Small Town Records

It's a shame Colin Tierney doesn't get paid. Running a record label should mean the ambitious 21-year-old no longer has to use a large rock to prop open the door at the label's tiny recording studio with the bright green walls and stained brown couch.

But at Small Town Records, success isn't about money. It's about enabling fellow Duke students to record their music and release it on CDs.

It's about connecting their bands with club and café owners so they can share their talents beyond the Duke community. And everything Small Town Records does is free to the artists.

"We try to get the 360 here," says Tierney, a Duke junior from Wellesley, Mass., who co-founded the label nearly two years ago. "We try to help them move their career forward. No one takes a salary."

About 15 students work on the business side of the label, learning how to market, promote and book bands. Another 15 or so learn about microphone placement, sound mixing and other skills in the label's West Campus recording studio.

After about a year as the label's director of live entertainment, pre-med junior Katie Neufeld is already considering a different career path.

"I'm doing a ton of stuff, a lot of promotion, designing flyers, talking to different venues, talking to sponsors like Budweiser for a party that's coming up," says Neufeld, who's from the Philadelphia area. "This summer I hope to do an internship at a label and I'm actually thinking about working in the music industry."

Durham-based Luego has recorded two EPs at the Small Town Records studio since forming in late 2006. The folk-tinged quartet of current and graduated Duke students now has concert dates from Georgia to New York.

"It's been really great for us, learning the process and ins and outs of recording as well as recording for free, since start-up bands are always in the red at the beginning anyway," says Patrick Phelan, a 2007 Duke graduate and leader of Luego.

The record label/recording studio became part of the Duke Union, the university's programming arm, in spring 2006 and obtained an initial annual budget of about $10,000. The money is used to pay for recording studio equipment, CD duplication and other costs. A compilation of songs from the studio's dozen or so recording projects is planned for release in March on CD and iTunes. The label plans to give away T-shirts and CDs at a release party scheduled for 10 p.m.-2 a.m. March 27 at Alivia's Durham Bistro.

Tierney, a public policy major who plays guitar and drums, has done a handful of internships in the music industry, including a stint at V2 Artemis Records in New York City. He plans to pursue a career in the field, likely in artist development.

He's hopeful the label will continue after he graduates next year.

"My goal is to have it sustainable so when someone takes over it's not going to fall apart," he says. "I work with some really good people." Small Town Records is holding a record release party from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Thursday, March 27 at Alivia's Durham Bistro, 900 W Main St., Durham. For more information go to www.smalltownrecords.com.