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Nite Out
Sharp, businessman
Area musician Nik Sharp aspires to be more than a singer/songwriter/band leader/studio owner. He wants to be a music mogul. So he's started a record label.
By GINA VIVINETTO, Times Pop Music Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 9, 2003
[Publicity photo]
Suburban Tragedy are, from left, Jon Stride, Nik Sharp, Eric Bice and Paul Calvagna.
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You would think that Palm Harbor musician Nik Sharp would rest on his laurels. The 23-year-old's band, Suburban Tragedy, recently released a hot-selling CD, performed at WSUN-FM 97.1's One Crazy Summer Show, signed a record deal (with Nashville-based Spongebath Records) and is geared to have a single on European radio by the middle of the month.
But the restless artist has added another dimension to his persona: businessman.
The enterprising Sharp, who runs Blue Moon Studios in Largo, recently created Co-Dependent Records. Unlike most locally run labels, Sharp's enjoys the benefit of national distribution through a company called 101. Sharp has hired a staff of 12 across several states.
"Our motto, " Sharp says, "is, 'Selling out . . . one album at a time."' As head honcho, Sharp intends to release compilation discs from various cities, the first being the just-pressed Make A Scene disc featuring more than a dozen bands from Pinellas County. A two-day release party with live music from bands on the disc is scheduled this weekend at Neptune Lounge in Tarpon Springs.
Sharp and the Co-Dependent staff are working on discs for bands in Detroit, Rhode Island, Boston and Los Angeles. Sharp insists the label is not just a temporary project. His goals are far-ranging.
"I want to pick up where the major labels screwed up," Sharp says. "Co-Dependent is all about artist development. I want one-on-one relationships with artists, to push them, to help them and not drop them if they don't sell a million records the first time out. Who cares if you're on TRL?"
Sharp says that although he is developing project nationally, he'd like to see Co-Dependent Records help unify the local music scene.
"Right now, the local scene is really broken up," Sharp says, echoing a sentiment voiced by another local label owner, musician Joran Oppelt of the band the Gita and head of Mekka Records.
"What people need to realize is that if everybody stuck together and networked, we'd make more noise as a scene," Sharp says. "There are all these band politics and band feuds around here, and that's stupid. We can all get along."
Sharp says that although he's a creative type, co-writing the bulk of Suburban Tragedy's material and singing all of it, he's always had a yen for business and fancies himself a mogul someday.
"When I was in the third grade, when all the other kids were out on the playground, I was inside writing up little contracts with my friends, playing at being a businessman," Sharp says.
What if Co-Dependent Records exploded and business boomed? Would Sharp put Suburban Tragedy and music on the back burner?
"No, I could never stop playing," Sharp says. "I will always be an artist at heart."
Log onto www.co-dependentrecords.com for more info.
PREVIEW
The Make A Scene CD release party featuring Suburban Tragedy, Icon, Moneyshot, Blind Reality, Code Sunshine and more kicks off at 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Neptune Lounge, 13 S Safford Ave., Tarpon Springs. Admission is $10 for two-day entry and includes a CD.
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