Meet the movers, shakers and music makers of Great Guys

Credit: Contributed photos. Collage by Vivienne Machi

Credit: Contributed photos. Collage by Vivienne Machi

If Conor Stratton has his way, Great Guys Entertainment will be the Sub Pop of Ohio.

After playing in local bands for years, the Dayton-born, Yellow Springs-bred Stratton, 22, wanted to do more to boost his hometown scene's visibility. Studying music management and production at Hocking College in Nelsonville gave way to starting his own music label, Great Guys Records, with the goal of providing underground Ohio-bred bands with the means and funds to break into the big leagues.

“My intention (with Great Guys Records) is to remain an independent label that can fund these regional undiscovered artists, and give a boost to these Ohio bands that might need a little bit of a pickup,” he said.

Nearly two years after the record label put out its first compilation featuring three Yellow Springs-based bands — Sport Fishing USA, Speaking Suns, and Blond — Stratton's thinking even bigger, with an IndieGogo campaign pushing to raise $6,000 by May 3 — half of what it would take to press new albums from the now six bands on Great Guys by the end of the year — and taking over the Dayton Music Fest for its 11th year.

>>Find out more about the bands on Great Guys Records

Under the umbrella business of Great Guys Entertainment — which is in the process of becoming an LLC — Stratton is keeping the record label separate from the upcoming festival, which, revived as the Dayton Art, Music and Film Festival, will fill Dayton on Sept. 18 and 19 with film viewings and art exhibits along with the music showcases which have become a staple of Dayton’s fall season.

“Everyone working on the festival just feels like we have to do this, because Dayton needs it,” Stratton said.”It’s the same feeling behind the label, Ohio already has so much culture here and I just want to showcase it.”

Great Guys' crowdfunding business plan has worked in the past: Speaking Suns' debut Vanishing Country came out last year and has since virtually sold out. But now that the roster has doubled and expanded out of the village to include Dayton's gut-busters Manray, Cincinnati psych-rockers Injecting Strangers, and longtime folk-rock favorites Wheels, Stratton says that a successful campaign would prove that there's an audience for this local label, which would be motivation for the bands to come up with the rest of the money needed to bring their music to the masses.

“It’s almost like a minimum, if we don’t raise $6,000 and we’re dealing with six different bands, if we’re not able to provide $1,000 for each band, then there’s no point,” Stratton said. “I’m in it to help all of them. I didn’t want to make it so you keep whatever you do raise; then it becomes a matter of choosing favorites.”

All of the bands are fronting the costs to record their next albums themselves — Great Guys comes in at the physical production level. To raise $1,000 per band is no easy task, but the label’s bands are committed to the communal spirit of Great Guys.

“It’s a challenge for us, because we’re the only Dayton-area band right now so it’s on us to get that Dayton exposure,” said Alec Sneed, bassist/crooner for Manray, who are in the studio working on their as-yet untitled sophomore album, which would be released on CD and vinyl if the Great Guys campaign succeeds.

“But the label would tie things together, it being successful would be great for the local music scene as a whole,” said frontman Joey Beach.

Across the board, every band sees the southwest Ohio scene as an especially fruitful place to grow as a musician.

“We’re in the middle of a lot of large cities here in the Cincinnati-Dayton area,”said Injecting Strangers bassist, Dylan Oseas. “And in Ohio, you may not typically think of it having an awesome music scene, but it’s definitely a scene where if you can get people excited in Cincinnati, you can get people excited anywhere.”

The men of Manray cut their teeth in the Dayton music scene, aided by veteran bands like the Motel Beds who took a chance on Sneed and Beach’s previous bands — Amnesia and the Holy Smokes, respectively — and said the support from the entire scene, from bigger bands to promoters to bartenders, is what makes Dayton so special. Stratton, who plays in Wheels, Speaking Suns, and Blond along with running Great Guys full-time now, credits the scene for his own musical beginnings.

“I just have so many fond memories of growing up and playing shows at weird places downtown when I was 16, and I’ve always been able to picture making stuff happen again here,” he said, calling Dayton “a blank canvas” for a cultural renaissance. “These other big cities, everything that could be there is already there. Everyone who lives in Dayton cares so much, and wants to showcase it.”

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for new details about the Dayton, Art, Music and Film Festival, as lineup announcements are just around the corner, Stratton said. In the meantime, catch two-thirds of Great Guys’ roster playing in downtown Dayton: Injecting Strangers is supporting Blond for their “Live at RTV” album release show April 10 at Blind Bob’s, and Manray will join Speaking Suns April 11 at the Dayton Garden Center.

Take a closer look at Great Guys Records here ; keep tabs on the new Dayton, Art, Music and Film Festival here.

HOW TO GO:

April 10: Blond, Bonesetters, Injecting Strangers, Tombstone Tremblers for Blond's "Live at RTV" release party, 9 p.m. at Blind Bob's, 430 E. Fifth St. $5 cover.

April 11: Michael Trash, Manray, the Zygotes, Speaking Suns, 6 p.m. at the Dayton Garden Center, 509 E. Fourth St. $8 cover.

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