bumbleBEAR Back in Action

The Local Label Hosts a Showcase to Celebrate its Recent Resurrection

originally published February 27, 2008

Jimmy Hughes, the current guitarist for Elf Power and songwriter for his own band Folklore, can’t seem to do enough. In addition to the two bands he plays in and the two jobs he works to make ends meet, he’s about to take on more responsibility by resurrecting his label bumbleBEAR Records, which has been dormant for the last several years.

Hughes, who moved to Athens in the early ‘00s, says he always considered bumbleBEAR more of an outlet for his friends’ bands and his personal tastes rather than any strict financial endeavor. The label released albums from acts like Murder Beach and Bugs Eat Books as well as a Tullycraft tribute album. “It’s always something we sort of did as a hobby more than a business, but after a while, it became an expensive hobby and we had to stop,” he says.

Ride That Hobby Horse

The relaunch will focus on under-the-radar local bands that all fit loosely under a sort of rough-hewn, homemade indie-pop heading. bumbleBEAR will work with bands like Titans of Filth, Quiet Hooves and Christopher’s Liver, among others. And while bumbleBEAR in the past acted as more of a proper label, handling inventory and orders, the way Hughes is positioning things now, it comes across more as a boutique promotion firm looking to closely identify itself with its bands.

“Traditionally with bumbleBEAR, I’ve always been ‘the office.’ I have the stock, take orders, find distribution, that sort of thing, and that’s what I didn’t want to do now,” says Hughes. “So, the idea we’re working with is basically the label promotes these albums outside the boundaries of Athens where some of these bands are obviously known just because it’s a small town. The idea is to help each other by working together to send stuff to the press, and to college radio, chipping away at that. I have experience doing all that, so I thought it’d be easy to have a central person handling that for a lot of these bands.”

bumbleBEAR’s first releases are Folklore’s The Ghost of H.W. Beaverman full-length and Titans of Filth's second EP Feats of Strength.

“Both of these things existed here in town already, but me and Sam Grindstaff [from Titans of Filth] started talking and the idea is that we’ll keep the business of the business to the bands,” says Hughes. “So if bumbleBEAR gets an email inquiry about any of the bands on our label, I direct that person to the band, or have the band get in touch, or send them in the right direction. That way the money will go straight to the band, too. Bands are paying for their own releases and selling their own releases.

“Lately, we’ve just been experimenting more and more. In my mind, there are all these bands that are self-releasing all this stuff, and this is an opportunity for those bands to sort of unite and get the word a little farther outside of Athens without spending a lot of our own money on it, other than the money already being spent on CD-Rs or whatever.”

A Family Affair

Hughes says that if he’s putting less physical work into the label than before, he’s also not in it for any money. “I get satisfaction,” he says. “I get the idea of working with people rather than just doing things as a solo entity and flying alone. That’s why I like Athens so much more than New York, which is where I lived previously. When we were in New York, we’d play shows and play with bands, but there were only like two bands that I actually knew and hung out with. There wasn’t that sense of band-to-band community that you feel here."

Hughes says he’s not actively seeking out new acts for the label, though he’s open to working with other bands that pique his interest, or that of longtime friend, label collaborator and bandmate Ian Rickert, who is a Syracuse, New York transplant as well. (Rickert also works at Flagpole as web designer.)

“I’m probably a little biased when I’m listening to something if it’s my friends,” says Hughes. “I mean, I’m not into metal, but if a friend of mine is in a metal band, I could probably think, ‘Hey, this is okay.’ But in this case, these are bands that I like, that I’ve been pleasantly surprised by, from around town.”

Under One Tent

Folklore is about to head out on tour, and Hughes set up a show at the 40 Watt as a kick-off, but then decided to expand that to a full-on label showcase. “Since we started the label back up technically in January,” says Hughes, “I’ve been wanting to do a show like this where it can be free and open to everyone to come check out, and there’ll be a bunch of bands, probably more than anyone wants to see! [Laughs] But that’s what I wanted to see and what I wanted the show to be.

Hughes is collaborating with Mercer West, organizer of the free multi-stage Jammy Jamm shows, for this week’s event, so audiences should expect a similar setup. “There’s three bands on the main stage, and the rest happens on the second stage where the 40 Watt’s merch booth usually is,” says Hughes. “A lot of the sets will be short, too, and some of the bands have shared members, so it should go pretty smoothly.

All of bumbleBEAR’s current bands will perform, and all should have music available for purchase, although some upcoming releases, like a split 7” vinyl release from The French Toasts and Gemini Cricket, won’t be ready yet.

“I wanted all the bands we’re all working with to be playing,” he says, “and then also some bands that we’re not working with yet, but that I still really like, like My Unborn Children or Big Gray, who’s pulling out of retirement, so to speak. So I’m excited to have them involved on whatever level they want to be involved, and that makes me happy that some people seem to get excited about the idea of what we’re doing.”

As for the future plans, expect the label to take a typically Athenian approach, as time, resources and cash are limited. “As we’re able to do things, more things will happen,” says Hughes.

Chris Hassiotis

All bumbleBEAR releases are available for order or for free download at www.fairmountfair.com/bumblebear.

WHAT: bumbleBEAR Records Showcase with Titans of Filth, Folklore, Quiet Hooves, Christopher’s Liver, My Unborn Children, Big Gray, Gemini Cricket, The French Toasts
WHERE: 40 Watt Club
WHEN: Thursday, February 28
HOW MUCH: FREE! (21+), $2 (18+)