The waiting is finally over. This Friday, November 6th, Jude Universer will be unleashing Lingering Blue upon your virgin ears. We hope you’re ready.

The EP is stacked with sharp new recordings of old Jude favorites, as well as some kicking new tracks that may sound less familiar. It is also imperative that we inform you that the U.S. release will include a special bonus track entitled “Put Me On The Moon”.

Jude Universer, and his rambunctious backing band known as Dreamcast, will be properly releasing Lingering Blue this Friday, Nov. 7th at Stonewall’s Pub in Shepherdstown, WV. Also performing will be Shepherdstown’s The Resonators and Morgantown’s It’s Birds. Show starts around 10 p.m. with a $5, and don’t forget to bring a spare $5 to pick up your own copy of Lingering Blue, which is being printed in an extremely limited run!

In other news, Rock O’ Clock has posted a very flattering advanced review of The Demon Beat’s forthcoming Shit, We’re 23. You can check that out HERE.

A Truer Sound has reviewed Prison Book Club’s Required Reading. You can check that out HERE.

Stephen MacDonald & The Okay Win are currently involved in a heated Battle of the Bands for Massachusetts. Voting only takes a second and can be done HERE. Help them out!

Our small little label used to be even smaller. The initial release from BIG BULLET RECORDS was actually a re-release of sorts—we helped Massachusetts singer-songwriter Greg Loftus push his fantastic album No Taking Prisoners Tonight and did our best to make folks pay attention to it.

Since then both BIG BULLET RECORDS and Greg Loftus have come a long way. Greg had a brief, yet productive stint last year with a full-band behind him, which he called Splinters & Sparrows. The gang recorded a phenomenal full-length (which you can read a full review of here) before disbanding somewhat. We were so happy with the quality of these songs that we simply cannot allow them to slip beneath the radar. Some of them have been up on Greg’s Myspace for a while now, and five choice cuts were assembled into a tour EP entitled Heathens In Disguise that could be picked up at Greg’s live shows. Now BIG BULLET RECORDS and Greg Loftus would like for you to have that EP and we don’t want you to pay a dime for it. Simply click the album cover below and you will be directed to your free download of Heathens In Disguise by Greg Loftus. Enjoy.

Spilling your heart out countless nights on the road certainly takes its toll, and Greg Loftus knows this all too well. Since his solo debut No Taking Prisoners Tonight, Loftus has been playing the East Coast at a frenetic pace, picking up inspiration for new songs every step of the way. Whereas his previous album captures a headstrong, yet emotionally conscious young Loftus, Heathens In Disguise finds the songwriter grappling with maturity and weightier issues: “Three a.m. again and it might be enough/I know of a bed with my name on it/Yeah I’ve got those friends that keep fucking up/But the blood’s never on their hands/So I lay my head and fall back to sleep again.”

Don’t worry though, Loftus can never fully abandon his rowdy beginnings, and spots of it still shine through brilliantly here. Loftus has just grown to accept that for every reckless, party-filled night on the road there is an equally quiet and somewhat lonesome one, and that is something that we all have to learn to face in due time. Let’s just hope we can all relay the story as articulate and meaningful as Greg has.

We are EXTREMELY happy about today. 

This is because today you can pre-order the new full-length from The Demon Beat entitled Shit, We’re 23. All you have to do is click HERE or click the album cover below.

Why should you pre-order? Because we’ll send you an exclusive B-side cut of “You Only Love Me When You’re Stoned” from the album that you can’t get anywhere else!

The official release date of the album is November 12th, but if you pre-order now you’ll not only get your copy on or around the 12th, but you’ll also get the exclusive mp3 sent instantly to your e-mail! A little something to tide you over.

You can currently stream “Millionaire”, “Can’t You”, and “Bad Man” from the album right now at The Demon Beat’s Myspace.

Everyone here at BIG BULLET RECORDS is extremely proud of this album, and we’re sure that you are going to love it just as much as we do.

(photo by Ashley Hoffman)

Fresh off of their small, but rowdy tour in support of their debut album, Prison Book Club are now offering up Required Reading for mail-order purchase. You can get your very own physical copy featuring stunning artwork by Jordan Hudkins for only $8, shipping included, by clicking HERE.

Mike Sizemore and the good folks over at the Rock O’ Clock music blog have recently reviewed several of our new releases. You can read them HERE.

