in tune

MySpace.com has become a great asset to up-and-coming bands and others wanting to make it in the music business.

The social networking Web site not only offers a place to talk to old friends and meet new friends, but it's also a place to check out well-known bands and the up-and-comers.

That's the route that six Seymour natives have chosen, and so far, it has worked well. The guys of Toss Up Records and the guys of the band Brella, however, have used MySpace for different reasons.

Toss Up Records

Ben Schuley, Richard Norrell and Fred Hubbard were looking to start their own record label in the pop punk music scene.

"It was his idea and he approached me," Schuley said of Norrell. "We're always listening to unsigned music, and we've been to several hundred shows."

Toss Up Records was established in 2006.

"We started the search for the first band to sign," Schuley said. "The biggest thing was to find the first band we really liked."

Norrell said a night of searching through nearly 40 bands on MySpace ended in the finding of Maryland-based American Diary.

Once they heard the band's independently released demo, Schuley said, "We started spinning the record over and over again. We drove to Maryland last year (April 2007), and met them and talked with them. Richard started being the driving force, and he put a lot of work getting this going. Without him, we wouldn't be around."

In June 2007, American Diary was officially signed to Toss Up Records at a show at The Crump Theatre in Columbus.

On Feb. 12, after working with producer Paul Leavitt, the band re-released their demo, "The Brightest Colors."

"To me, this is my life and it's all I've ever wanted to do," American Diary drummer Brandon Reeder said. "We all work really hard for it. It's our job but it's so fun."

Schuley said going from being classically trained in music to being interested in pop punk has truly been a full circle.

"I've played in bands since the sixth grade, and I grew up in a real musical family," he said. "The first concert I went to was blink-182. That was the one that got me into (pop punk music)."

Norrell, on the other hand, didn't have any experience with a band.

"It all started with my love for music," he said. "I was interested in the business side of music."

Schuley is currently a public relations student at Ball State University in Muncie. With that going for him, and the record label, he said he's in the right spot.

"The commercial success of (pop punk) music is starting to take an aim of its own," he said. "I like the intimate feeling of being involved with bands. It's cool to see them come into Seymour or Columbus and play in front of 200 people. They feel the same passion you see for the band. People call them their own for a while. It's just cool to see the bands you helped get that success."
Norrell hopes the success continues, too.

"Just like any business, you want to grow the bands you have and sign more," he said. "Right now, we just want to get (American Diary) out there. They are our main concern. Once they get established, we will probably start looking for other bands (to sign)."

Brella

American Diary, along with Seymour-based Brella, New Jersey/Philadelphia-based Rushmore and Fishers-based Eight Days Out performed April 19 at Thrashers, Seymour's newest concert hall at 112 S. Chestnut St.

Brella is new to the scene as well, as they formed in May 2007. Phil Davis and Brad Kyle graduated in 2004 from Seymour High School and Sam Cone graduated in 2006.

"We've always been friends," Davis said. "We all play music, so we thought, ‘why don't we start a band.'"

Cone is on guitar and vocals, Kyle on bass and Davis on drums and vocals. Cone is the only member who has had previous band experience, as he was a member of Long Since Anchorage.

"It's our way of being able to hang out together and still play live," Cone said. "All through high school, I would mix music and record on the computer. I have a good sense of how music should be mixed."

Last fall, Cone said, the group began recording a seven-song demo, some of which can be heard on their MySpace page, myspace.com/brellamusic.

"A lot of bands aren't able to do recording," Davis said. "We're doing it ourselves."

Since Brella introduced their music on MySpace in August 2007, Kyle said, they get anywhere from 300 to 700 plays per night. Plus, they have more than 15,000 friends.

"It's helped us out so much," Kyle said of MySpace. "Any band can make it through MySpace."

Kyle said people have responded to the band's music.

"They love it," he said. "They want us to come out to their town to play shows. That's encouraging."

On the road, Brella has performed all over Indiana, and they hope to branch out to Kentucky, Ohio and Illinois this summer. Brella also plans to get back in the studio for recording.

Two clothing companies, Free Clothing Co. of Columbus, Ohio, and You, Me and the City Clothing of San Diego, are sponsoring Brella. The band wears the companies' shirts as cross-promotion.

Outside of the band, Kyle works in Seymour, Davis is a political science senior at Purdue University in West Lafayette and Cone is a telecommunications sophomore at Indiana University in Bloomington. Davis said he graduates in May, and he will then start law school.

So, for Brella, it's going good.

"Being in a band, what you put into it you'll get something out of it," Cone said. "You'll reap the benefits. It's always good to be friends first and be a band later."

Kyle said his dream has become a reality.

"I have grown up dreaming of being in a band," he said. "I'm just getting to experience my dreams. It's been a rush, and it's been amazing."

For Davis, he's glad to be doing what he loves with his friends.

"Through this band we are all becoming greater friends," Davis said. "We go through a lot of the same things. You need to commit yourself to work hard. Doing it with your best friends gets you through the challenges. We're in the moment together and we're all having fun and experiencing this together. It's a really cool feeling."

On the Web

Toss Up Records, tossuprecords.com or myspace.com/tossuprecords

American Diary, myspace.com/americandiaryrock; to purchase music, visit smartpunk.com, interpunk.com, iTunes, Hot Topic stores or 13th Floor Music & Accessories, 111 N. Chestnut St., Seymour.

Brella, myspace.com/brellamusic