People often seem to forget that Provo produces more than any one genre of “garage” band. 100 block holds hip-hop, punk, and electronic artists in addition to their well-known folk and singer-songwriter acts. Brad Rhoades hopes to introduce you to a few of all of these musicians with his new “Beehive Compilation.” The collection features 26 songs by 26 local unsigned artists from just about every musical species.
The free digital album is available for listening and downloading here, and if you find (and I think you will) that you’d like to “like” what Brad is doing, head over here to do so. While you listen, read on to see what Brad had to say about bringing the compilation to life.
Where did the idea for the Beehive Compilations come from?
I’ve had the idea of doing a Utah local bands compilation for a few years. I grew up in the local music scene, performing and going to shows. Being in an unsigned local band, there’s only so much you can do to get your name out there. So the idea was to get bands from a bunch of different genres all together on one thing so they’d all get more exposure.
How did that idea become a reality? Did it turn out how you expected?Â
To get my idea off the ground, I started out by just asking my friends if they’d be interested in being on the compilation, and then from there I asked other bands and it all just snowballed from there. It definitely turned out better than I expected.
How were the artists’ reactions when you approached them? Was the involvement what you expected? Better?
I started reaching out to all of my friends’ bands, and then moved on to other bands that I’d seen and were impressed by. Pretty much everyone I reached out to was on-board. Only a couple of bands declined.
What was your biggest challenge in creating the first compilation?
My biggest challenge was getting everyone’s tracks in a timely manner. I had to get them all as soon as possible so I could release the compilation while all of those bands and their songs were still relevant. I did run into a couple hiccups here and there though. For example, one or two of the bands that were going to be on the compilation broke up before the it was released, so I had to take them off.
