For a moment or two last Friday at the Middle East, the Fort Point Recordings showcase had the vibe of the old WBCN Rock N' Roll Rumble's preliminary round, circa 2004 or so, when the annual battle of the bands went down in the Cambridge club's upstairs room. Four acts sharing no real sonic DNA were on the bill, all apparently playing for the friends who'd come to see them. Viva Viva, Endless Wave, In like Lions, and Banditas were held together — and booked together — by the record label that their fledgling music calls home. This wasn't a competition, but there was a winner: Fort Point Recordings.
Christened earlier this year with the inaugural release of Endless Wave's City Walls EP, Fort Point is the brainchild of Peter Fiumara, the owner of the Good Life in downtown Boston. Although the Financial District restaurant, lounge, and nightclub has been a home to some of the better beat-driven dance parties around the city, Fiumara's initial output of releases has a different flair.
"The idea was: attack Boston, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and find what sounds are coming out of the shadows," he explained off the curb on Mass Ave. "The idea was to pick a few different sounds, hit all genres, and for them all to work together."
Initial signing Endless Wave boast a textured, neo-shoegaze template dubbed "skygaze." In like Lions are a radio-ready alt-rock quartet reflecting Crow(e)s both Black and Counting. The showcase's headiners, gritty garage boozers Viva Viva, are the city's best live band. And opening act Banditas are a stripped-down country-twang trio releasing a seven-inch or EP — FP004 — next month.
This is the first chapter of Fiumara's vision. The next involves four additional releases in 2011 aimed at electronica, house music, and hip-hop. The third chapter will then integrate all his acts into one unified front. Call it a new way to rumble.
