Major Label Debut on The Features 'Exhibit A'

I've mentioned the podcast Major Label Debut many times. I was even a guest one time! That is to say, I hope you know of the show and are already subscribed. If not, here's more fodder to draw you in! The show's premise is - talk to artists that signed to a major label and see what their experience was like. For me, there's no better candidate for such a conversation than The Features. I first heard them in 1997 and was an instant fan. Their live shows were incredible and I loved their self-titled EP, their 10" single for "Thursday" and the follow-up EP called The Beginning. I always wondered why there was never an album from them,* so I was quite excited to find out in the early aughts they would be releasing their major label debut with Universal Records... Exhibit A.

The album was released in 2004. The band released videos, got played on MTV, toured heavily and then was abruptly dropped by the label in the lead up to the second album because they did not want to record a Beatles cover for a bank commercial.

The band went on after their major label experience to make many more great albums with smaller independent outlets and seem to have come out the other side all the better for it but I am sure it had its hardships. But I don't have to guess about that because Major Label Debut talks to Rollum Haas, drummer for The Features, all about all of the above. His attitude about the whole thing is strikingly positive - not something you'd expect given all of the above but that's what makes the conversation so compelling!

So, yea, give the episode a listen and make sure you're subscribed to the show in some capacity!

* Later on I would find out that the band did record two full-length albums. One became The Mahaffey Sessions 1999 and the other is still only floating around in bootleg form. I hope to fix that one day!