We’ve gone through a bit of transformation over the past few months.  Yours truly has taken on the title of Chairman & CEO of Last Gang Entertainment which is the umbrella banner overseeing our label, management and publishing operations.  It wasn’t the corporate title I envisioned when we started this little label years ago, but where are you going to go when a guy (Lenny Levine) deserves to be President of the label and another (Trevor Guy) deserves a VP title?  Shouldn’t you have chief executives once you’ve sold 1,000,000 albums?  What the f**&k? How did that happen?  This little stamp collection established for some ragtag Canadian transplants subsisting in Williamsburg has grown into a viable and sought after refuge for recording artists trying to get their music to the world. Sure, you can put your music out “yourself” but how much fun is that?  Who provides the cash, the personnel, the experience, the knowledge, and the love?  Yep, “the love”. Not everyone has the access to capital and staffing (i.e. Radiohead, NIN, Dave Matthews) to build out their own little Last Gang.  In fact, it begs the question, “where would the aforementioned mega success stories be TODAY if they did it ‘themselves’ back in the (more…)

There has been a lot of discussion of the long tail artist over the past few years.  It is a concept brought to attention by Chris Anderson’s book, “The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More”.  The Long Tail artist is typically a catalogue or niche artist in a hard to find record bin.  At Last Gang we are focusing on a new type of act: the Torso Artist.  The Torso artist doesn’t fit absolutely in the niche world of long tail acts.  They aren’t wood flute purists from India or yodelers from the Swiss Alps or long out of print folk artists who sell 10 albums a year; Torso Artists don’t exist on the outer fringes of a digital aggregators’ collection, they are more important and substantial than that.  They may not reach the sales heights of lofty major recording artists, but they cultivate a dedicated and eager fanbase that sustains a current career and also feeds a record label’s bottom line.  Sign enough of these Torso Artists and you build yourself a formidable base.  Sign enough of these acts and you might change the world in some small way.

Fuck we’ve done a good job at this.

Someone should give us an award.

Your President

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We’ve been building the foundation of Last Gang with Torso Artists since Day 1.  This month we welcome Magneta Lane and Montreal’s, Mothers Fathers. Their new albums (to be released in the months ahead) continue the legacy of Last Gang as a home of exceptionally inspiring artistry that will make an impact around the globe and put food on the table.

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I was cruising around MSTRKRFT’s MySpace page in the Fall of 2006 and stumbled across a friends’ picture that caught my attention.  Two slender leather-clad kids heads down and faces hidden were intriguing enough for me to click through and check them out.  Their music and the vibe of their page inspired me enough to do something I had never done before…email someone through their MySpace page.  A day or 2 later they responded and I discovered they were from my hometown.  I had them come to meet me.  Alice sat on the couch and said very little while Ethan outlined a vision for his duo to take over the world.  It was a plan that was ambitious and unrealistic but intriguing all the same.  They brought a genuine edginess to the roster that we expose from time to time: spontaneity, danger, sex, darkness – the same things that first inspired me about The Clash and The Sex Pistols.  I don’t think at that stage they really thought it would lead them to making the cover of NME twice in 2008.  After our meeting I didn’t immediately move forward.  Over the Christmas break I spent 2 days in the office listening to their MySpace page on repeat.  The melodies, the sounds, the rawness…..it all began to sink in.  I reached out to the group again and apologized for sleeping on things and we started to talk about making records in early 2007.  Today, by our estimation, over 400,000 people own Crystal Castles’ debut album (about 33% have actually purchased it: thank you for that) with more converts joining us daily.  We have great international license partners to thank for the rise of CC around the world (PIAS in the UK & Europe, JVC in Japan and Shock in Australia), and at the center of it all, Ethan and Alice who pursue a torturous touring schedule to continue spreading the word.

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“…it all comes down to creating something people like.  And what people like most is not slick, not glossy, over-produced songs written by guns-for-hire, but straight from the heart original numbers.  You don’t have to create a new genre.  But you do have to be good.  Hell, just like Stephenie Meyer, pick up on a tried and true genre and give it your own twist.  A brother and sister can be the new Carpenters.  Scruffy kids can be the new Beatles.  Don’t reinvent the wheel unless you have that ability.  Clive Davis is right in one regard, you’ve got to have your hit.  A hit is something that is irresistible, not a track that is driven to the top of the chart by big company money.  Create your hit, and you’ll get a fan base.  But, from there, know that you’re the leader of the gang.  But the gang is more like a Boy Scout troop or a group of Brownies.  But, Boy Scouts and Brownies desire to break through into adulthood.  You’re going to help them, by giving them the tools to show the rest of the world that not only do they matter, they’re aligned with the best stuff out there, and they’ve been dedicated from the very beginning!”

Bob Lefsetz

The Lefsetz Letter – August 7, 2008

http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1

This month we are proud to present no fewer than 3 new videos from our scruffy kids for your viewing pleasure.  We have an amazing slate of new acts to talk about and some of the blossoming flowers that are continuing to grow our gang.

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A visionary, vision is scary, could start a revolution

Pollutin’ the airwaves, a rebel, so let me just revel and bask

In the fact that I got everyone kissin’ my ass

[“Without Me” - Lyrics by Marshall Mathers]

Billboard Magazine listed your President as 1 of 10 “Indie Innovators who are taking risks and reaping the rewards”.  I don’t know about the rewards part, but I do know this is a tip of the hat to the entire Last Gang crew that consistently take it in, turn it out, and set it loose!  These records don’t just get out there by themselves.

Festival season is upon us.  As I write, I am flying back from Crystal Castles’ performance at Glastonbury.  They played a blistering set on the John Peel Stage at about 7PM on the closing night of the festival.  Thanks to the BBC, you can watch it here.  There is something about this band that makes them different.  When Death From Above 1979 broke up, I thought we’d never capture it in a bottle again; but with Claudio and Alice, I think we have: real danger, real oddity, real spontaneity, real soul.  In addition to CCs’ worldwide exploits, MSTRKRFT, Tiga, Boys Noize, Chromeo and Metric are all playing at festivals throughout the summer – you can check our Myspace page for the detailed listings.

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Some days the only thing that deters me is jail time.  New Music Tipsheet just listed Last Gang as one of the, “killer indie labels coming into their own this year”.  A Billboard feature about the label will drop by the end of the month.  And…..we just received word that one of our favourite magazines has chosen us as one of the their “Top 25 Indie Labels” (more about that next month).  We must be doing something right….

Perfect timing for a celebration it would seem…. No better way than to finally be throwing an official Last Gang Records showcase!  Join us Thursday, June 12^th at Wrongbar in Toronto to witness some of the newest and brightest acts coming out on Last Gang this year: Terry Lynn, O’luge and Let’s Go To War.  All the way from Orlando, South Rakkas Crew will wrap it up with a DJ set that will last until 4AM – just about as long as our liquor license.  We’ve got limited edition vinyl and t-shirts to giveaway…..plus, for one lucky winner, a custom Last Gang Records ipod!  The last LG showcase introduced MSTRKRFT to the masses……this one will be equally as epic.  Join us.  We are planning future parties for Pop Montreal (we love that festival) and CMJ – both in October. Stay tuned.

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