Feature / Music
Pass The Mic: Record Labels and Artists on 2008

Words: Michael • Posted pre-2010

LINKS TO ALL THE PAGES

Get Outta Town Records (Charles Chaussinand)

What are your top five albums that were released in 2008?

  1. Cruel Hand - Prying Eyes
  2. Static Radio - An Evening of Bad Decisions
  3. Paint it Black - New Lexicon
  4. Defeater - Travels
  5. Wait in Vain - Seasons

What band did you discover in 2008 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?

I realize I'm a little behind on this band and I am sure everyone else has been listening to them for years, but earlier this year I discovered Another Breath. My old band played with them and I was impressed, but didn't listen to the records I had purchased too much. When I moved my label office, I re-discovered the discs and can't stop playing them. Their music is so cleverly written and they have all the elements of a hardcore band that I like.

How will you remember 2008? (In terms of music)

In large part, this year will be the year that I got to pursue music much more than ever before. Extensive touring schedules and filling in for different bands has taken me all over. If we're speaking in terms of what I've been listening to over the year, I really like the resurgence of melodic bands.

Vinyl record sales saw a significant increase this year while hard copy sales continued to dwindle. Is this a return to the glory days for vinyl or just a phase? Explain.

Since I run a label, I still support bands and labels by purchasing everything I listen to. That being said, any way kids will buy music I hope is going to stay around a while. I wish kids bought CDs, but purchasing anything that helps sustain a band or label I appreciate. I think that as music continues to move digitally that there will be a desire for tangible music mediums so kids can buy an album, feel the excitement of going home and putting it on for the first time to hear the band. Digital means just don't have the same feeling behind them, which, I think, is a big part of getting a new record.

What was the most memorable moment for you in 2008? (Can be in terms of anything)

This year took me to my first "real" recording studio experience with Jim Siegel at The Outpost. I went to school for audio engineering and have been playing in bands for ten years, so getting to be on the musician side of things in a studio like that with an engineer I respect so much was really a good feeling.

What can we look forward to from you in 2009?

I am going to have a busy year coming up. As far as the label, I will be releasing the CD version of the Kid Dynamite tribute alongside Black Numbers Records who is doing the vinyl, releasing the Paint it Black "Demo" on vinyl, Offsides/Wait in Vain "Split" and a Violent Children "Discography" are all in the works right now. Musically, I will be working on the Offsides split, an Offsides LP, a new demo with Porcell on vocals, new DEA EP, and another No Harm Done LP and hopefully a few other things. I am also going to try and write a book over the course of the year. It is something I've wanted to work on for a while.

What three records are you looking forward to most in 2009?

I am really looking forward to the Offsides/Wait in Vain split. The new Shook Ones album will be incredible and Death is Not Glamorous has a new LP coming out that I am really stoked on.

Homepage: http://www.getouttatownrecords.com

Related features

Mike Huguenor

One Question Interviews / What's That Noise? • July 8, 2025

Mike Huguenor Tell us about the primary guitars you used making Surfing the Web with the Alien? Read more

Scene Point Blank's Favorites: The Year So Far (July 2025)

Music • July 6, 2025

We're halfway through the year: when did that happen?! Luckily for you, SPB is on hand to share the music we've enjoyed most in 2025 thus far. Read on to hear about the records that have made our top list for this year as it stands, and also some bonus … Read more

Shane Herrell: A Tribute

Music • July 6, 2025

Shane Herrell: Rest In Power(pop) (1980-2025) The Rocker I try to live my life with as few regrets as possible. Sadly I never got the chance to hear my friend Shane Herrell karaoke Thin Lizzy’s "The Rocker." As a singing bass player we don’t have enough heroes. It might just … Read more

Unseemlier

One Question Interviews • June 27, 2025

Mike Assatly (Unseemlier - guitar/vocals) SPB: Do you have a preferred model of van for touring? Assatly: Chevy G-20 Gladiator! It was my first van, I got it from my uncle with 115,000 on it. He got rid of it for a new van because it was "old" and would … Read more

Dollar Store

One Question Interviews • June 26, 2025

Dave Slaverave (Dollar Store - bass) SPB: This band hits a lot of styles, all kind of overlapping at the same time. How hard was it to find “your sound” when bringing these influences together? Slaverave: Not very hard at all actually. We're all old-ass adults who've soaked in a … Read more

More from this section

Scene Point Blank's Favorites: The Year So Far (July 2025)

Music • July 6, 2025

We're halfway through the year: when did that happen?! Luckily for you, SPB is on hand to share the music we've enjoyed most in 2025 thus far. Read on to hear about the records that have made our top list for this year as it stands, and also some bonus … Read more

Shane Herrell: A Tribute

Music • July 6, 2025

Shane Herrell: Rest In Power(pop) (1980-2025) The Rocker I try to live my life with as few regrets as possible. Sadly I never got the chance to hear my friend Shane Herrell karaoke Thin Lizzy’s "The Rocker." As a singing bass player we don’t have enough heroes. It might just … Read more

Caterwaul 2025

Music • May 13, 2025

Each year in late May, the 4-day party and noise-rock festival Caterwaul takes over multiple venues in Minneapolis. It’s a stacked lineup this year, to put it mildly, with each night’s headliners FACS, Young Widows, Naw, Pissed Jeans, and Uniform -- and that’s leaving a ton of other great bands … Read more