Content area
Full Text
Ryan Sexton, formerly of Chanhassen, was the first artist signed to Neil Young's new label, Vapor Records. So does he hang out with the rock god?
Met him only once, said Sexton, whose Los Angeles-based band, the Customers, made its Twin Cities debut Wednesday at the 7th Street Entry at First Avenue. "He came into the studio and said, `Oh, you're making a record.' He turned everything up to 10 {maximum volume} and mixed a song, and then left," Sexton recalled.
The encounter lasted only about an hour, but Young did tell Sexton that his songs were cool.
How did the 27-year-old Chaska High grad and former Skyway Theaters worker hook up with Young? Having moved to Los Angeles four years ago, Sexton made demo tapes of his songs and sent them to various record labels and talent managers. Elliott Roberts, Young's longtime manager, happened to hear one and, in the fall of 1994, put up money for some more demos.
So the singer-songwriter felt compelled to put together a band. By May '95, the well-rehearsed quartet was in Jackson Browne's recording studio, and Young and Roberts decided to launch a label.
The...