YouSaid · the spoken record

Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan

lines on the record: 75
first: 2021-12-06
most recent: 2021-12-06
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“How would you describe the sound of what was then called chunk before it would become super chunk, but how would you describe the sound?”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So he inspires the name Chunk. And here's my question for you, Mac. Every time you formed a new band in your mind, was it like, this is going to be the band that's going to make it or was it just like this is fun? Let's just do a band.”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And this is after the drummer in the band, right? His name was Chuck. But he somehow inspired the name Chunk for the band.”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“All right, meantime. You're going back to college and playing a bunch of bands, and you and Laura are dating, and from what I understand at some point, maybe it was like between your junior and senior year in college, so I guess this would be like the summer of 1989. You start another band called Chunk with Laura. Is that how you remember it?”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Mac, you then, okay, so you go back to finish out your time at Columbia. How did you and Laura, were you going up to visit Mac? Were you coming back down to Chapel Hill all the time? Because you start what would become a six year relationship, right?”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So you were teaching Laura how to play bass, and that's because you didn't play any instruments before that, right, Laura?”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And at some point, I guess in sort of 1988, the two of you start dating. How did it happen? I mean, you guys had worked at the pizza place together and presumably became friends. And became boyfriend, girlfriend.”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I guess around this time, Mac, you were playing a bunch of different bands, and there was one... Project that you started which would actually kind of plant the seeds for merge records, I guess, where what you thought, hey, let's put out a record with a bunch of other bands like a limited number of records and just sell them ourselves. How did that come about? What's the story?”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Meantime, Mac, from what I understand, during that year when you came back to Chapel Hill in the middle of your time in college, you and Jonathan, your friend Jonathan, got back to kind of recording music for the slush puppies or really kind of took it seriously. And you actually got a gig opening for Fugazi, which anyone who knows anything about hardcore punk, American punk, knows that band, knows Ian McKay, classic DC hardcore band. He was a big deal. And you guys got to open for him at the cat's cradle. That's kind of a legendary club, right? In Chapel Hill, right? Cat's cradle.”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And you were at a UNC, Laura, right? And Mac was this guy that you met there. Did he make an impression on you from the beginning? What do you remember? What's your recollection of when you first met him?”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I guess that's how you and Laura met, right? Because she was going to college at Chapel Hill, and both of you are working at the pizza place?”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I guess after a year in at Columbia, you decided to take a year off and go come back to North Carolina and you moved to Chapel Hill. Was there a reason why you did that?”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, yeah. All right. So you're getting into the live music scene. And I guess around this time you're also starting to play guitar. And so by the time you graduate high school, you're playing in a few bands and you and this guy named Jonathan Newman, I guess you start a band together called the slush puppies. And was it fair to describe? The bands that you were playing in how would you describe the sound of like new way? Have you described a new wave cover band?”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“A read a story about how I guess when you were in your early teens, you went to see a couple of hardcore bands playing at a coffee house, and that was sort of a moment where it blew your mind because it was live music and it was loud music that kind of got you thinking about maybe starting your own band. Is it right? Is that true?”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“When do you remember your kind of taste in music veering more toward the kind of things that Laura was listening to, like hardcore and punk? Did that happen when you were a teenager?”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah. Alright, I want to turn to you, Mac. As a kid, did you get into music pretty early or did it happen later when you were a teenager?”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You describe yourself as an outsider and the kind of kids who would be called freaks or weirdos. Today it's hard to find a teenager without blue hair or who looks like What would be described as different in the 70s and 80s? Were you that kind of kid? Did you dress differently than other kids and did you wear your hair differently than other kids?”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“What do you remember about the music that attracted you to it? I mean, you know, from everything I've read about you, you're self-described introvert, you're quiet, you're shy, you get anxious being in front of people, and then there's this really intense, often loud Angry explosive music that you were listening to Can you connect the dots for me on that?”