Like many folks during the pandemic, musicians Josh Dyer and Mason Hart took the time to get more in touch with their creative side. They had played music around their home of Huntington, West Virginia for a while but struggled to find their fit among the country and metal bands that dominated the scene. So in March 2021, they decided to start their own record label, featuring small-town artists whose music ranges from alternative rock to hip-hop. Exclaim Records is now carving out a community space for young creatives whose work confidently and playfully challenges the mainstream arts culture in Appalachia.
Photo by Angie Fletcher Johnson
I sat down to chat with Josh and Mason at the end of last year for a story I was working on through an online media writing course. This was the first time we’d had a real conversation in the six or seven months since we were introduced through my partner, Tony, who performs with them alongside Ally Fletcher.
Josh and Mason are both Marshall University alumni. Mason, 28, has a Bachelor of Arts, and Josh, 32, has a bachelor’s in Business Management/ Administration. I was surprised to learn that Josh was studying to be a preacher at one point–before putting religion behind him–and it was through church that he learned how to sing and to understand harmonies. Like Mason, Josh also took part in his school band when he was young. They met one another while attending local music concerts, going on to play together in rock bands.
The duo are putting their education and previous music experience to use through their management of Exclaim, while also performing in multiple bands themselves. Working in music doesn’t pay their rent, however. Other jobs keep the money coming in while allowing them to dedicate weeknights and weekends to music or hanging out with loved ones.
First, the duo created social media platforms for the record label, establishing a brand image with an exciting logo (a capital “E” followed by an exclamation point) and funky, distorted visuals made by Mason. Then, they say, it was just a matter of reaching out to their connections in the music world and figuring out who wanted to work with them.
Exclaim now boasts about a dozen artists on its label. What they can’t offer to their artists monetarily, they offer in connections and promotion within the community. There are several people involved in the behind-the-scenes work, which includes putting up flyers; contributing to the label’s Spotify playlist, Angel Buff Radio Weekly; recording artists in the studio; and organizing events. Exclaim started a monthly concert series, called Limelight, nearly a year after its foundation, presenting an opportunity for musicians as well as non-musical artists and local craft vendors to build an audience.
The Exclaim duo’s mission of inclusive community-building is perhaps best exemplified by their collaboration with Huntington Pride in June 2022, which featured music, drag performances, comedy sketches, and local vendors of food as well as art. The event drew a large crowd, though Josh noted during our conversation that many young people “have this insular view of the world” and of our own communities that can cloud our understanding of the political forces working against us. Sure enough, the West Virginia legislature introduced several anti-trans bills in January and February of 2023, contributing to a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ bills across the U.S.
On days when I encounter people who only seem interested in spewing complaints and abuse, I remind myself that the Exclaim team and friends exist too, always propping one another up. Exclaim encourages its artists and audience members to come as they are, building a community around art that hasn’t always had a space for expression. Traveling to Exclaim Records shows from Columbus, Ohio, I find that they’ve altered my perspective of Appalachia and filled me with optimism for the creativity that young people can inspire in their respective corners of the world if they really put their hearts into it. I’m excited to see what they do next.
This article originally published on the author’s personal Medium profile on June 26, 2023