#david bither

[nonesuchrecords]

"One of my favorite music labels has a momentous birthday: Nonesuch Records is turning 60 this year," says Deepa Fernandes of NPR's Here & Now, who spoke with Nonesuch President David Bither to mark the occasion. "Nonesuch has likely influenced your musical diet even if you didn't know it." "It's very hard to say what is a Nonesuch record," Bither says. "It's not a particular genre, but maybe it represents a particular kind of ambition and originality. There's a passionate audience for the music we've tried to champion." You can hear their conversation here.

[nonesuchrecords]

"Recently we announced a variety of activities that would take place in 2024 to celebrate Nonesuch’s 60th Anniversary," writes Nonesuch Records President David Bither in the Nonesuch Journal. "But I would like for a moment to reflect on the contribution of the individual most responsible for what Nonesuch has come to stand for: Bob Hurwitz, who ran Nonesuch from 1984 to 2016 and was our Chairman Emeritus from 2017 to 2023." You can read his note here.

Pictured: Peter Clancy (former head of marketing), Bob Hurwitz, and David Bither in 2009

[nonesuchrecords]

Today, Peter Clancy retires as the only marketing chief Nonesuch has known in the modern era. He leaves a remarkable legacy and he takes the love of his colleagues and friends with him. He will always be part of this label. Nonesuch President David Bither offers his gratitude in a tribute here.

[bamnextwave]

Bob Hurwitz and David Bither of Nonesuch Records discuss building a label without labels, a family of artists, and their longstanding relationship with BAM.

[darthquaker]

NEW SOLOST VIDEO COVERS SOME AMAZING MUSICAL HISTORY

This is the new SoLost for the Oxford American magazine about one of America's greatest recording studios: Muscle Shoals Sound. Man it took some work to get this one going but really worth it in the end....

It also features some amazing footage from the deservedly Grammy-dominating Akron, OH act The Black Keys. My friend Jamie Kitman (manages label alums They Might Be Giants) hooked me up with Nonesuch label chief David Bither and the rest of his awesome crew (special appreciation to Gregg Schaufield and Melissa Cusick for their quick assistance). David cleared use of footage from the recording of last years' instant classic "Brothers" from the Black Keys. Great stuff. It really made the piece come alive. 

The label had a nice blog piece about the video here.

I also had a very nice email back-and-forth with David and he pointed up a really interesting piece of Muscle Shoals Sound history that I had failed to uncover while working on the piece. He wrote:

You know where the address sign on the front of the studio comes from?  It didn't used to be there but after this Cher record was released...

He then pointed out that "in the picture the address was a graphic element added by the album designer" and that the operators of the studio then "created the sign so that the studio building would look like the album cover!"

So now, as you'll see in the video, it's there permanently.

Nice factoid David! Thanks again.

I was also hoping to get access to some footage from the Maysles Brothers' epic Rolling Stones doc "Gimme Shelter" (IMHO the greatest music documentary of all time) because the studio played a prominent role in several key scenes from the film but, alas, no callback from them. C'est la vie. Can't win 'em all.

One final note: Noel Webster, the caretaker/engineer at the studio is the star of the piece. He's a pretty wild character. Keeps some insane hours. Be sure to read the notes about the piece here which allude to that.

Much appreciation to all that helped and gave inspiration with this one (Brandon Schmidt, Mike Chylinski and one "anonymous" character who is always awesome and helpful).