VA - Equal Vision Summer Sampler
ARTIST........: VA
TITLE.........: Equal Vision Summer Sampler
LABEL.........: Equal Vision Records
URL...........: http://www.equalvision.com
GENRE.........: Hardcore
QUALITY:......: 265 kbps avg/ 44100Hz / Joint Stereo
RIP DATE......: 2018-01-04
RELEASE DATE..: 2017-05-27
Tracklist:
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01. Waterparks - Gloom Boys 3:27
02. Coldfront - Everything You Want Me To Be 3:24
03. Sleep On It - Unspoken 2:55
04. Envy On The Coast - Virginia Girls 4:09
05. A Lot Like Birds - For Shelly [Unheard] 4:05
06. Backwards - Airy 3:22
07. nothing,nowhere. - Clarity In Kerosene 4:07
08. Picturesque - New Face 2:50
09. Northern Faces - Messin' With Me 3:37
10. Gideon - Champions 3:44
11. Sadistik - Free Spirits 4:13
12. Polyphia - Lit 4:12
13. Stolas - Bellwether 4:51
14. Eisley - Always Wrong 3:58
Total 52:54
Release Notes:
Formed in 1991 by former Youth of Today and Shelter vocalist Ray Cappo, Equal
Vision was initially conceived as a home for CappoÆs Shelter albums as well as a
variety of other Krishna Conscious influenced artists within the hardcore scene.
Due to the interest focused on Krishna Consciousness in hardcore at the time,
the self-funded label soon found it difficult to keep up with reprints, orders
for tulasi beads and fan correspondence. Also, as Shelter toured and recorded,
Cappo found himself busier with a bevy of projects, so it wasnÆt long before he
decided that Equal Vision would best be served under the reigns of someone who
had the ability to devote 100 percent of his or her time to the label. In turn,
Cappo immediately thought of one person who would be a perfect fit to manage the
day-to-day aspects of operations in an efficient mannerùnamely, his longtime
friend, former Youth of Today roadie and Krishna Conscious devotee, Steve Reddy.
ôAfter the last Youth of Today tour, Ray moved to India for a while and I lived
in a Krishna temple,ö Reddy recalls. ôI wanted to get married, and I was going
to have to find a way to make a living for myself. In the meantime, Ray started
Shelter and while they were making their second record, they came up with the
idea of having me run the label so they could focus on the band, and thatÆs
pretty much how I got involved.ö
After successfully helping Equal Vision get off the ground, Reddy bought the
label from Cappo in 1993 and ran it out of his apartment in New York City.
Staying motivated with a passion for music as their impetus, Reddy and his wife
û former 108 guitarist, Kate Reddy û stuffed envelopes and put out some of the
most intriguing hardcore and post-hardcore/rock records of the early
ninetiesûeverything from ShelterÆs Attaining the Supreme and 108Æs Songs of
Separation to ShiftÆs Spacesuit. In the process the label started to expand from
its Krishna-core leanings into a place that fostered passionate music regardless
of genre.
ôMy original idea was that we would roll like Dischord in terms of sticking to
our guns,ö Reddy says. ôWeÆre KrishnaÆsùso what? WeÆre going to roll into shows
and start chanting and passing out food and thatÆs that. But then I lost my
Fugazi when Shelter signed to Roadrunner, so we had to take a different approach
as there werenÆt all that many Krishna bands in existence. If we wanted to
survive we had to try something different. I ended up meeting Josh Louka from
Shift and really liked his band and convinced him to allow us to put out his
record. They joined up with us and that record got the ball rolling in terms of
putting out non-Krishna bands.ö
ôThe Krishna-core movement was great and I definitely wouldnÆt be sitting here
right now if it didnÆt happen,ö Equal Vision label manager Dan Sandshaw says.
ôEventually the movement ended, though, and the label had to expand into new
genres of music in order to survive. The expansion in the early nineties was the
foundation of what the label has become today.ö
As the mid-nineties approached, Equal Vision dealt with the transition fairly
well as it helped foster a new era of hardcore in the wake of putting out
records by Converge, One King Down and Bane, among others.
