The little label that could

SOMERVILLE -- Last summer, Lesley Katzen and Lora Valante had an epiphany. The friends, former co-workers, and twee-pop enthusiasts were walking on the beach, scheming about the future. At the time, Katzen was working for American Express, and Valante had just returned to Boston after a brief interlude in Chicago. The 20-somethings were edging closer to 30 every day -- so what should they do with their lives?

Valante had an idea: They loved music, they should start a recording studio. No, said Katzen; her mother manages a studio in Washington, D.C., and she knew how complicated that could be. They would just have to start their own label instead, she said.

What began as a pie-in-the-sky conversation suddenly had the ring of reality. Valante couldn't shake the idea. Shortly after they'd brushed the sand from their towels, she was checking her savings account balance and searching for the band that would help make the dream happen.

Six months later, business partners Katzen and Valante threw a cupcake- and music-filled bash at Cambridge's Lizard Lounge to celebrate the launch of Post Meridian Records , their brand- new label. (They originally wanted to call it Afternoon Records , but that name was taken, and Post Meridian was the next thing they thought of.)

"Lora takes an idea and runs with it," says Katzen.

At Katzen's house here, fueled by red wine and Camel Lights, the two, both now 29, recently recounted how they got from point A to point B. (They also bantered about the current state of MP3 blogs and debated essential, influential albums -- "Everyone should own the 'Repo Man' soundtrack on vinyl," says Katzen.)

They began like diligent students, they say, consulting MySpace and local blogs such as Bradley's Almanac and hopping from one dark, sparsely filled venue to the next. This led them to P . A . 's Lounge for a live show by the experimental, laptop-composers the Westward Trail (a.k.a. Joe Wawrzyn and Jake Dempsey ). Impressed with the Trail's angst-free, electronic indie-pop, the duo made their first proposal over beers and business plans at Bukowski's Tavern .

"We started out together," says Dempsey. "The label/band relationship is more of a collaboration. It feels like we're working with friends."

Next, Katzen recruited a musician she had been listening to for years -- her husband, former Shelley Winters Project member David Berndt . Katzen booked a January show at the Lizard Lounge for Logan 5 and the Runners , before it was actually a band. Luckily, Berndt pieced together a circle of musicians in time for the gig, and the group has been together since. "We all actually mesh together better than any band I've ever been in," says Berndt.

Also, Valante says, "I talked to other labels about how to do it. I was modeling it after something like K Records ." K Records -- an influential indie-rock label that has produced albums by Built to Spill , Modest Mouse , and others -- gives its acts a lot of artistic control. Valante admired that.

Now, as Post Meridian approaches its one-year mark, things are coming together. Valante handles business and financial duties, and Katzen tackles publicity and booking. The label's two signed bands aren't playing sold-out shows at Avalon yet, but with Post Meridian's help, the acts have become regulars in Boston's music scene and are working on their first full-length albums, slated for release early next year.

Valante and Katzen say things are right on target. They're looking beyond fame and fortune to music with substance. That's what they've always wanted to promote. The two are local music experts, lovers of smaller venues such as the Abbey Lounge, which they say has the best residencies (and the best bathroom graffiti). They work on instinct, with a vague idea of what they're looking for, and a better idea of what they're not.

"We pick bands that enjoy themselves onstage," says Valante. "They want to get their music heard, and it's our job to get them to the next level, whatever that may be."

As for the bands they don't pick, their website states, "We don't like complaint rock." The term, Valante says, applies to "noisy people [whining] about their love life."

Valante and Katzen have occasional disagreements, but they consistently share the same K Records-esque vision for the label -- as much artistic freedom for the bands as possible.

Another label that takes this collaborative approach is Canada's Arts & Crafts . Jeffrey Remedios , one of its founders, says he takes the moniker seriously and leaves the "arts" to the artists.

"The craft is the business side," he says. "It's not about fame, it's about subsistence. If you want to live off of creating music, it takes passion on the business side, too."

It's not always easy. "The hardest part for me was learning to be patient with the bands," says Valante, in reference to Post Meridian's policy of not setting recording deadlines for their acts.

"The hardest part for me was watching her try to be patient," says Katzen.

But Post Meridian's approach seems to be working for everyone.

"What they really do is allow the musicians to be musicians," says Logan 5 and the Runners drummer Marc Beaulieu . "The label does the business aspect of things."

Berndt says that the collaborative feeling between Post Meridian and its bands is palpable. "It sounds kind of hippie-ish, but we're using the talents we have as a group."

Still, there's been no dramatic moment when the two quit their jobs and never looked back. Post Meridian is a time-consuming side project, funded by savings and full-time jobs. Katzen works at a gourmet market and takes night classes at Cambridge College; Valante analyzes data for a local website. Their mission is driven by pure, ambitious optimism.

The duo hope to eventually expand Post Meridian and devote themselves to it full time. They're keeping quiet about new prospects for the label, but they do say there are some on the horizon.

"A lot has changed in the past year," says Katzen. "It's exciting to see the bands grow, and that's enough for me for now."

"Not me," Valante says. "I want more."