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Boardman native champions ‘Wild Kindness’
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Neighbors | Submitted.Wild Kindness records operates on the ethos that sincerity in the music business is a priority along with keeping the vision and profits in artists' pockets. The label was founded by David Pokrivnak (left), a native of Boardman, and Katelyn Gould, a native of Campbell.
By SARAH FOOR
Kindness is a simple concept, but Boardman native David Pokrivnak didn’t see too much of it while interning at a Seattle record label and making his way in the music business.
Along with Campbell native Katelyn Gould, Pokrivnak founded Youngstown-based Wild Kindness Records in 2009, with a mission to represent artists with honesty and compassion, and to support them in their creative process.
Wild Kindness now represents musicians and visual artists from around the country, including local performers The Sewing Machine War and Sam Goodwill.
“We’ve found that most record labels think of a performer as a product and not an artist, which seems kind of backward. There are some artists with great vision, but aren’t adept at sharing or publicizing their work. We take over that part of the business so that artists are free to push their creative limits,” explained Pokrivnak.
Wild Kindness’ business ethos has led the label to a new project benefitting the Girl’s Educational Mentoring Service (GEMS), a charity based in New York.
“Katelyn [Gould] suggested I watch a documentary called ‘Very Young Girls’ that is a powerful exploration of teenage prostitution and exploitation that happens here in our own country. We were inspired to get involved, and we created a compilation CD of our artists and other performers who were eager to join the cause. We’re immensely proud of the work we’ve done for the project,” Pokrivnak said.
The CD, called Sunshine off the Tracks, will be released March 31. A series of concerts in Youngstown, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Columbus and Kittery, Maine, will all raise money for GEMS. The charity helps exploited girls by offering housing, education and jobs.
As he looks toward the future, Pokrivnak hopes the label will continue to grow and gain national prominence in the music industry.
He said the Wild Kindness’ mission to treat their artists with integrity will never go away, because that quality is ingrained in how he grew up in Boardman and the Mahoning Valley.
“How we treat people is a direct reflection of what we see every day in this area,” he said.