Interview with Michael Saltzman & Joseph Finlaw - Isota Records

How did you come to idea to begin your own label? Did you have any musical past?

Michael Saltzman: Joseph and I met working at a record store in Berkeley, California. We're both rock music junkies who can't really play music ourselves. I was away at school in 2001 when Joe saved some money and put out a single from the fabulous Birds of America. He wasn't really sure whether he would do any others, but then I came back and joined him and I think with the two of us there was more motivation, we could push each other along.

Joseph Finlaw: I had really been into people who owned and ran record labels but weren't really musicians, like Alan McGee (Creation), Tony Wilson (Factory), Geoff Travis (Rough Trade), as well as Calvin Johnson (K), who is a fantastic musician, but is almost just as important for running K Records as he is for being in Beat Happening. As I wasn't able to fulfill my musical ambitions as a performer (because I can't play music), I wanted to express my passion for music in another way. I met Nat Russell (Birds of America) and he made great music and beautiful artwork, so I decided to give it a go. After 9/11, when Mike came back from college, I asked him to be my partner in the label. We had worked together before and our personalities and tastes were similar and different in just the right ways, so I knew it would be a successful working relationship.

You know, two 7" Whitey on the Moon UK that we got from you made a lot of noise here. As far as I know there are a lot of people in the world authoritatively referring to this band (though the edition of it is only 500 copies). Tell us, please, how do you understand their creativity?

Michael: Whitey on the Moon UK, who are now called Department of Eagles, were a couple of friends of mine from university who fooled around and made a short electronic album as a joke. The five tracks on the first 7", "Mo' 'Tussin," were all taken from this original album, which the guys themselves never took seriously. I think the quality of their music comes in large part from that off-hand casualness of those first recordings. Their music has a certain understated lack of seriousness that makes it ultimately more charming and appealing. It seems to be so good in spite of itself. Also, the two members of the group have very different personalities and tastes and I think that conflict is creatively productive. (Tension always is, isn't it? From Lennon/McCartney to the Pixies to John Cale/Lou Reed and on and on and on.)

Joseph: I don't know if I really understand the band's creativity. They constantly suprise me. When Mike played me the original album that they made themselves, I thought it was great and some of the tracks would make a great 7" single. When they finally started creating music that would become the album they made after changing their name to Department of Eagles, I was floored by how their talent for composition had improved. Or maybe it had been there all the time! I'm really interested in attracting bands like them who want to grow with the label. I'm interested in allowing a band that kind of freedom.

What are the relations between you and musicians whom you release?

Joseph: I'm very close to Nat (from Birds of America and Isota's graphic artist) and Mike has a close relationship with the guys from Department of Eagles. Someone like Gerald Collier became a friend after we decided to do a record. I'd prefer to have friendly relationships with our artists rather than strict business ones. Sometimes things go sour and you feel like you shouldn't get too close, but then you realize that being close to the music and the people who make it is the most important thing about running the label.

Michael: I agree. It's important to keep things from becoming impersonal. When things are casual and friendly, I think the artists feel more welcome to try new things.

Gerald Collier - it is not clear to me how even a famous ex-star could appear on such a modest label as Isota Records? I think here the question is hardly of any serious financial interest...

Joseph: I don't think Gerald was actively seeking out a label or really interested in pursuing a serious music thing at the time we contacted him. I think he had some unfortunate circumstances that prevented him from getting the exposure he deserved while he was working with major labels and he may have been fed up with that. I think the fact that I asked him if he wanted to make a record helped get him really enthused about the process again. I hope to continue releasing his records for a long time.

Michael: Joe was a long-time fan of Gerald's and got in touch with him about recording an album for us. I think Gerald probably liked the low-key freedom of a very small indie label after working unhappily with giant corporations in the past. We are very lucky to work with him; he'll hopefully be recording another album with us soon.

How can you prove the necessity of the limited circulations? What do you think about a problem of a piracy (bootleg editions)? (To tell you the truth, I've made a digital copy of your EPs and allowed my friends to do the same...)

Joseph: Well, first of all, doing limited runs of 7" singles is realistic because in this day and age, it is hard to sell a great number of them. However, I also really like the idea of having something that only 499 other people in the world have. It's a little more special. I'm kind of on the fence about piracy and bootlegs. In some ways, I think taping a live concert and circulating that amongst fans is fine. Those shows would probably never get an official release and it just helps get fans even more fanatical about an artist. On the other hand, I don't believe in illegal downloading because I know and see how hard artists work on their music and I think they deserve to get paid. Also, having worked in an independent record store, I've seen what happens when people stop buying music because they can get it for free. I think it de-values the music. With that said, It's hard to blame somebody for copying something like a Whitey On The Moon UK EP of which only 500 were made. But, then again, having the artwork is important as well.

