While we were enjoying our time off, we had the chance to hear from Gaege Root, a core piece from the "This Is Local Love" collective. This Is Local Love, often abbreviated as 'TILL', are the new generation of rising young entrepreneurs, adding their own flavor into the designing world. Needless to say, we jumped at the opportunity to throw some quick questions their way. While you read, notice how quickly TILL jumped from idea, to project, to an ascending company with an emphasis on their growing fan-base. 2012's going to be a huge year for this crew -- find the exclusive Captain Captain Industries x This Is Local Love interview below.
:: STAY CONNECTED ::
[This Is Local Love] - "This Is Local Love is a high-quality clothing brand with the goal of breathing life back into local music scenes all over the world through grassroots initiatives and non-stop support of our family of musicians that act as ambassadors for the brand. Our clothes are meant for everyone that cares about their own music scene. Some of our designs have quite obvious messages, and others are just meant to look cool so our friends can support what we're doing without necessarily wearing our message on their body."
[C.C.I.] - A little something for everybody! So, what were the means to set out on your own and take a claim in the designing/apparel world?
[TILL] - "I, [Gaege] have never personally done anything like this before. I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit but I didn't go to school or have any formal training in business. I simply took an idea and ran with it as best I knew how, which meant starting a Facebook Page for
it. I promoted it to my close friends and connections in my local music scene and it started to grow. From there I booked a few shows to get the word out a bit more and also began endorsing bands across the nation as best I knew how. Most of what I do with the company is a reflection of how bigger brands operate. They obviously know what they're doing, so I take inspiration from them and emulate what they're doing or have done in the past."
[C.C.I.] - Pullin' inspiration from all over the field. What would be the biggest message that "This Is Local Love" provides?
[TILL] - "TILL was founded on the single idea that local music scenes are where the true heart of music lies. Every single "superstar", international band, etc, had a start somewhere. They started in a closet, a basement, a garage, in front of a computer. They grew in their talents with the support of their friends, family, and local scenes. If the close bonds that exist within local music scenes are lost, the future of music is grim. I feel that the music industry as a whole is
becoming too depersonalized with the advent of new technologies and I want TILL to stress that person-to-person bonds and close support of one another is the industry's last saving grace."
[C.C.I.] - That's an incredibly valid point -- the music industry does seem do be headed in a direction that's more about hits and megabytes rather than actual face-time or any emphasis on live performances. Great response! We couldn't agree more.
[C.C.I.] - Who're the founders of "TILL"?
[TILL] - "It was started just by myself [Gaege] and my good friend, Bradley Simmons."
[C.C.I.] - Are you an individually run company, or are you run by a team of employees?
[TILL] - "It was run by myself for awhile, but I very quickly realized I needed help, so I brought on other people for the benefit of the company. Right now, we've got Ricky Orozco covering Band/Artist Relations, David Jacobson keeping track of finances, Jared Hallenbeck as our main artist, and Bradley Simmons as a ... co-manager/organizer/idea-person with me."
[C.C.I.] - So you endorse bands? Feel free to elaborate on that aspect!
[TILL] - "As mentioned before, we do endorse bands. We've got quite a few artists on our roster but, in the spirit of what we're trying to do with the company, all of them would be considered "local". However, these "locals" are all over the place. We've got bands from California all the way to Michigan, Florida, and even two in the UK. We have attracted a few bigger eyes as of recently and we've got a few connections within the industry but as far as sponsorships/endorsements go, it's just the locals."
[C.C.I.] - Not necessarily local, but Biggie or 'Pac?
[TILL] - "I'm gonna have to go with Biggie. He just seemed much more raw and genuine to me."
[C.C.I.] - Controversial or complimentary, what's the biggest response you've had to a select piece of your clothing/design?
[TILL] - "Thankfully we haven't had too many negative responses on anything we've put out. It may be cliche since it's our first shirt but our "We Are The Heartbeat" tee gets the strongest response time and time again. It's just so visually striking, very bold, and the message is clear. We're all very proud of it and I honestly think we owe a lot of our early success to having such a kick-ass design right out of the gate."
[C.C.I.] - What would be the best way for a new fan to get in contact with "TILL"?
[TILL] - "Of course we're really big on Facebook, and these days I am accepting all friend requests on my personal profile [Find Gaege's official Facebook Profile here] in case band members or fans want to talk to me. We're pretty active on Twitter as well (@ThisIsLocalLove). If anyone is looking for more formal or business-related communication, we pay close attention to
the email coming in to TheFamily@ThisIsLocalLove.com."
