Russell Edling (Cherry)
SPB: What was your first show?
Russell: It was July 1999, I was 11. The show was an all-day thing called "Suckfest," run by a local guy in Barnesville, PA.
Pretty much every band within 30 miles came and played. I was blown away, I saw this band called Nine Lives from NY that I thought were awesome, and a band from Freeland, PA called Team Radar. I was there because my oldest sister Lori (she also did the Gloom artwork!) was friends with the guy who ran the show.
Rob Fales (Southpaw Records)
SPB: Have you ever rejected album art from a band or artist? What goes into that process/decision?
Rob: Yes, we've rejected album art from bands. It's not something we do too often, only two that I can recall. There was a Sandwitches record we removed a penis from (for obvious reasons). Then there was the album art for Sam Coffey and The Iron Lungs Gates Of Hell that we rejected. The original artwork for Sam Coffey was very gothic and it made the album look like a metal record. For a band that sounds like a mix of The Exploding Hearts and Meatloaf we didn't see the connection and figured other people wouldn't either. When we asked the band if we could change it they were more than happy to do. We decided with the band to hire an artist to illustrate the cover.
France Camp
SPB: Who is the most overrated musician/band of all time?
Frane Camp: Charles "the man" Manson. Not a big fan of his music, really dug his side project lol
I'm giving you two.
2nd answer: Our answer would have to be Devin Gregory and the Fire Department.
There’s a band that took off in the ‘90s and really hit the ground running with their single "Take Me to the Station" and "Wake Up (The House is on Fire)," but they failed to gain traction with their sophomore EP "Dalmatian Sunday." Things took a turn for the worse in ‘92 when lead singer left to pursue heavy opiates, but I know they have been topping charts across the world with their newest trash "I'm Retired, but Still Have Nightmares" and "Wife is gone (I'm a Hero)."
Yuck, no thanks.
Eric (Wall of Youth Records)
SPB: If you could universally fix one recurring issue in venues across the world, what would you fix?
Eric: If I had my way, which never seems to happen, I would make the floors of all venues sloped slightly down toward the stage. I'm a pretty tall person so I always feel like a total asshole when I am anywhere but the back of the room. Which I never am, so I always feel like a total asshole. You see the problem. If the floors sloped down then all the shorter people behind me would still be able to see over my head. I've been to a few places like that and it was great. Of course that sort of revision would require a bunch of construction so let's just go with "free beer." Final answer.