Understood Guys, Distro is having a horrible time with anything unknown these days. They only want products they know will sell to chain stores (like Target and Best Buy) They wnat small labels to blow every cent they pay them (and much that indi labels just don't have anymore) on useless ads in trade publications that don't even review those kinda CDs when you send them out to them.

I think Andy is right, we small guys should throw a self-indulgent piss-up someplace and not invite anyone that won't show up and enjoy the music. I have done this many a time (not always successfully either) but it sure was fun!

Also once I said on the GP Forum, "You can have more fun than running an indi label by taking all your hard earned cash in singles and heading to the tallest building (or bridge) and throwing it off and watching the people below scurry about to pick it all up!" It still rings true.

Good luck with that, distribution can be , in my experience at least, completely useless. My own distro is not much use, they expect me to spend hundreds of pounds on magazine ads when i would much rather spend that money getting drunk and having an indulgent and lust filled weekend away, whats a boy to do.

We've been turned down by two distributors (Floridas Dying and Choke) who flat-out told us they can't sell CDs. Still waiting to hear back from Revolver/Midheaven. We're just trying to find a distro for Left Arm's CD, Dissatisoul. Just to get it in some stores, that's all. It's really cheap (just six bucks retail!), and the band couldn't afford to press vinyl... but who will distribute it?

oh....for LPs, you really cant do it with a real proper jacket for under $1600 roughly.

imprint has bad ass rates on jackets. 500 for like $570 or something.

the cheapest thing I could imagine is that, plus get a United special when they do 490 LPs for $999....this is one of their "usuals" they run now and again...so that brings ya to about $1600.

Then ya gotta buy baggies for another $50. so with the best deals in the world...you still need like $1650...oh fuck...then theres OVERS...the devil overs are...but both of these specials I mentioned fortunately include shipping. But now you have to wait and read when they come back. So you're still lookin at $1700...and to be conservative I would never EVER budget less than 2 grand on an LP. Because theres always a dick coming at my ass from around the corner shadows.

Well, everyone has their own opinion seriously. Keep in mind theres two parts to it...mastering/plating....and THEN pressing. for pressing, United is great. some people have issues with their mastering. The source transferring onto the metal stamper I mean.

GZ Media (and Pirates Press) has some kind of diamond-headed cutting lathe that makes the records louder and more accurate with a lower noise floor I think. well, hence the louder part. they do sound good, but are expensive.

So anyway, in the realm of affordability, I found that lots of people highly recommend Aardvark for vinyl mastering/plating, and for LPs, its ironically CHEAPER than United's own mastering/plating service, and has higher accuracy in the translation supposedly. Now, this is just from talking to bands and people that swear it's a big difference, I've never done a side by side comparison or anything. But I heard it so much that it has to be true.

For pressing the vinyl, just have the mastering people you select (if separate from the pressing plant) send it to the place that does pressing cheapest. Overall, for budget, quality and reliability, the United plant is probably the best combo for the buck in terms of pressing. In a perfect world I would personally do Aardvark mastering, ship to United or Bill Smith for pressing...maybe Rainbo, and then package in Dorado jackets.

On the CHEAP, look for United's specials and pounce. They have some reaaaallly good ones at times that have saved me up to like $400 on a job. Thats a lot for small labels. Thats the short answer to this. I just wanted to break down how you can get high quality for cheap by breaking it up across places.

What's the best place to get vinyl pressed these days? United? Musicol? Any other joints worth checkin' out?

We got a quote from Pirates Press in SF (they're a middleman for GZ Digital Media in the Czech Republic) that about made our eyes pop out of our heads. $1900 for 500 vinyl LPs, or $1550 for 250. Damn!

Hi Everyone
we're about to release our first album and are wondering how to disribute it. If you had any tips or suggestions (mail order catalogues, websites, labels, music download websites...) that would be great!
thanks
Michel

Sometimes is just a waste of time, specially with monitors on stage. I remember the first time I played with Los Straitjackets and saw their stage-plot. At the end of a very short directions you could read: AND NO MONITORS, PLEASE. Yes. They are great, pro musicians and they know. You spend an hour or even more time onstage so the monitors guy can justify his "work". I recommend having a "sound man" you can trust and yes...FORGET ABOUT MONITORS: even if you did soundcheck by the time you got on stage they never sound the same. And come on, we're not Kiss nor Pink Floyd. We have bands travelin' around playing in small clubs so...use that "soundcheck hour" to sleep, eat or meeting a good looking señorita!!!!!.

Uh-oh... We're in trouble now...!!

Welcome aboard fellas!

Great, can't wait to check this out!!!

