S.D. Rockpress to Debut a Who’s Who in Music

Most major cities that boast an indigenous music scene also have a printed, multipurpose reference source serving the informational needs of its musicians. Los Angeles, not surprisingly, has two--one published by the Bay Area-based BAM magazine, another by L.A.’s own Music Connection magazine. San Diego hasn’t had such a thing, until now.

Thanks to enterprising Gary Hustwit, local performers soon will be able to peruse the Rockpress San Diego Music Directory, a free, 8-by-11-inch publication. The first issue will hit the streets Dec. 10.

Hustwit, 27, an Orange County native and sometime San Diego State student, recently moved back to San Diego to escape the smog, traffic and congestion of L.A., where he worked for the punk-alternative-metal label, SST Records, and published a music reference book through his company, Rockpress International. But it was on a trip last month to Atlanta, where he was scheduled to speak at the New South Music Seminar, that Hustwit conceived of the idea for RSDMD.

“I saw a copy of the Atlanta Regional Music Directory,” he said in an interview last week, “and I wondered, ‘Why can’t we have something like this in San Diego?’ ”

When he returned, Hustwit began soliciting listings from bands and music-related businesses. By advertising in the Reader and passing around flyers, he generated a word-of-mouth buzz about the directory, and response has been greater than even Hustwit anticipated. He expects the first issue to be 50 to 100 pages.

RSDMD will feature alphabetical listings of bands, record stores, artist management firms, clubs, radio stations, legal support sources, music instructors, deejays, record labels, concert promoters, rehearsal spaces, instrument retailers and repairers, marketing and promotion companies, recording studios and producers, companies that offer sound, lighting, film and video services, and other music-related concerns.

Although the majority of artist respondents are in the rock and pop fields, Hustwit has been careful not to exclude performers of other types of music. The resulting juxtapositions can be somewhat amusing.

“We have a few listings from classical violinists,” he said, “but mostly we’ve heard from bands representing everything from jazz to hard-core punk to Top 40. Bands are lumped together, listed alphabetically, and identified by style under their name. It’s funny, in a way, to see someone who does easy-listening or folk listed next to a speed-metal band, but we felt it was best to keep all the artists in one section.”

RSDMD will be published semi-annually, with an initial circulation of 5,000 to be distributed at many of the same locations listed in the directory. Circulation increases will be determined by demand. Both the listings and the directory will be free, supported by paid advertising coordinated by P. J. Grimes, owner of Imagination Station Communications, an Encinitas-based creative arts marketing and public relations firm.

Display advertisers already committed to the first issue include such national accounts as Musician magazine, the Independent Music Assn. and the Mix Bookshelf, which specializes in books geared to professional musicians, record producers and engineers. Local advertisers include concert promoter Bill Silva and the Blue Guitar store. Hustwit gave his assurance, however, that business listings will not be limited to those who buy display space.

RSDMD is not Hustwit’s first venture into service-oriented entrepreneurship. His 130-page “Releasing an Independent Record” (1989, $28.95) instructs bands on how to release their music nationally on their own label, and includes several thousand industry contacts, such as college radio stations, record distributors and print media that review independent recordings. Hustwit has sold about 1,000 copies of the book, mostly by mail order, and he’s working on a new manual about how to get radio airplay. Since May, Hustwit also has been operating a co-op distribution service to help bands get their recordings to college radio stations.

“Bands send us 100 copies of their singles, CDs, tapes or whatever, and every month we box them up with a whole bunch of other bands’ recordings and send them to the top 100 college stations across the country,” Hustwit said. “We only send to broadcast stations, which unfortunately eliminates both (SDSU’s) KCR and (UCSD’s) KSDT (both of which are on cable).”

According to Hustwit, that kind of concentrated approach gives the bands much better visibility because the stations have become familiar with Rockpress mailings and know what to expect.

“Plus, we split the cost with the bands, which saves them a lot of research time, money and hassle,” he added. “We’re skipping December because industry stuff sort of shuts down during the holidays, so the next box we’ll send out will be in January. In the meantime, we’re focusing our attention on the directory.”

Those wishing to be included in the winter-spring issue of Rockpress San Diego Music Directory should mail their band name, musical style, names of personnel, contact person, address and phone and fax numbers to: Rockpress International, P.O. Box 99090, San Diego, 92169. Mailed listings must be postmarked by Dec. 1, or interested parties can phone the Rockpress hot line (274-7685) through Dec. 4. The summer-fall issue will be published in June.

GRACE NOTES: (Tickets for the following concerts will be sold at all TicketMaster outlets unless otherwise specified.)

A tentative Dec. 6 booking of the reunited Spirit at the Clairemont Mesa venue fell through when original lead vocalist Jay Ferguson bowed out for unspecified reasons. But Sound FX maintains its reputation for eclecticism with two recent confirmations. Peabo Bryson, the kefir-smooth R&B; crooner with the current hit single “Can You Stop the Rain,” is inked for Dec. 17 (Bryson’s August gig was postponed when he decided to begin his tour in the Midwest instead of on the West Coast). And none other than Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys are down for a Feb. 2 show.