New Release: Petrarca - For Now (Until Then)

 2021. A new decade in full swing, well almost. Here's a new single by Petrarca, recorded in 3 days and mixed to order. Space rock in pop form. More to come from this project and Chief Tizo in general!

What's the purpose?

Ah yes, the adage of "it's been a while". Repeated endlessly by countless many as an excuse to restart something or to preface how things will be different now. I am not really sure that works in the context of Chief Tizo Records (the blog? the record label? outlet for bored afternoons or insomniac nights?) since it is hard to say what it even was to begin with.

Well, it is possible to chronicle the somewhat patchy history of what Chief Tizo Records was supposed to mean. In short summary, in 2011 there was a need to encompass and legitimize all musical releases that I would make. Inspired by the myths of independent record labels of old, Chief Tizo Records was formed to assist and, perhaps more accurately, fulfill the illusion that it was indeed possible to start a label. 

Surprisingly, it got farther than I thought possible; we ended up actually "signing" a couple people that didn't go anywhere, and then merged with another "digital" label to no real strategic advantage. Eventually I landed a decent interview with Dan Barrett of Have a Nice Life, and we started to get some minor traffic. People would submit music to be reviewed, or to be considered for this hilariously intangible label. But over time with other life priorities and general disinterest, we packed our bags and left.

Yet in the era of reunions, even Chief Tizo would have one. So after a short revival in 2016, we packed it up again after doing some video interviews with a couple of friends and artists. It was an entirely easy decision, really. With the advent of microblogging, Instagram, and Spotify as the seemingly only way people decide to read, view, and discover things in the musical and art realm, what was really the purpose of this blog? We did not have an answer, so we disbanded again.

Then something kinda changed in 2017, when I was able to physically release How Scandinavian's single, Emma, on cassette. The folly of this whole Chief Tizo Records thing was somewhat made reality, since it was released under Chief Tizo Records and had that name in the liner notes. The purpose of this initial enterprise was finally fulfilled in an echo of a mention.

So what's the purpose now? Well, Chief Tizo Records is back, but again, it never really existed to begin with. It's a real independent label, but perhaps the capital and logistics of it aren't ever going to be what was dreamed of back in 2011. But hey, at least we can print stuff out with CHIEF TIZO RECORDS on it in bold followed by a catalog number.

So for now, this blog will serve as a place for updates on what releases we might get out (as of right now, we have two that are being completed and planned) and it shares pretty much the same cast of musicians when all is said and done.  In addition to that, it'll still share music and "songs of the day" that are of interest, along with small stories and anecdotes on recording, printing, and art. We might even get the interview series back in action if we can muster the courage. 

For now, at least, Chief Tizo Records is back.

Untitled 5 / The Shape of this Label to Come

Lately things have been pretty apathetic in the state of what exactly is going on with the label. I'll be the first to admit that perhaps not updating the blog on the once weekly basis was a pretty fucked up way to just slam the door on any readers we may have once had, if any. But I'd like to explain myself on why this is the way things were (note 'were').

Things out here in the local residence of the label's activity have been essentially dead these past few months, from the very start of the year there just hasn't been anything going on in terms of shows or musicians popping up. We've run out of contacts and friends who are even making music anymore and those who are still around obviously don't want to be a part of the label or make it in general.

So we've hit a very big rut of plain old nothing.

Personally, I can't think of any way to really keep things interesting if only my own projects are the ones that keep making and releasing material on here.
I mean I'm still going to do it, but where's the variety? Where is the small music collective I sought to create with this? Who exactly has the same amount of effort and desire to do this?

Probably no one that I know of.

But who could be put to blame? It's silly to think that much could be done with such a small, and now single person run label. And yet...

Too stubborn to really give up and wanting to put forth effort into something that I made, even if the reasons are beyond logical, I will continue posting my own work and anybody else's who wishes me to do so.

Onward and onward again. Updates on the blog will return to being twice a week if not more depending on what happens. Hope you'll stick along with me.

Chief Tizo Interviews #3: Thrill Touch

My favorite interview so far! Starlon and I decided to give Thrill Touch an interview before their set at the Explosion New Year's Eve show and got some interesting information! Lots of laughs all around. Oh and some release news somewhere in there... So what are you waiting for? Check it out above!

Chief Tizo Interviews #2: Lithium

The second installment of Chief Tizo Records Interviews! We have the lovely opportunity to talk with Lithium and discussed their origins, the music making process, the local scene, and future plans. An extremely amusing and insightful watch. Check it out above!

New Release: 14 Charisma - No, Not Yet EP

Great news! Chief Tizo Records is putting our their latest release 'No, Not Yet' EP by 14 Charisma! It's a mix of noise-y and wondrous 8-bit chiptune made straight from the Game Boy of our very own Cameron! It's some crazy and fun stuff to enjoy while you're relaxing or fucking shit up with rainbows. We can't wait to see what else Cameron will release under the 14 Charisma moniker in the future for us. PLAY THIS SHIT AT MAX VOLUME. (This was written by Bryan, so no it's not complete self-worship or anything egotistical like that).

