When we hosted our first local music roundtable, everyone involved felt like we’d barely scratched the surface. After a 20-minute conversation, there was still so much left to say. “Man, we could’ve gone on for another two hours,” one guest said. And he was right. So we decided to turn it into an ongoing, quarterly series.

Today we hosted Round 2. For this one, we decided to narrow the focus and invite the driving forces behind a few of the Tampa area’s best independent record labels to discuss their roles in the local scene. By zooming in on one detail of the “big picture,” we hoped we’d at least come away feeling like we were able to chew everything we bit off.

Assisting with the mental mastication were three of the area’s musical mainstays, a trio of scene stalwarts who’ve seemingly been around forever but in many ways are just getting started:

• Keith Ulrey of New Granada Records: You probably know Keith from one of his many great bands (Zillionaire, Pohgoh, etc.), but he’s also the mastermind behind New Granada, under which banner he has not only released some of the area’s finest CDs (Candy Bars, Dear + Glorious Physician, King of Spain, etc.) but has also organized many of our most memorable shows, mostly at the beloved New World Brewery.

• Marshall Dickson of 24 Hr. Service Station: If you didn’t meet Marshall back when he was the resident tastemaker at Tampa’s seminal Alternative Record Store (R.I.P.) or when he spun impossibly hip tunes at the original Masquerade, you’ve no doubt seen the fruits of his more recent labors in REAX Magazine. His recently revived record label has already re-built an impressive stable of artists, including Win Win Winter, History and Car Bomb Driver.

• Joran Slane of Mekka Records: In addition to leading local faves The Gita and Auditorium (as if that wasn’t enough), Joran also founded the Southeast Music Alliance (check out their excellent SMAsh Radio podcast – they make us look like the amateurs we are) and runs Mekka in his “spare time,” issuing CDs from such local luminaries as Geri X and Rebekah Pulley.

Great guests and great guys, all three. They took time out of their hectic schedules (and, in Joran’s case, while battling the flu) to join us at the News Center, where we sat down, rolled the tape and asked them why on earth a sane human being would willingly choose to operate a local indie label.

And after 20 minutes, Keith assessed the conversation thusly: “Man, we could’ve gone on for another two hours.”

Ah, well. We tried, right?

Check it out here:

Couch Potatoes, Episode 30 [mp3]

In addition to the music chat, you also get the latest news and views from the world of interactive entertainment, along with the usual stupidity from me and Stephen. Bonus!

Don’t forget, you can download the MP3 directly from the link above, or subscribe via iTunes by clicking on the logo on the left side of this page.