Lava Church Records

Lava Church is a locally run cassette label. They put avant garde stuff, most notable release thus far has been in my opinion lovrrbrd and virgin blood. Some may say that it is noise, circuit bend etc.. I find many releases haunting and perfect for the bleak winter we are falling into. The owner is extremely nice and is very passionate about what he does. Please be sure to check them out.  www.lavachurch.bandcamp.com

So who are you and what is Lava Church?

My name is Patrick McBratney, and I am a musician here in Sarasota. Lava Church is a cassette tape label that I run which specializes in the noisier and more avant-garde forms of musical expression.

Why start a record label? Specifically, a cassette/CDR label based out of Sarasota FL?

I started Lava Church as a way to release the music of myself and my close friends, but it quickly expanded. I’ve started pulling it back again, and now limit my releases to only people that I have a personal connection with, whether they be local, old friends, or internet buddies who I’ve traded tapes with or something. I chose a tape label because I really enjoy the format and everything that comes along with it. They’re cheap to produce and they’re fun to trade and make for people! I got the idea at Bloodfest 2010, and finally made it happen in early 2011 when I saw one of my old friends and main musical inspirations Jeff Roman (Sky Stadium) was getting his music put out on cassette and reaching tons of people all over the world. It made me realize that I could do something like that, and I could help artists like me reach an audience they normally wouldn’t reach on their own.

How does a release typically come about?

Usually a friend will approach me and just say “Hey I’ve got this album/I want to make this album will you put it out?” Sometimes I will ask a friend if they’ll do a release for me, but it’s all very informal. There are no contracts, no money exchanged, it’s just homies doing stuff for homies. Sometimes they’ll give me some art to work with, but I usually do everything myself other than the music.

You seem to focus on certain genre (noise, glitch ambient) what draws you to that?

I wouldn’t say that Lava Church is drawn to anyone genre, but rather a mindset. The mindset being that music is a form of expression that is to be created for the purpose of expression, not for entertainment necessarily. For example, I don’t record my music thinking “Gee, I can’t wait to see what people think of it”, I record my music thinking “I need to record this to express myself/this idea or I can not survive”. I just think that that mindset is more common in more experimental and avant-garde music types, like noise and drone etc.

Would you release something outside that umbrella, or genre?

Without question. Maybe someone not too familiar with the music styles I put out on Lava Church it may seem similar, but they’re all very different. Compare Raven to Mold Omen, Alto Jeffro to Tile, Virgin Blood to Harmoos, they’re nothing alike really (at least in my opinion), but what they share is a genuine feeling of purpose. Like the people that made it made it for some reason, whatever that may be. They didn’t write the songs or record their sounds thinking “That will be the next club banger!” or anything like that, you know? So as long as someone has made something that comes across as genuine and true, no matter the genre I would put it out.

The genre you specialize is very niche, but has pockets of loyal artists and fans. How far reaching has the distribution been?

I do small runs of cassettes, so they don’t usually last long. But I have sold tapes to a majority of the continental states, Canada, England, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain, Serbia, Russia, Ukraine, Belgium, Mexico, and probably some other countries I’m forgetting. As for downloads, I can’t really say where those go, but I can imagine it’s probably a similar spread. I would like to reach a Japanese audience some day (Japan has a pretty big tape scene much like the States and Europe) but have yet to crack that egg.

How did the release with Virgin Blood out of Portland come about?

I’ve known about Felisha’s music for a while through my good friend Christian Filardo who runs the Arizona tape label Holy Page. He did a tape for her last year that was super tight, though I regretfully never did get a copy. Anyway, I’d admired her music for a while so when she contacted me about possibly putting out her new album, I was pumped. We talked about it and she understood the Lava Church mission and ideas behind it before I even talked about it, so I knew we would have a good connection. We’re super friends now and I’m glad that we were able to do this together. I’m really proud of it all around and hope that releasing her music through Lava Church helps her reach an audience she may not have otherwise reached. Not only does she make these rad jams, but she also producing a great public access show called DONTCARE TV, she’s starting an art gallery/show space that she will take care of and curate, and she has a weekly online radio show! She’s an extremely talented and genuine person who works hard at what she does and deserves a lot of credit.

I read on your blog, that due to the complications of life you have had to put off certain releases or can ideas. Dealing with that frustration or setbacks as an artist can take a big toll. How do you plan on moving forward in the future?

Well basically what that was all about was stretching myself too thin. I mean, I want to release all of my friends stuff and I want to make everyone happy, but the truth is I can’t. I’m one person who lives in a studio in downtown with my very supportive partner and cat. I don’t have high speed duplicators, I don’t have any kind of factory set up, this isn’t my full time job. I work, I go to school, I maintain some sort of personal life, I make my own music, and so to find the time to do all the necessary Lava Church activities (dubbing tapes, cutting, folding, gluing, reviewing, promoting, downloading music, uploading music, making art for it, making the layouts, etc. etc.) I can’t please everyone. It’s difficult, but it’s all part of the game I suppose. Moving forward, I am only going to release music I am directly related to, music that is made by a core group of friends, and Florida music that I feel represents our fair home well in the scene of avant-garde and experimental music.

Lastly, what is good and what is bad about the music scene locally (Sarasota)?

What’s good is that it exists. I mean, there are places where there is literally no music scene whatsoever, which is scary to me. There are some cool people in town, and people who do make an effort like the folks behind the Closet, and dudes like John Lichtenstein who puts together Dialtone, but all in all what’s going on is not my bag. I’ve lived here for three years and have tried, but it doesn’t do it for me.

To me, it’s the same songs, the same bands, the same people, the same sounds. Where can you go in Sarasota to see a noise show? Where can you go to see some weird performance art you never expected? Can you name a place? You can’t, because it doesn’t exist. Sure I could probably book a show at the Blue Owl or something (which I have done) but what’s the point? Do you really think a dude like me tearing it up on Main Street with my pedals and microphone is something that will fly? (I’ve tried, and it doesn’t) Maybe there is an audience for it, but there’s certainly no place for it. I’ve spent just about my entire musical career playing shows at the mercy of bar and club owners, and Sarasota is no different.

Lately I’ve been playing shows in St. Pete and it is simply amazing. Places like the Venture Compound are absolutely vital to keeping things interesting and energized. Nobody is judged there, nobody gets booed off the stage there, and people go there to see something they haven’t seen before. Jesse and co. host amazing art shows, music and noise shows, classes, and events that are all interesting and exciting to some degree. And there are even bars and cafes in St. Pete that are supportive of experimental and noise music, which is something that simply doesn’t exist around here. I want there to be a place to play locally, but I simply don’t have the time to make it happen myself, unfortunately. I wish somebody would prove me wrong though, and I seriously mean that. Recently, I’ve found a couple other people locally who share similar feelings, and hopefully we can pool resources/time to make something new happen. Maybe you will see that sometime soon!