We have also recently created a VIMEO account where you can watch exclusive videos of BIG BULLET RECORDS artists. Right now there are some great live videos of Dandelion Snow up, so check them out HERE!

And don’t forget that you can still download our compilation and the new Dandelion Snow album for FREE!
- TERMINAL BALLISTCS Vol. 1 FREE download
- It’s Just A Bad Dream  FREE download

Dandelion Snow is the most recent featured artist on Jezz Harkin’s “Get Into The Van!” series that airs exclusively on NYC’s BreakThru Radio! The show features an in-depth interview with Roger and includes several tracks from his new album, It’s Just A Bad Dream. The podcast can be streamed at anytime for free, so click the image below to check it out!

We are excited to introduce you to our newest addition: Prison Book Club.

Featuring members of The Demon Beat and The Fox Hunt, Prison Book Club sounds like a rowdy, drunken mess, but in a good way. Songwriters John Miller and Tucker Riggleman balance one another with songs about heartache, life, death, and partying. Check out two tracks from their upcoming album Required Reading right here, and don’t miss their supporting tour w/ Greg Loftus opening!

Flyer design by Adam Leviton

We are extremely happy to announce that Dandelion Snow’s It’s Just A Bad Dream has been released today as a FREE digital download. Our reasoning for the free online download is explained further in the press release that is attached to this post. We’ve all spent a lot of time and effort on this album and we can’t wait for you to hear it! Simply click the album cover below to start your free download of Dandelion Snow’s It’s Just A Bad Dream:

BIG BULLET RECORDS Official Press Release – September 29, 2009

On Tuesday, September 29, 2009 BIG BULLET RECORDS will be releasing the new Dandelion Snow album entitled “It’s Just A Bad Dream”. The album will be available in three mediums: a FREE online download will be available through BIG BULLET RECORDS and Dandelion Snow, advanced copies will be available at shows for a small donation during the current Dandelion Snow tour, and the completely packaged physical copies will be available for a very reasonable price.

We at BIG BULLET RECORDS are extremely proud of the new Dandelion Snow album. “It’s Just A Bad Dream” truly has something for everyone. Roger Harvey’s definitive and ever-evolving songwriting shines on this album. We like it so much that we are offering it as a free online download. This way the music can get into the hands of the people that matter—you. Thank you for your continued support in all of our endeavors. We will continue to bring you affordable, quality independent music.

Roger Harvey of Dandelion Snow wrote the following, and we feel like Roger has perfectly summed up the way that both Dandelion Snow and BIG BULLET RECORDS feel about “It’s Just A Bad Dream” and music in general:

“Music has been the backbone of my life since I was young, traveling with bands, and listening to my favorite records in my parents basement. In today’s subculture the questions of value regarding the arts is constantly being redefined, as an accessibility to free downloads, bit-torrent sites, and donations-based sales have re-evaluated the ancient idealism of the record collector. The appreciation for physical copies of an album is many times compromised to the convenience of portable mp3 player’s. It takes one to know one.

The independent music community has been left in a transitional period, with smaller acts struggling harder than ever to get a dedicated fan base and label support. The concept of overall worth has perceptually declined due to a cultural obsession with money. I have noticed when distributing records at shows that when I am giving away records for free, when the room clears out the floor will be littered with the albums. The same albums that at another show I have sold for 4-5 dollars and have received emails from those fans describing how much the album has meant to them. The biggest predicament concerning value in this culture is the fixation on monetary value replacing all forms of value. It seems that the as music’s monetary value declines, the overall value & appreciation of music as art is also defaced. The question of the turn around value of this album, in which countless friends and myself have invested unimaginable amounts of time, creative energy, and money into, has been, as usual, not open for discussion. We have stuck to our ideals of getting this album in to your hands, whether you can afford a hard copy or not—whether, you want something to add to your collection, or just something to drop on your iPod.

Myself along with Big Bullet Records have done lots of brainstorming on the best way for us to approach this release from the perspective of myself, as part of an independent band, and from the perspective of Big Bullet Records, as an independent label. We have agreed to release this record in three forms prior to the upcoming tour. We will have the hardcopy pressings of which we will sell as cheaply as possible (we promise), we will have a bit less elaborate pressings of which will be available at all the shows for a donation of your choice, and we will have free downloads of the album available online on the release date of September 29th through Big Bullet Records. 

