We have been in a close relationship with Revival Recordings ever since their first label tour in 2014. That was also when the label was still getting going in which founder and Alesana guitarist/singer Shawn Milke started a label on the basis of ‘good music by good people’. That mantra has stuck over the first 5 years and we were able to chat with Shawn Milke about what the first 5 years of Revival Recordings has meant and some takeaways from being on the other side of the industry. We were also able to talk Alesana news with him and Dennis, frontman, last year in Atlanta which can be found HERE.
Q&A With Shawn Milke (Revival Recordings/Alesana)
Shawn, we have been with you guys at Revival Recordings as long as I can remember in terms of working with bands from the first tour. What was your vision then when you were just in Alesana vs what’s come to happen?
I think my vision was just to always be moving forward, in some way shape or form. I wanted to be able to look back and see growth and progression at any point. This thing began with me by myself in an apartment kitchen working records for my friends and family. Now, it has grown into something really special with a wonderful team of people who work hard every day to continue that very growth.
Looking back 5 years, what are some things you have learned you didn’t expect to on the label side vs just being in Alesana?
The amount of trial and error can be overwhelming. There is no one right answer and you have to be comfortable making mistakes and learning from them. I have so many passion projects and bands that I love so much and I want them all to be the biggest thing in the world but the unfortunate reality is that is not always going to be the case. All I can do is work as hard as I can to be creative and put our family of artists in the best possible scenarios to succeed.
It is very rare for anyone in music to develop a strong reputation in a short time, it seems Revival Recordings has done just that. What do you attribute that to?
I’d like to think it is the mantra that we operate under; Good Music By Good People. The business world can be very ugly and we work extremely hard to stay away from that in our practices. We honestly and sincerely care so much about the bands we represent and I hold all of their ups and downs, successes and failures in my heart. I believe the passion and dedication of the team we’ve built really resonate with people.
You guys are releasing new stuff every Friday, is that a tough task or is it just business as usual?
I’d say it is a little bit of both. It is a challenging and daunting task but that is par for the course around here. We love thinking outside of the box.
What are some cool releases we can expect this year on Revival Recordings?
Plenty of new and old from our current roster and new signings. There may be a few surprises along the way.
Awesome, we certainly look forward to the ten-year mark for Revival Recordings!
