From GaGa to the Underground

As the new intern here at Sarathan Records, I was asked to write a blog post about anything my little heart desires. I decided, then, to write about the people here at Sarathan.

There's something to be said for Sarathan's motto on the blog: "The best music from the nicest people in the music business."

As somebody who is eager to pursue a career in the music industry, I've met my fair share of people through networking meetings, interviews, and phone conversations. I can safely say that I've talked to almost all of the music elitists in Seattle, from record label managers to radio station personnel to music venue owners. One person told me that I wasn't right for his position and then proceeded to get the name of his radio station wrong as he walked me out the door. Another person told me there was no hope in finding a career in music business and that there was no money to be made anyway, and of course, as he said, it is all about the money. I'm not here to bash or rant on what the music industry has become, I merely wish to make the point that today, with the economy where it is and with technology consuming our lives the way it does, the people at Sarathan really are some of the nicest people I have ever met.

Not only does this hold true - which is a big claim to make but I am happy to back up if needed - but they actually know about music. Surprisingly, it isn't as common as you would hope that those that are working in the music industry actually have a passion for their work. Of course Sarathan knows about the bands it's promoting, but those that work here, their knowledge goes far beyond their own music.

Because I was born in 1988, my middle school and high school experience coincided with the rise of mainstream gangster rap (50 Cent) and the teeny-bopper craze (Nsync, Backstreet Boys.) I'm not trying to belittle this music - on the contrary, I danced to it at my school dances, went to concerts and screamed my head off, and blasted it in the car on my way home. However, none of my friends were as interested in learning about other kinds of music and actually resented the music that their parents listened to simply because they thought it was necessary to be rebellious. I prided myself in learning about all kinds of music from different generations and genres. I thought it was important to know about not only mainstream music but also independent, and not only contemporary but also classic. I longed to discuss how one band was influenced by another, how the chorus of the rap song we were dancing to was actually a sample of a song from thirty years before, how the idea of putting on a dance performance and creating an image while singing a song didn't start with Britney Spears but actually was experimented with years before.

I didn't find this musical common ground until college when I started working at my campus's underground radio station. I worked with people who knew and understood music the way that I knew and understood it, where I could psycho-analyze Eminem and they would totally get it. I knew when I graduated I needed to find another group of people similar to those that I had finally discovered in college after years of searching. Then I found Sarathan Records.

Here at Sarathan Records, they know what they're talking about, whether it comes to Lady GaGa or The Velvet Underground. They care about music; they love it, they experience it, and they make their lives about it. This is what I've been looking for.

Check out the bands from Sarathan Records: Feral Children, War Tapes, Two Loons for Tea, and Thunder Buffalo, or go to http://www/ sarathan.com!

-Greer, the new Sarathan intern!