Communication Breakdown: Big Bullet Shaped Easter Eggs, The Most Fun You Can Have Over Easter Weekend
Originally Posted April 14th, 2011
Frederick Rock fans trade in your little chocolate figurines, marshmallow peeps, and brightly colored baskets for Big Bullet shaped Easter eggs this Easter weekend. These golden eggs will be filled with 1 of 20 different regional bands, Free CD’s, and plenty of other give-a-ways and they can all be found right in the heart of Shepherdstown, WV. Enough with the Easter metaphors already, of course I am referring to the one and only Big Bullet Records presents Big Bullet Fest event happening April 21st – 23rd. If you’re not familiar with Big Bullet Records , it’s a DIY collective of several local and not so local bands making a name for themselves up and down the East Coast. I sat down with Tucker Riggleman of Big Bullet Records and one of my favorite bands, The Demon Beat today at the lovely Blue Moon Café to bring you the insider info on Big Bullet Fest!
BB: Tucker, why don’t you say hi to Frederick and tell us a little bit about yourself!
Tucker: Hey Frederick. I am 24 years old. I graduated from Shepherd University with a MASCOM degree and English minor. I’m in the Demon Beat and we’ve been together for about five years. I’m also in another band called Prison Book Club. I started the Big Bullet Records label when I was in college; it was actually my senior project.
BB: So, we're here today to talk about Big Bullet Fest coming up in few weeks, but why don’t you tell us a little more about the record label first.
Tucker: The label is definitely not a traditional label. We don’t pay for everything and nothing is super fancy. None of us really has the money for that. It’s more about collaboration. Like the Sub Pop approach, if you make yourself seem bigger, people will pay more attention. Instead of 10 really good indie bands struggling to get attention, we all come together and it makes getting publicity, booking, and touring easier. We can record any of our bands at our house for free and Jordan of the Demon Beat can do all the packaging and designing also. We’ve also built relationships with pressing companies and get discounts because we send them so many of our projects. I usually do the booking and press and have built relationships with several blogs, magazines, and newspapers for publicity.
BB: For an honest DIY effort, you have done quite well. The record label website looks great, all the CD’s I have order are quality, and you definitely have built a strong following in the local area and are building recognition regionally too! Since Big Bullet Records is such a DIY effort, how do you decide which bands to bring into the collective?
Tucker: It started as a way to promote my band and my friend’s bands. Then it started to branch out after we played with Roger Harvey of Dandelion Snow in Brooklyn and he loved our stuff and we loved his. He and I started talking and we wanted to do a split release. In the process I found out Roger had good connections in Pittsburg and all over, so we started working together. Actually, the first record I put out was with a guy in Boston, Greg Loftus . He put out a record and no one was paying it any attention. I thought it was great so I re-released it for him. Then I got connected with The Okay Win also out of Boston. So, the label just branched out on its own like that. You go on tour and meet bands that you like and that are doing the same.
BB: Now that we are a little more familiar with the label, tell us about the first annual Big Bullet Fest!
Tucker: I’ve always wanted to do it. It’s not a traditional festival though, in the sense that it’s not in a field and that kind of stuff. One of the venues will be here, at the Blue Moon, but I thought it would be a good idea to have some of the louder bands at another location and do two nights here and 1 night at the other venue and make it a 3 day event. So that’s what we’re doing and it’s going to be April 21st, 22nd, and 23rd. The 21st and 23rd will be at the Blue Moon and the 22nd at “a private residence” I have to say because we can’t really advertise it, but check out the FB event page or the website announcement for details. It’s going to be insane. The second night is also going to be the release of the Demon Beats split cassette with The Shackeltons from PA who are good friends of ours. Antler Tapes , a little cassette label out of Pennsylvania run by Mike King is taking care of putting it out and there will be a digital download available also.
