Record Hop, Scott Porter Ready for 2008

Porter: Where we are now is trying to pay bills. We're trying to get a benefit show together. But we're just so tired of begging people for money and operating at this loss, that it's just like, "Oh my God, we've got to do something now or we're going to die!" But the place closed, and there's a moment of deep breath, but then the bills are coming in from last month. So we're kind of licking our wounds, trying to figure out what we did wrong and what we did right. Our partner Cody [Robinson] is shouldering most of that. Everything got put in his name, because it was the only way we could do it. He's got a family, for God's sake, and now he's got all these stupid rock 'n' roll bills coming in, so we're trying to figure out ways to get him out from under that.

There's talk, people that were involved wanting to get it going again. Chris Lewellyn from The Clandestine Project was coming in right when it closed and was going to help us get the new vision going. He's still working on that with some of the guys that were involved. There's already new spots picked out. It's basically the players from the first one deciding how important it is to them.

The goodwill after it closed down is one of the most important things that ever happened in my life. You never get a chance to see it while it's going on, because there's always a bill blocking your vision. But after it closed, it was like magic. "Wow, I didn't know everyone was having that good of a time."

Tell me what TXMF Records [which Porter co-founded] has in store this year.

Porter: We've got the new George Neal coming out, Record Hop, Pinebox Serenade. And what I mean by that is, we're not doing shit for any of these bands. They're just putting our sticker on the album. We're just trying to create a community of like-minded people. 100 Damned Guns is doing good. We lost Hogpig since they broke up, but we're still working with their record. We're about to start doing business with Chris Garver, and Bob White and the F-Electrics. We had a meeting the other day, me and J.C. and Kody [Jackson] sitting around drinking beers, and we said, "OK, does everything still rule? OK, meeting adjourned." I'm thinking in 2008, we're going to find a way to help out these bands more.

I ask about their engagement. Porter popped the question at the Zach Galifianakis show at the Lakewood Theatre, which Cromeens had planned to attend with girlfriends, without Porter. He'd contacted Galifianakis' management to let him propose onstage but was turned down. Cromeens figures they were leery that he was some local comic trying to weasel his way onstage.

Cromeens: It was a very good plan. The plan was not what went wrong.

Porter: The plan went wheels-off, and I ended up running out drunk and finding her in the parking lot and got down on one knee in front of strangers, like [exaggerated drunk voice], "Will you marry me?!! It's been such a crazy day, just say yes and marry me."