Andy Pohl (Tsunami Bomb) About The Past, Present & Future of Sell the Heart Records

Photo Credit: Matthew Kadi. Courtesy of Andy Pohl.

The Pop Break recently sat down with Andy Pohl, who is best known as the guitarist for Tsunami Bomb to talk about his record label Sell the Heart. The label which Pohl founded in 2010 with a group of friends is heading into exciting 2021 with at least seven new releases in store and some major news dropping today.

That news being that one of the artists, Decent Criminals, will be releasing a new album and that the first single from the record will be go live on Friday January 29. You can click on this pre-save link where you can be directed to Spotify and follow the band .

What was the inspiration for the name Sell The Heart?

Andy Pohl: It came from the thought I had regarding what it is that artists are doing when they create and then sell their art, in essence, they are selling their heart. Some people have told me that they instantly think that it’s an EMO label because of the name, and I can see where they are coming from with that, but that wasn’t the intention. I thought it was a catchy name that wouldn’t be easily forgotten.

When did you start Sell the Heart Records?

Andy Pohl: Sell the Heart Records officially started in 2010. When I was living in the Santa Rosa, California area, a group of friends and I thought it would be fun to put a label together because at the time there weren’t any local labels doing anything to document the local music scene. It kind of fizzled out, but stayed my project.

How many releases have you had so far?

Andy Pohl: We’ve done 16 releases so far.

What music genres does Sell the Heart specialize in?

Andy Pohl: We specialize mostly in punk rock. What would be considered post-rock. It’s typically lumped in with guitar driven instrumental rock music — stuff like Explosions in the Sky, Russian Circle, God is an Astronaut, that kind of stuff. We have a few bands through the years that have been in that genre. For a lack of a better term, indie rock might give you a good idea. Perhaps, you could lump post-punk in there, like the darker tinges of indie rock that mirrors Joy Division.

The band on Sell the Heart I’m most familiar with is Middle Aged Queers. The thing that I’ve noticed about Sell the Heart and Tsunami Bomb is that everyone’s welcome here and we’re going to celebrate for who you are.

Andy Pohl: Definitely. Sell the Heart is absolutely all about inclusion. For us, it’s about the music first and foremost. We certainly would love to be working with bands of color or bands that are more female forward. It hasn’t worked out yet, but we’re totally open to it.

What do you look for when you’re signing a new band?

Andy Pohl: It’s evolved. At first, it was do we like your band. When we started out, it was all about I’m excited about putting records out and as long as I think the music’s really good and deserves to be heard that’s really all that needs to be done. As time moved on, it dawned on me that it needs to be more than that. Sometimes you have a band that is great, but they’re not very good and doing the rest of the work involved in pushing music forward.

Not all bands are created equal. Some bands are super talented, writing great music, and deserved to be heard, they’re never going to make themselves available to audiences. And then there’s other bands that are super good at getting themselves out there and they have tons of work ethic, and they’re doing shows, social media, making videos, but the music’s just not great. What I’m trying to find is a balance between writing good music, is it stuff that I like? It still boils down to: do I like your music? As long as I’m convinced that you are a band that is going to put forth the effort to really promote the album, at that point, I’m starting to get more interested.

What new releases are coming up?

Andy Pohl: Our first release is going to be a new EP from the band Decent Criminal. We released a second pressing of their album Bliss last year, which had originally been put out on Wiretap Records. One of our first releases was a compilation album that had a really early track from them. I’ve been friends with them for many years. When I worked with them on the second pressing of the Bliss record, we started talking and they said, “We have new material we really want to put out there.”

It’s a three-song EP, but on the vinyl there’s a fourth song. It’s going to be an acoustic version of one of the other songs. We have five other releases in the stages of being planned. They are not set in stone yet, but two are definitely coming out between now and the end of the year. There’s good potential there. It usually takes anywhere from three-to-six months to properly plan a release.

When will the Decent Criminal EP be released?

Andy Pohl: The record won’t be available for purchases until the first weekend in March.

You’re offering yearly subscribes to the Sell The Heart Records record club? Who would most enjoy being a member?

Andy Pohl: We have a couple of different options. We have one available through band camp, you will get at the base tier, which is 40 bucks a year, you’re gonna get every release that we put out on digital as well as a 30 percent discount on any physical merchandise you want to buy. In addition, just for signing up, you’re going to get 10 of our back catalog recordings. In the following years, you’d only be getting what’s coming up down the road, but that starter pack is a pretty damn good deal.

We also have additional tiers which will include actual albums and it depends on which tier you get choose how many albums you get.

Andy Pohl: Honestly, any who likes collecting and hearing new music. F you’re only into punk rock or post-rock or post-punk, I still think you’d get a lot of value out of it. It’s just that you’re going to be getting other music. Sell the Heart is an extension of my personal taste and it doesn’t encompass all of it. It caters to anyone who is curious about new music.

We also offer an annual vinyl subscription, which is really is catered to people who like good music and like new music but are really interested in getting the physical product and are less concerned about the digital aspect via our other web store. We have two options. One of which is just what we’re releasing this year. The other option includes two physical albums from our back catalog as well as a t-shirt, which we will be releasing only for people who sign up for this, one of our enamel pins, and a digital copy of a couple of our other albums. Through the year, I’ll add in some extra swag like stickers.