Michael: The limited edition singles were a great way for us to get started, because they were managable when we had no idea what we were doing. Also, the limited runs and the hand-printed artwork made the singles more collectable and got us interest from some collectors. The truth is though, 7"s are impossible to sell and now we find ourselves moving away from them. It was our training period, or our apprenticeship or something, and those singles are very special and beautiful, but now we;re working more with full-lengths.

How do you find musicians whom you would release? What requirements do you give to them? Whether a release of some european (or even russian!) band is possible on Isota Records?

Michael: At first we worked mostly with friends and people we met around the Bay Area in California. But you're only going to find a few good artists that way, so now we need to listen to more demos and such.

Joseph: We get a lot more demos than we used to and, honestly, I don't like very many of them. However, recently I've received 3 exeptional demos and we are working on releasing records by all 3 of those artists. One of the bands is actually from Rugby, England. The only requirement is that Mike and I enjoy the music. It's very simple. We only want to put out music that we really enjoy. I'd love to hear some music from some good Russian bands!

Do you do anything else or label is your basic way of earnings? Have you got a family?

Michael: We don't make any money from the label (at least so far). I'm still at university, and Joe manages a record shop in Berkeley. I'm only 22, so no family yet. I've been with my girlfriend for over five years, and we're basically married if that counts...

Joseph: I manage a record store in Berkeley, California called Mod Lang and I win a lot of poker. I don't have a family of my own. I was married last year, but am not anymore

What are your musical predilections? Whether there are modern bands which you would like to release yourself?

Michael: I try to listen to a variety of artists, but I stick mostly to good old rock music, in its various forms. My favorites are probably The Smiths, Dylan, The Pixies, Ween, and The Beatles of course. Lately I've gotten really into Frank Sinatra's Songs for Swingin' Lovers album, so that's outside the rock cavern a bit. Nelson Riddle's arrangements on that album are amazing.
My favorite band to champion, however, is Ultrasound. I'm not sure if anyone in Russia knows them. They were hot for a year or so in late-nineties UK before they fell apart, but nothing was ever released in the US. We're looking into releasing something from them, some sort of retrospective. It's time to canonize these guys. Their music is huge.

Joseph: I like UK bands the most. That is one of the reasons I'm excited to release the record by the band from Rugby. I will listen to modernish stuff from Oasis, Kula Shaker, Mclusky, The Libertines, Morrissey etc. etc. My favorite all-time album is "This is Hardcore" by Pulp. I listen to all kind of music though. Lately, I've been in to a lot of stuff from the 70's like Little Feat, Stephen Stills, Free, Neil Young, Grateful Dead and stuff like that. I also love pop music like The Sugababes and Kylie. Mike and I made a list of bands we'd like to release music by a couple of years ago. A few bands who we've actually been in touch with about releasing singles are Racebannon, Sam Jayne from Love As Laughter, and Clearlake. I would love to domestically release the records by Hoggboy and The 80's Matchbox B-Line Disaster.

Politics in music. What do you think about it?

Michael: Politics in music is great in theory. Most times, though, blatant political agendas in pop songs come off poorly. I think a more oblique approach generally works better, something like the imagistic lyrics of The Clash's "Death or Glory", songs that embody political views rather than spell them out.

Joseph: I don't think politics work well in music. It's a bit of a conflict that rarely comes off well. I'm fine with a musician being political, but the music usually suffers when an artist tries to hard to put a political message across. I think the most successful melding of politics and music have come from The Clash and Super Furry Animals. Both groups paint a pretty broad picture of the world and the politics involved, which is more effective because the music doesn't suffer because of a very heavy handed message, but still manages to touch a chord and stir up the right kind of interest in the topics they are writing about. The best examples for me are "Spanish Bombs" by The Clash and "Presidential Suite" by Super Furry Animals.

How would you estimate modern political situation? What is your political credo?

Michael: Politics in the world seem very poorly managed right now. America's diplomacy is depressingly awful. We need to make peace with the Arab world, not foster future terrorists with more war and occupation.
As for a political credo, I guess I'm some sort of bleeding-heart liberal: help people who need help, supporte the arts, make peace, etc. etc.

