Planting the Seeds

In our heart of hearts, each and every one of us, at one point or another, has dreamt of working in the music industry. Given the proper guidance and instruction, any one of us could be, or could have been, the next David Geffen or Brett Gurewitz. Ah, but dreams subside and most of us will spend our days performing backbreaking manual labor for just above minimum wage, never knowing what could have been. However, for those of you with the tenacity, drive and determination it takes to begin that long trip to Epic, Capitol or any of those other major record labels, Chico State's own student-run record label, Wild Oak Records, is for you.
Named after head of staff and music Industry Professor Paul Friedlander's neighborhood street, the label's initial intent was to serve as a learning tool for aspiring CEOs, musicians and recording engineers to catch a hands-on glimpse of what the record industry was like. It has since branched out to receive local and regional praise as a perfect home for up and coming artists of virtually any genre. The students who make up the staff are required to produce a compilation CD of the surrounding area artists' music as well as produce a showcase to cap off the semester. "The showcase is the climax of the semester," according to administrative assistant and staff veteran Andi Sheeley. The compilation, Bands Gone Wild was released on November 19th and the showcase will erupt onto the BMU Auditorium stage at Chico State on December 6th. The Bands Gone Wild extravaganza will feature all of the artists on the new disc, as well as Wild Oak affiliates and local pop-punk heroes Indecisive Youth.
The class consists mainly of music industry majors who are primarily focused on their respective area of expertise, which is to promote and market the label. With this new sense of direction came a new challenge that the staff needed to overcome. The new compilation features local and regional acts, whereas last year's Four Corners compilation was strictly local bands, so the marketing department had to work quickly to get the Wild Oak Records name out into the eyes and ears of surrounding communities. Though each student would like to claim responsibility for the label's current successes, most of the thanks should go to the marketing team of the class. Radio spots and reviews in local magazines and papers have at least doubled interest in Wild Oak Records over the course of the semester. The label has hosted four different showcases thus far, and the turnouts have been respectable. Wild Oak staff member and marketing major Shannon Ostendorf states, "Without all of the hard work from our marketing group, people might still be in the dark about the label." With the expectations of their fearless leader, Professor Paul Friedlander, the group spiced up their image to a surprisingly enthusiastic local media. This task consisted of groups of students handing out flyers, laying stickers down all over town and essentially bugging the hell out of any and every radio station and paper in Chico to get some much needed exposure.
"I think that the local papers are sick of me, but I've got a job to do," says Ostendorf. It seems they've done their homework, and quite handily at that. The fledgling label received around 45 demos from bands as far away as Fresno, including submissions from some well respected and promising acts such as the hip-hop funk group 40 Watt Hype (who supplied the title track to the Eddie Murphy film The Adventures Of Pluto Nash) and Sacramento lullaby-pop quartet Pyre. Picking the bands for the compilation was a completely democratic endeavor as each member of the Wild Oak staff attended "listening parties" to determine who had the chops to make it on the final disc. Unfortunately, a lot of great bands had to be denied simply due to recording quality, a decision somewhat resented by the students. However in order to achieve a consistent sounding album, the necessary deeds had to be done.
Consistent is a perfect word for how the compilation turned out, as four out of the six bands lean more towards the radio friendly rock sound currently busting up the airwaves. A big asset to the labels' stature as a stepping stone to bigger and greener pastures is that they actually grow with the bands that they sign. "We do sort of help guide the bands along," states Sheely. With that sort of mentality, the students don't feel intimidated by their tasks, but rather take comfort in the fact that these young artists are themselves learning. Most, if not all the bands currently signed by Wild Oak are relatively new to the rigors of a record label.
Yet another indication of the label's overwhelming desire to branch out is the recent addition of Wild Oak Publishing. Essentially a full service music publisher, the company has acquired many contacts with local advertisers. This is also another helpful tool for both parties - label and band - to learn the copyright process. Wild Oak Publishing also help obtain Performance Rights Society memberships, and work to license artists' material for commercial use. The Wild Oak Records Songwriters Guild has produced some intriguing events in their own right. WORSG has hosted two open mic nights at Moxie's cafe and a showcase of local songwriters at Has Beans. The process is the same if anyone is interested in getting his or her respective singer / songwriter groove on. You just have to submit a demo and hope for the best, as that group will most likely be releasing a compilation in the near future as well.
To some, it may seem as if the label has crawled out of virtual obscurity. One minute, they are a pet project for a local professor, the next, they are signing bands of actual substance left and right and actually having to deny bands a spot on their coveted roster. This is in all likelihood due to the group's beefed-up cash flow. Long gone, but not out of the question, are the tiresome fund-raisers that previously controlled Wild Oak's pocketbook. The label now receives $10,000 in annual funding with $4,000 of that being a work study grant. Though not the amount of money that a label would kill for, it does provide them with enough elbowroom to host the various shows and promotional events they tackle throughout the course of a year.
There have been complaints in the past that the money is simply not enough, but it is supposed to be a class. I'm sure that the hope of the label is to continue branching out and eventually take over Northern California and then the world, but it just seems that it should cater to the educational needs of the student rather than pursue obviously unattainable goals. Wild Oak Records' charm lies in its fledgling nature. It is a business, none of the students will deny that. But for most, above all else, it is simply those first baby steps into that big, corrupt, yet necessary world that is the record industry.

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