Big Yellow Hand Records: About BYH
Experience - or Why Sign With Big Yellow Hand/Crackshot?
Well, I have had careers in almost every facet of the music business, from punk guitarist (4 years), rock keyboardist (15 years), studio musician (25 years), songwriter (30 years), music publisher (5 years), live front of house engineer (8 years), staging and lighting (4 years), even rock journalist, roadie, keyboard tech, monitor mix engineer, and band manager. I have also recently added producer to my list of credits as well, working with many industrial and electronic artists from around the globe.
I have made many contacts along the way, and now have the ways and means to shop your songs to the right people. As a publisher, I can open many doors otherwise closed to artists, and get your stuff out there making money. Right now, our catalogue is over 300 songs and six different artists. Not every publisher is right for your type of music, so be sure to submit only the styles and criteria that they ask for. Think you have a few hits on your set list? We'd love to hear them!
Big Yellow Hand - What It Means
When we were kids, there was a tree in our town that had yellow leaves all the time, no matter what the season. It was shaped just like a hand coming out of the ground. My brother Rich and I thought it had some kind of divine powers.
We were in our early teens when Rich decided to climb the Big Yellow Hand. Me and a few of our gang watched as he climbed all the way to the top. At over three stories high, I watched in horror as Rich lost his grip and began to fall. But instead of plummeting to earth like a stone, he merely tumbled from branch to branch, all the way to the ground like some form of human pinball where he was gently deposited in a three-foot-high shrub at the bottom of the tree. He promptly stood up and said "Wow, what a rush!" and tried it again. None of us thought that he would be as lucky the second time, but again, and in front of at least five other kids, Rich was lazily tossed from bough to bough, and again, deftly came to rest in the shrub.
It became a meeting place for Rich and I and anyone else we wanted to hang out with after school or dinner. It just kind of stuck with me as a symbol of a higher power at work right in our own neighborhood.
Big Yellow Hand - The Studio
I started BYH as a hobby, a way to write music without any boundaries. Having an extensive background in songwriting and twenty years of playing keyboards, guitar, bass, drums and vocals, both live and in the studio, I began to see the serious, more expressive side of electronic music and began writing and recording at an alarmingly fast rate. When I had a stockpile of songs in a wide variety of styles and tempos, I began looking for places to sell them to. That's about the time I noticed how lame the stock music scene is right now.
If you are an independant filmmaker, website designer, multimedia producer, video game designer, we offer affordable anti-stock music for all applications. Just contact us and tell us about your project and your special musical needs and we'll get back to you if we feel we are a good match.
Also, we offer voice-over talents and 30 to 60 second soundbeds for musical wallpaper as well as jingle-writing and loop writing.
Remember, if you want cheesy generic music written by cheesy generic writers, surf the web, they are everywhere. And don't even get me started on the sound quality. Yeah, we may have a bit of an attitude problem, but we create with a love and passion for music you won't find anywhere else!
Steaming Dookies - Wildly original industrial techno-punk
Steaming Dookies started as a fake ad spot I made for a voice-over demo reel I put together for the studio. When I realized I needed more of a creative output than I was getting from our Chicago punk party rock band Genral Patton and His Privates, I began experimenting with electronica. I developed a trademark sound that has totally become identifiable and stands out from other artists in my genre.
I hoisted a few Dookies tracks up the old flagpole and a few thousand people decieded to salute it! Steaming Dookies are currently in the top 10 techno artists on MP3.com Australia and had the number one industrial album for weeks, with thousands of plays per month. They are also being played by Lee Reznor on his wildly successful Electric Front industrial radio show. Many podcasters are picking us up as a playlist staple and clubs here in the US and in Ireland, Germany, Canada, Netherlands, Belgium, and Australia have all been spinning our tracks on a regular basis. Add it all up and it looks like we're here to stay!
Billy Pfrommer - Acoustic Side of My Career
Well, what can I say except the Dookies monopolize alot of my time, so getting something new down in the studio is a rarity, something like a melancholy sigh and a dreamy smile thinking of how great it will sound when it happens. I am working on a few new tunes, when I manage to escape from the Dookies' closet for a few hours a week.
I have been writing for years now, and had many of my songs performed and recorded by various artists, both local and national. I'll be heading to Nashville in February 2006 to perform in a live showcase and lay a few tracks for what will be my first real solo album ever. Thanks, Dustin!
