Red Hot and Local:

Songs from a NoHo living room

(The Valley Advocate: Mar. 7-13, 1996

By Michael Strohl)

Meet Aimee Swift and Amy Greene, the women behind Northampton's newest record label, Red Hot Records, which has just released its third disc, "Live in the Living Room," a compilation of 12 local bands. Recorded during the second weekend of December in (you guessed it) Swift and Greene's living room -- which doubles as practice space for their band, Pirate Jenny -- the compilation features such established Valley acts as the Ray Mason Band, New Radiant Storm King and Tizzy as well as such less recognized artists as Encyclopedia Brown, Diana Davies and String Bean. The effort is underscored by the duo's whole-hearted commitment to community.

"There needs to be more interest in the local music scene from those people who are not directly involved in it," Swift mused from across the kitchen table at her Northampton apartment. "I think a label is one way of doing that -- reaching out in a different way than has been done in the past."

Indeed, for those of us idealistic enough to believe in the power, and political relevance, of grass-roots organizing and hands-on activism, small, independently run labels like Red Hot represent something more than just a source of new music; they provide a forum in which alternative voices can be heard. And while the indie community has been maligned for its insularity, Red Hot, like Simple Machines and K before it, is committed to making the music accessible to more than just Clark Kents-clad guys and thrift-store-dress-wearing girls. "Scene awareness has to be presented more and differently so that people outside will want to participate," Swift said.

"Live the Living Room" is one step toward realizing that goal. Although vinyl has traditionally been the indie format of choice, Swift and Greene decided to make the compilation a cassette-only release, not only because it was cheaper for them, but, given the fact that not everyone owns a turntable, it seemed more functional as well. "It's very, very accessible,"

Swift said. "You can sell it for cheap. It's easier for people to listen to. When we started the label we knew that it would be cassette-only in the beginning. People are used to shelling out $12 to $18 for a CD. With this, you get a good sampling of the current scene at a really inviting price (the tape will sell for $5 at shows)."

As for the actual recording of the compilation, the two met with their share of roadblocks, as Greene explained: "For the bands it probably came off really smooth, but for us there were all sorts of small challenges and huge problems, but ultimately, we made it work." If it wasn't bad enough that recording took place the weekend following the year's first major snowfall and the driveway leading up to the house where bands would have to load and unload their equipment had not been plowed, a series of technical glitches meant that reliable audio equipment had not been secured until the morning of the first recordings. It was a slight consolation that bands actually showed up on time, which was something of a miracle, Swift said. "Can you believe that -- 12 rock bands?"

While the compilation does boast outstanding tracks -- New Radiant Storm King's cover of Springsteen's "Nebraska" and the Maggies' "Thank God," to name just two -- no band significantly outshines the next, due in part to Greene's egalitarian idea of recording all of the bands in the same space. "We wanted to have people in a cohesive sound environment, so that the whole thing flowed from song to song," Greene said. "It was also a way of putting everyone on the same level, recording-wise," Swift added. "It put a certain amount of equality into everything."

In the end, it only makes sense that the spirit of community that Red Hot is trying to capture would flourish in such a communal setting. "It became this community event," Greene said. "It was fun to have this one weekend where everyone pulled together to do this project. From my perspective, it felt like everyone was really excited to be doing it. There were a lot of positive feelings going around."

Judging from "Live in the Living Room," those feelings should be infectious.

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