Listen to and download it for free on the widget below!

After the dust settles: A reflection

So the first ever annual Chief Tizo Thanksgiving Fest is already two days in the past and here I am thinking about what I wish I could've done, saw what worked to my surprise and what I think we'll do next.



What went wrong:

I noticed that more than half of those in attendance did not pay a single penny towards the event. While I wasn't too surprised about the usual abundance of freeloaders who come to a house show this was worse than my usual experiences. I only made about $39 dollars including the sales of drinks and I could already see that at least 30 to 40 people were in attendance. So that means about half didn't pay what I think is a reasonable fee of $2 dollars.

I'm slightly baffled as to why some people couldn't pay for what I thought was a genuine event with more than 4 bands performing, and the effort put towards organizing the entire thing. Maybe people don't understand that actually getting these sorts of things together takes effort and can't be done in just a whim of the willing. While I know my closest true friends didn't hesitate to pay (thanks again), it surely is discouraging to learn that people attending an event of a stranger will not pay up.



What went surprisingly well:

I have to hand it to Lithium and Thrill Touch (whom played in Festizo earlier this year) for putting on some solid performances that day. Maybe I am biased for it being my own event but I was more than happy with their material and feel eager to seeing them play again and hopefully with them in the future. 14 Charisma I felt had a second life this time around due to an enhanced light show and the addition of keyboard in the musical aspect, still he needs to work on his stage presence a little more.

Old Soybu was a surprise hit for me as I wasn't sure how people would react to chiptune infused noise rock. It was probably the most fun of the three performances I did that day and hope to play more under the moniker. Ghost Time's performance was rather an emotional experience since we couldn't truly play our last show the way we wanted but we were entirely grateful to have our good friends Mark and Starlon (the guy who co-owns this label!) take the stand when our singer wouldn't.

How Scandinavian's set was pretty much technically flawless for us and surprised the hell out of me when the usual spotty parts of our live renditions worked out. The performance was ultimately a cathartic one as I had been tired and worn out after so many emotions and clandestine feelings. The chilly night air resonated with much of the songs' own dark material and I felt as if I really depressed much of the viewing audience. I suppose it comes with writing/performing sad songs. Luckily we ended the night on a rather happy note and ended the festival with a feeling of completeness.



What we'll do next:

The future of what happens next is rather hazy at the moment because after events like these I tend to feel tired and apathetic. While I myself don't consider profits to be a major point of contention when I host these events I can say I feel discouraged by the lack of support from more than half the audience. Maybe I didn't make myself clear, or perhaps I have to hire big tall people to make them pay? Nah, I don't want to do that but it is rather frustrating.

If there is any sequel to this then it will be one with a much greater emphasis on entrance and attendance. All the other components I felt were spot on and if anything the only things to improve are to have a greater variety of bands on board and rationalize with the audience on what they want to hear and have available to them at a show.

We're all still learning.

New Releases: How Scandinavian/The Latecomers - Narcissists and Ghost Time - Something to Hold No One Over

Great news everyone, after much procrastination I finally got my shit in gear for our second and third releases on Chief Tizo Records!

Chief Tizo Records Release #2: How Scandinavian/The Latecomers - Narcissists (Split EP)

First off is an exciting collaboration for How Scandinavian as I had the awesome opportunity to mix and master the songs by The Latecomers on this split EP. The Latecomers' two songs 'Followed Home' and 'Fault' prove to be fun and exciting lo-fi post-punk that acts as a great counterpoint to my own moody music. Seriously it makes me want to lighten the fuck up! Lovely. Download/Stream it for free right below on the widget.



Chief Tizo Records Release #3: Ghost Time - Something To Hold No One Over

I'm happy to say this is the definitive collection of late-era Ghost Time and it showcases some of the best songs the band had to offer. All recorded live and made to sound as best as possible as rehearsal tapes would ever allow, this is a great assessment to the band's history. Download/Stream it for free right below on the widget.

New Release: How Scandinavian - Dolorous / Upcoming plans!

Big news. The How Scandinavian debut album Dolorous is out right now. I'm promoting the hell out of it by posting it in god knows where. So please give it a listen and give us some feedback. This is my first real big release and I hope that everyone enjoys it. You can go download it and pay what you want for it (free!) right on this widget thing...



I can't relax just yet though, some big plans are underway for the remainder of the year. The first annual Chief Tizo Thanksgiving Extra Stuffing Eat-You-Out November Festival Extravaganza 2011 is due to happen and much planning is in the works. I hope to make it a big occasion just like Festizo 2011 was this year in the summer.

Also How Scandinavian is going to release a split EP with the post-punk/lo-fi band The Latecomers (check them out at http://breadonbread.bandcamp.com) next month! It's going to be called Narcissists and should be an awesome collaboration. It will contain two songs by each band and will be out on November 1st!

A new EP is also in the works for possible December release or early 2012 from How Scandinavian. Our next Chief Tizo release will be a new compilation of Ghost Time songs, which I've delayed long enough. So stick around for that in November as well!

Thanks for reading (any of you who do!)

- Bryan