I'm thrilled to welcome Reverend Beat-Man (yes, of Voodoo Rhythm Records) and Gringo Starr to the podcast team! Their new show is called SONIC NIGHTMARES and will debut on the network on Friday December 14th.

By the way, if you are a fan of them and would like to have your own input into the music selection and stuff, please join the GaragePunk Podcasts group! Thanks.

For what it's worth, I've nominated the GaragePunk Podcast in the "Old School" (podcasts over two years old) category at the Podcast Peer Awards site: http://www.podcastpeers.org/ You have to get validated before you can vote. There are instructions on doing that there. It's pretty easy. Just tell them the name of your podcast (show name) and give them your individual feed URL and the direct link to your show's category on the blog (if you don't know this, just let me know and I'll send it to you). They had a "best music podcast" category last time out, but left that category off this time. I think they said it'll be back on the next one. Would be cool to win any of these, though. Oh, and I also nominated our buddy Bill Streeter's Lo-Fi Saint Louis video podcast under the "Favorite Video" category. Vote for that one, too!

Not sure I understand your question. Do you mean "are surf songs with vox not allowed"? I don't think there are any "rules" about the Surfcast...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but on the Surfcasts aren't surf songs with vox allowed? I really dig the GP Surfcasts so far, but I like to try and limit the true "surf" content on my Instro A Go-Go shows and don't allow no human voice!

Maybe I could do an all sleazy surf (even with vox!) GP Surfcast this spring/summer?

Why don't you just take a turn at hosting the GaragePunk Surfcast?

Yeah, takin' yer requests fer the upcomin' episode of WWS (#6!)...here's a few requirements, jack:
- Gots to be instrumental (no vox, no screamin', no gibber-gabber)
- Gots to be garage or sleazy r&b based...please no typical surf
- Prefer any brand spankin' new bands (esp. those here on the Hideout!)

Now 'course I can't guarantee I actually own what ya request but I'll do my best to track it down...and hopefully if I dig it yer gonna hear it on the next show...so shoot

I'm thrilled to welcome Reverend Beat-Man (yes, of Voodoo Rhythm Records) and Gringo Starr to the podcast team! Their new show is called SONIC NIGHTMARES and will debut on the network on Friday December 14th. Woo-hoo!

Yeah! I would have really loved to have been there. These guys single-handedly introduced me to 60's punk in the mid 80's with their first incarnation as The Mystery Machine. I hung out with these guys a lot in the old daze. Ray has posted a video of the Casbah reunion: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=19250043

Ha Ha, well I never saw Blair's reply to the original query untill I'd finished and saved mine, so apologies Blair for saying some of the same kinda things...and Hey thanks for the praise you gave The Thanes and The Wildebeests, glad you, and lots of the crowd dugged it so...yeah I heartily concur with most of what you said too. All in all it was, at times certainly, a riotous rock'n'roll party with great DJing from Maudrey Audrey. Miriam n Billy and the Pokemonomann hisself... Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanks Cavestomp! Lenny, of The Thanes and The Wildebeests

Hey, in reply to the folks who wanted to know how the Cavestomp went...well speaking as someone who was playing there, twice, with The Thanes on the Friday, and then again with The Wildebeests on the Sunday, I can say that it went really well...of course The Sonics were totally great, actually for me a little more amazing on the Friday than they were on the Sunday, but no less exciting really - both nights they rocked the place. The Staggers who opened proceedings were really excellent. I also dug The Higher State, bits of The Alarm Clocks, ditto The Lyres, the beginning of The Strawberry Alarm Clock, well in fits n starts, and except for an odd rendition of the killer B side 'Birdman Of Alkatrash' wha? 'appened there-uh? Ha Ha...The Urges were pretty exciting at times, first time I've caught them in action, although I think their show would work a lot better in a smaller club setting - of course the same could be said about a lot of the acts on display, us included. Anyway!!! To check out my almost complete 'field report' of NY Cavestomp 2007 go to Lindsay Hutton's Next Big Thing blogspot.com site and check the archives page...cheers n best - Lenny

Own it. Just got a German issued greatest hits. Fantastic.

MMM,

Thanks for the plug. I just want to emphasize that you must vote for 10 bands and ten songs for the ballot to be valid. Last year we got really close to induction. I'd like to thank everyone who voted for us last year and all of you who vote for us this year. And you're right, there are alot of great bands on the list of nominees. Great songs to choose from, too.

Thanks again for posring this.

Tom

Anyone using SLSk?
What about the garagepunk room on SLSK?
My id is Rowdy Rod

If the song sucks, I give it one star. If it's just so-so, two. A good song, three stars. Now the songs that really make me go "wow, that's a great song!" get four stars. I only award five stars to those that I see as (or that could possibly be) all-time favorites; ones that I would never tire of listening to.