Nick Hertzberg (Wet Cassettes / All of the Blood)
What are your top five albums that were released in 2022? (In order 1-5)
- Straw Man Army - SOS
- Osees - A Foul Form
- Gonemage - Handheld Demise
- Cryptae - Capsule
- Petbrick - Liminal
What band did you discover in 2022 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? How so?
This year I "met" Garry from Gonemage / Cara Neir / Homeskin and got turned onto his world of genre-bending and world-building. I was feeling bold and asked him to collaborate on an album together, and we did. We released KSSL (pronounced "Kessel") - Casting Patterns on JEMS over the summer. I also did guest vocals on two Gonemage songs, which was an honor. I highly recommend all of his projects. He's a kind workhorse who dabbles in many things sonically (which I do myself, and appreciate) and does it right every. damn. time.
How will you remember 2022? (In terms of music)
I'll remember 2022 as another year of manifesting too many bands and projects (I think I released or collaborated on, in some capacity, over 20 albums or EPs or singles this year), but having so much fun in doing so. Music is my therapy. This year Wet Cassettes (my label) began working with more artists that weren't friends or involved in our inner circle - so that was a great achievement. Honestly, physical sales have slowed a lot (I have seen many other tape labels discuss this too) - so that is disappointing, but you learn and adapt from what the world wants and what you can deliver without losing your mind.
What can we look forward to from you in 2023?
Wet Cassettes might be shifting our focus a bit and/or doing more spaced-out drops of tapes (quarterly?) but I am sure I won't be slowing down on my number of releases overall. I've already got 5 in the pipeline for early 2023 that you will be able to find on my heavier music collective page (All of the Blood) and on Wet Cassettes.
What records are you looking forward to most in 2023?
Fucked Up, Algiers, Paramore, Gridlink, Liturgy, 100 Gecs, Pile, and anything (and everything) King Gizzard + The Lizard Wizard end up releasing.
Live shows are still a mixed bag as we adapt to social gatherings in a COVID world. What is something positive you see about touring right now? Anything you’d like to see change?
As someone who doesn't really actively tour any longer, but who has friends that still do - I hear the horror stories and know that the system needs to change. Artists are losing so much money and are not even completing a tour or breaking even when they are home. This isn't even a case of "making a living" as a touring band, which in punk and these more niche genres, is hard as hell. It's just about being taken advantage of by venues and different figures along the way that take too much (merch percentage cuts? And we're still doing pay-to-play ticketing scenarios, really?). We, as an audience, are given a gift by having tours and shows happen again after COVID - let's not fuck it up by not paying our artists.
Nick Hertzberg – social media links
- Instagram: @wetcassettes
