TIKI LOGIC: Bicycle Records

The South Sound music scene through the eyes of a souvenir

By Bobble Tiki on February 10, 2010

It's a new week, which means it's time for a new installment of Bobble Tiki's South Sound music news and notes column. Without further ado, let's get rolling.

Oh, dear lord, what is Bobble Tiki to do? Football season is officially over, and this - quite naturally - leaves a massive void in Bobble Tiki's life. If he's not careful, Bobble Tiki might actually be forced to start interacting with his family - or maybe even read a book. The horror.

Or, Bobble Tiki could just dive head first into local music - which, now that he's uttered the words, sounds like a much better idea than any of the previous.

This Friday in Olympia Bicycle Records will present a show at The Loft on Cherry with Eleanor Murray, Mason Lindahl, Briana Mariela and Ellie Fortune. A showcase of folk music from different spectrums, the performance will feature two Bicycle Records artists, Murray and Mariela, as well as Sacramento's Mason Lindahl and Ellie Fortune.

If you're down with folk, and you've got an Oly aesthetic running through your blood, Friday's performance at the Loft on Cherry - which will offer free jambalaya starting at 7:30 p.m. and music at 8 p.m. - is one not to miss.

Weekly Volcano editor Matt Driscoll caught up with Russ Cowman, co-conspirator behind Bicycle Records, on weeklyvolcano.com this week to get his take on the upcoming show and what it means to own a record label these days. Here's a taste:

"Bob Schwenkler started the record label back in 2004 when he was a recording student at Evergreen. I came on board first as an artist, then as a co-owner in 2005. At the time the only thing we knew about record labels was that you put the name of the record labels somewhere on the album. We started off releasing CDRs in photocopied jackets in batches of 50 that we burned on Bob's computer," says Cowman of the genesis of Bicycle. "Bicycle would not exist without Olympia. The support from the community, from K and Kill Rock Stars, and from all the talented artists who grew up or were drawn to live here has been crucial. I don't even know if I would still be making music if it were not for this place."

Find more of Cowman's interview here.