WHEELS & DEALS SPECIAL:
EL CHICO DICE, "NO MAS, NO MAS"
That said, the CMJ Music Marathon ’02 is in the books, and it’s apparent that the full-fledged convention was greatly missed after last year’s delayed run post 9/11. But before we dive into our post-confab rap, we’re pleased to report a couple signings that show the Q4 weaseling ain’t over yet.
The first is the Joe Berman/Brian Schall-repped Steriogram, which inks with Capitol chief Andy Slater and A&R high-roller Ron Laffitte, courtesy of EMI Music publisher Dan "that drummer dude" McCarroll. Slater quickly took the band off the market after listening to the demo, thus further reinforcing Capitol’s artist-signing playertude. Reports later came in that numerous labels were quite upset at not having a crack at the act. You may want to check out Berman/Alan Wolmark’s other act, Crashland, before that one takes off.
Meanwhile, Hollywood’s Geoffrey Weiss does a little closing of his own, inking Australia’s D4 just before their L.A. gigs and CMJ perf. On the day of the band’s first tinseltown show, the weasel bat phone rang constantly at this poser’s office with inquiries as to whether the band had signed a deal. Of course, we replied with our standard answer: "UHHH, I DUNNO?".
BACK TO THE CMJ REPORT: Kudos to CMJ’s Chris White and Diane Perini for putting together a diverse and well-organized schedule of artist showcases that greatly represented the various talent/music scene in New York. Is it just us, or is the New Wave resurgence alive and kickin’ in a big way?
The first night of the confab rocked fully, as weasel attendees trekked to the ASCAP showcase to catch perfs from Motion City Soundtrak, the People and Alarmbell. Meanwhile, shows from Radio 4 and the Witnesses lured weasels that night as well.
However, Thursday night generated the biggest buzz of the confab. The Militia Group showcase at CBGB’s brought out the weasel heavies for the Beautiful Mistake show, but the very late night, non-conference Halloween show by the Rapture was clearly the gig that left everyone talking. Weasel attendees stopped by the DFA label party later in the conference to get on the inside track with the band.
Other conference buzzers included Ikara Colt, Helio Sequence, Codeseven, Northern State, the Kills, Damian Rice, Sahara Hotnights, Stellastarr, Soviet, the Caesars, High Tigers, Assassins, Sunshine, My Chemical Romance, the Fags, International Noise Conspiracy, Flaming Sideburns, Polyphonic Spree and Time In Malta.
Of course, there was plenty of expense-account dining and schmoozing, with brief stops at (insert your favorite NYC strip club here). It all proved that this confab remains an important event on the annual weasel calendar.
