re-form and here we are.
RADAR is actually starting work on the next album as we speak!
Pam will start laying her vocals down in August.
Nicky:- What do you
think has been wrong with the music scene these last few years?I
personally don't think we can blame the grunge development for
making our whole melodic rock scene disappear underground, I
think it's down to the actual labels not showing the respect to
all types of music.
John:- Grunge is partly to blame. I think it has to do more with
several things. One, lets face it our little brothers and sisters
were getting to that age where they were discovering music. When
a new generation of kids comes up, it's unavoidable that there
will be a new type of flavour. Plus when NIRVANA hit it was in a
downtime of MHR. There was no big releases form bands like BON
JOVI , DEF LEPPARD, JOURNEY. So MTV Need to play something new.
By the time Our bands reemerged with new albums they found their
furniture on the lawn and MTV had moved them out while on
vacation. Which I think is wrong! No one form of music dominated
an entire decade the way AOR/MHR did! It made MTV what it is
today! Now they are like sorry, do we know you? Like the whole
thing was a cheap one night stand. We helped build that station
with bands like SKID ROW, BON JOVI, MOTLEY CRUE and WHITESNAKE.
But Im fine with it, as long I have my bands to listen too who
cares that it's not the "IN" thing.
Nicky:- Everything
comes in cycles, so next time the music world changes how can we
preserve the hard rock scene and keep it at whatever level it
gets to?
John:- Support the bands!! Buy the albums. Go see them. Buy the
t-shirts tell your friends! If enough of us do that, Eventually
people will notice.
Nicky:- Is the
scene really making a recovery in the US after the recent shows
from Posion, Slaughter, Cinderella and Dokken, and do you think
that this style of music will ever be as popular as it was in the
eighties?
John:- On a concert level YES! On new material, NO. Most people,
sorry to say want to hear the hits and are not intereasted in New
material. I think that's why the new POISON - LIVE ALBUM of hits
with a few new tracks isw doing so well, then again the whole
record buying public is different. Very few acts today have been
able to match the sales set by bands from the 80's. When you have
all the technology out there like napster, who I recently found
out has RADAR up on it. CDR Recording and MP3. Sales are not what
they use to be.
Nicky:- What would
be the ultimate band for Kivel Records to sign?
John:- Thats a good one. Hmmm... Old "HAREM SCAREM".
Maybe an album like the first "EYES", BURNETTE with
Johnny Gioli. I really don't know, there is soooooo much great
stuff out there. Who knows. With every band I release I think
they are my Top! Then I come up with another band that outshines
the other. I never know whats going to walk through that door. I
still have 25 bands sitting on the back burner until I figure
what to do with them.
Nicky:- What bands
do you personally enjoy?
John:- Oh that's Easy! ATTRACTION, STONE ANGEL, RADAR, FUNNY
MONEY, SHANG HAI, and TOUR DE FORCE!!! HA HA. Honestly, I listen
to all of them quite often. As for others You name it! I have
over a thousand c.d.'s of aor/mhr! Right now we are jamming to
GOTTHARD "G" and STEELHOUSE LANE "Slaves".
Nicky:- Whats the
best thing about owning a record label?
John:- I get to fire myself when I get difficult! Honestly,
Having the control at all ends. Making my own choices and not
listening to the masses and doing what I want. I like to be
personal with my customers and my bands fans. No corporate stuff
here, I answer 95% of all of our e-mails and talk to customers on
a regular basis. I love it!
Nicky:- What can we
expect from Kivel Records in the future?
John:- What ever my little mind can think of,.....BIGGER and
BETTER!
Nicky:- Finally is
there anything that you would like to say to the rock 'n' roll
world?
John:- I would like to say thank you to everyone out there that
has supported this NEWBIE label from the start with the kind
e-mails, posts on various boards and purchasing of our bands. It
pleases me to know that people out there are digging what we are
trying to do here. I hope I can continue to keep bringing you
more bands like ATTRACTION, RADAR, SHANG HAI and TOUR DE FORCE.
On behalf of myself , bands and staff...THANK YOU, AND KEEP
PARTYING WITH US!!!! Thank you Nicky for your time and your
wonderful questions.