“Writing songs and having a band that plays those songs has been my main job as a songwriter for the longest time. Then I have to have the "day job" in order to fund my musical activities and goals. Until recently I always just tried to play as many shows as I could and hope for the best. Now I have my own record label and a new family of rockers working with me to make Coma Gun Records a record label of the future!”
Matt Cox
CEO, Coma Gun
The idea of Coma Gun Records was announced by Matt Cox in 2006 after putting out the first release from his band Bugs Multiply. Living in Asheville, NC and playing a few shows a year probably wasn't going to generate enough interest in the songs to land a big record deal. Jim Cox, Matt's father, had written a book called URB which is a science fiction cop action story that takes place in a future America where crime is dealt with by freelance agents and hardened criminals are dealt with by Coma Replacement Therapy. The Coma Gun essentially wipes your brain of memory and then you go in for therapy to become reprogrammed for some kind of job function. Instead of prison, you work out your life sentence in regular society at some basic menial job. There’s deep meaning in that idea for sure, but also the name "Coma Gun Records" just has a nice ring to it and the first Bugs Multiply CD needed a record label written on it somewhere to make it more official even though it still just meant self produced.
Sometime in 2007 Matt met up with a producer and discussed some work on the next Bugs Multiply record. In these talks it was advised that Matt create a promotions company and a record label in order to create a scene in Asheville. It makes sense - create your own label, your own promotions and booking company - use it to help your own band and then WHAM! next thing you know you've got some momentum with these companies and you start helping out other bands. So, after reading several books on Music publishing, record labels, music law and many many great online articles about how to do it all yourself - Matt formed Coma Gun Music (promotions, management and booking) with Joel Stout and then launched Coma Gun Records as the sister company to Coma Gun Music.
In 2008, Coma Gun Records became an LLC, got a web site, and found a team of music lawyers in Nashville and found the first band to get signed onto the label besides Bugs Multiply. New Killer Stars from The Netherlands – why not? It could have been any band, but NKS had the energy and drive that mirrors the love of Rock and Roll that Coma Gun Records aims to deliver.
The mission of Coma Gun Records is to have a modern record label that works with bands as a family of musicians, traditionally funding the recordings and releases by these bands, but also choosing bands that are just as self motivated who can work as a team to help each other. One of the first steps in having all the bands work together will be to release a compilation CD with a blend of tracks from each band, but also some fun tracks done as solo efforts from each band's main writer as well as some songs recorded with members from each of the bands working together.
In 2009, Coma Gun Records hopes to have 3 bands signed to the label and work towards assisting each band to reach their potential with publicity and touring. Getting bands from overseas to visit here in the USA and sending the USA bands over to Europe is also high on the list of things to do!
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