[Hint*Hint* Readers – The “private residence” is a big stone church and please remember this location is BYOB]
BB: Have you just been advertising locally, where you’ve been touring, or up and down the East Coast?
Tucker: Yeah, we pretty much have this network now on the East Coast. So, there are people coming up from North Carolina. People coming up from New York and Pittsburg. I think it’s going to be pretty sweet. I was working the open mic here a few nights ago and overheard some people who I’ve never met before talking about how they are taking off work to come to Big Bullet Fest and that they had some friends coming in from out of state. I thought that was cool.
BB: The event is over Easter weekend however, do you think that will effect attendance?
Tucker: I think if anything, it will be good because there are a lot of kids that are very involved in music around here that go to Morgantown and will be home [Shepherdstown] for the holiday. We don’t even really think about school vacations anymore because a lot of our friends and fan base are out of college now or they live in town year round anyway. I was definitely aware of Easter though because I have booked the Demon Beat in New York on Easter and also on Super Bowl Sunday at a venue with no TV’s, so I try to be aware of that.
BB: Well, I’m looking forward to Big Bullet Fest. It will definitely be the happening spot that weekend and Shepherdstown is a great town to host a festival.
Tucker: I forgot to mention that we will also be celebrating the release of a new compilation called Terminal Ballistics Vol. 2 that will be available online the day of the Fest. We will have download cards everywhere with a link to the free download. What we like to do with compilations is not make them like a greatest hits. Everything on there will be unreleased material or alternate takes or something cool that you can’t get anywhere else. It’s easy to take everyone’s best track and throw it on a compilation but this way maybe people will get into the bands and then go check out their whole albums.
BB: Are there any other inside tip you want to give us?
Tucker: I would just say, get here on time because we’re not doing advanced tickets. It’s going to be first come first serve. Five dollars at the door at all places. Over 20 bands in three days and there’s a free day party on Friday which will be a good opportunity to meet the bands before everything gets crazy. All the info is on bigbulletrecords.com !
BB: There you have it Frederick; you’ve heard it straight from the source. DO NOT MISS BIG BULLET FEST!!
Frederick Rock fans trade in your little chocolate figurines, marshmallow peeps, and brightly colored baskets for Big Bullet shaped Easter eggs this Easter weekend. These golden eggs will be filled with 1 of 20 different regional bands, Free CD’s, and plenty of other give-a-ways and they can all be found right in the heart of Shepherdstown, WV. Enough with the Easter metaphors already, of course I am referring to the one and only Big Bullet Records presents Big Bullet Fest event happening April 21st – 23rd. If you’re not familiar with Big Bullet Records , it’s a DIY collective of several local and not so local bands making a name for themselves up and down the East Coast. I sat down with Tucker Riggleman of Big Bullet Records and one of my favorite bands, The Demon Beat today at the lovely Blue Moon Café to bring you the insider info on Big Bullet Fest!
BB: Tucker, why don’t you say hi to Frederick and tell us a little bit about yourself!
Tucker: Hey Frederick. I am 24 years old. I graduated from Shepherd University with a MASCOM degree and English minor. I’m in the Demon Beat and we’ve been together for about five years. I’m also in another band called Prison Book Club. I started the Big Bullet Records label when I was in college; it was actually my senior project.
BB: So, we're here today to talk about Big Bullet Fest coming up in few weeks, but why don’t you tell us a little more about the record label first.
Tucker: The label is definitely not a traditional label. We don’t pay for everything and nothing is super fancy. None of us really has the money for that. It’s more about collaboration. Like the Sub Pop approach, if you make yourself seem bigger, people will pay more attention. Instead of 10 really good indie bands struggling to get attention, we all come together and it makes getting publicity, booking, and touring easier. We can record any of our bands at our house for free and Jordan of the Demon Beat can do all the packaging and designing also. We’ve also built relationships with pressing companies and get discounts because we send them so many of our projects. I usually do the booking and press and have built relationships with several blogs, magazines, and newspapers for publicity.