Arguably, however, one of the major turning points for Equal Vision came with
the release of Saves the DayÆs CanÆt Slow Down in 1998, which although not an
immediate success turned out to be the beginning of a new era for the label in
which diversity became its mantra and soon led to its monolithic growth and
success.
ôWhen I first started working for EVR in 1998, the first Saves the Day album had
been released a couple months earlier to mixed reviews,ö Sandshaw reminisces.
ôSince then the label has expanded out of the hardcore scene and across every
musical genre. The diversity of the label is the key to its growth. Any label
that works within one specific genre is setting itself up to be pigeon holed.ö
ôEqual Vision was a comfortable fit for Saves the Day because they supported us
through our early musical growth,ö Saves the Day front man Chris Conley states.
ôTo his credit, Steve was able to see the merit in the music, and he never
stepped in to advise against our progression. I canÆt stress how important this
was for us as a band, and how rare it is within the industry to find a label
executive who encourages risk taking. Fortunately, because Steve encouraged
our growth, we were able to establish a trend of transformation which would
serve us well through the grind of the years.ö
Soon enough, word spread that Equal Vision was developing one of the most
supportive environments in which an underground artist could work, as some of
the most popular hardcore, rock and pop artists of recent years have taken note.
As the 21st Century appeared on the horizon, Reddy partnered with RED
Distribution, put out increasingly unique bands ranging from progressive punk
rock stalwarts such as Black Cross and Bear vs. Shark, pop/rock troupes like
Armor for Sleep and The Rocking Horse Winner and avant-garde fire-starters like
The Sound of Animals Fighting and The Snake the Cross the Crown.
The real coup for Equal Vision, though, came by the way of its belief in the
prog-rock meets emo stylings of Coheed and Cambria, a band that has since taken
the entire country by storm, going on to sell over 500,000 copies of its
sophomore release, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, as well as becoming
one of the hottest touring acts in all of rock music.
So, whatÆs the secret to Equal VisionÆs success? There are a multitude of
theories, but the one factor that most familiar with the label continue to refer
to is the tight-knit atmosphere that offers as much artistic trust as it does
financial support.
ôI want the bands to have a good experience with Equal Vision,ö Reddy enthuses.
ôWhatever money there is to be made isnÆt enough to cover up the impression if
someone was wronged. Having a good experience from both sides is the goal.ö
ôEqual VisionÆs success may have more to do with the spiritual life within Steve
and Kate, which breeds an environment of trust, respect and reverence,ö Conley
affirms. ôI was just a little boy when Steve and Kate took our band into their
family. We felt protected and appreciated. More importantly, Steve related to
us more as human beings than tools of the marketing trade. Within this
industry, so much emphasis is placed on the bottom line, the dollar sign. Steve
and Kate are there for you as fellow human beings first. This helped us to
believe in ourselves and carry on in the face of much early criticism.ö
ôEqual Vision has grown in size, but I still think they do business with a
hardcore/punk attitude,ö Pete Chilton of Bane and Avocado Booking offers. ôQuite
simply the label is run by people who love what they do and care about their
bands.ö
Now that Equal Vision is over 15 years old and has met with widespread acclaim,
one would think that the label would simply rest on its laurels and become one
of the many that have bought into the corporate atmosphere that has pervaded
underground music the past several years. But as successful as Reddy and Co.
have been, the label continues to thrive on the very passion that ignited it in
the first place.
ôI never had a plan to have the label go this long and get this big,ö Reddy
admits. ôI owe it to the people who care about the label as much as I doùthe
employees here and the bands that put their lives on hold and take a chance to
pursue their craft.ö
ôWeÆve never chased chart positions or awards,ö Sandshaw concludes. ôOverall,
our goal is to serve the bands and impact peopleùitÆs as simple as that.ö
And itÆs safe to say Equal Vision has done just that by sticking to the ethical
principles it has maintained since the beginningùall the more reason to consider
the label one of the most important, cutting edge and relevant entities amidst
the musical landscape.
In 2012, Equal Vision partnered with Max Bemis of Say Anything to launch Rory
Records, an imprint label with bands curated by Bemis.