Sometimes things don't go the way you expect them to and, often, that's just fine. Just ask Dan Clark of Milwaukee's independent Snapdragon Records, which is celebrating its first anniversary.

"We started the label with the intention of releasing CDs from friends of ours around the Milwaukee area, but it didn't quite take that direction at the start," says Clark. "The bands on our label currently are national and international."

Clark and Kristan Harris had planned to launch Snapdragon with a compilation CD featuring local and national acts, but unforeseen problems held that project up and forced the duo to look elsewhere for its first release.

"The first CD we released was by Welton, a band based in Fort Smith, Arkansas called "The Soundtrack of Our Lives," Clark says. "We heard their stuff and loved it and decided to put it out first. Out of Winnipeg, Canada came The Rock Band's album "This is Revenge," which we released late last summer. We have recently teamed up with another band called Easyway, located in Portugal, and plan to release their CD in late spring."

All the while, the compilation project has inched forward, according to Clark who expects to release it soon.

"We are really anxious to put it out because it will be the first release of ours that will showcase some of the awesome talent we have right here in Milwaukee and around Wisconsin."

So, how does a small independent record label in Wisconsin, run out of someone's living room, come to terms with bands from around the globe? It can't be an easy task. Or can it?

"The agreements we have with our bands vary from band to band, we don't have a specific arrangement that we want our artists to agree to, and are open for any kind of negotiation," says Clark. "Mostly we just want to put out music that we like and will do what we can to accomplish that. So I guess we are not a typical label."

What is typical is that running a label, however small, is a lot of work. This is no news to folks who have run other labels in town, but Clark admits it has been harder than he expected. Though that's not to say he's not enjoying himself.

"It did turn out to be more work than expected, but it is mostly enjoyable to do," he says. "At times it has been hard to keep the label going just because it is so new and there is a lot of work to be done. I am currently a business student at UWM, I work for the business school, and also do freelance web design for bands and small companies. So trying to prioritize it all can get difficult. We recently received national distribution through Lumber Jack Distribution which was a major step for us in getting the music out there, and is a lot easier than trying to fulfill orders ourselves out of my apartment.

"We had a large part in booking the two national tours for both Welton and The Rock Band, which was probably the hardest part. Keeping up with all of

the requests for promotional copies for reviews and radio play is a lot of work as well, but the work is worth it because we are seeing really positive

results for our bands and the label in general. More and more people are showing up to see the bands at every show throughout the nation, and we are

growing faster than ever expected."

Now Clark and Harris are looking forward. First there's a first anniversary party on Sat., March 6 at The Rave, with a long list of bands and free CDs for the first 200 fans. And, then, year number two will feature a disc by Easyway , that long-awaited compilation and a split disc with Welton and Milwaukee's The Response. In addition to the Lumber Jack Distribution set-up, Snapdragon releases will be available via Audio Lunchbox.com.

"We hope to sign a few new bands and put out two or three other releases," Clark says, "but we'll see how it goes."

Visit Snapdragon online at www.snapdragonrecords.com.