BB: For an honest DIY effort, you have done quite well. The record label website looks great, all the CD’s I have order are quality, and you definitely have built a strong following in the local area and are building recognition regionally too! Since Big Bullet Records is such a DIY effort, how do you decide which bands to bring into the collective?
Tucker: It started as a way to promote my band and my friend’s bands. Then it started to branch out after we played with Roger Harvey of Dandelion Snow in Brooklyn and he loved our stuff and we loved his. He and I started talking and we wanted to do a split release. In the process I found out Roger had good connections in Pittsburg and all over, so we started working together. Actually, the first record I put out was with a guy in Boston, Greg Loftus . He put out a record and no one was paying it any attention. I thought it was great so I re-released it for him. Then I got connected with The Okay Win also out of Boston. So, the label just branched out on its own like that. You go on tour and meet bands that you like and that are doing the same.
BB: Now that we are a little more familiar with the label, tell us about the first annual Big Bullet Fest!
Tucker: I’ve always wanted to do it. It’s not a traditional festival though, in the sense that it’s not in a field and that kind of stuff. One of the venues will be here, at the Blue Moon, but I thought it would be a good idea to have some of the louder bands at another location and do two nights here and 1 night at the other venue and make it a 3 day event. So that’s what we’re doing and it’s going to be April 21st, 22nd, and 23rd. The 21st and 23rd will be at the Blue Moon and the 22nd at “a private residence” I have to say because we can’t really advertise it, but check out the FB event page or the website announcement for details. It’s going to be insane. The second night is also going to be the release of the Demon Beats split cassette with The Shackeltons from PA who are good friends of ours. Antler Tapes , a little cassette label out of Pennsylvania run by Mike King is taking care of putting it out and there will be a digital download available also.
[Hint*Hint* Readers – The “private residence” is a big stone church and please remember this location is BYOB]
BB: Have you just been advertising locally, where you’ve been touring, or up and down the East Coast?
Tucker: Yeah, we pretty much have this network now on the East Coast. So, there are people coming up from North Carolina. People coming up from New York and Pittsburg. I think it’s going to be pretty sweet. I was working the open mic here a few nights ago and overheard some people who I’ve never met before talking about how they are taking off work to come to Big Bullet Fest and that they had some friends coming in from out of state. I thought that was cool.
BB: The event is over Easter weekend however, do you think that will effect attendance?
Tucker: I think if anything, it will be good because there are a lot of kids that are very involved in music around here that go to Morgantown and will be home [Shepherdstown] for the holiday. We don’t even really think about school vacations anymore because a lot of our friends and fan base are out of college now or they live in town year round anyway. I was definitely aware of Easter though because I have booked the Demon Beat in New York on Easter and also on Super Bowl Sunday at a venue with no TV’s, so I try to be aware of that.
BB: Well, I’m looking forward to Big Bullet Fest. It will definitely be the happening spot that weekend and Shepherdstown is a great town to host a festival.
Tucker: I forgot to mention that we will also be celebrating the release of a new compilation called Terminal Ballistics Vol. 2 that will be available online the day of the Fest. We will have download cards everywhere with a link to the free download. What we like to do with compilations is not make them like a greatest hits. Everything on there will be unreleased material or alternate takes or something cool that you can’t get anywhere else. It’s easy to take everyone’s best track and throw it on a compilation but this way maybe people will get into the bands and then go check out their whole albums.
BB: Are there any other inside tip you want to give us?
Tucker: I would just say, get here on time because we’re not doing advanced tickets. It’s going to be first come first serve. Five dollars at the door at all places. Over 20 bands in three days and there’s a free day party on Friday which will be a good opportunity to meet the bands before everything gets crazy. All the info is on bigbulletrecords.com !
BB: There you have it Frederick; you’ve heard it straight from the source. DO NOT MISS BIG BULLET FEST!!
Leave a Comment