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Keep merge from going bankrupt. And that income allowed them to make a lot of small bets on lesser known Indie artists until eventually, in the early two thousands, one of their bets paid off with the massively successful band Arcade Fire. But the story of Merge is also the story of the rise of indie rock in the nineteen nineties. The label became hugely influential and helped to introduce bands like Spoon, Neutral Milk Hotel, the Magnetic Fields, and many others to music fans around the world. And all of this happened because of the creativity and also the tension between Laura and Mac, who are professional partners today, but at one point we're also romantic partners. The two of them met in Chapel Hill, North Carolina when they were both college students, and before that, Laura spent her high school years in Raleigh and Atlanta.”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“A winner. In this case, a band that will sell hundreds of thousands of albums and make a ton of money for themselves and of course for the label. But unlike many VC funds, most indie record labels don't start with lots of cash to invest. They are almost by definition small and scrappy, with an artistic vision that, at least in the beginning, may be more important than making a lot of money. And this, basically, is where Laura Balance and Mac Macan began when they started the Indie label merge in nineteen eighty nine. Laura and Mac were musicians themselves, they were part of the band's superchunk, and in fact playing and touring and being immersed in the indie scene in the late nineteen eighties was one of the things that inspired them to start their own label. In the early years, income from Superchunk basically helped Laura and Mac”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Building a successful business basically means being able to make smart bets, right? Especially if you're in the business of venture capital. The business is basically betting. You invest millions of dollars in a lot of promising startups, knowing that most of them will falter or fail outright, but you're betting that every now and then you will invest in a winner, a business that maybe five or ten years down the road will have a liquidity event, which is a polite way of saying that a few people are going to make lots of money. Anyway, one of the things that struck me when I was doing research for today's show is that an indie record label or any record label, really, is sort of like a VC fund, just like a VC fund, the label takes a chance on a lot of maybes with the hope of eventually hitting.”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“He wasn't teaching you how to play bass, apparently It's how I built this, a show about innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built. I'm Guy Ross, and I'm on the show today How Two Indie Rockers launched a record label named it after a roadside and grew merged into one of the most influential names in independent music.”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And when you're ready to launch, you offer code built to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Loans issued by Celtic Bank and serviced by Stripe. All loans subject to credit approval. Hey, really quick before we start the show, a lot of you have lots of questions about how I built this, like how do you pick guests or where do you record the show or how can I get in touch with Howard Schultz? Spoiler alert on that one. We can't help you, but we can try and answer any questions you might have about the show, our work, or even me. If you'd like to submit a question, please visit Gyroz.com and fill out the form, and we'll answer some of your questions right here on the show in the coming weeks. Again, that's GUIRAZ. com”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“At airbnb.ca slash host. This podcast is brought to you by Squarespace. I talk to entrepreneurs all the time who are looking for a way to upgrade their digital footprint. Well, whether you're just starting out or you're scaling your business, Squarespace is the easiest way to build a great website that stands out. It's an all-in-one website platform that gives you everything you need to claim your domain, showcase your products, and get paid. Anyone can use Squarespace's cutting-edge design tools to build an online presence that truly reflects what makes your business special. There are templates, intuitive drag and drop editing, and even an AI enhanced website builder. Then, Squarespace's built-in analytics tools help you make smarter business decisions, review website traffic, learn where to focus engagement, and track revenue all in one place. Looking to grow your business, Squarespace even offers fast, easy business financing through Squarespace Capital. Go to Squarespace.com.”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You know, one of my favorite parts of traveling is getting a feel for a neighborhood, the way locals do. A few summers ago, I was in Rome and stayed in an apartment I booked on Airbnb. It was tucked in a quiet neighborhood just outside the Roman forum. Every morning I'd walk to the corner cafe, grab an espresso, and just watch the world go by outside. I even managed to chat with the owner about the neighborhood he lived in for nearly forty years. And he got me thinking about my own neighborhood. There are incredible hiking trails and great restaurants and, of course, the beach. And when I'm traveling this summer, listing my own place on Airbnb could be a really smart way to let someone else experience the area the way I do, like a local. Listing your home on Airbnb while you're traveling is a great way to make some extra money. You could put the money toward your next trip. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much”
2021-12-06 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Merge Records: Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT