Stage Buzz: Aware Records 25th Anniversary Show at House of Blues Chicago
Itâs a Family Affair: Aware Records 25th Anniversary Celebration
âIt just felt like the right timing,â said Aware Records Founder/CEO Gregg Latterman of this Saturdayâs 25th-anniversary show at House of Blues (Friday, November 10). âIt was a combination of coincidences, running into people, and thinking, âwhy not bring all these great people together in one place and celebrate where everyone is in their lives?ââ
Although itâs only been a few years since Latterman pressed the âstopâ button on the label and his artist management company A-Squared, Latterman found himself reminiscing about all the people he had worked with and artists whose careers he had helped launch, and 25 years seemed like a good reason to reunite some of them. More like a family reunion, actually.
Chicago music scenesters from the late 90s-’00s and fans of artists like John Mayer, Mat Kearney, Train, and Five For Fighting are familiar with the successful indie label, which focused on singer/songwriters and folk/Americana-influenced rock bands. The management arm came later, guiding the careers of some of the labelâs artists, as well as Brandi Carlisle, Liz Phair, Michelle Branch, Motion City Soundtrack, Brendan Benson, and A Rocket to the Moon.
Performers taking the stage this Saturday will include Jackopierce (Jack O’Neill and Cary Pierce), Matt Scannell of Vertical Horizon, Brian Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe, Isaac Slade of The Fray, Andy Schmidt from the band Stir, and just added is Nick Santino from A Rocket To The Moon.
Latterman was surprised to hear from Issac Slade since they had experienced a legal bump on their road together involving publishing rights. âHow often do people sue each other in federal court and then say, âHey, can I play your show?â But time passes, weâve reconnected, and now we want to celebrate the good stuff we did together. Some business stuff got bumpy, but as someone said to me once, âWhen you play in the major leagues sometimes you get hit in the face with a fastball!â We dusted ourselves off and went back in the game.ââ
There was a time when youâd hear many Aware artists on the radio on an hourly if not daily basis. But the music industry has changed, and whether itâs consumer-driven or industry driven is a chicken-and-egg argument.
âHip-hop and Rap thatâs the biggest pop music today,â Latterman mused. âBut I think great music still finds its audience. The labels donât have that power anymore and havenât had it for a long time. Twenty or thirty years ago the labels and industry were the gatekeepers, but now consumers decide what they want to hear and when. By the way, I think itâs healthy. My kids listen to Hip-hop and Rap. Itâs not what I listened to growing up, but itâs a new world. Thereâs always going to be more music out there, and itâs up to us to find the good stuff.â
In addition to teaching entrepreneurship at Northwestern University and doing some angel investing, Latterman is about to launch a pretzel company called Positive Pretzels, which will be sold in midwest Whole Foods stores starting December.
After so much success, has he left music behind for good? âI tell people right now Iâm not in the day-to-day music industry,â he said. âAware isnât releasing any new music, but I can tell you that could change at any moment. I love music, and I still talk to artists every day. Itâs just been a matter of timing, I wanted to be around my family and not travel around the world for a while, and so stopped putting out records and managing artists, but that could change.â
Aware Records 25th Anniversary Show is this Saturday, November 10th.
-Penelope Biver
Category: Stage Buzz
