The Phoenix Media Group is already living up to its name. Following an initial staggered slate of studio albums, the label is swiftly earning plaudits and building momentum with a succession of live releases. In particular the Phoenix Presents series is distinguishing itself with quality recordings of notable live shows that are sold for ten dollars apiece. Bands represented in this series include Lake Trout, ulu, and Blueground Undergrass (each of these discs is in heavy rotation in my car, along with the new Foxtrot Zulu, Blind Man's Sun and quite frankly most of the Presents releases. In fact, statistically speaking, a significant amount of the recorded music I have heard over the past two months is from Phoenix Presents). Meanwhile, the new Phoenix Gems series offers live sets drawn from more than 400 masters owned by the label (the initial Gems artists include Omar & The Howlers, Spirit and the Tubes). Phoenix founder and CEO Tad Flynn took a few minutes to talk about the evolution of the label, its role within the market place and the state of the music industry. Flynn is not sanguine about the third topic which is why Phoenix aims to "save the world from mediocre music." If you're interested in being saved, visit www.radiophoenix.com.

DB- You worked on Wall Street prior to starting Phoenix. I'm curious, what led you to start the label? Was there any one precipitating factor?

TF- It seems that the number one factor was that I was dropped on the soft spot of my head as an infant. Aside from that there were two personal factors and one that was the actual catalyst. In terms of the personal, I had spent fifteen years on Wall Street, and I was getting pretty fed up with the loss of team culture and loss of responsibility to anyone but oneself. I was tired of seeing people who felt they weren't responsible to their customers, to their partners to their employees. I wanted to make sure the rest of my life and career was spent in an environment that was responsible to all of the people with whom I would deal and interact.

I would say that the second personal consideration is I was pretty much fed up with what was passing for culture. I was a massive tape trader and a massive buyer of CDs but most of what the media would have us believe is our current musical culture is all this scientifically-designed, formulaic b.s. I kind of got to the point that I didn't want my child to grow up thinking that Backstreet Boys is art. Backstreet Boys is to music what McDonalds's is to cuisine. It's not filling or substantive. Nothing is wrong with eating a McDonalds' hamburger but you can't live on them.

The professional catalyst came when I hooked up with the person who founded King Biscuit Records. I had been stewing on a lot of business ideas with regard to live music and started brainstorming about them with him. The next thing I know we were out acquiring catalogs of the master tapes underlying a lot of radio broadcasts. From that we got our foothold and we decided to focus on building a company thats dedicated to live music and the live music experience.

DB- And yet your first releases were studio discs. How did that come about?

TF- We had hooked up with Matthew Kelly who had worked with King Biscuit Records to release an old Kingfish concert from 1975. So we knew him well and he had a project he had been kicking around. We wanted to work with live music, and Kingfish was a longtime touring band, so we figured there was no reason why we couldn't incorporate studio projects. Anything as long it was around live music or supporting live music and capturing the experience. We also realized that it would help to have a more diversified approach.

DB- Now that you have the archival series, in addition to the current live series, is that where you are going to remain or are you going to release some additional studio albums as well?

TF- All of the above. Right now we are working on calling attention to live music. Both classic music from our heritage as well as great music that's being created today. A lot of times, particularly with the bands in this scene, it's rare when a studio release captures what they are about. The best analogue may be the great jazz records that many of us grew up listening to in the 50's, 60's and 70's. There was a huge emphasis on live performance because it was a living, breathing form of music. It was best captured live because that was where the moment existed. Even a lot of the great studio albums were really live in studio, they weren't heavily produced. We'll still be working with studio albums but so many of the great music that is being created today, is being created live and on the stage.

DB- Let's step back for a minute. Why did you decide to call the label Phoenix?

TF- It works on a number of levels but essentially the underlying concept was of genuine music arising and being reborn from the ashes to become more powerful than before. At the time it also kind of applied to my personal situation since I was building a new career from scratch. But it was really about championing a rebirth of real music.

DB- In terms of building a career, what made you think you could create a label?

TF- I had tackled a number of different tasks, businesses and initiatives in my past. So I was pretty confident that I could help to create something that didn't exist and was needed. Take a look at the major labels. Is there any career development? No. Are they lowering prices or increasing prices to consumers? They're still obsessed with raising prices. Is there such a thing as a strong brand name in the major label system? A label that when you see something come out on you have an idea of what to expect? Cost control? There's no such thing as cost control in the major label system and who's the one that gets screwed by it? The artist. The bloated budgets, who pays for them? The artist.

DB- What has most surprised you about the music business?

