Baste Records on Friday launched its first single, a song from artist Five Times August (pictured above) called “Ain’t No Rock and Roll.”
The new record label in Nashville started to build infrastructure for conservatives to thrive in the entertainment industry.
“This is a great journey for me because I get to twofold two passions into one,” said Chris Wallin, the head of Artists & Repertoire and Creative at Baste Records, referring to his passion for conservatism and music. “With Baste Records, we’re going to be running towards things most record labels run from.”
The record label is located on Nashville’s famed Music Row.
Wallin is also a singer, songwriter, and producer who has worked in music for 20 years and boasts an impressive record.
Photo “Chris Wallin” by Chris Wallin.
He has written several Billboard No. 1 country songs, including “Don’t Blink” by Kenny Chesney, “Something to be Proud Of” by Montgomery Gentry, and “Love Me if You Can” by Toby Keith.
That song slams the music industry’s current state, noting that the viewpoints represented in popular culture are largely those of the political establishment.
The song features lyrics like:
All those bad boy rebels and the attitude/What a show/We didn’t know that none of it was true/
Its music video also features messaging against the COVID-19 vaccine, which entertainers notoriously pushed on their listeners and viewers during the pandemic.
“Artists like Five Times August are the new rebels,” Walling told The Tennessee Star on Friday. “When I first heard this song when we first started, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. From the start I really saw a vision for it, and Brad from Five Times August really agreed with me. It’s exactly the type of thing that Baste Records wants to be a part of.”
Wallin produced the track, which features music industry heavyweights including Ira Dean on the bass guitar, who produced Aaron Lewis’ “Am I the Only One,” a popular anti-establishment track in conservative circles.
One of Tom Petty’s guitarists also plays on the track. Jim Brown, a guitarist and keyboardist for Bob Seger’s The Silver Bullet Band, plays the keyboard on the track.
Wallin said that Kid Rock’s producer is an engineer on the track.
The record label also has deep ties to the conservative community at large. Its CEO is Matthew Azrieli, who created the conservative publication The Post Millennial.
“Our goal is to basically build an infrastructure from every facet of the music business with people and companies that are freedom-minded, and that’s who we’re gonna use because they can’t cancel you if you’re not getting anything from them,” Wallin said.
But, Wallin stressed, the label will not sacrifice musical quality.
“We’re very picky in who we work with,” he said. “We want great music. The music has to come first, not the ideology.”
He also noted that not every song from the label will be what he calls a “patriotic anthem.”
“We have some great things in store for everybody,” Wallin said. “The next thing is probably going to be a Christmas song by Chad Prather, and we’re really excited about that. He already has an amazing fanbase, and we’re just going to propel him to another level.”
The label also works with rapper Hi-Rez, who has used his platform to spread conservative messaging. Wallin said listeners can expect “new stuff” from Hi-Rez in November.
Wallin said the project is important because the political left dominates the music industry and helps frame the worldview of American children.
“Liberals have been whispering in our children’s ears for decades through music, and I believe that conservatives are really far behind in using music to combat that,” he said. “That’s what we want to do. We want to slowly collect allies that are on our side, and we want to work with them. We want to just build this infrastructure. That is what the other side has done for many years.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on X / Twitter.
Photo “Five Times August” by Five Times August.Â