We worked hard to make this album come to life and both the time and money invested is not coming back nor do we want it back. All we want is for everyone interested to be able to have access to our album, free of charge, donation-based physical copies and downloads, and/or for the record collectors as a physical release. There are lots of ways to value and appreciate something separate from monetarily, we value, appreciate, & care a whole lot about independent music, so when you download this record please remember to place value on ours as well, however you see fit, it takes all kinds.

- Roger, Dandelion Snow

“It’s Just A Bad Dream” will be available online and on tour starting September 29th,2009.”

Don’t forget to pre-order the record for your chance to snag a sweet free t-shirt!

BIG BULLET RECORDS Official Press Release – September 23, 2009

On Monday, September 21, 2009 the inaugural compilation BIG BULLET RECORDS Presents: TERMINAL BALLISTCS Volume 1 was released for a free online download. Included with the free download was cover art provided by Clover Studio, as well as an in-depth song guide with comprehensive liner notes.

To download the album for free, simply click here.

To stream the album for free, simply click here.

There have already been numerous write-ups about the compilation. You can check those out here, as well as in our press section:

WVRockscene
The Shepherdstown Chronicle
Rock-O-Clock 

In response to recent rumors regarding an alleged dispute between The Shepherd University Picket and BIG BULLET RECORDS, the label has issued this official statement:

“We here at BIG BULLET RECORDS believe that creating a nurturing environment for local arts is absolutely integral to the advancement of these local arts and the artists who are responsible for them. BIG BULLET RECORDS has existed since May of 2008, and during our short existence we have strived to create strong and mutual bonds with local press, businesses, and community groups and members.

Perhaps the largest entity in our community is Shepherd University, home to over 5,000 students. Many members of our label, including countless artists, are currently, or have at some time been students at Shepherd University. We feel that the student publication, The Shepherd University Picket, has been fair in its coverage of our artists during our short tenure in the community. Rumors concerning a recent ‘boycott’ or ‘ban’ against our label and/or artists are inconclusive, and BIG BULLET RECORDS respects the Picket’s Editor-in-Chief’s official statements that were recently made in the online portion of The Shepherdstown Chronicle. In fact, the Editor-in-Chief was even quoted as saying, “…I was unaware that a record label even existed in Shepherdstown.’ The Editor-in-Chief also made it clear that The Picket encourages local musicians to take an active role in making the press aware of upcoming concerts and events.

In response to these statements, BIG BULLET RECORDS would like to also encourage local musicians, whether they are directly affiliated with our label or not, to alert local press about their shows and events. If local coverage is a concern for you as an artist, then do everything that you can to get the details out there, that’s all that anyone can ask you to do. We also want to let it be known that BIG BULLET RECORDS will continue to work on creating and maintaining healthy and productive working relationships with all local, regional, and national press outlets—our artists have received press attention as far as Massachusetts, Oregon, New York, and even Denmark, but it remains imperative for us to maintain these positive relationships in our hometown. We also want to express our continued support of all local music, even that which is not directly affiliated with our label. Shepherdstown and its surrounding areas has a multitude of creative potential, and we will continue to do everything that we can to help everyone realize this potential. We want to thank our fans and artists for their continued support—you are what keeps us going, so thank you, and we hope you are all enjoying the free inaugural compilation.”

We are proud to finally release our inaugural compilation, BIG BULLET RECORDS Presents: TERMINAL BALLISTCS Volume One. Simply click the cover below to be directed to the FREE download. Included with the 15 tracks is the album art and an in-depth song guide/liner notes.

Thanks for the support, we hope you enjoy the compilation!

Cover art by Clover Studio

Track Listing:

1. Greg Loftus – “The Good Fight”
2. Jude Universer feat. Boy Birthday – “California”
3. Roma Renegade – “Brigaki Djilia” 
4. Stephen MacDonald – “Chin Up”
5. The Demon Beat – “You Got It”
6.  Dandelion Snow – “Scattering White Flowers”
7. The Goddamn Hills – “Eyes Wear To God”
8. Tucker Riggleman – “White Flags”
9. The Resonators – “Confessions and Lies”
10. Khaos Kloud – “We Believe”
11. The Dreadful Horoscope – “I Walked Toward The River”
12. Prison Book Club – “Home It Ain’t Here”
13. BLACK FAG! – “Admire Me”
14. Woodworkings – “Sleeping Ashlily”
15. Cait O’Shea – “Magnets”