Behind the Scenes with Bryan Holland label head/founder of Sorcery Studios Media Group

by Derric Miller
Staff Writer

Bryan Holland and Tony Harnell

What else is heavy metal if not sorcery? After all, sorcery is the belief in magic that harnesses occult forces or evil spirits to produce unnatural effects in the world. When you look at the sorcerers who started heavy metal — Richie Blackmore, Tony Iommi, Robert
Plant and Jimmy Page, to name a few — didn’t they do that exact thing? Didn’t they harness and release a sonic spell, or sound, that has reverberated through the ages and unnaturally morphed the way we create music today? If that’s not sorcery, what is?

So, if you can think of a better name for a music label than SorceryStudios, maybe you can do magic, too.

“I wanted to come up with a name that was a little different and had some kind of meaning,” said Bryan Holland, label head and founder of SorceryStudios Media Group, a music label and Web design company. “I think the company slogan I made back then was ‘Making Your Web Presence Magical.’”

Holland obviously understands the way incantations are written, as well.

“I've always been into the Medieval era, and it was something that stuck out as different yet something that people would remember and had a smooth sound to it ... like Marilyn Monroe's name, a nice sound and flow,” Holland said. “I had thought about changing the name a few times but had accomplished so much with that name over the years, starting over with a new name just didn't seem practical.”

Holland studied metal the way many acolytes do, playing in local cover bands during his younger days and trying to “make it” in the business. Holland is a singer/guitarist, and spent most of his playing days during the late ’80s and early ’90s in melodic rock/metal bands, touring around Michigan and that area of the country waiting for his chance.

“We played all over our tri-state area, but unfortunately the guys in these bands were usually more interested in getting laid or doing drugs or simply happy to remain cover band rock stars than to work real hard on original material, which was even more vital for us to try to break out of our area,” Holland said. “It wasn't exactly a hot spot for rock/metal.”

Holland obviously had a grasp on reality even in his dreamer’s days, choosing to quit the business before the business quit him.

“I failed repeatedly (as a musician) and finally gave in to the fact that this just wasn't going to happen for me,” he admitted. “I met a breathtaking girl, got married, and had a couple of children. We've been married for over 10 years now and have a great relationship ... it’s amazing ... I count myself as being extremely lucky!”

SorceryStudios seemed to coalesce out of the ether more so than being the product of a well designed business plan. In other words, it sort of just happened.

“SorceryStudios was initially brought about due to my working with Crimson Glory guitarist Jon Drenning back in 1999,” Holland explained. “I had hooked up with those guys because one of my best friends, Steve Wacholz (Savatage drummer) had joined their ranks. He recommended my services to them, as they were recording for their Astronomica CD. They needed a Web site quickly, but naturally couldn't pay a lot.”

“At the time, I didn't even have a Web site myself to properly promote my Web design stuff; I was just making stuff for friends not really taking it very seriously. So Jon told me that if I could come up with a name for my own company he would promote it in their new CD’s credits and mention me in interviews, etc. The catch was, I only had 24 hours to get the name because this was at the 11th hour for the CD artwork to be turned in. I had to put something together very quickly, and SorceryStudios was born!”

“The label thing has been fairly recent after a lot of thought I decided that was really where my heart was, and since I had already worked with releasing some product for a few artist friends over the years, I felt the timing was right to give this a shot.”

Speaking of CD artwork, you are sure to own some of Holland’s visual conjurations. He helped with the Astronomica logo, and designed covers for artists like Midnight, Marcie Free, Adriangale, Masquerade, Unruly Child, and probably the best known, Westworld’s Cyberdreams, as well as a recently released TNT DVD.

Holland has formed a business relationship and friendship with a singer who many think is the best vocalist out there today, Tony Harnell, of TNT, Starbreaker, Westworld and Morning Wood fame. His friendship with Harnell is actually why his Cyberdreams artwork also helped inspire the title song to that CD.

Brian and Westworld

“Having been in the Westworld camp for a while, Tony and I began working together on the cover art for their 4th album. I remember working some long hours on the phone with Tony as we sent changes back and forth via e-mail. This was during the time writing was still taking place for the album,” Holland said. “Tony had told me about this fantastic song they had written but didn't really have a title or lyrics for yet. As we were wrapping up the cover art, he began using the cover art we had designed as an inspiration for this song he had, which turned out to be the title track ‘Cyberdreams’ we all know and love.”

