Larger label crowns area Princes
Sunday, July 17, 2005 -Style Page:60

BY JACK W. HILL ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Arkansas rock groups make CDs easily enough, but it’s rare that they find a larger audience for the recordings.

One Little Rock band has done just that, moving from Max Recordings, a Little Rock label, to Yep Roc Records, a label based near Carrboro, N.C., with a host of prestigious artists in its fold, including the Rev. Horton Heat, Caitlin Cary, Bob Mould, John Doe, Dave Alvin, Billy Bragg, Robyn Hitchcock, Paul Weller, Nick Lowe, Robbie Fulks and the Go-Betweens.

After a pair of albums on local label Max Recordings, the band is moving on, but Max Recordings’ owner Burt Taggart laughs at any parallels between him and Sam Phillips in Memphis, who nurtured Elvis Presley at Sun Records, only to see him move on to RCA Records.

"We didn’t have a contract, it was just handshake stuff," Taggart says. "It’s all amicable, and they’re obviously still great friends of mine. I’m still booking this tour for them, at least for the time being, till Yep Roc hires them a booking agent."

Yep Roc will re-release American Princes’ Little Spaces, the band’s second CD on Max Recordings, on Aug. 23. The band — which consists of Little Rock native Collins Kilgore on lead guitar, keyboards and vocals; David Slade on rhythm guitar and vocals, Matt Quin on drums and Ryan Universe on bass — will then tour for six weeks. Already, shows are lined up before the album release, at the Hi-Tone in Memphis tonight, at Vino’s on Aug. 19 and at JR’s in Fayetteville on Aug. 20.

"The label has promised them a certain amount of tour support, print ads in national magazines and more of a push behind them than I was ever able to do," Taggart adds. "And they’ll have a spot on the CMJ conference in New York in September. They’re already working on what will be their third actual album at a studio in Richmond, and it’ll come out next spring."

But first the label will introduce the band to a national audience through Little Spaces, which was first released in 2004 as the follow-up to the group’s 2003 debut, We Are The People.

Taggart says American Princes is the first group he has relinquished to a larger label.

"The band worked really hard while they were on our label," Taggart says, "and they stayed on the road as much as they could. So they’re reaping the rewards of their hard work."

Glenn Dicker, a co-owner of Yep Roc Records, says that he first heard of American Princes, ironically, through another Little Rock connection. He was riding around Memphis in January with musical pals, Lucero, a band based there that contains Little Rock native Ben Nichols as its lead singer.

"They were playing something in their van and I said, ‘How cool. Who is this?’ and they told me about American Princes," Dicker recalls. "When I got home, I checked them out online, reached out to them, and the band jumped at getting a show in Chapel Hill [N.C.] so we could see them play. They did that in a couple of weeks, in February.

"I admired their enthusiasm, and throughout they were great. I thought they had a passion onstage that comes across in everything they do. They were serious about what they were doing and we were into it. I was impressed with their record, and their live show kind of draws you in. They’ll appeal to a lot of people."
Dicker says he may try to send American Princes out on the road with one of his better-known acts, such as Paul Weller, who used to lead British band The Jam.

Already there are those touting the group as perhaps the next wave of Little Rock rock.

In its March 2004 issue, Punk Planet magazine wrote "Thank goodness Little Rock is represented by someone other than Amy Lee of Evanescence. We Are The People’s eight songs bring rock ’n’ roll salvation. Give them a chance, because you won’t be disappointed."