Meet The Label: Cheersquad Records & Tapes

We’re shining a spotlight on another one of the incredible labels in our Meet The Label Q&A series, giving you a chance to get to know more about the people behind the music.

This week, we chat with Jo from Cheersquad Records & Tapes about how the label got started, some of the challenges they’ve faced, what’s coming next, and more.

What sparked the creation of the label?

Wally ‘Meanie’ Kempton was managing bands, booking venues and tours as well as playing in bands so he was very heavily involved in the music industry. While working with various labels around the world he had a thought “Why not put out the music I like myself?” So Cheersquad Management and Booking gave birth to Cheersquad Records & Tapes in 2018.

Wally says “I want to put out music that I really love and think should be heard. I also want to make older, fabulous Aussie material available on 12” vinyl for the first time”.

What are the label’s core values?

To put out music that we like and believe in.

How has the label’s sound or identity evolved since day one?

We have never really had ‘a sound’. Our identity is that we are eclectic in our tastes and that shows in our roster. Our bands range from punk to rock to pop to acoustic folk to alt-country, there’s even a footy theme. Something for everyone.

What are some of the biggest obstacles the label has faced and how did you overcome them?

There are many obstacles for a small independent label with only two humans running it. Obstacles are inevitable and we take them as they come and adjust accordingly, otherwise we wouldn’t still be here. The main obstacle though is finance really as it isn’t a cheap endeavour releasing and promoting all these releases. Community radio has and will no doubt continue to be an amazing support and a fabulous resource for the likes of Cheersquad but it can only reach a certain amount of the populace and commercial radio in this country is absolute bollocks. The print media that we used to rely on is almost non-existent and there’s pretty much zero in the way of music on television these days. We try and overcome these obstacles though by being as active as we can through digital media channels and good old fashioned poster runs!

What’s been your proudest moment as a label so far?

There has been many:

Helping the Hard-Ons crack the ARIA charts for the first time.
Reissuing multiple Chris Wilson albums and hosting 2 fabulous tribute nights with his family, friends and Cheersquad label mates.
Releasing debut albums for much loved (by us) artists.
Reissuing classic albums and singles that deserve another turn out in the wild.

What do you look for in prospective signings?

We need to like it and we need a commitment from the artist that they are going to be as passionate about it as we are.

Is there a release in your catalogue that you’d love to shout out?

There’s lots, but we love all of our children equally!

What upcoming releases or projects should people keep an eye on?

The debut album from Grace Mitchell is amazing.
The new single from 80s legends Huxton Creepers is magic.
Bagful of Beez and Heir To The Squandered Millions are projects by Link McLennan (BoB) of The Meanies and his brother Ross McLennan (HTTSM) of Snout. Both albums make us wonder what was in the water at their house to make them both so damn talented.
We’ve also got the Hard-Ons with Jerry A from Poison Idea on vocals – it’s a punk rock dream team.
Tex Perkins & Matt Walker have teamed up together for an acoustic album.
And our multitude of singer/songwriters that keep plugging away with never ending tunes; Marcel Borrack, Billy Peril, Zoë Fox, Freya Josephine Hollick, Benny J Ward, The Jimmy C, Barb Waters, A.C Saunders.

We could go on, and on and on, maybe just check out our catalogue…