On verge of fame, Citizen King is caught in label limbo

November 2, 1996

The music business is filled with ups and downs, and Citizen King is experiencing its share of both.

Shortly after Summerfest, the popular local band announced that it had signed a major-label record deal. Now, just a few months later, the Milwaukee group finds itself on uncertain ground with the imminent closing of that label, 510, a former subsidiary of MCA.

Or, to put it into more human terms, it's rather like being dumped by your broke boyfriend while still staying friends with his millionaire mother.

"We're still negotiating with 510 and MCA to see where we'll end up," said Citizen King's manager, Jeff Castelaz.

MCA spokeswoman Christine Wolff confirmed that MCA and 510 had parted ways. MCA, she said, was "definitely looking into the possibility of a relationship with Citizen King." No one was immediately available at the 510 office.

The shake-up will delay the group's major-label debut album, which Castelaz said was tentatively scheduled for a late spring release. The group recently returned to Milwaukee after several weeks of touring and will continue recording new songs at its studio here, Castelaz said.

The scenario facing Citizen King, while uncomfortable, is fairly common in the mercurial and often ruthless record industry.

The local punk quartet Alligator Gun encountered a similar situation early this year when its label, Relativity Records, a division of Sony, abruptly dropped all of its non-rap acts. Only five months earlier, Relativity had released the group's album "onehundredpercentfreak."

Alligator Gun then signed to Epic Records, only to have the deal fall through two days later, said band manager Rachel Tanzer. Gun singer Bill Couture said this week that the group had signed with London-based independent label Earache to distribute its album in Europe.

Another local band, the Gufs, recently survived a massive purge of acts at Atlantic Records. The alternative-rock quintet's Atlantic debut album, "The Gufs," was released last fall.

Castelaz said he would fly to Los Angeles in two weeks to meet with MCA executives. In the meantime, he remains optimistic.

"The way I see it, the label that signed us to MCA has folded, so if anything, one level of bureaucracy has been removed," he said.

"Yeah, it's a shock . . . but none of us are worried about it. The band's going to land on its feet."

Tina Maples