TF- The first surprise was probably finding out how much of a stranglehold the oligopoly has on the industry, and the ridiculous concentration of power that exists. I don't know if you're aware of this but you have four companies that control 80% of the prerecorded music business and distribution business. You've got ten companies that control 80% of the airwaves. You've got twenty companies that control 80% of retail sales. These are the people who are determining what is culture. That was absolutely a surprise. It was, "Oh my God." Now there are a lot of forces underway that are changing the game somewhat. Obviously you have e-commerce and that has threatened the grip of retail. You've also got increased bandwidth coming up and the creation of infinite virtual space for internet radio as well as cable and satellite radio. That certainly threatens the command of the airwaves. In addition, recording costs have come down tremendously and the ability to disseminate information and the ability for artists to have a more direct bond with their fans and consumers in many ways is changing the rules by which the record label business is going to operate. All the powers and oligopolies, they are still going to continue to be in power but there's definitely going to be a major change in how the rules of the game work. How long it's going to take to play out we'll see when we see.

DB- Let's move to a different aspect, the music itself. What are some of your all-time favorite live shows?

TF- First would be the September 1990 Dead run at Madison Square Garden when Hornsby first joined the band. My first live Dead show was in 79. I caught a lot shows 79-83 but I never caught a really great one. Throughout the eighties it was also really hit or miss. But from the moment that Hornsby joined, over the next few years I caught 50 or 60 shows and I think there was only one that I didn't think was very good. That moment of catching the chemistry between Hornsby and Garcia and all of a sudden seeing Garcia excited again, it was just an unbelievable. Then there's the first time I saw Phish at Roseland- they were amazing showmen. Blues Traveler, July 1990, just as their first album was coming out. They were a bogeying band, they weren't as metalish as they would be later. Garcia at the Orpheum in 78 was up there, Outlaws 79 at the Palladium in New York. Bruce Springsteen in 1978 when he was BRUUUUCE. The Dixie Dregs that same year. The Dead with David Murray in 93. The first HOPRDE tour, Sunday night out at Jones Beach.

DB- Since you mentioned the Outlaws,are you going to release any of their shows on the Gems series? Do you have any in your catalog?

TF- We have six Outlaws shows and they are all just absolutely unbelievable. The ability to get them cleared is all tied up by confusion at Arista over what their plans are. They keep making noises about doing something but they haven't. Ultimately we'll be able to do something with the Outlaws, I just don't know how long it's going to take.

DB- How many shows do you have in your catalog?

TF- 425 full-length concerts.

DB- What do you own and would love to release if you could clear the rights?

TF- One of them just came out. We couldn't clear the rights but we licensed it to Sony- the Clash. That album from Here to Eternity. I would kill to get out an Elvis Costello show we have from 1983 down in Austin with a full horn section. It's just unbelievable. Some of the Aerosmith is unbelievable.

DB- From when?

TF- 80, 81, 84. We might be able to clear some of the Little Feat that we have. We have Halloween 75. It is unbelievable. Lowell George in his prime, a couple of years before he died. We also have this Muddy Waters tape from 1973 that I would give my left arm to put out. It opens with a rollicking acoustic instrumental version of Harper Valley PTA. You're just listening to this groove being laid down. Everybody's just boogeying and all of sudden you go, "Great freaking god, Harper Valley PTA!" And it all picks up from there. We also have a great Byrds show from the last tour they ever did. Actually one of those I'm excited about is coming out in July, and that's Molly Hatchet. I grew up on southern rock and in their day Molly Hatchet were the heirs apparent to Lynyrd Skynyrd. And this show just freaking smokes. I think people will be really surprised to hear this. It's just fiery southern rock from a band in its prime, 1979. We also have a Talking Heads from 79 that would just be unbelievable.

DB- What are the odds of that?

TF- The Talking Heads don't talk to each other. They should be called the non-Talking Heads. Right now there's just no agreement as to what they want to do or where they want to go. There's an amazing Zappa from 91, which is just an incredible recording.

DB- How many Gems can we expect to see this year?

TF- We'll do twelve releases in 2000 and 15 in 2001. Again, our approach is to focus on the live recordings.

DB- Which leads us to Phoenix Presents.

TF- That's where the passion lies. That's where great music is happening today and everybody is thinking how can we get it further exposed. The Gems are great moments from our heritage.

DB- Have people been receptive to Presents?

TF- Once we get a consumer we find that the person come back and buys one or two. That's tied in to the whole purpose. Everything behind Phoenix Presents is to be a cooperative around empowering the artist. Phoenix Presents really reflects what we're going to be doing. Everybody who's here is here because of the music.

I mentioned this earlier, what's wrong with the music industry, what does the industry do that drives us nuts? CD prices are too high. Well we sell Phoenix Presents for ten bucks. What's another complaint? They don't develop artists. Well with the cooperative our whole mindset is we're gonna offer real simple deals. Everything we do is a joint venture. We don't want to have any conflict between artists and the label/business side. We just focus on trying to grow the business and make sure that people are making a living during the process.

The most important thing we can give to artists are careers as working musicians and not being multi-platinum. Multi-platinum brings celebrity and name recognition but it doesn't necessarily ensure a career. The role models when you look at it are the Allman Brothers, the Grateful Dead, Widespread., Blue Traveler, Phish. People who are able to retain complete creative control. They're going to be able to have careers doing whatever they want with compete artistic freedom.