The indie label with the most
impressive catalog around these parts is Lynn Point
Records.
Run by former V-Roys Jeff Bills and Mic Harrison,
Lynn Point has been around since late 1999, a month
before the Roys broke up. According to Bills, Lynn
Point's goal is to release good music as simply as
possible.
"We just wanted to have a place to release music
without all the complications of what most record deals
entail. ... Signing label contracts is a very
complicated process in which bands are usually just too
inexperienced and too naive to represent themselves very
well," says Bills.
"And once they sign it's pretty much a done deal,
whether they realize later what they signed was a
mistake or not. So the bands we work with are given a
chance to test the waters of the music business without
signing or committing their life as a band to the label.
"We don't have any contracts. We just go on each
other's word."
Since its inception, Lynn Point
(www.lynnpoint.com) has re-released an assortment
of classic albums from Knoxville's past. Included in the
mix have been the Taoist Cowboys' "Punt," Bob
McCluskey's "Emergency Lunchbox" and a couple of albums
by The Swamis.
"The label basically started as a place to sell some
of the previous projects either Mic or myself were
involved with," says Bills. "Most notably (was) a
pre-V-Roys solo record by Mic called "Don't Bail," which
had never been available on compact disc and at the time
was out of print. We also knew we were probably going to
be working on another band project ourselves at some
point in the future, and we wanted a place to put that
out."
Besides releasing several out-of-print albums, Bills
and Harrison have also put out a number of juicy new
releases.
Shortly after the demise of the V-Roys, for example,
Bills, Harrison, V-Roy Paxton Sellers and Knoxville
guitarist Robbie Trosper formed The Faults. Edgier than
the V-Roys, the Faults put out a self-titled album on
Lynn Point. In 2000 Lynn Point released a collection of
never-before-recorded songs by former Knox band The
Estradas
Lynn Point's greatest success perhaps is the recent
release of The Westside Daredevils' "All Things Small
Produce a Spark." An assortment of bittersweet pop
anthems and lush three-part harmonies, the Daredevils'
debut record is a gem.
Don't expect Bills and Harrison to sit back.
"We are talking to some other people about releasing
some things in the not-too-distant future," Bills says.
"That's the deal. This town has a lot of talented
musicians, so there is definitely not a lack of
projects."
E-mail Kevin Saylor at emperorsaylor@ earthlink.net
or write to him c/o Entertainment department, The
Knoxville News-Sentinel, 208 W. Church Ave., Knoxville,
TN 37902.
