Well, nobody can accuse us of being early adopters when it comes to blogging.  Yes, we have a newsletter (which focuses on our bands and releases) as well as the news section of the AKR site, a Twitter feed which also posts to our Facebook page and a MySpace page which predates everything but the newsletter. Still, I needed something a little more personal to get in touch with y’all, not just for me, but for the other incredible people who work here.  It’s nice to be the face of something, but getting to know the people I work with has always been an incredible part of the job and I’m glad to offer you the same privilege.  I’ve been needing an outlet to vocalize things we like as well as things we don’t.  Expect a lot of food and music writing for starters, but the sky’s the limit.  I’ve been writing more in my personal time lately, mostly fiction (comic book scripts, a novel, a couple of screenplay ideas), and this should be a good place to encourage the more non-fiction topics.

The label has been struggling lately, along with the rest of the industry, and it’s always felt a little off to share that in the course of our newsletters.  Our Kickstarter program several months ago was moderately successful, but barely nicked our overall obligations. A friend who works for a non-profit in fundraising recently told me that the number one reason people give money is because someone asks them to.  I’d much rather ask you to buy our records, but if anyone can lend a hand, we’d really appreciate the support.  We released a number of records last autumn including albums by Chet, the Rollercoaster Project, Laarks & 60 Watt Kid as well as Emily Rodgers and Hallelujah the Hills on Misra.  To say these records were underexposed in spite of our best efforts would be an understatement.  I’ll take my lumps, but they’re so good!!!  Why the lack of attention?  Perhaps I’ve alienated too many editors in defense of our bands.  Perhaps everything is cyclical and my aesthetic has either shifted away from what’s popular or what’s popular has simply eclipsed the efforts of our little label.  Maybe we need to move to Brooklyn.  (I’m joking.  Brooklyn is very nice, but it would take armed men or extraordinary circumstances to get me to leave the Bay Area.)  Still, it’s times like this that really make me focus on the parts of the business I enjoy and that includes interacting with the people who buy our records.  If I can turn the comments section on here, I will.  It’s also a great time to find fulfillment outside of work (well, anytime in one’s life is great for that, but now seems especially great for it).

My name is Cory Brown and I do more than run Absolutely Kosher Records.