Local record ushers local scene with CD
Victoria News: January 18, 2008

Cavalcade of the Scars Vol. 2, the sequel to Cavalcade of the Scars, will be released next week. It will be promoted with a pair of shows (Jan. 24-25) that feature local bands covering other artists’ work. The first CD, released in 2006, was the top played Canadian album at the University of Victoria’s CFUV Radio station that year.

Vol. 2 features such local acts (or bands that include members from Victoria) as Meatdraw, Johnny and the Moon, Run Chico Run and The Listening Party. But this isn’t your typical covers album. Among the selections are remakes of music written by local acts who have since broken up or gone on to form other bands. Outlining the CD’s wide spectrum of songs, Meatdraw covers a number by Atlas Strategic – they broke up in 2002 and later formed parts of Wolf Parade – and Hank Pine and Lily Fawn covering Nelly Furtado.

Self-Righteous Records co-founder Jesse Ladret said the idea behind Cavalcade is one of musical education.

“As far as how the public will see it, I’m not sure because it is a lot more insular in that sense. Some people will be hearing a band for the first time covering a band that they’ve never heard before. But our purpose for doing this is to spread the word about independent music in Victoria,” he said.

When the first volume was released, they originally had modest hopes, Ladret said. Now things are different.

“This one’s been a year in the making and what we didn’t want to do is just create a sampler of songs people had already heard or were available anywhere else. So these are all exclusive, they might end up on someone’s album down the road,” he said.

Ladret, also a graphic designer and former music critic, started Self-Righteous Records with engineer Myke Hall two years ago, when the two found themselves working on various ends of local music projects. They’ve kept their roster small (currently four) for specific reasons.

Releasing a CD in the Internet downloading age is a gutsy call for a small label, Ladret said. Online downloading has cramped sales for the past five years and looks to only increase. Even bands as big as Radiohead are going label-less to release work. The transition (Self-Righteous releases are available through iTunes) will be a slow one, he added, especially since CDs are not going away anytime soon.

“It’s harder to filter through the good and the bad,” Ladret said of sites such as MySpace that are birthing acts at an alarming rate. “But there’s a lot of mediums that people never had access to, whether it was music or photography or publishing. I’m all for it, the more people can do it themselves. That’s what we did, so who am I to criticize?”

Next Thursday’s show features The Listening Party, The Pine Family, MD Wren & The Sick Kids, Dan Weisenburger, The Lonesome Valley Singers and Tolan McNeil at Logan’s Pub. The second night, at Lucky Bar, features MeatDraw, David P. Smith, Hank Pine & Lily Fawn, The Himalayan Bear and Hearse. For information go to http://www.selfrighteous.ca.

patrickb@vicnews.com