Good time to be Self Righteous Victoria label embarks on cross-Canada tour With Meatdraw, Amy Honey, The Lonesome Valley Singers "14 passengers. Ten days. Three bands. Two vehicles. One top secret show. This is basically a logistical circus sideshow," says Jesse Ladret of Victoria’s Self Righteous Records. As Ladret speaks from his home on Vancouver Island, his label’s roster prepares to embark on a triple-bill tour across Canada. "Overall, it’s going to be an incredible experience for both those on stage and those watching it; I think it’ll be more like an old time ten-in-one circus sideshow than an ordinary gig." Ladret, who started Self Righteous Records in 2004, carved out a name for himself promoting the local Victoria scene in his arts and music magazine Brand X Media. His partnership with Myke Hall–a record producer whose resume boasts work with Carolyn Mark and the Switchblade Valentines–would form the foundations of his label. "In general, the label is run by the two of us, which is nice, because there’s nothing overhead," Ladret says. "We share the same vision of what we want the label and the bands to achieve. It’s a hobby, and also an excuse to not just end up complacently bitching about what’s wrong with the ‘scene." In fact, it might be Ladret’s definite lack of "bitching" that sets him and his label apart from the current indie climate. Self Righteous, regardless of what its name implies, is anything but: his label exists only to support his scene, not compete with other members of it. "For every jaded scenester that sits on the sidelines and complains about what’s happening or not happening, that’s a lost contribution," Ladret remarks. "You really don’t need to be onstage to be involved. I think as Canadians we’re pretty lucky to have grabbed so much attention on a global scale, and as easy as it is to go on a tangent about who’s overrated and underrated, that would just be counter-productive." Ladret doesn’t even complain about the standard hardships facing fledgling labels in Canada: sometimes, in established music scenes, it’s hard to find bands, record them, find distribute, and get on your feet. "I tend to be pretty stubborn with what I like and what I don’t, and the roster on the label reflects that," Ladret confesses. "I feel pretty good about the fact that even if these bands didn’t have any affiliation with us, we’d still be front and centre watching them play. I can’t say that running a label is easy, but if it was, it wouldn’t be all that much fun."