The Limerickmen who put Out on a Limb Records on the road

ARMED WITH OPEN MINDS AND ADVENTUROUS TASTES, SIX BRIGHT LIMERICKMEN HAVE MADE OUT ON A LIMB RECORDS A GOING AND GROWING CONCERN. JIM CARROLL REPORTS

STARTING a record label is easy. Anyone can do it. You could leave down your copy of The Ticket right now and probably have a label together by teatime. You'll need a name (something catchy, like Furry Antler Records), some music to release (you surely have some lying around the house), a lot of envelopes and a phone. Sticky tape may also prove useful in the long run.

But if your home-grown endeavour grows legs, you'll find that actually staying in the business of releasing records is another matter entirely. It's a vocation which requires everything from immense quantities of patience to a large helping of luck.

There's an industry-wide statistic that 92 per cent of acts signed to labels don't make a profit, so prospective moguls may find they also need deep pockets to feed the beast.

And even success doesn't guarantee longevity. For every Domino which survives tough years at the coalface to eventually thrive when it discovers the new Monkeys, there are dozens and dozens of imprints which don't last the pace. Labels such as Go! Discs and Creation, which were once part of the indie household furniture, are no more, ravaged by time, trends and corporate skulduggery.

Yet labels still keep coming. For the half-a-dozen Limerickmen who put Out on a Limb Records on the road, it all began with a desire to release one record. That was Giveamanakick's debut album, Is It OK to Be Loud, Jesus? back in 2003.

"After seeing a number of Giveamanakick shows, it became obvious to us that they had enough quality material to put out a record," says Ciarán Ryan. "We just wanted to get the Giveamanakick record out and didn't really see beyond that at the time."

There was more enthusiasm than experience amongst the shams who put OOAL together. Both Albert Twomey and Richard Bourke were involved with the Aspersion Music Collective (AMC), a nonprofit gig organisation, in Limerick. Ryan, Con Cremin, Dave Ahern and Darragh Enright also came onboard.

"None of us had any idea of how to run a record label, to be honest," admits Ryan. "We just weren't quite sure how to get it done, and we were coming from what was very much a DIY ethic. The first Giveamanakick album went into the shops on a sale or return basis."

It didn't take long, though, for the nascent label to attract interest from other acts with records in need of a release schedule. "Waiting Room approached us to put out their album. After that, we threatened lots of acts, including Rest, Ten Past Seven and Windings, to come on board, and it all kind of snowballed from there."

In the last few months alone, Out on a Limb has added two more exceptional albums to its catalogue. Giveamanakick's second, We Are the Way Forward, is a gleeful, explosive racket which is as powerful as it is wild. Meanwhile, the three wild-eyed Kerrymen who make up Ten Past Seven deliver plenty of crash, bang and wallop for your buck on their debut album, Shut Up Your Face.

Ryan points out that they're not the only label operating in Limerick. "Recently there are others who have started their own labels, like Mockery Records and Rimbaud Records. Maybe by showing that it could be done, we had some influence on that. Lots of kids in the city seem to be starting bands as well, but I think a lot of that stems from the DIY spirit that emerged when the AMC were operating."

With every release, OOAL is becoming a little wiser about this particular game. "We've become more aware that the records have to stand out a bit more," says Ryan. "While we still see ourselves as a DIY label, we have put more emphasis on marketing and promotion than before."

He points to We Are the Way Forward as a sign of how they've progressed. "We started the label with Giveamanakick, and to see them develop over the last couple of years is what inspires us to keep this thing going. In terms of the music, packaging and effort, we feel that there has been a major progression."

What matters most, though, is when the record is in the shop and people are buying it.

"We believe records like Giveamanakick are great records. We have always operated on the policy that we won't put out a record that all of us don't really have faith in. It's not the easiest sell, as Giveamanakick tend to make a bit of a racket, but the reviews have been extremely positive and we've had a lot of support from the likes of Cavallerro Distribution and shops like Road and Plugd. And we feel there is a lot more to come."

Further information on Out on a Limb at www.outonalimbrecords.com