Into the Black

I thought I might post a few things to record my life as a big-time, small independent label head.

One of the first bands I worked with was called Haloblack from Minneapolis, MN. They had some moments creatively. This band had a unique dark, stark, coldwave industrial sound with dancey grooves and whispered-style vocals. In '94 - having been on board at FCR for only a few months - one of my first responsibilites was to support Haloblack on tour as they were out promoting the Tension Filter record. If I remember correctly this tour featured Haloblack opening for Bile, and two other bands. 4 Bands - all on indie labels - all out in the van trying to play some gigs. Very noble. Haloblack had a fine lineup on that tour. With only Bryan Barton as the Principal member and songwriter, the cast of his supporting characters changed frequently. This time the lineup featured Charles Levi of My Life with The Thrill Kill Kult, Krayge Tyler of Virus 23 and another guy.

One morning during the tour I walked into the office and the phone was ringing. This was kind of rare as usually things started happening later in the day. Although we're not exactly talking about 7am here (more like 11am) I thought it must be a wrong number.

"Fifth Colvmn Records"
"Hi, this is Doug Barton.......I'm Bryan Barton's father."
We didn't usually get calls from parents. I immediately put myself on guard.
"Oh, hi - how are you?", I responded trying to sound friendly even thought I knew this couldn't POSSIBLY be good.
"Well not so good" Doug responded.
Here we go, I thought. And then I became a little annoyed thinking the last thing I wanted was to deal with some high-maintenance over-bearing parent. Our artists weren't exactly The Jackson Five here.
"I got word from one of Bryan's friends that the van he was driving in last night slid off the road in a snowstorm and rolled over. I haven't heard from him and I was wondering if you had."
I was shocked. I thought this guy would be registering some complaint about how we weren't giving Bryan enough tour support money and to pony up another grand. But this seemed like a real emergency.
"No, I haven't heard from him at all today. Do you know if he's ok?"
"I think so. But I'd like to hear from him so could you tell him to call me when he gets a chance?"
"Of course. I'll call their booking agent and see if he knows anything." I'd only been working for FCR a few short months but I knew that Jeffrey Churchwell, Haloblack's booking agent, would almost certainly know nothing. This guy wasn't exactly a fountain of information.
"Thank you very much. And what was your name?"
"Jay"
"Thank you very much, Jay"
"No problem, and please let ME know if you hear from him."
"I will"
I hung up the phone and immediately thought about what I would do if Bryan had died in the accident. Or if he was seriously injured and some of their gear was destroyed. Or if people and gear were ok but their van was now useless. I had no idea on all fronts.
Later that afternoon Bryan called. He was fine. It had been late. It was snowing. They were tired. And they slid off the highway. Gear and people ok. Van needed some repairs but still driveable. The show must go on.