Joseph: It's a scary time right now. I can't remember a time when there seem to be so much hanging over our head. Maybe when I was a kid in the 80's and there was still this sort of paranoia involving the Cold War. Sometimes it puzzles me that people can't clear their heads and look beyond traditions and beliefs and see that we need to just stop hurting each other. Unfortunately, I can see how countries like the United States can promote actions that create a disdain which winds up escalating into horrofic events like 9/11. I don't have a political credo as such, I just think that we need to look at why we are here, whether it be spiritual or physical, and work together to get the most out of it. Peace, I guess.

In Russia the elections of Swartzeneger the governor of California are regarded as an evident symptom of the total stupidness of americans (our TV and press present America extremely in negative light). What can you say about it?

Michael: The election of Swarzenegger was unbelievable. It's really a joke, and I certianly can't defend it and wouldn't want to. However, it's important to keep in mind that there are multiple sides to America, just as there are to any country. On the one hand, the US government is terrible and frightening and the majority of the population seem to be idiots. On the other hand, the country is so large and the education system is quite good, so there is inevitably a significant number of intelligent, artistic people around to keep the culture continually impressive. American music is great, and independent American film is great, and the serious literature scene is great, etc. etc. Sometimes I think that it's the terrible contradictions of the country - so arrogant about being the number one world power, but simultaneously denying its citizens adequate health care or welfare or public transportation - that keep the American arts so vital. Great art is most usually bred from conflict.

Joseph: I think the election of Arnold was partly due to unfortunate timing. We had a govenor that not many people liked and most agreed he wasn't doing his proper job. I think when they decided to boot Gov. Davis, it opened up this freakshow where people just came out of the woodwork and decided to run. Arnold's campaign was benefited by the brief amount of time he had before the election. If he had to sustain a campaign as long as he would need to in a normal situation, I think people would have wised up a bit more. As it stood, I think he won based on his celebrity. Also, because of the circus side-show nature of the election (and maybe because it didn't feel like a real election), many people didn't take it very seriously. Oh, and people are fucking uninformed.

What do you know about european/russian music? Have you been to Europe?

Michael: I don't know too much about European music outside the UK. Who should I be following? I have, however, spent some time in Europe, travelling around a bit. I'm actually studying in Paris for a few months right now, working on the label across the sea through the magic of the internet. I'll be through Eastern Europe this summer, but I won't be reaching Russia, unfortunately. My father's family comes from Poland and Russia originally, so I'm interested in that part of the world. Europe's a lot nicer than the States in most ways. Life seems a bit richer and more relaxed. I think that America needs to be humbled. The European nations have been through ups and downs, and that makes them wiser. The US hasn't fallen yet, but it's got to eventually. That'll probably make it a nicer place ultimately.

Joseph: I have not been to Europe although I hope to soon. I don't know much about Russian music, but as I said before I'm really into music from the UK.

I like the style in which the articles on the site of Isota Records are written. Tell us, please, about your literary preferences.

Michael: I try to read a lot, I'm studying literature, and I'm actually trying to write a novel right now. (We'll see if I ever complete it...) My favorite authors are pretty much the greats of modern American literature: Hemingway, Vonnegut, Nabokov (a true genius). I also try to keep up somewhat with contemporary literature. We're releasing a great spoken word EP with the wonderful author Rick Moody this summer, so Isota has it's literary credentials intact.

Joseph: In all honesty, I don't "read" as much as I used to. I mostly find myself reading books about music. It doesn't leave me too much time to read fiction or even non-music related non-fiction. However, some of my favorite authors are Studs Terkel, Stephen Jay Gould, Martin Amis, and Thomas Mann.

Would you like to add anything from yourself personally?

Michael: Perhaps a few self-serving pronouncements: Please check out our web site: www.isotarecords.com, or email us: isotarecords@yahoo.com. We like to hear from people. Also, if you've enjoyed the Whitey on the Moon UK 7"s, I'd like to repeat that the band's name has changed to Department of Eagles. Their full-length, The Whitey on the Moon UK LP, is great.
Finally, we really appreciate your taking an interest in our little California record label. We're just trying to put some good music out in the world, and it's very rewarding when people actually like it.

Joseph: Buy vinyl. It looks prettier and sounds better. And thank you to the editors for such incredible interest and thoughtful questions.

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