Good in Theory

Eight years is a long time in the music business—in 2000, Metallica was suing Napster, N*SYNC sold 2.4 million records in one week, Nelly released Country Grammar and Uncle Kracker was terrorizing the airwaves. So, it's a pretty powerful achievement that local label/management company Theory 8 is celebrating year number eight with—you guessed it—an 8 off 8th lineup packed with collaborators and friends.

The man behind the machine is Aaron Hartley, another in Nashville's long line of people who have somehow found a way to carve out a living while supporting music they love. Theory 8 began shortly after Hartley earned his degree from Belmont: He took his graduation money and started a label. From humble beginnings it has grown into a powerful fixture on Nashville's indie rock scene, though "grown" is a bit figurative: Theory 8 still gets by with a staff of one.

Early victories included signee Copeland landing a deal with Militia Group and an EP with Florida hardcore band Embraced that resulted in a Hot Topic distribution deal. Then Hartley met Beth Cameron during a college internship at the management company that was handling Cameron's band at the time, Fair Verona. "Once Beth came along, I started to get some traction," explains Hartley. "People really liked [Forget Cassettes'] Instruments of Action, so that put my name out there a little bit." During that period, a bunch of local bands began rising above the fray—including Apollo Up!, The Whole Fantastic World and The Carter Administration—and approached Hartley about working with them on releasing albums.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Theory 8 is the way it's been able to evolve in the ever-shifting landscape of the music industry. Hartley recently moved into management. "It really started when De Novo Dahl approached me about releasing the record after Cats & Kittens—which became Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound," says Hartley. "It was really good, so I suggested that we put it out there and see if anyone else would be interested in releasing it. Then the Roadrunner deal fell on the table and I started to take on a more management role with them. The exact same thing happened with Beth; she got involved with a European label—One Little Indian, which has The Sugar Cubes and Björk and all those bands. Once we did the licensing deal with Salt, I started to take on a more management role."

And the future of Theory 8? "I think over the next few years, it will become less 'Theory 8 Records' or 'Theory 8 Management'—it will just be 'Theory 8,' " says Hartley. "I want it to be a platform. It's becoming harder to define a label's role in breaking a band with the industry the way that it is. It's all about getting the music to the next level."

And the goal is to keep things small and agile, at least for a while. "Bands in this town are constantly making really good records," says Hartley, "but the whole infrastructure isn't really in place to promote them. I've learned that the hard way.... There are millions of great records just sitting in stores. So, instead of looking at everything on this huge, national scale—like, how can I be the next Merge?—its more like, how can I get this artist the right amount of exposure so that people will get excited about it, and maybe look at our other artists."

So far things seem to be working out. This bill will feature a wide cross-section of local acts, most of whom have worked with Theory 8 in one capacity or another: De Novo Dahl, management charge Caitlin Rose, The Nobility, The Protomen, special guests The Privates, Levi Weaver, Keegan DeWitt and Chanel Campell.