[C.C.I.] - Now, as a rising company, you've had a fantastic 2011. What're your plans for 2012? Any major projects in the works?
[TILL] - "There are a few big things on the horizon. We're going to be at SXSW music festival in Austin, TX in mid-march as a featured clothing brand at one of the events with Tragic Hero Records, The Aquarius Agency, and Thrust Management. We've got a few TILL sponsored mini-tours in the works for late spring and early summer. And a recent addition to the project list that we're psyched on is what we're tentatively calling the TILL National Takeover Fest, which will be a single day sometime in the coming months where every city that has a TILL
endorsed band will host a show highlighting local talent. It's going to feel incredible knowing that at a single moment in time there will be close to thirty shows all across the US, all showcasing local artists to promote our cause."
[C.C.I.] - That sounds ... wow, fantastic! No question, you've gotta keep us posted on that! We'd love to throw some TILL/SXSW shout-outs on here from time to time. We wish you the best of luck on that journey!
[C.C.I.] - What's the biggest component that separates "TILL" from any other project/business?
[TILL] - "I believe what sets TILL apart is our list of incredibly lofty goals. Everyone intimately involved with this company have these dreams of making huge changes in the music world through TILL. We're not just looking to turn a profit and see our clothing on people. We want to
change the status quo, create waves, shake things up. None of us have any clear idea how a little clothing company will ever come close to initiating any of these changes we want to see, but we're all just determined to keep pushing forward one step at a time, learning as we go, until we get there."
[C.C.I.] - We touched on this earlier, but what exactly do you draw your creative inspiration from? :
[TILL] - "At the beginning I was attempting to take cues from some of the designs from aforementioned brands and integrate them into our theme of "local music is the heartbeat of the music industry," but recently we've been expanding to designs that are the kind of stuff young music lovers would be into. I guess it just comes down to us trying to balance the 'coolness' or 'wearability' of the brand with the message. We don't want to push the message too hard and chance losing customers but we also don't want to lose sight of why the brand was
started in the first place. I know we're still in the process of finding ourselves."
[C.C.I.] - Where do you draw some of your best inspirations from?
[TILL] - "I've got quite a few inspirations for various aspects of the brand. My main inspiration for simply diving in to start the company in the first place is Jordan Abidor from Arkaik Clothing. He started Arkiak when he was like 16 from his garage and now it's an internationally recognized brand. That really hit home for me especially considering he's only two hours away. If he could do it, why can't I? As far as designs go, I really dig Obey, Glamour Kills, Paint the Stars,
Billabong, Sugarsteak, Cure Apparel, Stheart, and TWLOHA. I take inspiration from all of these (and probably quite a few more I forgot) along with things I see in every-day life."
[C.C.I] - What's the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome to reach where you are today as a rising business?
[TILL] - "I can say without hesitation that the biggest obstacle was financing. It's still something we're struggling with to this day. High-quality shirts are expensive to produce. This company wouldn't even exist if it weren't for Bradley [Simmons] believing my initial dream and basically bankrolling the whole thing. When our clothing sells at normal price we make enough profit on each one to eventually move us forward, but lately we've been so psyched on getting the brand in front of as many eyes as possible that we've been selling a bunch of shirts at cost or only slightly more (through discount codes, hookups at shows, etc). I'm thinking maybe we should knock that off for a little bit until we get a steadier footing as far as finances go."
[C.C.I.] - Finding the balance between quality and financially-acceptable seems to be incredibly tasking for anybody who sets out to make a statement in the apparel industry. Any other advice for other aspiring designers?
[TILL] - "I don't even really consider myself a designer; I'm more of a visionary (if I had to put a name to it). But either way, if someone came to me for advice I'd tell them achieving what you want to achieve is not nearly as hard as some may say. The "American Dream" is real.
You just have to want it with everything within you. I read a story once about a guy that was lost in a snowstorm on a mountain. He survived despite all odds. When asked how he made it out he said he didn't think about getting out as his goal. He thought about each next step. Tiny, totally achievable goals. Each one brought him closer. That's what I've been doing and it's working out incredibly well. So take the dive but don't set some crazy goal for yourself right off the bat. You'll depress yourself and want to give up. Break it into tiny goals, even daily goals if necessary. Attack one at a time with a vengeance and before you know it you'll have far surpassed
anything you dreamed in the beginning."