“I believe the cover art turned out great, and I had a lot of fun working on it with Tony. I was really pleased that it ended up being an influence on a song. Very cool indeed!”

Holland’s friendship with Harnell goes back to 1999.

“Their (Westworld) first CD had just come out, and I stumbled up on it at a local Best Buy store and bought it immediately. I had always been a HUGE Tony and TNT fan, and with the Net being so young back then, I couldn't find anything about him, the band’s WWW or even anything on TNT,” he said. “But in looking through the Westworld CD liner notes, I noticed an e-mail address for Bruno Ravel. I thought I would give it a shot and attempt to contact the band and see if there was any way I could help them. Bruno passed my e-mail on to Tony, who called me a few days later. We made an instant connection and decided to work together in launching the Westworld site, and have been great friends and partners in a number of things ever since.”

While SorceryStudios has been the architect for Harnell’s Web sites (TNT, Tony Harnell, Starbreaker, Westworld, Morning Wood), their scope is not by any shape singular in nature. Try some of these bands as well: Savatage, Masquerade, Starbreaker, Pamela Moore, Steve Wacholz, Vicious Rumors, Ben Jackson, Midnight, Crimson Glory, Damn Cheetah, TNA, Criss Oliva, Jon Oliva, Marcie Free, Engine, Shawn Ames, Wade Black, Chris Caffery, Magnus Karlsson, Sector9, some stuff for Tesla … and the list continues to grow.

Holland, all in all, has a white wizard’s view on what a label can and should do.

“You know, having been in this business to an extent as a musician myself, I have a heart for those musicians out there that are continually and relentlessly getting screwed over,” he said. “Especially those who I admire and have found their music has touched me in some way. When I decided to turn SorceryStudios into a label versus doing just web design exclusively, it was with all of that in mind. After all, all the releases I had done up to that point were with friends who I had admired musically and had little to nothing to show for all the great music they had given to the world. I was and still am on a mission to help as many of them as I can.”

“I know I have read of other labels that have had the same philosophy and ended up screwing a lot bands over after suckering them in with this same bait. But, I actually practice what I preach,” he continued. “I do this for bands because I love their music and have a great time doing it. I end up giving the bands the lion’s share of the profits. This ethic works and I love every minute of it!”

With that mindset, SorceryStudios is ready to cast its own brand of magic upon the industry in the upcoming year and beyond, with a few secrets even this article can’t reveal.

“I have several releases lined up for the Fall and into early 2006. We are currently working on a Masquerade DVD and Live CD. I have signed a new band out of Sweden called House of Heavy, very modern Euro/American hard rock which is featuring Henrik Lundberg from Masquerade, Stix from Shotgun Messiah, and I believe it will have some appearances with Paul Gilbert,” Holland offered. “We are putting out a live DVD for Marcie Free and a new DVD for TNT is available today.”

“One of the bands I am real excited about working with is a completely underrated band from the early-mid ’90s out of New Mexico called Seventh Sign! They play fantastic progressive melodic hard rock and have an unbelievable vocalist and guitarist, Gregg Analla and Dan Rivera, respectively. We're shooting for a late Summer/Fall release with that one.”

It would seem that 2005 may yet be the year of the sorcerer, with a bevy of quality metal and hard rock acts ready to cast their spell upon the masses, all in the name of metal. But what would happen if something went awry, and there was no more magic to be made? Well, Holland seems to have most things figured out, even before they happen.

“When it stops being fun, I will stop what I'm doing,” he stated. “If it all ends tomorrow, it would have been a great ride and had a blast every step of the way. I have so much fun … doing it has been a dream come true to work with some of the artists I grew up admiring.”

SorceryStudios may not be the biggest label you’ve ever heard of, but they have designs on harnessing the same kind of sonic spell and weaving the same kind of siren song that the greatest metal wizards of decades ago unleashed on us all.

Head to www.sorcerystudios.com to hear the rest of the tale …

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