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| Stevie Tombstone Is A Roots Rock Renaissance Man |
He’s taken on songwriting and production tasks for a variety of artists, including Joshua Morningstar, Black Eyed Vermillion and Tonya Watts, and he’s recently added “label owner” to his resume with the Altco Recordings imprint.
Even so, being an executive was never on Tombstone’s agenda. “I swore I’d never be on that side of the table when I started out,” he says with a laugh. “I had just left the last label I was with; we didn’t see eye-to-eye. And some of the folks that were working with them approached me about starting my own label. So it kind of all fell together overnight, more or less.”
It was shortly after creating the label that Tombstone’s vision went beyond his own work.
“At first, it was just an outlet for my stuff just so I could have it online,” he says. “But then the light bulb went off: ‘Wait a minute, I don’t like the way things are going these days. Maybe I can help.’” Having spent a couple of decades on the other side of the fence as a working musician, Tombstone has a clear vision about the kind of artists he wants on Altco. “It’s like I tell people, it’s not what I’ve done, it’s what I know not to do. The key is knowing which doors not to open.”
Tombstone says he tends to use Altco “as a showcase for people who I believe deserve that chance and are working hard, and I appreciate their art. It’s art that might be overlooked otherwise. I’m trying to do it in an artist-friendly way, where at the end of the day everybody’s satisfied and everybody gets a fair shake.”
The label has already experienced more success than Tombstone expected, and it’s caught him off guard. “It’s taken off quicker than I thought it would, and I’m glad,” he says. “Things have been changing a lot, we’re getting a lot of momentum, and it’s been a pleasure working with my partner Ralph Miller. It’s turned into a big family.”
So, given Stevie Tombstone’s current careers as label owner, producer and songwriter, where does that leave time for his own work, most recently demonstrated on 2012’s stellar “Greenwood” album? Well, he does have a new single, called “Whiskey & Cocaine,” due out later this month, but it’s been a bit of a struggle to keep everything balanced. “I’m still getting a grip on that,” he says. “I’ve been going for quality and not quantity, but I’ve got a family to support, and I’ve got to keep my own career afloat, so I can make better decisions for the label. I try to do one thing at a time. When I get in the car to go on tour I try to take that label-head title off.”
On the plus side,Tombstone says that, while touring, he can always keep an eye out for prospective new Altco Records artists. “I’ve kind of been working on my craft and doing reconnaissance work at the same time.”
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It’s
probably fair at this point in his career to call Stevie Tombstone a
Renaissance man. After all, he’s going from purveying greasy, revved-up
rockabilly with his band The Tombstones to revealing a keen songwriter’s
eye (think John Hiatt-meets-Todd Snider) with a penchant for
stripped-down acoustic accompaniment.
He’s taken on songwriting and production tasks for a variety of artists, including Joshua Morningstar, Black Eyed Vermillion and Tonya Watts, and he’s recently added “label owner” to his resume with the Altco Recordings imprint.
Even so, being an executive was never on Tombstone’s agenda. “I swore I’d never be on that side of the table when I started out,” he says with a laugh. “I had just left the last label I was with; we didn’t see eye-to-eye. And some of the folks that were working with them approached me about starting my own label. So it kind of all fell together overnight, more or less.”
It was shortly after creating the label that Tombstone’s vision went beyond his own work.
“At first, it was just an outlet for my stuff just so I could have it online,” he says. “But then the light bulb went off: ‘Wait a minute, I don’t like the way things are going these days. Maybe I can help.’”
Having spent a couple of decades on the other side of the fence as a working musician, Tombstone has a clear vision about the kind of artists he wants on Altco. “It’s like I tell people, it’s not what I’ve done, it’s what I know not to do. The key is knowing which doors not to open.”
Tombstone says he tends to use Altco “as a showcase for people who I believe deserve that chance and are working hard, and I appreciate their art. It’s art that might be overlooked otherwise. I’m trying to do it in an artist-friendly way, where at the end of the day everybody’s satisfied and everybody gets a fair shake.”
The label has already experienced more success than Tombstone expected, and it’s caught him off guard.
“It’s taken off quicker than I thought it would, and I’m glad,” he says. “Things have been changing a lot, we’re getting a lot of momentum, and it’s been a pleasure working with my partner Ralph Miller. It’s turned into a big family.”
So, given Stevie Tombstone’s current careers as label owner, producer and songwriter, where does that leave time for his own work, most recently demonstrated on 2012’s stellar “Greenwood” album? Well, he does have a new single, called
“Whiskey & Cocaine,” due out later this month, but it’s been a bit of a struggle to keep everything balanced.
“I’m still getting a grip on that,” he says. “I’ve been going for quality and not quantity, but I’ve got a family to support, and I’ve got to keep my own career afloat, so I can make better decisions for the label. I try to do one thing at a time. When I get in the car to go on tour I try to take that label-head title off.”
On the plus side, Tombstone says that, while touring, he can always keep an eye out for prospective new Altco Records artists. “I’ve kind of been working on my craft and doing reconnaissance work at the same time.”
- See more at: http://www.greenvillejournal.com/life-culture/sound-check/4038-roots-rock-renaissance-man.html#sthash.DyHUaOwG.dpuf
He’s taken on songwriting and production tasks for a variety of artists, including Joshua Morningstar, Black Eyed Vermillion and Tonya Watts, and he’s recently added “label owner” to his resume with the Altco Recordings imprint.
Even so, being an executive was never on Tombstone’s agenda. “I swore I’d never be on that side of the table when I started out,” he says with a laugh. “I had just left the last label I was with; we didn’t see eye-to-eye. And some of the folks that were working with them approached me about starting my own label. So it kind of all fell together overnight, more or less.”
It was shortly after creating the label that Tombstone’s vision went beyond his own work.
“At first, it was just an outlet for my stuff just so I could have it online,” he says. “But then the light bulb went off: ‘Wait a minute, I don’t like the way things are going these days. Maybe I can help.’”
Having spent a couple of decades on the other side of the fence as a working musician, Tombstone has a clear vision about the kind of artists he wants on Altco. “It’s like I tell people, it’s not what I’ve done, it’s what I know not to do. The key is knowing which doors not to open.”
Tombstone says he tends to use Altco “as a showcase for people who I believe deserve that chance and are working hard, and I appreciate their art. It’s art that might be overlooked otherwise. I’m trying to do it in an artist-friendly way, where at the end of the day everybody’s satisfied and everybody gets a fair shake.”
The label has already experienced more success than Tombstone expected, and it’s caught him off guard.
“It’s taken off quicker than I thought it would, and I’m glad,” he says. “Things have been changing a lot, we’re getting a lot of momentum, and it’s been a pleasure working with my partner Ralph Miller. It’s turned into a big family.”
So, given Stevie Tombstone’s current careers as label owner, producer and songwriter, where does that leave time for his own work, most recently demonstrated on 2012’s stellar “Greenwood” album? Well, he does have a new single, called
“Whiskey & Cocaine,” due out later this month, but it’s been a bit of a struggle to keep everything balanced.
“I’m still getting a grip on that,” he says. “I’ve been going for quality and not quantity, but I’ve got a family to support, and I’ve got to keep my own career afloat, so I can make better decisions for the label. I try to do one thing at a time. When I get in the car to go on tour I try to take that label-head title off.”
On the plus side, Tombstone says that, while touring, he can always keep an eye out for prospective new Altco Records artists. “I’ve kind of been working on my craft and doing reconnaissance work at the same time.”
- See more at: http://www.greenvillejournal.com/life-culture/sound-check/4038-roots-rock-renaissance-man.html#sthash.DyHUaOwG.dpuf
