MC: Tell us about your relationship with your managers, Modest! Management?
Irwin: Modest! Management is incredible. They’re incredible at realizing potential with bands. Richard Griffths came to us in 2011 and he had great rock music credentials. He signed AC/DC, [was their] agent; he’s done everything for them. Worked with the Sex Pistols way back when he was with Virgin Records. He’s done amazing things in his career and that really fascinated us, so we knew he was the right guy [along with] Harry Magee fronting Modest! Management.
We also have a manager: Matt Emsell. We met Matt back when we were an unsigned band. We had only ever released our acoustic EP in early 2011, and he’s still with us today, so it’s a cool relationship we have with our managers.
MC: And you’re currently with Capitol Records. How did you decide to sign with them?
Irwin: We went over to the U.S., getting momentum over there––we held out for a long time. We signed a record deal about two years ago. They came to us, and they watched a showcase.
Then we signed with Nick Raphael and Jo Charrington over here at Capitol Records U.K. and then went from there. They wanted to support a young guitar band and it was rare for the time.
MC: How did they see you at the showcase? Did your manager reach out to them? Or was it happenstance?
Irwin: I don’t remember the full story, but you play showcases as a band and the people will come. We had a big fan base, but we weren’t signed with anyone. A few people wanted to sign us at the time, but [Capitol] believed in us the most––the most out of anyone.
MC: In association with Capitol, you’ve also established your own label—named Hi or Hey Records. Did you guys always know you wanted to have your own label? What drove you to start it?
Irwin: Well we’ve always had a lot of control over everything we do, and we wanted to put our stamp on it. We wanted to do something more than just being a band; we wanted to go into the record label side of things. Hi or Hey Records is an opportunity to put our label and our personality on anything that we work with.
MC: The first band on your roster is Hey Violet. How are you guys discovering new acts: do you listen to submissions, watch videos, have someone act as a scout?
Irwin: They used to be in a band called Cherry Bomb, and they got some new members. A female and a male punk rock/pop rock type of band who wrote their own music and performed with guitars at a rock show. We went to see them at their house and […] they’re a far better live band than we are already cause they’ve been a band for six years.
When you come across talent like that, it really just blew us away. We’ve seen a little bit of ourselves in them—they’re really driven and they wanna do great things with their music. They’re really likeable, beautiful people. That’s why we want to work with them.
Read More from Hey Violet's voice coach: 10 Rehearsal Tips, Be Heard Over Loud Bands, Mic Stand Nightmares, more!
MC: Are you looking for other artists and bands to add to the roster?
Irwin: It could happen any way. We’ll probably look at the end of the year to see what’s out there. I haven’t really seen anything recently that’s blown me away. It would be lucky if anyone wanted to start something with us anyway, ‘cause obviously we’re not a huge record label or anything like that. We’re cool with just sitting back and letting it happen naturally if we come across it. [Letting the opportunity come to us.] Not try to force it. We’ve never signed anyone for the sake of signing someone.
MC: What insights do you have on how to deal with the business side of the music business? Is the band a democracy where you all vote on decisions?
Irwin: We’re all on the same page when it comes to decisions for the future of the band; we all want what’s best for us.
MC: It’s really cool you guys let your fans vote on the [label] name back in 2014. How important is it to interact with your fans?
Irwin: The most important thing in the world these days. It’s almost on level with the music. If you don’t interact with your fans, you don’t have anything.
And that’s how we started––fans have seen our journey from day one through the eyes of a camera. That’s how we’re so connected with them ‘cause we made a choice to share everything about our lives, about our ideas, what we are and who we are. We’ve shared everything there was to share with them and we still do.
