Interview With Dusty Medical Record’s Magical Genius a.k.a Kevin

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Our most popular posts recently have been the new Goodnight Loving track, a brief write up on Gut Reactions, and the invitation for all of you to come to Dusty Medical Records & The Get Drunk anniversary party going on June 25th-27th throughout Bay View.  Kevin Unaware-of-his-last-name is the genius behind all of that.  DMR is a one man operation, and Kevin is the man behind the curtain, who took time off from running a record label to answer some questions we had about what the first five years of running a record label have been like, and what makes Milwaukee so special.  Anyone who’s interested in how The Black Lips inspired a DVD company to turn into a record label should read on.

Well, I couldn’t let an excuse to throw a big party get away from me, and I’ve come up with far dumber reasons than an actual, meaningful anniversary, so it was kind of a no-brainer that I’d put something together. It was just a matter of when, and mid-summer going up against Tom Petty & ZZ Top two nights in a row seemed like an obvious choice.

If I had to pick two groups to tell people to go see….. I couldn’t. I’m biased, obviously, since I like all these bands enough to have put out records by them, so of course I think they’re all great and worth your hard earned dollars. I guess if I was pressed I would say Red Mass, since they’re coming all the way from Montreal, and have only played the US once or twice, and only then in New York City. Roy, the leader of that band is a genius! I’ve loved every other band he’s been in (Daylight Lovers, Les Sexareenos, Del Gators, CPC Gangbangs, among others) and I can’t wait to see this new project, which seems to be what he’s been working towards all through his musical career.

Mp3: Red Mass – Saturn

I imagine that the first five years have been been pretty insane: could you tell us a little bit about how the first five years of DMR have been?

(censored)

What made you want to start a record label, and more specifically, a record label in Milwaukee?

Well, I’m always coming up with dumb ideas and throwing lots of energy into them, but the label actually happened sort of on accident. I originally had an idea for a DVD company which would put out video compilations bands with live footage and any other sort of nonsense I could fit on a DVD.. I’m a total nerd for old music videos from the ’60s and ’70s and noticed that bands didn’t really do that anymore. This was five or six years ago, so you have to think back to before everything was on youtube. I had been talking to the Black Lips about putting out something along those lines, but in the course of talking about logistics, I came across their live session on WFMU from back in 2003. Listening to that recording was when that band clicked for me. I had been into their first 2 albums and had seen them a bunch of times, but that live show really captured everything that I loved (and continue to love) about that band. I couldn’t stop listening to it, and I just felt that it had to be preserved in a better form than a crappy internet stream. So I pitched the idea to them, they thought it was weird but were into having something else on the merch table, and the rest was history. After that record did well, I realized that it wasn’t THAT hard to “run a record label” and just never stopped. As far as starting a record label in Milwaukee, well I live here and I guess you could say there was a niche to fill with not too many other people around here putting out records, but I never thought of it that way.

What are some of the pitfalls of running a record label in Milwaukee?

I would say the biggest thing is not having enough resources to put out every record by every local band that I like. Unfortunately, I’ve had to pass on lots of great bands simply because I am just one guy doing this, and I don’t sleep on a big pile of cash. I’m forced to be choosy when I don’t necessarily want to be.

What are some things you love about the people/scene here in Milwaukee?

I love that for the most part people here are pretty down to earth, a lot of times to a fault, but really I’d rather a band not have any idea how awesome they are as opposed to thinking they’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. I think in the past decade or so, national and international touring bands have come to respect the scene and bands here and appreciate the good thing we have going, which is nice… it kind of makes it our little secret that we share with the bands from around the world that “know” – because Milwaukee is completely off the radar as far as the national press is concerned. And I think that keeps people here grounded. I don’t come across a lot of people who are playing music in an effort to “make it” – typically those people leave town for a place they think will help them achieve some sort of success (New York, LA, Austin, Portland, etc), whereas for people here in town, playing shows, making records and hanging out getting drunk with their friends IS success. And we have our share of bands here who tour their asses off, which goes a long way too.

What albums have you guys put out that you’re most proud of?  What should we all be running to the record store to pick up?

Another impossible question! It’d be hard for me to single out one or two records for fear of alienating every other band I’ve worked with, but I guess I would have to say the three Goodnight Loving albums make me pretty damn proud. That band has really taken it to the next level, touring Australia, Europe and all over North America, and now releasing records on bigger labels. I’d like to think the records they’ve done for Dusty Medical had a small part in that success.

Mp3: The Goodnight Loving – The Pan

Which upcoming DMR releases are you most excited for?

I’m super excited about the four full-length albums I have coming out this summer, as they are all by Milwaukee bands – The Midwest Beat, Call Me Lightning, Drugs Dragons and The Sugar Stems. They couldn’t sound less like each other, but they all say a lot about the state of Milwaukee music today. I’m also really looking forward to the release of a record that was recorded 10 years ago by a little band called The Guilty Pleasures out of Bloomington, Illinois. They were an amazing rock & roll band that played the midwest garage-punk circuit with bands like The Dirtbombs, Clone Defects, Lost Sounds, etc back in the late 90s. They released one single on a tiny label and then broke up. Jered, the guitar player, went on to form The Ponys. Srini went on to form France Has The Bomb. Matt has played drums for countless bands including The Spits, Lover!, and LiveFastDie, and Jered and Matt formed the Chicago “super-group” Hot Machines with Miss Alex White. What most people don’t know is that The Guilty Pleasures recorded a full-length with Jim Diamond in Detroit before they imploded, but never released the material. The record is fantastic, and I’m really excited for the masses to finally hear it!

What are the next five years of Dusty Medical going to look like?  How many flying cars will you own in 2015?

I am going to own ALL the flying cars. Let’s party.