RYAN METHENY,

CONSIGNMENT MANAGER AT SMARTPUNK.COM

Based in Garden Grove, the online music store Smartpunk.com has been catering to unsigned and up-and-coming bands in the punk music community since 2003. In addition to selling CDs and merch and featuring special picks on its site, Smartpunk.com also exposes a select handful of bands on its Warped Tour stage every year. Recently undergoing new management/ownership with Tim Towner of The Daily Chorus taking the reins, many exciting changes are in store for Smartpunk.com in 2009 (think more community-based interactive website, more resources and support available to its bands, etc.). Performer caught up with consignment manager Ryan Metheny to find out more about what happens behind the scenes at Smartpunk.com.

Q: Tell us about your job — you basically scout out bands for the site?

A: Yeah, I license products merchandise-wise and also help bands get products up on iTunes. But my main job here is just developing relationships for some of the smaller bands and helping them get their albums up on the site. I scout MySpace pages, PureVolume pages, message boards, etc. just trying to find the next new band.

Q: What kinds of things do you look for when you’re scouting?

A: One thing I used to look for was MySpace plays and friends, but I don’t do that anymore because of all the bots and stuff like that. Now I look for comments. If a band has a lot of comments within a given day, it means their fans are really getting out there to let this band know that they enjoy their music. That’s where you really see what kind of fans they have. But the main thing is the music — if a band has zero comments but the music’s great, the music speaks for itself.

Q: Do you do any scouting at local shows?

A: Yeah, I’m always going to shows! We’ve got a great venue right down the street from us called Chain Reaction. I go there a couple times a week and most of the time I don’t even go for a specific band. And if there is a band that’s headlining that I want to see, I get there early and see the openers.

Q: So once a band is selected to be on the site, then what?

A: It’s all consignment-based. We actually just set up automated payments. So we’ll bring in some CDs from a band — I normally start off with anywhere between 10 and 20 albums — then we put them up on the site, see how they do, and every month the band collects payment.

Q: Do you accept submissions?

A: Yeah, my email is ryan@smartpunk.com and I’m always down to help any band. I prefer email because it’s quicker and it saves everybody money, but I will take snail-mail submissions too: 11783 Cardinal Circle, Garden Grove, California 92843.

www.smartpunk.com

IN THE NEWS

On October 21, Ubiquity Records will release a new album from Shawn Lee and Clutchy Hopkins. Titled Clutch of the Tiger, the CD/LP is a “collection of film noir tracks run through the Clutchy Hopkins and Shawn Lee magical music machine” and the story behind it is as obscure as the identity of Hopkins. Artwork for the package was provided by comic book creator Jim Mahood.

www.ubiquityrecor

ds.com

Long Beach’s Cold War Kids recently released their sophomore album, Loyalty to Loyalty, through Dogtown Records. The follow-up to 2006’s critically-acclaimed Robbers & Cowards debut LP, the new album stays true to the band’s bluesy roots but marks a noted musical progression for the four-piece. After a summer of West Coast festival dates that included Outside Lands, Sunset Junction and Street Scene, Cold War Kids embarked on a U.S. tour that will last through the month.

www.coldwarkids.com

Singer/songwriter/producer Philip Vandermost has released his debut CD, Automatic August, and has been gigging around the Orange County area in its support. The self-produced 10-track album was mastered by Stephen Marsh at Stephen Marsh Mastering.

www.philvandermost.co

m

On October 11, Linkfest will debut in Irvine at the Oak Canyon Ranch. The first annual punk, ska and metal festival will feature two main stages and one second stage with performances by Pennywise, Gorilla Biscuits, The Aquabats, Bleeding Through, The Vandals, Every Time I Die, Ignite, Death By Stereo and others.

www.myspace.com

/linkfest

After a month-long Monday night residency at the Detroit Bar, Costa Mesa’s Japanese Motors will team up with the Black Lips for two SoCal shows early this month, followed by an appearance at The L.A. Weekly’s Detour Festival on October 4. Then on October 21, it’s off to Toronto for a string of East Coast dates with White Lies. Returning to L.A. at the end of the month, Japanese Motors will continue touring the West Coast during the month of November in support of their new self-titled full-length debut on Vice Records.

www.thejapanesemo

tors.com

Laguna Beach’s Donavon Frankenreiter recently released his third full-length album, Pass it Around, and will tour the Eastern U.S. this month in its support. Supporting Frankenreiter and his band on the dates will be Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek.

www.donavonf.com