May 27th, 2011 – Swimming With Sharks Records is born!

Swimming With Sharks Records is a D.I.Y./Promotional based record label launched in May of 2011 by Noah “Shark” Robertson.

Swimming with Sharks started out as a live, 2-hour college radio show on KTRL – 100.7FM – The Planet in 2004. The show was independently produced/hosted by Noah while he studied Music Education at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas and featured all things hard rock and heavy metal. Eventually, he began booking shows and promoting bands under the moniker, Swimming With Sharks Entertainment; including his own bands – death metal band, Sarcophagy – and progressive metal band, Srlsm (Surrealism).

In 2006, Noah and the rest of his band mates in Srlsm dropped out of music school to focus on the band full-time and relocated to Dallas, Texas. It was there in Dallas (more specifically, Deep Ellum) where Swimming With Sharks Entertainment became a major player in the local music scene; booking shows, promoting bands, and eventually creating a full-fledged music festival dubbed, Trip Fest – which went on to see several installments and was hosted inside the legendary music venue, The Curtain Club. The festival featured the very best of local progressive, experimental, and extreme bands and showcased local artwork as well.

Eventually, Noah gained the necessary experience and knowledge of the music business to begin booking shows and small tours regionally around Texas and Oklahoma, position his musical projects opening up for touring bands and national acts, and even managed to secure himself endorsements and sponsorships from Xcel Drumsticks and Dream Cymbals. Through these companies, Noah would eventually gain the opportunity to be featured in national ad campaigns in Modern Drummer and Drum Magazine, release his own signature series drumsticks, and attend the Namm Convention (one of the largest music product trade shows in the world) at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.

In 2008, Noah was asked by Luis Matos (a prominent booking agent, tour promoter, and frontman for the Houston, Texas-based metal band, Pinhed) to fill-in on drums for Pinhed on an upcoming tour with legendary national acts Mushroomhead and Brujeria. Having only 2 days to prepare for his first national tour, Noah accepted and went on to become a permanent fixture in the band – which afforded him the opportunity to tour and perform with such legendary metal bands as Carcass, Suffocation, Vital Remains, Suicide Silence, Possessed, and many more.

Gaining more and more insight into the music industry and becoming more and more depressed with the dwindling music scene in Texas at the time, Noah and his remaining band mates in Srlsm decided to once again relocate; this time to Hollywood, California in late 2009. It was there that the band finally disbanded, which caused Noah to search out other musical projects and opportunities. In 2010 Noah responded to a Craig’sList.org posting entitled “former As Blood Runs Black singer seeks band members” which he found in the Dallas, Texas wanted ads. Jonny McBee had recently quit ABRB due to personal issues with his band mates and had decided to move from his home in Missouri to Dallas, Texas to find musicians and complete a musical project he had been working on since high school called, The Browning. After talking to McBee several times through email and phone conversations – and convincing Brian Cravey (former Srlsm guitar player) to join with him – Noah and Brian moved back to their home in Dallas, Texas to join The Browning full-time. Shortly after releasing their self-produced, self-titled debut album and embarking on their self-booked first tour, The Browning were contacted by the legendary UK-based metal label, Earache Records (Decapitated/Oceano/At The Gates/Napalm Death and more). The Browning eventually signed a world-wide recording contract with the label and went on to ink a deal with Outerloop Management (Dying Fetus/Veil of Maya/Periphery/Cephalic Carnage and more).

In May of 2011 the idea to turn Swimming With Sharks Entertainment into Swimming with Sharks Records was conceived. Combining resources, contacts, knowledge, experience and an unhealthy obsession with Sharks…Swimming With Sharks Records is born!

May 28, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: swimming with sharks records noah shark robertson dream cymbals xcel drumsticks the browning earache records outerloop management pinhed suffocation cephalic carnage dying fetus mushroomhead touring r | 2 Comments