Catching Up With... P is For Panda's Chad Pearson

[Above: Artist Brian Manley at P is For Panda's launch party at the Highland Inn Ballroom July 25.]

Paste: Tell me about the inception of P is For Panda.
Chad Pearson: I basically moved here a year and a half ago. I co-owned a label before that, Militia Group. I got sick of that-- the politics, the corporate music side, and making money as opposed to bands making money. I just decided it was time for me and my wife to move over here and be close to family. I knew I wanted to give back to the artist and the community at the same time, and so initially, the idea was just to do P is For Panda, the clothing line. Give a third to the artist, a third to a charity of the artist’s choosing and then a third to Panda. I did that for about a year, and then a good friend of mine called me and said, “Why don’t you start a label?” About that time I was starting to fall in love with music again, and I said, “I’d love to.” So now we’ve started a label. It’s been about five months now. We have two bands signed [Gasoline Heart and Damion Suomi], and our first release just hit stores today [Sept. 2, 2008], actually.

Paste: You have two artists signed. How did you hook up with them?
Pearson: Just from being a fan of one, Gasoline Heart, the first band I signed. I’ve known Louis, the main guy in Gasoline Heart, forever. John, the bass player, forever as well. I’ve just been a fan of the band.

Paste: Do you envision having more signed to your label in the future, or is it the kind of thing you want to keep relatively small?
Pearson: Hopefully four releases a year, and that probably accounts for maybe six to seven bands on the label, but I just really want it to be a small, niche kind of label, and just really be able to just cater to everyone-- just make a family, a community. I really want to think about what I’m doing and take time to really set it up for a career rather than, “Let’s ship out X amount of records,” or just for our billing’s sake. I’d rather focus on what’s good for the career, long-term. At Militia, not to knock them at all, it was just, “Let’s put out a record, let’s put out a record, let’s put out a record.” This is more, “I’ve signed a band, I’m waiting to get a good publicist, I’m waiting to have a manager behind it before I even set a release date,” which is totally different from what I’m used to doing.

Paste: You make sure you have a support base first?
Pearson: Yeah. And I’m going from Militia Group, having eight employees, ten employees, to me. So it’s a little smaller.

Paste: So you’re working with other booking agents, other publicists?
Pearson: Yes. That’s the key, to have good support around the bands, as opposed to me just doing everything, because that’s just impossible. I’m setting myself up for failure if I do that.

Paste: There are certain small labels that do attempt it. I just wonder if it drives them crazy.
Pearson: Oh absolutely. I have a life too. When my wife comes home at 6:30, that’s pretty much when I end my work. I moved here to be closer to family, so I can’t always do the label, you know? That’s something that I strive for.

Paste: You talked about the profits being split into thirds. What was the inspiration for structuring it that way?
Pearson: That’s for for the t-shirts; the CDs are a whole separate deal. I just wanted everyone to make the right amount of money. It just seemed like the fair thing to do. If the shirt sells a lot then the artist will benefit, as opposed to giving the artist 500 bucks and then selling 5,000 shirts and I pocket all the money. It just seems wrong to me. I really want to help the artists; that’s my whole thing. If I split it evenly, they make what I make. And when we give back to charity, they make what we make.

Paste: What charities?
Pearson: There’s a whole list of them, but every artists gets to pick. World Wildlife Association is one. Rhode Island Free Clinic is another. Habitat For Humanity. International Youth Initiative. And on the back of their shirts it says the one they chose.

Paste: Do you think that’s going to be an incentive for new bands you approach to work with?
Pearson: I hope so. I think there’s a lot of people out there who want to stop thinking about themselves, primarily, and are starting to think about how they can use their talents to give back a little bit.

Paste: Do you have any more events coming up?
Pearson: We’re trying to put together a party for Christmas. We’re working out all the details, but the charity would be Toys For Tots. To get in, you give a toy. We want to get [Atlanta label] Favorite Gentlemen involved as well. We want to have a community as opposed to acting separately. It’s been good meeting with them and having ideas come together. There’s a great community in Atlanta, I just don’t think people have any idea what to do with that. Let’s put them all in a room together and see what happens.

Paste: How would you define P is For Panda’s mission statement?
Pearson: Music plus art plus charity. It’s not about image. I think a problem with the music industry is that they put too much emphasis on that. And there are people out there who like music, still.