I keep my guitar chops and vocals up to speed with a three-hour live performance every Sunday from 12pm to 3pm at Potbelly Sandwich Shop in Old Orchard Mall in Skokie.
My music has made people laugh, cry, fall in love, and remember it's okay to not be perfect. Just be true to your feelings and the songs will write themselves.
I was once portrayed by a ten year old as a svengali-like super-hero in a handmade comic in which I was able to hypnotize people with my songs, an observation he had made at a live performance at a festival in Wicker Park. I thought it was the coolest compliment ever, that a kid that age could connect with my music.
Submission Policies - E-mail and Snail Mail
Big Yellow Hand accepts unsolicited submissions in the following formats:
E-Mail: you can send me an e-mail with a very brief intro and a link to the song or songs you wish to submit. If you have a band website, we'll check out the info there. Do not send music or file attachments in your e-mail or they will be deleted.
Snail mail: If you must send a demo out, include a CD, photo, one-page bio, club dates, reviews, website and contact info after receiving our snail mail address via my e-mail reply. Send your demo to the address provided and include SASE or IRC for returns.
License Information
LICENSE INFORMATION
All stock music or loops purchased from Big Yellow Hand bears an unlimited license for use in all multi-media projects, including, but not limited to, television broadcast, radio, film production, corporate presentations, online website development, video presentations, video games, for corporate and/or private use. All tracks and loops are royalty-free and meant to be used as often as you like in all your projects. All music, loops and related sounds are owned by Big Yellow Hand. The terms of this license are solely between Big Yellow Hand and the user. Big Yellow Hand certifies all music is original, royalty-free and not found anywhere else (this does not include promotional sites, contest giveaways, sites featuring our music for promotional purposes, free samples on other sites, etc. Big Yellow Hand reserves the right to make any of our music available for promotional purposes without restriction.)
You are granted these rights with your license:
1. MECHANICAL:
This will grant you the right to use the song or loop in part or whole, and duplicate it for use in all mechanical devices like CD Roms, Video Games, VHS Films, or any home or commercial device.
2. SYNCHRONIZATION:
You may use the song or loop in multi-media productions where the sound is synchronized with the images being viewed. Television, films, video games and corporate presentations are a few examples.
3. PUBLIC PERFORMANCE:
You may use the song or loop in projects that will be presented to the general public. However, we will NEED TO KNOW if the project will be manufactured, viewed or heard on a massive scale. Some examples would be use in major motion pictures, nationally televised events, major video game release, syndicated radio shows, or commercial recording artist releases. If you require a cue-sheet, we will provide you with info.
LIMITATIONS:
Big Yellow Hand music may not be resold, or made available for purchase or promotion in any form except when offered in an acceptable project format. All music must be used solely by the licensee and cannot be transferred, traded or sold to any party or individual without the express permission of Big Yellow Hand. Big Yellow Hand retains sole authorship and ownership of all music and merely grants the licensee unlimited usage. Project creators using Big Yellow Hand music are encouraged, but not required, to list a credit or logo for music and or sound somewhere in the context of the project. All music and loops remain intellectual property of Big Yellow Hand Studios. Any and all authorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws and subject to criminal prosecution.
You CAN:
1. Use the music however you see fit, project after project, for the lifetime of the user. Your unlimited license is not transferable, however.
2. Utilize the music in all broadcast productions, public or private, provided the medium meets FCC requirements.
3. Transfer all songs or loops to any medium for use in mechanical devices such as films, CD Roms, cassettes, video tape, etc, or whatever your project deems necessary.
4. Use the music in an audio-only capacity, such as audio books, 30 and 60 second radio spots, and voice-overs.
You CANNOT:
1. Rearrange or alter the music in any way without express permission of Big Yellow Hand. It is permissible to edit the length and sequence of material.
2. Declare ownership or writing credit for any music, loop or sound covered by this license. No sampling or “nicking” of music without contacting Big Yellow Hand of your intentions.
3. Pass around, trade or sell the material covered by this agreement, or the rights to use it.
This is a mutual legal agreement between the purchaser and Big Yellow Hand Studios.
Purchase of any item from Big Yellow Hand constitutes your agreement with these terms and is effective from date of purchase.