Stevens Institute has a long held reputation as a superior college for engineers, but you may not know that the school has expanded into the music business. Castle Point Records, the new company created by the students, recently completed their first album and are gearing up for a showcase at Maxwell’s.
The album
The album Delusions of Grandeur is a compilation record that has six different bands on it including: Last Perfect Thing, Cori Yarckin, John Connor, Myopia, Never the Nines, and The WMD’s. The album has 15 tracks, all of which are original rock songs.
Last Perfect Thing and John Connor are the two bands that were hand picked by Stevens students and produced by their production team.
They went out to the clubs, listened to CDs, and listened to what people were saying before making their choice. “Realistically, as a student run organization, we don’t have the funds to do a whole album,” said Stephen Puig, president of Castle Point Records.
But they did want to have a great album and one way to ensure that was to hire industry professionals. For their production team, they got local producer Rob Harari of HarariVille Studios and Carlos Alomer, former guitarist for David Bowie.
“Rob [Harari] is really known for producing, but his recording skills are out of this world,” said Paul Rea, vice president of Castle Point Records.
The project has been a learning experience for the students, especially under the direction of such talented music professionals.
“They gave us real insight as to what it is like to be in the music industry,” said Ken Bachor, publicist of Castle Point Records.
Because of the skill of the production team, they were able to finish recording in only 10 days.
The company
Castle Point Records was started in 2005 as a compliment to the new Music Technology major. Some colleges have their own record label or radio station, but executive producer and faculty professor David Musial wanted to shoot a little higher. He wanted students to gain real experience from working in a professional setting.
Part of that included a business plan for the album from production to marketing to distribution. In addition to the president (Steven Puig), vice president (Paul Rea), and publicity director (Ken Bachor), there are eight other full-time student members of the company plus other students that helped on the project. The group worked long hours in the studio to get the sound right.
“It was lots and lots of work,” said Puig. “There were many sleepless nights.”
“I mean really, this album has been like our child that we’ve been nurturing,” said Bachor.
In addition to their production credits, both Harari and Alomar perform on the album as well. Harari played with Last Perfect Thing on the song “Operator” and Alomar played guitar on one of the songs for John Connor.
“We met so many amazing people through this project,” said Rea.
“To do something like this, on this scale is incredible,” said Puig.
Showcase at Maxwell’s
One of the goals of the group was to have a live show to kick off the release of the CD. That goal will be realized with a showcase at legendary Maxwell’s on Sunday, April 30. The showcase will include live performances by Last Perfect Thing, Cori Yarckin, and possibly a few of the other bands.
Alomar is the MC for the event and Harari is also scheduled to speak.
They intend to show video footage of the project between the performances.
“We want to make it a real multi-media event,” said Puig. “So it’s more than just the bands playing.”
After the CD release party the company will focus on selling the album. They have a huge help from the secured distribution in Tower Records and Virgin Records Megastores through the company Sumthing Distribution, which is owned by Nile Rodgers.
Future projects
All of the money from the CD sales will go right back into the company account to fund future projects. Castle Point Records plans to start work on their next album in the fall.
Company President Puig has one more year before he graduates although Vice President Rea finishes school this year.
Puig hopes to have both Harari and Alomar involved in the next album. “I don’t think we would do anything differently,” said Puig.
“We’ve learned an entire business in a year,” said Rea.
Copies of the CD will be available at Maxwell’s on Sunday, April 30. The doors open at 7 p.m. For more information, please visit: www.castlepointrecords.com.