Interview with musician and Eclectone Records founder Martin Devaney on 3/29/07

By: David Rachac

Martin Devaney - Photo by David de Young

Martin Devaney was barely into his twenties when he formed Eclectone Records as a vehicle to release his music. In this interview, he talks about the recent successes Eclectone has experienced, the struggle of managing a record label and the Second Annual Eclectone Showcase taking place at the Varsity Theater on Saturday, March 31.

HowWasTheShow:  It has been a busy couple of weeks for you and Eclectone Records. You just got back from the South by Southwest music conference, where you and several Eclectone acts played a showcase. How did it go?

Martin Devaney:  It was a really good week for us. Aside from the general craziness and seeing shows and consuming free food and drink, we had a surprisingly well-attended show. There was a lot of Twin Cities love, as well as other folks that we had met down there. Also, it was good for us to meet some of the people that Eclectone deals with from afar via email and put faces to their names.

HWTS:  Before that, Little Man had their CD release party and attracted a ton of good press, including Chris Perricelli being the cover article in City Pages.

Devaney:  That cover was amazing, a total surprise when we heard about it. Also, it was about a year to the week since the Charlie Parr cover. It is rare that a local label would get two of their artists on the City Pages cover in one year. We were very happy about that. As for the great Little Man coverage in general, it was well-deserved and a sign of what we can do when we combine a great record with a reasonable amount of work.

HWTS:  You are only in your mid-20s, yet have had nearly a decade of involvement in the Minnesota music scene. How did it all begin?

Devaney:  I played in school band and thrown-together jazz groups with some of the people I play with still today, and then in Heiruspecs, which led to gaining access to the local music scene and how it worked.

HWTS:  How did the formation of Eclectone Records come about? Who were some of the early bands you worked with?

Devaney:  Eclectone was started out of necessity for myself and like-minded acts that I had been doing shows with. We needed a place to get our music to people and even if it initially was just an imprint, people started to notice. Early bands included Big Ditch Road, First Prize Killers, Mark Thomas Stockert and Dan Israel.

Martin Devaney - Photo by David de Young

HWTS:  Has there been single CD you can point to that you felt put Eclectone on the map, or has it been more due to the bulk of work Eclectone has released?

Devaney:  I think what has put Eclectone on the map the most is the fact that we have a few acts that have released more than one disc through us. We want to create a great catalog and while it would be great to get one album to really take off, this is where we're at.

HWTS:  What is the process you go through to identify bands that you want to work with?

Devaney:  Work ethic, more than anything. We do have a sort of "Americana" or “songwriter" edge to the label, but that isn't a rule for new bands. We value great songwriters and hard workers. Obviously, we are best a resource for bands that fit our so-called niche, so that helps.

HWTS:  What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced in running Eclectone Records?

Devaney: It's definitely always an issue to have enough money to do things we want to do for the label. We want to be able to spread the word as far as we can, but our resources can be limited. Also, it's very easy to get lost in the abyss of the "music business." That is, how do we let people know we have something to offer and that we're gonna last? So a lot of time is spent trying to think of other ways besides releasing music and playing shows to further our cause. Finally, a lot of people mispronounce the name, omitting the first "c" which renders it "Electone." Grrr...

HWTS:  Being on both sides of the mic has to be tough. Have there ever been times where you just wanted to chuck it and just be a musician -- or just be someone who runs a label?

Devaney:  Yep, all the time. I've tried to be conscious of the fact that despite having founded Eclectone, I am a creative person first, business person second. That is why it is so great to have Scott Legere on board as more of the business person. We're a good Odd Couple.

HWTS:  Tell me about the Eclectone Showcase that is happening on Saturday, March 31.

Devaney:  It'll be in the same spirit as last year, with the whole roster playing, save for Charlie Parr and Mike Nicolai who are both out of town. It's at the Varsity Theater and is an 18+ show. Lots of love and music, hopefully. It's always good to have everyone together to get a sense for what we've built.

Artist Info: Martin Devaney

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