Southern California rock quartet Badflower first graced the pages of Music Connection in 2014 when they scored a deal with the indie label Hundred Handed. Fast-forward four years later and the band has now signed with Big Machine Label Group and John Varvatos Records.
In fact, Badflower is the first artist to sign to the label under the newly minted partnership between Big Machine Label Group president/CEO Scott Borchetta and fashion designer John Varvatos.
The band has had an interesting relationship with Varvatos. While the band was still with an indie label and relatively unknown, Varvatos featured a Badflower song in one of his fashion shows during New York Fashion Week.
“When we saw that happen we looked on up and discovered that he was starting his own record label,” says frontman Josh Katz about Varvatos’ other endeavors.
Eventually Badflower showcased for him, got along really well and signed a deal with John Varvatos/ Republic Records. When Varvatos left Republic, to merge with Big Machine Label Group, it became a no-brainer to come along for the ride.
“It made sense. ‘Let’s go follow John’ because he’s been the champion for our band this whole time,” Katz says.
The signing was entirely painless and has so far paid off for the band. The first single under the new label, “Ghost,” has claimed the #1 spot on the Active Rock Radio Mediabase Chart. The band is currently supporting The Wrecks on a US tour while also headlining several shows and appearing at numerous music festivals. Then in 2019, they'll be joining Nothing More’s The Truth Tour and will release their upcoming album OK, I'm Sick on Feb. 22 .
When asked what helped the band the most during the signing, Katz emphasized finding the perfect team. “Find the most passionate staff,” he says. “Don’t worry about which label has the most money, which label has the most credibility, just find passionate people because those are the people who are going to propel your career forward.”
Date Signed: N/A
Label: Big Machine Records / John Varvatos Records
Type of Music: Rock
Management: Jesse Beer - The MGMT Company
Booking: Andrew Buck - APA
Legal: Doug Mark
Publicity: [email protected], [email protected]
Web: BadflowerMusic.com
A&R: Julian Raymond
