January 08, 2015

The Music Industry program’s student-run label MAD Dragon Records is making moves, having recently signed two rising bands. The synth-pop group Cold Shoulders was shrouded in mystery last year, after releasing the single “Better” in the summer of 2014 with little to no promotion. Melding pop, R&B and rock, the punchy beats and polished vocals hooked fans of bands like Passion Pit and The Weekend. “Better” received major internet acclaim and it soon came to light that Cold Shoulders was the side project of The Ready Set frontman Jordan Witzigreuter. MAD Dragon Records will release Cold Shoulder’s debut 5-track EP this winter.

A second new signing is Edelweiss, an alt-rock, math pop and post-punk revival group from Stroudsburg, PA that released their debut EP, Pre-Columbians, in 2011. The band is currently in Headroom Studios with Drexel Music Industry Program alum Joe Reinhart (Hop Along, Dogs on Acid), recording new material, and they will release a three-song 7” EP with MAD Dragon in the spring. Two members of the band—Lexi Campion (drums) and Donald Young (guitar)—are current Music Industry students.

MAD Dragon Records has big plans for the upcoming year and we hope to announce two more new signings and upcoming concerts in the near future. Click here to visit the new website of MAD Dragon Music Group (MDMG), where you can find music, news and show updates, the full roster of MAD Dragon Records artists, a blog and more. MAD Dragon Records has twice been named the Independent Music Awards’ College Label of the Year.

A number of current Westphal College students and alums from Music Industry, Film & Video, and Entertainment & Arts Management programs were featured in a December 18 in-depth Philadelphia Inquirer article about the strong Drexel community in Philadelphia’s alt-rock and punk scene.