From Criminals To Musicians In A Few Short Steps: A Discussion With 604 Record’s Jonathan Simkin

When you have had a hand in the top four rock songs playing the United States in one year, that’s usually the moment when you realize that you are doing something right in the music business. Jonathan Simkin, part owner of Vancouver’s 604 Records, said that’s exactly what happened to himself and Nickelback front man Chad Kroeger to inspire them to open the label that is now home to some of Canada’s top rock acts.

“It was one of those situations where the stars all lined up and a lot of different things happened that gave us the opportunity. What happened was that basically Nickelback went huge, Default went huge and we had all of these people interested in Theory Of A Deadman. When we signed a production deal we didn’t really know what we were doing, all we really knew was that it would be better for us to have a band signed to a production deal than a shopping deal,” Simkin said, “I saw the opportunity to go lets not shop this as a band, let’s shop this as a label.”

Simkin didn’t always want to be owner of a record label though. He actually didn’t even want to be in the music industry at all, despite his love for music. A series of seemingly innocent incidences led him from being a criminal lawyer to being a band manager and label owner.

“I moved into a new apartment and just by fluke my next-door neighbours were a band or were a couple who were in a band who were on Nettwerk records. I became friendly with them and I used to hang out with them all of the time. I’d go to parties and be at their house and people who find out I was a lawyer. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a picture of me, I have long hair and I don’t really look like a lawyer. People would come up to me and say ‘wow man you’re a lawyer, I’ve got this contract do you think you can look at it?’ I always said no because I really had no experience in that area, but people kept asking me. So finally I said what the hell let me try something. I found myself enjoying it and one thing lead to another. Over the course of a year and a half I went from being criminal and immigration law to entertainment law.”

Simkin and Kroeger are now busy building 604 into an empire. Since their creation, they have signed nine artists who range in sound. Simkin says the only thing that is congruent through all of their artists is the one thing that draws him and Kroeger to a band in the first place.

“In some ways we are such different people and we have such different taste, but the one thing that we really have in common is that we are both really all about the songs. There might be different genres that we prefer…I think that Chad is more towards the hard rock stuff and I tend towards the more new wavy or more artsy sort of stuff. But it’s the both of us and the one thing we definitely agree on that it’s all about songs. Genres and styles and trends come and go, but good song writing is just plain good song writing.”

He says that sending out a demo, at least to them, isn’t necessarily the best way to scoop up a record deal. He says that they get so many demos throughout a year that it is impossible to listen to all of them. His advice to bands is to create a buzz that can get to the ears of the label execs. As a smaller label 604 has the ability to get out there and find out who is hot and sign them without too much approval. And with the owners from different sides of the music world they can do all with little.

“It’s not like the old days where you have to be in a big studio and pay all of this money. With the advent of home recording and the improvements of technology people can make really amazing recordings from their house. That makes it easier to make a demo and that means you can make a record. That first Default album that sold god knows how many, like 1.5 million copies worldwide, we made for next to nothing. You’d be shocked at how much we made it for. Same thing with The Organ record, which is doing so well and is coming out in England next month. We made that in the back of our office for next to nothing. I don’t think lack of resources is an excuse for anything, because you just don’t need big resources to make a great recording.”

Whether you like Nickelback or not you have to admit that Chad Kroeger has definitely made a name for himself in music in Canada. Being a part of 604 records with his stamp of approval behind you can only be a bonus for any band. So whether you are an indie band from Vancouver or an artsy band from Montreal, Simkin says it doesn’t matter. There is buzz all over and the people in 604 know that good bands can come from anywhere.

“It’s always happening, when Nickelback and Default were huge they were saying the same thing. Then it dies down, then you get The Arcade Fire and it’s onto Montreal. There are great bands in all cities in Canada. Just because one happens to strike a nerve worldwide doesn’t mean there suddenly something going on in Montreal. There was always something going on in Montreal. Just like there has always been something going on in Vancouver with Bryan Adams, Sarah McLaughlin, BTO the list goes on and on with the amazing talent from Vancouver. You can say that about any city in Canada.”

- Stephanie Joudrey 

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