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First of all, please tell us who you are.
Slim Moon.
When did your label start? (Don't panic; these questions will become more interesting soon. We're catering to the readers here.)
1997.
Let's go on with the predictable stuff. How did you come up with your label's name? What other names did you consider?
I wanted to call it Gertrude Records in honor of Gertrude Stein but there already was a Gertrude Records, so I named it after her apartment.
Do you have a slogan or tag line? If so, what is it? We eat that shit up.
Popularity does not equal quality.
Every label seems to have horror stories about would-be signees sending godawful, inappropriate demos, e-mailing MP3s or generally embarrassing themselves. Please share some of yours!
We love every demo we get.
What does your label do that no-one else does? What's your niche, in other words?
We don't do anything unique.
What do you know now that you wish you'd known when your label started? What would you do differently?
I would have tried harder to sign erase errata.
When it comes to dealing with bands, do you favor contracts or handshakes?
Smiles.
Tell us, about the most painful lesson you've learned -- business, poor judgement, watch your footing on the stairs, whatever -- since the label started.
Something always goes wrong.
Now, to cheer everyone up again, tell us about something good -- the event (or whatever) that made you realize that your label would be a long-term concern rather than a glorified hobby.
Seeing Hella for the first time.
If you could pay half the rent you currently pay for office space (if you have it), or have twice the space for the same amount of money, which would you choose?
Half the rent.
An independent label is, like any other operation, a business. What day-to-day aspects of business most get in the way of the fun parts of the job?
Anything to do with money.
How has your attitude toward music -- buying it, listening to it, seeing it -- changed since you've been associated with your label?
Opened my ears to some new sounds, crazy new sounds.
What are the secret perks of operating an independent label?
Bonus tracks.
We know you're proud of all of your bands, but who has been your proudest signing/biggest find? (If diplomacy prevents you from answering this with anything other than "I'm proud of all of our bands", we understand.)
Dunno.
Of the artists/bands on your label...
a) Who would you most want on your side in a bar brawl?
Young People.
b) Who is most likely to get hopelessly lost while on tour?
Godzik Pink.
c) Who is most likely to record a two-disc concept album about elves?
Replikants.
d) Who is most likely to be featured in Tiger Beat?
Deerhoof.
e) Who is most likely to have a song in a Gap commercial?
Hella.
What's the most annoying/inaccurate preconception that people have about your label?
That we aren't the best label in the world.
If you were given $10,000 to create a tchotchke/doohickey/promotional item to raise awareness of one of your upcoming albums, what would you make? And for which album?
Mind control devices.
Which three of your releases, taken as a group, best represent your label's philosophy?
If The 21st Century Didn't Exist It Would Be Necessary To Invent It (compilation).
If you had the funds and inventory to give just one of your releases to everyone in America, which would it be?
Witchypoo.
You've been given the chance to take another label's entire roster and do with it as you please. Whose acts do you grab, and which bands particularly attracted you?
I can't decide between Troubleman, Load, or GSL.
We asked the previous question to a whole bunch of labels. Which of them, if any, named your label's roster as their most-wanted list?
Thin The Herd.
Who would win in a fight -- ninjas or pirates?
Violence never solves anything, nobody wins.
-- George Zahora
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