By Jason M. Rubin
“There is a need for a greater sense of community in the world of music. Artists and labels and venues need to help each other. There is a void out there and I think that Rock Garden Records is a new positive development.”
In the face of major national record labels that have historically been slow to adapt to changing tastes and formats, but quick to weed out artists who don’t produce hits from the get-go, New England has always been a hotbed of independent music labels. Whether it’s Rounder in Cambridge, Ryko in Salem, or Ace of Hearts in Boston, the region has a long history of nimble labels, innovators, and forward-thinking artists supporting talented musicians who fly under the radar of Top 40 radio. and they refuse to sell. pursue to sell large areas.
One of the latest and most interesting independent music labels is Rock Garden Records, currently based in South Portland, Maine, but looking for office and studio space on the North Shore in Massachusetts. The leadership team, aka Master Gardeners, are husband and wife Todd and Lisa Erickson, Smitt E. Smitty (Michael Smith), and Mike Newman.
Lisa, who describes herself as “a music fan, not a musician,” has a background in graphic design and education. He founded this “passion project” with Todd, a songwriter and musician with a talent for production and engineering. “Music was always the center of our lives,” he says. “Finally we started to think about what we do here, what we spend our time. We want to be involved in music – to help musicians.”
In 1993, the couple wrote a business plan to start a record label. Todd says: “We worked with a couple of bands, they started down this road, but then the industry started to be questionable. We ended up having kids and the idea was shot – but it never went away. Then in in 2019, a friend encouraged us to do it again, and then COVID hit.”
“The seed germinated but the harvest was delayed,” says Lisa.
Todd Erickson and Smitt E. Smitty.
Finally, in February 2023, they formed Rock Garden Records, initially to get their friends’ music cataloged, digitized and uploaded to streaming platforms. At the same time, Todd’s recording studio, LaunchPad Studios, was welcoming musicians who needed help with arranging, recording and production. The first Rock Garden release was Todd’s band, Holy Smoke, with their rendition of the Cars classic “Bye Bye Love,” followed shortly by Aaron Bear’s “Good Company.”
Completing the quartet Master Gardener, Smitty is a musician who was born and raised in Detroit, and moved to Boston in 1985. His bands have included Figures on a Beach, which was signed to Sire/Warner Records, Little Billy Lost and Smitt E. .Smitty & The Fezztones. Mike is a longtime local DJ and podcaster who shows Mike on the Mic is heard Saturday mornings on Tufts’ WMFO. “I met the Ericksons when they were guests on my show and we realized we had a lot in common,” he says.
The label currently boasts over a dozen artists, from established names like Adam Sherman, Robin Lane and Jennifer Tefft & The Strange, to diverse artists like Hummingbird Syndicate, Little Billy Lost, Crow Follow, Smitt E. Smitty & The Fezztones, Holy Smoke, Bentmen, MAS (Mutual Admiration Society), Tom Satch Kerans, Captain Easychord, Detroit punk legend Ricky Rat, and Maine pop-punk-girl quartet Tiger Bomb.
Sherman’s signing from the label is significant because for many years he has charted his career and recorded and distributed his music largely on his own. “Adam is very good at registering himself,” says Newman, “and he knows what he wants. The value we can bring to him is to provide a suite of services that meet his needs.”
Says Sherman, “I was mainly looking for managerial things: helping me decide what material is strong, who my audience is, where I should play, making sure that my music sounds good and is widely distributed and promoted effectively. The equipment Rock Garden can do everything which is very appealing to me.
Lisa Erickson and Mike Newman
“I had this new song, ‘If You Think,’ which I had already recorded, mixed, and mastered,” he says. “I gave it to Todd to remaster and he did a fabulous job. It sounds much better, much crisper. He just remastered another song of mine, ‘Massachusetts Nights,’ which we’re going to release as a single.” Being with Rock Garden is like having friends in the music industry. And when business matters come up, I have them as a sounding board, helping to define my direction. They are great thinkers and I stand behind them to them
“There needs to be a greater sense of community in the music world,” he continues. “Artists and labels and venues need to help each other. There is a void out there and I think that Rock Garden Records is a new positive development.”
Lisa agrees. “For many of our artists, being on a label is less prestigious than having a home and being part of a community.” Todd adds, “We have the blessing of some great people who help us in a kind of joint venture. Now, we have the faith, the smokes and the favors.”
Upcoming concerts with Rock Garden artists include:
- April 5: Jennifer Tefft & The Strange with Adam Sherman at Fireseed Arts, Framingham https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/6257856
- April 14: Adam Sherman residency at The Plow & Stars, Cambridge
- April 20: Robin Lane & Nervous Eaters at The Narrows, Fall River https://narrowscenter.showare.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=489
- April 27: Hummingbird Syndicate at The Square Root, Roslindale
- April 26-27: Little Billy Lost at the Town & City Festival, Lowell
- May 3: Crow Follow at the Midway Cafe, Jamaica Plain
- May 4: Little Billy Lost at the Square Root, Roslindale
- June 14: Jennifer Tefft & The Strange album release party at Koto, Lowell
- June 20: Rock Garden Records show at Middle East Upstairs (lineup TBA)
- July 26 and 27: Rock Garden Showcase, featuring 10 artists over two nights at Warehouse XI, Somerville
For more information, check the The Rock Garden Records website.
Jason M. Rubin has been a professional writer for nearly 40 years, more than half of those as senior creative director at Libretto Inc., a strategic communications agency in Boston, where he won awards for his copywriting. He wrote for Fuse Arts since 2012. Jason’s first novel, The Grave & The Gaybased on a 17th century English folk ballad, was published in September 2012. Ancient tales just toldreleased in March 2019, it includes an updated version of his first novel with a new work of historical fiction, King of kings, about King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. His latest book, Villainy Ever After (2022), is a collection of classic fairy tales told from the point of view of the villains. Jason is a member of the New England Indie Authors Collective and has a BA in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. jasonmrubin.com.
