Artery Recordings is a Sacramento-based record label specializing in metal, deathcore, metalcore, post-hardcore and hardcore acts.[1][2] It operates as the recording arm of Eric Rushing's broader Sacramento music-business empire, which also includes Artery Foundation Artist Management and several local venues.[2] The label was established in 2010 as an imprint of Razor & Tie by Eric Rushing.[3][4]
At a glance
- Based in Sacramento; repeatedly described as "Sacramento's own" / "Sacramento-based."[1][2]
- Sister company to The Artery Foundation (artist management).[5][6][2]
- CEO is Sacramento music entrepreneur Eric Rushing.[1][2]
- Active and signing bands by early 2011; still releasing records through at least 2016.[5][2]
- Distribution/partnership with Razor and Tie noted by 2013.[6]
- Roster spans national touring acts and local/regional Sacramento bands.[2]
- Acquired by Warner Music Group on August 31, 2017; frontline releases distributed through Warner's ADA division.[7][8]
Overview and Sacramento ties
Artery Recordings is part of a cluster of music-industry entities run out of Sacramento by Eric Rushing, who is described as a "Sacramento entrepreneur and music business guru."[2] His other ventures include Artery Foundation Artist Management, the venues Ace of Spades, The Boardwalk and Goldfield, and the recording studio Gold Standard Sounds.[2] In coverage spanning 2013 through 2016 the label is consistently identified as Sacramento-based ("Sacramento-based The Artery Foundation," "Sacramento's own Artery Recordings," "Sacramento entrepreneur").[6][1][2] This places the label's origin firmly in the Sacramento region.
The label and its sister management company, The Artery Foundation, frequently work in tandem: bands are picked up for management and then signed to the label.[6] The Artery Foundation was itself co-founded in 2004 by Eric Rushing, Greg Patterson, and Shawn Carrano.[3]
Founding and timeline
Artery Recordings had recently launched as of the band-signing activity described in a March 2011 article, in which Whitechapel guitarist Alex Wade recalls that "Artery Recordings had just started" when he brought the band I Declare War to the label to be signed.[5] By that point Artery Foundation manager Shawn Carrano was already operating in Sacramento and signing acts to the new label.[5]
Through the following years the label released debut and full-length albums from numerous acts (see below), with a 2013 release noted as coming out "through Razor and Tie/Artery Recordings," indicating a distribution or co-release relationship with Razor and Tie.[6] On March 25, 2014, Artery Recordings signed a North American distribution deal with RED Distribution (Sony's distribution arm); the label's roster at that time included Alesana, Attila, Austrian Death Machine, Chelsea Grin, I Declare War, Myka Relocate, and Slaves.[9][4] By February 2016 Rushing's organization had expanded into recording infrastructure with the opening of Gold Standard Sounds, described as a complement to "the label and management company that we have built on a local and national level."[2]
On August 31, 2017, it was announced that Artery Recordings was acquired by Warner Music Group, which took on the label's full catalogue and frontline artist deals but did not retain any staff.[7][4] Upcoming releases from Artery acts, including Capture and Slaves, were to be distributed through Warner's ADA division.[7] According to ADA's Kenny Weagly at the time: "The label has built a reputation for artist development and we intend to continue and strengthen the brand within the rock community."[7]
Roster and releases
Artery Recordings releases documented in the Submerge corpus include:
- I Declare War — an early signing; brought to the then-new label via Whitechapel's Alex Wade (who also managed the band) and Artery Foundation's Shawn Carrano around 2010–2011.[5]
- Incredible Me — Sacramento sextet; debut full-length Est. 2012 released Sept. 17, 2013 through Razor and Tie/Artery Recordings. The band was first picked up for management by The Artery Foundation, then signed to the label.[6]
- Slaves — Sacramento band fronted by vocalist Jonny Craig (ex-Dance Gavin Dance, ex-Emarosa); debut album Through Art We Are All Equals released via Artery Recordings on June 24, 2014.[10]
- Hoods — veteran Sacramento hardcore band; album Gato Negro released via Artery Recordings on Nov. 25, 2014.[11]
- Conquer Divide — six-piece all-female metalcore band with members spread across Michigan, Texas, California (Sacramento) and the U.K.; self-titled debut released by Artery Recordings (2015), produced by Joey Sturgis.[1]
The label's CEO Eric Rushing reached out directly to Conquer Divide to sign them; the band described the Artery team as "incredible, fun and hardworking."[1]
Wider Artery / Rushing roster
Beyond the label's specific signings, Rushing's combined management-and-label operation represents a roster that mixes national and Sacramento-area acts. Named touring/national acts include Alesana, Chelsea Grin, Attila, Vanna and Anvil; named "signed local and regional bands" include Will Haven, Hoods, Hail the Sun, Horseneck and Graveshadow.[2] Artery Foundation-affiliated bands A Skylit Drive and For All Those Sleeping toured together with label band Incredible Me on The Rise Up Tour in 2013.[6]
Artery Foundation background
The Artery Foundation, the parent management company behind Artery Recordings, was founded in 2004 by Eric Rushing, Greg Patterson, and Shawn Carrano.[3]
Scene relationships
- Artery Foundation (management) — the management company that funnels acts to the label; Shawn Carrano and CEO Eric Rushing are named Artery figures.[5][6][1][2]
- Deftones / Chino Moreno — Carrano had a long relationship with Deftones and Chino Moreno (and formerly managed Moreno's side project Team Sleep), arranging Moreno guest appearances on records by Artery-orbit bands such as Whitechapel's A New Era of Corruption.[5]
- Venues — Rushing-owned Sacramento venues Ace of Spades, The Boardwalk and Goldfield host many of the label/management's bands and touring acts.[2]
- Gold Standard Sounds — Rushing's Sacramento recording studio (opened 2016), built as an in-house complement to the label and management company; touted as having "the only SSL Console in town."[2]