“Music Industry” (Used 2 times)

Following the commercial "flop" of 2005's DVD-only debut album Blame it on the Youth (for every song, a music video), The Sun lost the support of their major record label (Warner) and went the Creative Commons netlabel route for their second album.

By the time Don't Let Your Baby Have All The Fun was finally released in November 2009 by Chicago's top-notch netaudio source Rock Proper, it was already established that the album would be The Sun's last. Which is a shame, because it's a really killer rock record, with shades of '70s glam, sounding at times like Jeff Tweedy fronting Oneida (they'd previously recorded with Wilco's Jay Bennett), with a heavy dose of Spoon (the album was recorded by Spoon producer Mike McCarthy).

According to one article, the album might just have easily have been released by the mighty indie Merge Records, but the band wanted to move on to other things. The Sun's leader Chris Burney is still making and releasing music with his band Adult Fiction and through his limited-edition vinyl label Eastern Watts (a recent profile on Columbus Alive), as are core members Sam Brown (New Bomb Turks, RJD2) and Brad Caulkins (Fool's Gold).

This week, CBC Radio 3 will be hosting the web premiere of Winning America: The Story of A Canadian Band Trying To Make It In The States. 

Vancouver band Said the Whale are at the center of this documentary which deals with the struggles that Canadian artists face when trying to gain a following in the US. "If you want to have a career as a musician [in Canada]," says Tyler Bancroft of the band, "you absolutely have to break into the United States."

Director and R3 Producer Brent Hodge takes us on the road with Said the Whale as they look to build their US following at SxSW in Austin, TX. The documentary highlights the challenges unique to bands working in Canada. 

You can stream the documentary from Friday August 19th at 2pm PST until Sunday August 21^st at 11pm PST at CBC Radio 3.

Right now, get aquianted with Said the Whale by listening to a playlist made by Winning America Director Brent Hodge!