Violent Soho’s James Tidswell on launching Domestic La La label with Dear Seattle, West Thebarton

Violent Soho guitarist James Tidswell today launched a new label Domestic La La Records, hitting the ground by signing Sydney’s Dear Seattle and Adelaide’s West Thebarton.

The label is set up in partnership with UNIFIED Music Group.

“In the beginning, I actually just wanted to manage Violent Soho or put out their record, but they ended up needing a guitarist so I went with that instead,” Tidswell recounts.

“I sold my first car to put out the first Violent Soho EP Pigs and TV.

“Then I resigned from a job to get a severance package to put money in towards the We Don’t Belong Here album.

“I was lucky enough that Soho ended up getting a big record deal back in the day through Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth / Ecstatic Peace), and that was where I stopped pursuing that side and started enjoying just playing in the band.

“In that time, I learnt a lot about how it is to be a band, and it allowed me to have the confidence going in to do Domestic La La the right way.

“Now I’ve teamed up with my mates at UNIFIED Music Group to make the label a reality.

“The idea behind Domestic La La is to allow bands to be on a label with someone who is sympathising with the artist themselves, and the struggle with having a vision and wanting to do something that doesn’t fit into the everyday mould that record labels operate within.

“I’m lucky enough to have been involved in the music industry –in all different levels and aspects – for over 14 years.

“I say lucky because although at times it was difficult and frustrating, I now know why I had to go through all of that.

“It’s left me with a complete and total understanding of everything a band can go through and I can always see from their perspective.

“Sometimes being in a band can feel like the people on the other side don’t truly understand why certain things are so important to you, or why you have to do things a certain way, even if it is more work.”

Tidswellfirst came across West Thebarton from hearing early single ‘Moving Out’ on triple j.

He quips he was so motivated to dance to the song that he drove straight to a gym to enlist and work out to the track.

The band’s new single is ‘Bible Camp’, which it will promote with five dates over the summer between December 1 and 16, and festival appearances at NYE on the Hill (December 31) and Falls Byron (January 2).

Dear Seattle, from Sydney’s Northern Shores, was a band thatTidswell was smitten with after a friend sent him a copy of their self-titled EP.

He immediately hunted down their email contact and went to catch them at every show he could.

Dear Seattle’s vocalist Brae Fisher says that they became instant friends at their first meeting with Tidswell.

Fisher recons, “Domestic La La (DLL) is nothing like any other label I have heard of.

“The numerous and lengthy chats I’ve had with Tids have got me seriously convinced this is something special.

“To me it feels like the kind of label that will be remembered for decades because it went against the grain.

“James and DLL are so heavily invested in the idea of pure integrity in music and genuine unadulterated artistry, and because of that fact, I’ve never felt more liberated as a songwriter than I do now.

“The big picture vision that James and this label have is so critical to the current alternative scene and I can’t express how happy I am to be with it from the get-go.

“To put things into perspective, upon negotiating our record contract with DLL we added a clause that said Tids had to smash 750ml of VB through a beer bong, and he did it like a champion. If that’s not family, I don’t know what is.

Dear Seattle today start off four dates opening for Kingwood, before their own Cut You Deep tour with Eliza & The Delusionals

Half the eight shows are sold out already, beginning on November 21 at the Lansdowne in Sydney and wrapping up at the UNIFY Gathering festival in regional Victoria January 12—14.

The label is also doing a 7” subscription service called the Domestic La La Record Club.

Two bands will be coupled together on a Double A-Side single, with the idea being ten of these are released a year.

“The idea is to give people a way of discovering new bands – some up and coming, some already established and some you’ve never heard of.

“It will be delivered to your door, and you don’t have to go looking for new music if you don’t want to.”

The first single features West Thebarton’s ‘Ivan’ with fellow Adelaide act Stork’s ‘Dark Shadows’.