The Obelisk Questionnaire: Brad Frye of Red Mesa & Desert Records
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Brad Frye of Red Mesa & Desert Records
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I am the sole owner/operator of the small record label, Desert Records.
I am the founding member of the desert rock band, Red Mesa.
Both the label and band are very active and take all my free time when I’m not working or raising my family. I live in Albuquerque, NM, a place I moved to in 2010 to start a “desert rock” band, which directly led to me forming Red Mesa. New Mexico is high desert, I live at 5,000 feet of elevation here in the city. The energy and spirit of the high desert helps fuel my creativity and stamina for both of these projects.
With the label, it’s 100% DIY. At the moment, I have 23 bands/artists on the label with 20 albums being released in 2021. This might be boring… but here’s the basic run-down of what I do with DR. I scout and sign bands, send out agreements/contracts, organize all aspects of releases, do all the admin work for setting up the music for streaming/distribution/direct sales. I do all the PR campaigns in house. I do all the accounting reports and handle all finances. I run the label’s social media/ marketing/advertising. On top of that, I spend a fair amount of time talking/messaging/emailing with the bands/artists directly. My approach is to operate a label that supports the musical vision of the artists on the label.
Overall, it’s a ton of work, a true labor of love. I put my heart and soul into this. So far, I have not been able to pay myself or bring home money to my family. I hope so one day, but in the meantime I reinvest any profits back into the label to help it grow.
Describe your first musical memory.
I guess it would be listening to cassette tapes in my folks car in the early 80’s in rural Maine. My parents introduced me to The Beatles, CCR, Bob Segar, Bruce Springsteen, and ’50s-’80s radio pop and rock. No one in my family played music, so I didn’t grow up around instruments nor did I see any live music as a kid.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
My first concert was seeing Tool in 1998 in Lewiston, ME. I was 18, a senior in high school, and it was truly the first big concert I had ever seen. They were touring for the Aenima album and they were in their prime. Completely blew my mind. That experience has stuck with me.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
Good question. Hard to pick one moment. Daily, I am confronted with doubt and belief, good and evil, light and dark, peace and chaos. I am not religious, but I am certainly of the spiritual realm (I believe we all are). Finding the peace within is the only thing that will keep me (or anyone) balanced to deal with all of life’s pressures and stress. Then you die. You can die at any minute. I do not want to be surprised by death. I want to be able to be at peace with that moment whenever it comes.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Evolution of the individual. Honesty. Finding the peace within. There is no other point to life. Stasis is death…
How do you define success?
The correct and true answer is happiness. My motto is “Follow your projects with purpose and passion without attachment to the outcome.” That is much easier said than done. Happiness in art can get buried in a number of things in which musicians and labels also have to gauge as “success”. When running a record label, you are helping release someone else’s art. This is extremely important to them, and must be handled with the utmost respect and care for their music. There are deadlines, budgets, sales goals, social media, growing a fan base, playing live shows/tours, on and on and on….It’s easy to get lost in the work and stress of it all. You have to believe in the music.
It’s the same with making your own music. You have to love it for yourself. You can’t care if anyone else will love it or hate it. You must also find a balance in your life…income, rent & bills, family, health, etc.
All the bands and labels that I work/communicate with do not earn any income from their music.
This is a tough reality to swallow. That means you really have to have your shit together.
Do not take things too seriously. Enjoy what you are doing. Play what you love and what makes you happy. If you can sit outside with your instrument in nature and play for no one AND be happy, you are doing fine. Truly, nothing else really matters.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Greed, hatred, and violence. It all stems from fear. I have seen it from myself. I have seen it from people I love. I see it daily in my neighborhood. On the news/internet/social media. Something about those things make being a human being seem disgusting and hopeless. I still believe in love and gratitude. I strive to cultivate those on a daily basis to destroy fear.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
An instrumental/ambient/western/drone solo album(s). I have hundreds of voice memos on my iPhone of little ideas and pieces of music. I find it relaxing to play stuff that isn’t a structured song. When I get some time, I will start putting these together and record/release some of this stuff.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
To connect humans to a higher level of consciousness. Art provides perspective. It is an expression. It provides hope that life is not just work, chores, routine, birth and death cycles. Good music has always inspired me. Inspiration can be a powerful factor in motivating humans to strive for a higher consciousness.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Raising my one-year-old son, Wyatt. He’s changed my life for the better. I want to be the best father I can be for him.
https://www.facebook.com/redmesaband/
https://www.instagram.com/redmesaband/
https://redmesarock.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/desertrecordslabel/
https://desertrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://desertrecords.bigcartel.com/