[C.C.I.] - What's the largest goal that "TILL" could realistically achieve this upcoming year?
[TILL] - "That's a pretty loaded question. Honestly this brand has come light-years further in three months than I imagined it would when I started the Facebook Page for it on a whim. It almost seems like the brand is doing its own thing and I'm just along for the ride. If I do get my way though, I'd say it would be absolutely phenomenal to have a space for TILL at a few Warped Tour dates this summer. I'd also like to be able to say we organized and executed our first full TILL sponsored tour within the year."
[C.C.I.] - Classic job interview question : Where do you see TILL in five years?
[TILL] - "How am I even supposed to answer this one!? Haha. Okay, let me see... I don't know if it's in my best interest to release this yet but I'm just gonna do it and see what happens: we're throwing around the idea of eventually creating a sub-line under the TILL name for each main genre. Each line would get their own seasonal releases. Rap and hip-hop, rock and alternative, hardcore/deathcore/metal/etc, pop-punk, country/bluegrass, indie/singer-songwriter, etc. It's probably an insanely lofty goal but it can't be denied that fans of these different genres have different tastes. It'd be remiss of us to assume we can truly support artists in these different genres while grouping them all together under the vague "music" label and leaving it at that. I am sure some people will look at it as segregation, but the fact of the matter is that people will like what they like so there's no reason to fight it. As far as other plans, I'd say I'd like to have something similar to Warped Tour organized yearly with TILL as the driving force behind it."
[C.C.I.] - TILL's heavily-based on local music scenes across the world -- do you have any personal music preferences?
[TILL] - "I personally am really into hardcore/deathcore/metalcore. I also really like indie/singer-songwriter stuff like Trevor Hall and Sean Hayes. Pop-rock like Bedlight for Blue Eyes and Cartel are good too. I guess pretty much everything that can be considered "rock", from relaxed all the way up to extreme. And I've got a few guilty pleasures like Twista, Nelly, Backstreet Boys, N'sync, and Maroon 5. Don't judge me. There are a grip of bands in my local scene (Tucson, AZ) that I'm friends with and that's actually where the seed for this company was planted so I owe them all a huge shout-out. We Stand Reborn, One For the Fall, Chordata, In Captivity, To Believe in Ghosts, Crowdkill, Greyshot, On Shoulders of Giants, Waging a War, Transgressions, Set Sail For the King, Scorned Embrace, Draw One Card, At War With The Inferior, Broken End Stereo, Never Means Nothing, Reyver Fontes, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some because I suck."
[C.C.I.] - Any other hobbies/projects that we should know about?
[TILL] - "Pretty much all my time is taken up with getting TILL established right now. I'm even taking this semester off to focus on it 100%. The only other thing on my plate right now is being the vocalist for my band Bow in Astoria. I love performing and we're planning some more out of state shows at the moment so I'm looking forward to that. We're also recording ... which I'm super happy about. Can't wait to show off our new stuff. So yeah, it's just TILL and Bow in Astoria for now."
Gaege also goes on to mention :
"I want to say thank you to everyone that has helped me in getting as far as I have and are committed to helping TILL go much farther. Everyone on the immediate TILL team of course. Ashley Mally up in Nevada is like an angel. I don't even know where she came from but she's proven invaluable and I will never be able to repay her for all she's done. My band mates in Bow in Astoria for being understanding about my time commitments. Jordan Case in particular for being a great friend and letting me post up in his house for a bit while I get back on my feet. Everyone in the Tucson music scene, you know who you are. I'll see you guys at the next show!
Thanks to CCI for giving me this opportunity. And lastly, thanks to all our future supporters, customers, fans, and friends. I can't wait to meet you all."
Thanks to CCI for giving me this opportunity. And lastly, thanks to all our future supporters, customers, fans, and friends. I can't wait to meet you all."
__________
Major appreciation goes out to Gaege, Bradley, and the rest of 'This Is Local Love' for allowing us to compose a feature article in our growing series of interviews, being so precise with responses, and most importantly, for sharing this amongst your fan-base. It's always very humbling when we see how many people visit our articles, and we couldn't be more thankful.
** Do you have an aspiring project that you'd like to see gain some exposure? We're always taking requests at CaptainCaptainIndustries@Gmail.com **
** Do you have an aspiring project that you'd like to see gain some exposure? We're always taking requests at CaptainCaptainIndustries@Gmail.com **
No comments:
Post a Comment