Wayward Q&A: Crackin' Nuts with Nathan Reusch
By Berry Anderson in Q&A
Friday, May. 22 2009 @ 9:08AM
Nathan Reusch knows the music business.
The man behind the local record label, The Record Machine caught up with me via e-mail and answered a few questions about local music, the music he likes and the music he's producing.
The Pitch: Where are you
from?
Nathan Reusch: I have lived my whole life within two hours of Kansas City. I grew up in Ottawa, Kansas and moved here when I was eleven and then moved away to college for a year but hated it and came right back. I love this city and always struggled with the idea that I would never find it as good as I have it here.
How do you stay up on new music?
I don't know if I should admit all my hiding places because I spend so much time reading and keeping up with music. I will admit most of it is online but I love magazines like Paste, Magnet, and Under The Radar when I can get my hands on them and of course, Wayward Blog. But RSS and Twitter have made it super easy for me to keep up on stuff I find interesting. I am trying to be an encyclopedia of current indie music.
What's your craziest touring story?
A few years ago, State Bird and Winston Jazz Routine had just played in Kansas City. I was driving up to a music festival and had to get there a day before the bands so they just stayed with some of my friends. I get this call from one of the bands saying they had just been robbed. There were three bands on the tour and they were staying with some friends that lived by UMKC. Two of the guys didn't know any better and were sitting on the porch with a computer and two kids came up and pulled guns on them. They proceeded to take a big portion of their merch money but luckily not all of it. They asked for the computer too, but he pleaded with them to let him keep it because he had an almost finished album on it and somehow they were cool with that. While all of this happened, two of the other band members drove up. When they got out of the car, the kids made them give them the keys but they didn't take it. They also took their IDs and said, "If you snitch on us, we know where you live." It didn't matter because none of them lived in KC. Luckily, the festival went well and it didn't totally kill the tour.
Which projects around KC are you excited about?
Again, there is a ton of stuff I love about this town. One of my really good friends, John Raux has a great art show up at Beggars Table (18th and Baltimore) right now that everyone should go see. My friend, Ian has a really great new clothing line called Stack Up. He also just designed the album cover for the new Max Justus record, No Mercy.
Musically, I am really excited about all the great stuff going on with Max Justus. I was really excited that he got featured on Pitchfork yesterday. Also, there is a great new band called Capybara. They are really fired up about playing shows and are already out on the road. I am also excited about Queens Club. I think they could go really far. Honestly, there is so much good music in this town that I feel bad for not getting out to shows all the time.
What is your advice for bands that are trying to get started recording?
Keep your head down, work hard and don't let success go to your head too much because there is always something more that you could be doing. Music is not an easy career and most people I know in the industry aren't as glamorous as you might think. Also, if you're going to work with anyone in the music industry, make sure it's someone that loves music and not just someone that wants to make a buck off you.
The man behind the local record label, The Record Machine caught up with me via e-mail and answered a few questions about local music, the music he likes and the music he's producing.
The Pitch: Where are you
 |
| Julia Parris |
Nathan Reusch: I have lived my whole life within two hours of Kansas City. I grew up in Ottawa, Kansas and moved here when I was eleven and then moved away to college for a year but hated it and came right back. I love this city and always struggled with the idea that I would never find it as good as I have it here.
How do you stay up on new music?
I don't know if I should admit all my hiding places because I spend so much time reading and keeping up with music. I will admit most of it is online but I love magazines like Paste, Magnet, and Under The Radar when I can get my hands on them and of course, Wayward Blog. But RSS and Twitter have made it super easy for me to keep up on stuff I find interesting. I am trying to be an encyclopedia of current indie music.
What's your craziest touring story?
A few years ago, State Bird and Winston Jazz Routine had just played in Kansas City. I was driving up to a music festival and had to get there a day before the bands so they just stayed with some of my friends. I get this call from one of the bands saying they had just been robbed. There were three bands on the tour and they were staying with some friends that lived by UMKC. Two of the guys didn't know any better and were sitting on the porch with a computer and two kids came up and pulled guns on them. They proceeded to take a big portion of their merch money but luckily not all of it. They asked for the computer too, but he pleaded with them to let him keep it because he had an almost finished album on it and somehow they were cool with that. While all of this happened, two of the other band members drove up. When they got out of the car, the kids made them give them the keys but they didn't take it. They also took their IDs and said, "If you snitch on us, we know where you live." It didn't matter because none of them lived in KC. Luckily, the festival went well and it didn't totally kill the tour.
Which projects around KC are you excited about?
Again, there is a ton of stuff I love about this town. One of my really good friends, John Raux has a great art show up at Beggars Table (18th and Baltimore) right now that everyone should go see. My friend, Ian has a really great new clothing line called Stack Up. He also just designed the album cover for the new Max Justus record, No Mercy.
Musically, I am really excited about all the great stuff going on with Max Justus. I was really excited that he got featured on Pitchfork yesterday. Also, there is a great new band called Capybara. They are really fired up about playing shows and are already out on the road. I am also excited about Queens Club. I think they could go really far. Honestly, there is so much good music in this town that I feel bad for not getting out to shows all the time.
What is your advice for bands that are trying to get started recording?
Keep your head down, work hard and don't let success go to your head too much because there is always something more that you could be doing. Music is not an easy career and most people I know in the industry aren't as glamorous as you might think. Also, if you're going to work with anyone in the music industry, make sure it's someone that loves music and not just someone that wants to make a buck off you.
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