Getting The Facts On Fictitious Records

The first official road trip I’ve taken since moving to Dixie led me to the Music City; Nashville, Tennessee. My trip to Nashville was both a pleasure and professional one; I went to visit an old friend and to take pictures for the Fictitious Records showcase. Lucky me both involved getting to see my old friend Mike. After a weekend of rock n’ roll, country bars and Harry Potter Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans (20 flavors including earwax, spinach, dirt, and yes, even vomit!) I left Nashville with a new perspective on the Music City. The previous thoughts of pointy boots, lap steel and crazy NASCAR fans were quickly dispelled once I witnessed the Fictitious Records showcase.

Fictitious Records is the hard work and will of Mike Davis and Roger Mountenot, but neither of them would admit that. Both believe that the music is the most important part of their labels success, with bands like Character, Lucky Guns and The Features on their roster; it’s hard to argue with that. Mike and Roger have seen and worked with some of the most talented artist of our time, so they know what they are talking about. With the likes of They Might Be Giants, Sleater-Kinney, Lou Reed and Yo La Tengo in Rogers credentials it has helped put the young Fictitious Records on the map. From the infectious pop sounds of The Features to the rock n’ roll explosion that is Lucky Guns, Fictitious has supplied the goods that you have been demanding.

I finally was able to get together with Mike and discuss his label, his past and what the future holds for Fictitious Records.

Interview conducted via email by David Altherr, picture provided by Mike Davis.

Name: Mike Davis
Label: Fictitious Records (http://www.fictitiousrecords.com)

BW: When did you first realize you wanted to run your own record label?

Mike: I was working at Woodland Studios in East Nashville working 14-hour days, 7 days a week. I was working on great projects and learning, but I wanted to be my own boss. Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be a producer, not so much an engineer. But engineering seemed the most logical step to me, which isn't always the case. I thought it would be fun to put out records and had talked about it. But one night it was like 3:00 in the morning and Roger (Mountenot) and a couple of other second engineers were hanging out late after a session (I think it was Beulah) He asked if I wanted to start a record label. I said yes, it just felt like a good idea. Funny though, cause neither of us are label exec types, just big music fans. So we are still learning tons.

BW: When and how did Fictitious Records become a reality?

M: Well, it took a couple of months to start going. Woodland had closed up shop. I was out of a job and Roger was looking for a new home for all his gear. So I needed this thing to work. We looked around for acts for a while, going to clubs and writers nights and whatnot. Then one day Roger suggest his buddy, that he'd been working a project with for fun. I asked what he was like, and Roger said, "I'd stand behind him" which was enough for me. We'll they had half a record in the can. The first session I went to they were recording "I Love Lucy", and I thought they were nuts. It was the middle of the night and the song sounds like something an insane person would sing. I thought, "what the hell I am doing", but in the end it was my favorite song on the record. So it took a couple of months to finish the record and art. So when we put out Stone Jack Jones – Narcotic Lollipop, it was well over a year after we first talked about the company.

BW: What do you see as Fictitious Records role in the Nashville music scene?

M: As a beacon of light. Nah, just kidding. Nashville has such an amazing scene. From the great old time country pickers on Broadway, to hip hop, rock, and more indie stuff. Plus this city has literally over a hundred record companies. And a handful of really great other small indies too. I'm always impressed with the other small labels. We're not just doing Nashville bands either though, Ultralash is from San Francisco and Rick Norman (one of our newer releases) is from Jersey. But our focus is more local, cause this is were all the bands we see are. We were putting out records by bands we had relationships with or we loved live. Now it seems that a lot of the best bands in the city have some connection to Fictitious. People know us now and that's great.

BW: Fictitious has a diverse sound on its roster, do you think this is better than a label that has a defined sound or genre?

M: Well a defined sound or genre is great for selling records and marketing. But we are music fans. We listen to all types of stuff with no consideration to style. In one day we listen to Jazz, Punk, Indie, whatever. And the label reflects that. We don't care about lame industry tags, just good music. The deep down real music lovers, the ones we try to court, are like this too. If you have one defined genre, it's not a bad thing, but what happens when that music is out of vogue. Then you're screwed. Look at Moon Ska records, once a great label. Now its closed and Motown? What about Epitaph, they've expanded to putting out much more than punk on their imprints and its great. Plus you're really lame if you only listen to emo or IDM, there's a lot more to life then your little circle.

BW: How do you decide what gets released Fictitious?

M: It has to have great songs first. Does it convey an emotion? Production is big too. We like our records to sound great, but not stale or predictable. Plus, the business side, it normally comes down too can we make our money back on this investment. If we can answer yes to that, then we'll put it out. That's our biggest concern. Not will it go gold. We have passed on several bands we knew would make a lot of money, but that we weren't crazy about. What fun is that?

BW: Does having a well know producer as a partner make it easier for Fictitious to attract bands or does it ead to numerous unsolicited demos?

M: Roger is great asset in so many ways. Amazing guy, great ears, and great production. He makes it much easier to attract bands. The whole reason we are working with Character is because they wanted him to produce their record and man was it worth it. All the acts I talk to get the same gleam in their eyes when I mention that Roger might do some work on their record. He's worked with the stinking Velvet Underground. What more do I need to say. He will tell these great stories and only later you find out he was talking about Bruce Springsteen or somebody like that. It’s great. We love to get demos (sometimes I need a good laugh) and you can tell the people who know what we're about and who doesn't.

BW: What does Fictitious offer bands that other labels cannot?

M: We have a diverse roster of all quality stuff. All our bands are great and hard working. We don't have millions of dollars, and they know that. But they know we will do our best for the bands. And their record will sound great. It's great too because all the bands are fans of one another. They all support each other. Plus Roger and the fact they might get to work with him.

BW: What's the worst experience you've had with a band during your time at Fictitious?

M: none really on the bands side. It's always been a matter of me wishing I could do more for them and I get hard on myself. With Ultralash, if we had three times the amount of money, that record would have been huge, it was that good. But we don't so I feel like I always want to do more.

BW: What record are you most proud of that Fictitious has released?

M: All of them. Each one is a huge milestone on our path to world domination.

BW: If you could work with any band (past or present) who would it be? Why?

M: Umm, I just saw Black Rebel last night. Maybe them since they are fresh in my mind. A lot of my favorite acts I've worked with as an engineer already, but as far as putting out records….I'd love to do Yo La Tengo, KISS, Bad Religion, and The Who. Dude, that’s a hard question. If a band made a huge impression on me as a fan I'd love to put out a record by them.

BW: If you could have released any record, what would it have been?

M: The White Album? How about one record that goes multi-platinum for us and then we have a ton of money and put out hundreds of other great records. Yep, that's my answer.

BW: What does the future hold for Fictitious? Where do you see the label in 1 year? 5 years?

M: We've already grown so much in the year and half we've really been open. Achieved goals, I thought it would take years to reach (great reviews in CMJ, interest from the BBC). I just hope to build on that. In one year, I hope to have twice as many releases, in five, be an unshakeable world force in rock n roll. That's if music is still a viable currency.