CREATING CUTTING EDGE ROCK AT THE BASE OF MOUNT SHASTA:
TOP ROCK ENGINEER/PRODUCER AND INDUSTRY MAVERICK SYLVIA MASSY LAUNCHES INDIE LABEL
NATIONAL RECORDER
FROM HER NEW HEADQUARTERS, MILES FROM THE RAT RACE OF L.A.
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Breaking New Acts From Around The World, Sylvia Massy, Who's Extensive Resume Boasts Tool, System Of A Down, Powerman 5000, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tom Petty-- Aims to Keep Her Tradition of Groundbreaking and Genre Busting Music Going
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National Recorder's Base Of Operations is RadioStar Studios, A Five Room, State-Of-The-Art Facility, Housed in an Old Art Deco Theatre and Classic Dancehall
In Downtown Weed, California

No doubt motorists driving up I-5 towards Oregon have been joking for years about the funky name of the beautiful little town of Weed, which is nestled under the watchful eye of the majestic and towering Mount Shasta.

If famed rock engineer/producer Sylvia Massy has anything to say about it, however, her adopted hometown hundreds of miles away from the rat race of Los Angeles will soon become known to the indie music world as the place where rockers across the globe gather on the cutting edge.

Sylvia Massy, renowned for her work with Tool, System of a Down, Powerman 5000, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Aerosmith and Tom Petty, among hundreds more, is currently launching National Recorder , an independent label dedicated to championing and developing great new indie bands from around the globe while discovering innovative ways to market them to the wider audiences they deserve.

Working with powerhouse Fontana/Universal Distribution, National Recorder is gearing up for its first two major releases in October and early November by California based bands The Skies Of America and Teri Falini .

Fronted by L.A. based singer/songwriter Rob Bonfiglio, The Skies Of America's debut CD Shine , set for release October 17, has already spawned a potential hit single in the title track, which is receiving college airplay throughout the country and is aggressively being promoted to Triple AAA radio. This will be followed up on November 1 with The Room , the sophomore release by Teri Falini, a popular San Francisco based band named for its lead singer.

Working out of her private recording facilities, Massy's label is opening doors for musicians from all over the world, including bands from Australia (rockers Cog and Mink, whose albums will be released in 2007), Norway (Major Parkinson and Animal Alpha) and Switzerland (Henchman). Also coming up on the roster is the hard-edged San Francisco based rock band Solid State Logic and L.A.'s Midnight To Twelve.

Housed in an old art deco theater and a classic dancehall in downtown Weed, California, the four rooms at RadioStar Studios are one-of-a-kind. Combined with Massy's vast array of vintage instruments and recording equipment, musical artists immerse themselves in an original creative environment with astounding results. RadioStar is a completely unique recording experience.

The studio, which opened when Massy bought a ranch in the area with husband Greg Shivy (who does booking and tour management for National Recorder) in 2001, boasts a classic Neve console from the CTS Film Studio in London (long rumored to be the console used to mix Led Zeppelin's “The Song Remains The Same”) and what she calls “an outrageous collection of gear, from Fairchilds to Mellotrons to old RCA consoles”. She is currently gearing up to open a fifth room with a new SSL. Her engineering and production staff includes Jim Wood (from the band Dishwalla), Rich Veltrop and Kale' Holmes. Recently, several big artists not on the label have enjoyed recording there, including From First To Last and Norma Jean with producer Ross Robinson (Korn, The Cure, Slipknot).

“Besides making great music here, and having no distractions except for maybe the small bar across the street, we think the studios have a cool, creepy Twin Peaks kind of vibe, complete with old abandoned theatre spirits”, she says. “Our offices are in a turn-of-the-century mortuary next door, and the new building is a massive old dance hall. Visiting bands stay at a nearby house with weird historic animal antlers on the wall, where Amelia Earheart once lived”.

Massy, who had her first taste of owning a small label some 15 years ago with Third Hole Records (created for the band Big Elf), moved from West Hollywood up to Weed in 2000.  The move was an immediate success when bands flocked to her after her hits with the debut of System of a Down and Powerman 5000. “I figured I might not get as much business here, but maybe because my overhead was lower, bands would come for the reduced rates”, she says. “But I was wrong, and in no time, the RadioStar Studios facility was thriving with bands from all over the world”.

“Reaching independent bands through the internet created all sorts of great opportunities for us, and we were working on projects for artists from New Zealand, Spain, Australia, Canada, London, and of course all over the states”, Massy adds. “We found, however, that as great as these bands were, many still couldn't find an effective way to distribute their records. Major labels aren't doing the A&R work they used to in order to find bands like these, so it's up to indie companies to get the ball rolling. That dilemma is what led me to create National Recorder, where I could choose to sign and develop acts that interest me, even if the bands didn't have a lot of money to start with”.

While best known for her modern alt/rock successes, Massy's resume includes a wide variety of musical styles, from indie rock to dance to pop to country to metal; she wants National Recorder to reflect that lack of pigeonholing as well. “So while The Skies Of America is melodic and radio friendly rock, many of the label's future releases will be more alternative and experimental. We want bands whose styles run across the spectrum, edgy rock that leans towards the quirky, but with strong, clever songwriting. I'm especially interested in working with bands that have something completely different about them, and whose leader has a definitive, marketable rock-star vibe”.

In promoting her artists, Massy is working diligently on methods that run outside the normal, tried and true venue of radio promotion; TV advertising will be a key factor in getting the word out on National Recorder artists. She also has recently expanded operations into product manufacturing, developing a line of audio processors for guitar, as well as a line of retail apparel targeting music lifestyle buyers.

“In addition to having myself and this great staff of people completely in charge of marketing our recordings, there are a lot of great advantages I have personally in working as producer on them”, she says. “I can help shape the records right from beginning, which includes choosing songs, finishing arrangements, picking radio songs as well as being involved in graphics selection, photos, and the band's image right down to their haircuts and boots they're wearing! Because as producer I get points for every unit sold, National Recorder doesn't have to take such a big cut up front, which is really a great thing for new indie bands. With this arrangement, it's always in our best interest to sell as many units as we can, so everybody can be fully compensated for all the great work they do”.