Little Cricket Records is a brand-new label right here in the Queen City run by local legends Billy Catfish, Ed Vardiman, and Mike Ingram. As an introduction to the label, a winter songs compilation has been established. While it is a FREE download, a donation to a preferred charity or non-profit organization is suggested. A list of charities and non-profit organizations are suggested.
The winter song compilation entitled, Happy Everything During The Winter On The Rocks (An Occasionally NSFW But Totally Cool Comp For Charity) features local acts such as Frontier Folk Nebraska, Billy Catfish, Bootleg Rider, Fairmount Girls, Mad Anthony, Nelson Slater, and others. As well as former Cincinnatians such as Josh Eagle (New York), Joe Patt (Chicago), David Enright (Seattle, coming out of 10-year retirement for an appearance!) and many more!
We sat down with Billy Catfish to get the down low on the new label.
CincyMusic.com: Tell us about the new label Little Cricket Records…
Billy Catfish: My buddy Ryan (Gelatin) and I tossed around the idea after a friend of ours (Michigan's premier one-man-band Scotty Karate) asked us what we thought he should do with a batch of new recordings. A few days later another buddy - Mike Ingram - came by for a beer and we discussed the potential organizational side of something like a cassette or record label. Soon after, we hit up yet another buddy, Ed Vardiman, for some legal input; he sat us down and, if I recall correctly, proclaimed something like, "this is the nuttiest, craziest idea I've heard in a long time - and I want in!"
CM: How do you determine which artists to represent on the label?
BC: At this early stage we have plans for releases by our own projects and those of our friends - including Scotty Karate, Vampire Weekend at Bernies, Straw Boss, my own Broken Werewolves collective, and the Fabulous Byurd Brains. We plan to primarily issue digital and cassette releases, but have at least one 7" record in the works.
CM: How can artists submit to be considered?
BC: Shoot us an email! littlecricketrecords@gmail.com.
CM: How did the idea of a winter song compilation come about?
BC: Well, for the past couple years, Scotty and I would put together a batch of odd or unusual songs about the holidays. This year, we decided to invite our friends and the response has been phenomenal! We have contributions from far-away friends like Wil Cope (Austin, Texas), former Cincinnati songwriter and current Seattle resident David Enright (debuting a new project - his first in ten years - called Look Who's Talking), Dayton's Smug Brothers, Louisville's Love Jones, alongside local artists like Mad Anthony, Fairmount Girls, SS-20, Bootleg Rider, Frontier Folk Nebraska, Nelson Slater, Tobotius of Animal Crackers ... and many more. It was important that the songs not be limited to holiday tunes - there are plenty of songs about the season in general - cold weather, shorter days, etc. In lieu of paying for the tracks, we've compiled a list of charities and non-profit organizations - all suggested by the artists appearing on the comp - that we encourage each listener to acquaint themselves with.
CM: The charities that available to donate to for the download, do they hold a special place for each of you?
BC: Not just us, but the artists as well! While the idea snowballed and has been a bit more work than I anticipated, it's also been extremely rewarding, and I hope a lot of good will come from it.
