15 years ago, armed with only a four track recorder and some low-end mics, PJ Sykes created what would become an archive of Central Virginia’s musical legacy, Cherub Records.
15 years ago, armed with only a four track recorder and some low-end mics, PJ Sykes created what would become an archive of Central Virginia’s musical legacy, Cherub Records.
All this started in Lynchburg, where Sykes spent his high school years. He’d been mostly in school-related music projects but before long he was in his first real band, Angels Vs. Aliens, with friend Jeff Roop – the band was big for the rural, small town scene, but he stepped away for a year to head to college at VCU where he was rudely-awakened to the thriving music scene of RVA at the turn of the century.
“I had a cassette four track and I was constantly recording and experimenting and figuring things out… but I had a hard time connecting with people,” he said of his one short year at VCU. He returned to Lynchburg where he reunited with Roop who had started a label of his own – Batty Records.
Now there’s a few things to remember here – this was 2001, music streaming was nonexistent – hell, iTunes wasn’t a thing yet. Sykes remembered using that four track to make tapes which he would then have to give to a friend to burn on a CD so he could sell them at shows.
It was also an interesting time to start a label because it helped legitimize folks like Sykes and Roop in a way they you couldn’t otherwise before. Simple things like an Angle Fire website and a logo could help convince journalists, venues and other labels that you had your shit in order. Roop eventually burned out and instead of continuing the Batty Records name, Sykes coined his own – Cherub Records.
“I came up with this name and stuck it on the back of CDs,” he said – and these were home-burned CDs. “We were leaders in the scene and I was working at a record store, so having a label helped… I needed something to work under.”
He started collecting local artists, like Wakovia Bank Robbers – and going out and taping shows or doing home recordings.
While the origins might have been a little dicey, the mission stayed genuine – to give talented local folks the chance to put out good music. And Sykes, with a massive archive he’s continuing to digitize, remembers minute details about each basement recording session.
“I could tell you whose in the room at each of those recordings,” he said. “These are community recordings.”
Another recording at a pool party, one of his earliest, stuck out in his mind as well.
“You can hear someone playing the electric guitar and complaining they’re getting splashed with water,” he said. “Theres someone swimming 15 feet next to them.”
He admits some of them might not be stellar quality, but thats part of their charm.
“It sounds raw and pretty good – it’s not amazing,” he said. “Whatever we got is what we got, and it captured the moment.”
That desire to capture the moment lead to not only archiving the music, but also the locations. Old, now defunct venues like Twisters, The Gothenburg Cafe or Sprout played host to Cherub acts and Sykes was there to get it all on tape.
“I’ve always maintained the idea of documenting whatever comes with that… all those things, the venues, are gone, but I thought it was important to document what I can.”
Some of the old footage and recordings are now available through Cherub’s updated website, but there’s still tons Sykes is pouring through to get online.
As of now there are still images of most of the bands on the label, but also over a decades worth of show flyers.
To help honor and celebrate their 15th anniversary, Sykes has been hard at work creating a new, massive compilation release featuring some of Cherub’s heavy and more mellow hitters.
His own current project, Hoax Hunters, has re-recorded a slowed down version of their namesake track for the record – but it also features releases from bands any RVA hipster should remember from the last decade: Snowy Owls, Dave Watkins, A New Dawn Fades, The Colloquial Orchestra and many many more.
“It’s been a cool way to release some stuff lying around,” Sykes said. “And its a cool way to show what’s transpired over 15 years… it puts a mile marker on the label and helps us move forward.”
And speaking of moving forward, Sykes plans to spend 2017 kicking Cherub into over drive, releasing more records than they have before, and continuing to dig up and upload old videos for fans and newcomers alike.
“We like to do whatever we want to do,” he said, noting the only real boss is him and that makes it like there is no boss. “Whatever crazy idea we come up with we can try and execute it – we’re not beholden to peoples interest, even as people just start to find out about us.”
Keep up with Cherub Records on Facebook here or on their fancy new website here.
