Transgressive Week: Toby L’s Top 5 Moments
By: Toby L
5ive. Five Alive. Transgressive's 5th Anniversary.
There sure is something magical about this number. And, to me, it's a feat we lasted more than five minutes. Now, as our anniversary dawns for Transgressive Records, a small independent record company I had the pleasure and insanity to help spawn, it's a time to reflect.
The most common questions that friends or freaky randomers ask are 'What's the best bit,' or 'What's the best memory?'
Put simply, there's already too much to remember. I wish I'd kept up my weekly editorials on this very website to maintain a log of all the incredible times we've had, or occasions we've been so
fortunate to share with our artists. Running a music company, designed wholly to give talented people a better time than with potential others, is the most fulfilling project I've ever been a part of (apart from editing Rockfeedback - way to steal my job, Tom Hannan...), and it's led us to some bizarre and brilliant moments.
So, in keeping with this theme, here's my TOP-FIVE Transgressive-associated times (today's at least - it changes constantly):
1) Meeting Tim at a Rockfeedback gig (Bloc Party were playing at the time; Tim was selling their single on his prior vinyl-only label, Trash Aesthetics, 2003).
Tim and I started this company together and didn't have a bloody clue what the hell was going on, and - largely - still don't. I think the success of any small company is ensuring the ability to move with the times and not be set in any one way of doing something. We embrace eccentric ideas - they often result in the best outcomes. Or, sometimes, unsold stock. Either way, just *having a go* feels like a really important thing to do. Tim helped inspire in me the sense of conviction in one's tastes you need in order to choose the artists that you'll go on to invest so much time and love in, and effectively sign to your label. Together, it's been like running off into a sunset and trying to avoid the wolves at night. Lilas, our label manager, was a godsend we stumbled across on the way to the light.
2) Signing the Young Knives (2005).
The first album signing, following putting out a batch of limited-edition singles that kickstarted the label, was this trio. I was recently quoted as saying that meeting singer Henry was initially offputting - 'his breath smelt like that of a badger's.'
He had the flu, y'see, and was playing a show nonetheless at the Wheatsheaf in Oxford, with bandmates House of Lords (bass) and Ollie (drums).
The songs were astonishing, the show was frenetic, and the stage banter was hilarious. We fell in love and knew that we had to work with them for as long as we could. Knowing we'd finally been able to secure the finance to do a bigger project, such as an album, with a band that we loved, made us feel that we'd hit the big time. The fact that the resultant LP - Voices of Animals & Men - ended up doing so well in the hit parade and scoring 'album of the year' nominations in mags and the Mercury's, made us feel that others were also enjoying what we were trying to hurtle into the stratosphere.
3) The Transgressive Roadshow Tour @ Manchester Warehouse Project, Sheffield Plug Club, Leeds Metropolitan Uni (2006).
What do you do when some of the bands you've been lucky to work with (Mystery Jets, the 'Knives, Larrikin Love (RIP), The Subways and various others) hit the charts and start to get quite popular? Simple! Take a MASSIVE LIABILITY RISK and book MASSIVE, 1,000-2,000-capacity warehouses and fill up a line-up with the bands and try and sell some tickets! In the North of England! (What were we doing? Somehow, the shows sold out).
The NME came down to the first show of our jaunt in Manchester, and did a photoshoot of Tim and me, and an ARMY of Transgressive musicians behind us, which ended up in a covermount feature of the label. It had to be one of our proudest moments. The warehouse was rammed with indie
kids and I got so sozzled I lost a bag with all my belongings, but still didn't care. The next two nights, we ended up in Sheffield and Leeds. Noisettes (who we now publish) did a late-night set in Sheffield, and hated it so much, Jamie (drummer) chucked a kickdrum at Tim (we thought they'd played a blinder, though). In Leeds, Second Life came down and staged one of the first ever virtual gigs live on
the interweb. And in between, so much debauchery and inter-band shagging and general substance abuse occurred (not us, however - we're well dull), that I questioned joining the church.
4) Getting sent to South America (by the government?!) to host a Transgressive Tour (2008)!!!
Sometimes you think paying taxes will never pay off directly (the road outside your house is never cleaned; the local crime-rate is definitely NOT 'well weapon'), BUT sometimes life is good, and your
windfall arrives.
Ours was an invitation from the British Council to host a series of shows and panels entitled 'Incubator' in Brazil, Argentina and Chile. What's more, we were allowed to choose two Transgressive acts to bring out with us. BINGO.
We put all the bands' names in a hat - and the winners were Young Knives and Johnny Flynn (our first management signing).
So, three countries in five days, the itinerary was set. Huge gigs in the evening; hungover talks hosted by Tim and myself in the daytime, talking with attendees about how to start up an independent label and attempt to kick the flaccid arse of the music industry. The whole experience was magical. Bands signed autographs, playing to countries they'd never performed in before, and we were along for the ride, meeting people that have become friends to this day.
My favourite memory was turning up for the final show in Santiago, Chile. The two prior gigs in Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo had seriously kicked Satan's ass, but tonight - due to a bizarre method of ticketing decided upon by the promoter - we were worried about attendance. We turned up to the venue, 10 minutes before Johnny was due onstage, and entered the backstage door. Silence out front in the venue, not a word to be heard. No one could have been there. Nervous glasses of wine
were downed.
Suddenly, stage time struck. Johnny was up, and entered the hall. Suddenly, the biggest roar of excitement I've ever heard let up. I walked to the side of the stage for the big reveal, and was in awe to discover that the massive hall was actually filled with people, screaming and taking photos. Johnny played one of his best shows ever, and Young Knives equally rocked it. Such an attentive and appreciative response, with respectful silences in between, I'd only ever seen before in Japan. It was completely perfect.
My least favourite memory was getting ill on the plane journey back. Now, if you're from the UK, and you've never been to South America before, I'd say this: if you like a drink, maybe ask at the bar for your spirit *without* ice cubes. Suffice to say, I was awake for 18 hours in a toilet cubicle all the way back from Santiago to London, completing unrepeatable tasks. There's always a price.
5) The Transgressive Fifth Anniversary Shows @ Heaven / Union Chapel (2009)
Slightly cheating here, as these gigs haven't happened yet. But they're about to. Using my in-built, mental Mystic Meg mode...
I think being able to put the likes of Graham Coxon, Foals, Johnny Flynn, The Rakes (old Trans mates), and this article's heroes Young Knives, on a three-night stand in our native London, at huge gigs for the fans, is one of the greatest feats we've been able to muster. I'm so grateful to the bands for agreeing to appear for us and celebrate this special birthday, and to everyone that's spent to buy a ticket in these troubling times. I can already tell that it's going to be hard to top.
Obviously, I've not mentioned any of the hardship and unending financial precariousness that means the job is a constant tightrope to tread, but when the rewards incorporate meeting such great people and hearing so many astonishing sounds, it's fair to say: I feel f**king lucky that Transgressive has lasted this long. If we have our wicked way with it all too, it's only just the start, comrades.
Cheers all.
Artists in this article: The Young Knives