Cliff Rigano
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| Psychodrama Music Group | |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | All |
| Years active | 1993-Present |
| Label(s) | Psychodrama, Repossession, Roadrunner & SPV Records |
| Associated acts | Dry Kill Logic, Kobie Jackson |
| Website | [1] |
Psychodrama Music Group began in 1993 in the smoke – filled haze of Cliff Rigano’s one room apartment in Port Chester, New York. Rigano was the singer in the newly-formed band Hinge, and was frustrated with his inability to get anyone to take a listen to the band.
“We were a new band, and had a large loyal following of fans and friends, but in retrospect once could say we weren’t very good,” admits Rigano. “But I was more upset with the fact that we COULD have been the next Zeppelin, and we STILL couldn’t get a call back from a promoter about a show!”
Embracing the “perception is reality” mindset, Rigano named the company after the passion that the business side of music seemed to emote. “The responsibilities of management is a fate worse than death,” Cliff states about his early years, “but I wouldn’t know what I would do without them.”
The hard work put in over the next two years paid off and Hinge became a local phenomenon, opening for bands like Anthrax, Vision of Disorder, Exodus, Flotsam and Jetsam, Nevermore, Orange 9mm, and may others and selling out venues like 7 Willow Street in Port Chester, CBGBs in NYC and the now defunct Continental on St Marks Place.
“All the same places that wouldn’t speak to us as Hinge were tripping over themselves to set up a “showcase” with the “label” for their “new signing” — it was comical, but incredibly effective,” reminisces Rigano.
At the same time, Rigano began to learn the industry and lay the foundation for what would be the PMG of today, signing local favorites Funky Espresso & Floor of Heads. The positioning paid off, with Funky E going on to sell thousands of CDs and opening for funk legends Bernie Worrell and the Woo Warriors, Miles Davis, Fishbone, Deep Banana Blackout and many others. Floor of Heads became a local favorite within the underground DJ scene as a 2 man trip hop act, and both acts received critical acclaim in their respective genres. Rigano also saw the future, and in 1999 was one of the first labels to embrace the digital era with an unheard of digital distribution deal with fledgling company The Orchard. The deal paid off for all parties, and the label had 3 successful acts on its hands – unfortunately, internal pressure caused the hiatus of Funky Espresso and the breakup of FOH. Hinge, however was the silver lining in the dark cloud, and after firing their guitarist and picking up Scott Thompson the band signed with Roadrunner Records/Island Def Jam Records in 2001 & changed their name to Dry Kill Logic.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Psychodrama played a big role in the success of 2001’s The Darker Side of Nonsense, and was the driving force in the career direction of the band during that time. From touring to marketing to artistic direction, Rigano had his hands in it all, and was taking all this knowledge and experience to heart. “Imagine being a band that came from a place with virtually no music scene to being on tour with Fear Factory at the height of their career as direct support. At times, we couldn’t believe it ourselves”. Along with a very successful career as a touring artist and published songwriter with EMI, Rigano began to learn even more about the industry. “When we came off the road from supporting “TDSON”, I was offered a job in the Marketing Department of Universal Records. All of a sudden I went from learning about performance to being hands – on in the day to day activities of multi platinum artists like Godsmack, 3 Doors Down, Jack Johnson, Van Morrison, Hatebreed and many others. The amount of stuff I was learning and doing and seeing was worth it’s weight in gold – it was the culmination of so many years of hard work on both sides of the fence”.
2 ½ years later and over a dozen gold and platinum plaques on his walls, Rigano decided to return to the performance side of the music industry in a partnership that would change the way things were done. “I had no desire to sign a bad record deal and play VFW halls forever just because I wanted to play he states firmly, and I knew any deal we were going to take would have to challenge the way the business operated. I was fine with waiting until we had that in place.” Lineup changes that included former G Soul guitarist Jason Bozzi in 2002 produced the undeniable album The Dead and Dreaming, and hooking up with ex Down for Low bassist Danny Horboychuk in 2004 rounded out the touring lineup. Unique deal negotiations with Scrap 60 provided the album would be complete before the deal was done, and the band signed licensing deals for Europe with SPV Records and a US deal with Repossession Records. “Basically, we realized that every record label was operating with an old-school mindset of what it took to break bands, and I wanted the money and the distribution and the means to communicate directly with the fans to be in the control of the artist”. Deals were cut that would allow the band full creative and financial control of their own careers, and under Rigano’s watchful eye the band transformed into a come from behind success story that few can deny. “Our 2001 release introduced us to the world, and our 2004 release solidified our position” says Rigano. With PMG now fully steering the ship, the band went on to worldwide acclaim as a force to be reckoned with in the metal community, touring the world for over 17 months and performing with bands such as Slayer, Hatebreed, Killswitch Engage, Disturbed, Drowning Pool and many others, culminating with being hand picked by Dave Mustaine of Megadeth for a much coveted spot on the 2005 Gigantour. The band had their music successfully placed in music, TV and film, solidified their career as a touring success story, selling over 35 000 albums in the States and 20 000 in Europe and had navigated a comeback story that inspired fans, musicians and industry professionals across the world.
For weekly music industry updates, insight & information along with FREE MUSIC from Dry Kill Logic & Kobie Jackson visit us at www.psychodramarecords.com.
