Jud – Heavy and Fast Records + Distro
Scene Point Blank: Tell me a bit about who you are and what you do.
My name is Jud and I run Heavy and Fast. Heavy and Fast is a label, distro and pop-up with a focus on metal and punk. I have 9 releases so far, an online store for the disto and I vend at various types of events about 15 times a year. I have been a record, tape and CD collector since I was a kid in the '80s and I wanted to start a label and distro so I could curate releases and bands that I really enjoy. I recently got laid off from a very long stint in corporate America and I’m now focusing solely on my passion of metal and hardcore along with physical media.
Scene Point Blank: You run both a label and distro. Did one predate the other? When did you start doing this?
I started both at the same time in early 2022. I decided to do start Heavy and Fast to help make a small contribution to our scene.
Scene Point Blank: How many orders do you fill per week (or month -- feel free to estimate)?
I currently ship about 50 packages a month. As a fan of punk and metal, I have been writing to bands and friends via snail mail since the '80s. That’s also when I started buying via mailorder which organically moved to online and then I began selling here and there starting in the late '90s.
Scene Point Blank: How many countries do you ship to? What are the main destinations?
I ship 95% to US only. I know, it sucks, but shipping is so expensive to other countries that I have just been avoiding it and the potential hassle. I hope to branch out and do more international shipping one day.
Scene Point Blank: What medium do you send the most of (cd, vinyl, tape, zines, etc)?
12” vinyl is the medium I send the most and is the largest medium I have available for sale. I literally have boxes and boxes of new tapes and CDs that I am trying to inventory and put on my store, but I must prioritize, and the tapes seem to lose out, which is a shame because I really love tapes. Ultimately, I would like to have a full array of large and small vinyl, CDs, tapes, and zines available on my store.
Scene Point Blank: What is the official name of the post office or service you use in your country (e.g. United States Postal Service)? Do you use commercial companies (e.g. UPS, FedEx)?
United States Post Office
Scene Point Blank: How often do you go to a post office or shipping center?
I go to the post office pretty much daily. One thing I strive for is fast shipping and that also means getting the package to the post office too.
I have been doing online and mailorder as a buyer and seller for a very long time. One of the things that bugs the hell out of me is when you get the shipment notification and then the tracking just sits at “label Created, not yet in system” or something similar for an extended period. Going to the post office everyday may be a bit extreme, but go at least once a week for god’s sake. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of DIY labels and distros do ship promptly, but not everybody.
Scene Point Blank: What is the craziest story you've had with trying to ship an item to somebody?
Not crazy, but it’s interesting and sometimes amusing watching the routes packages take. Watching a package headed for Philly from Boston take the scenic route through Texas. I once had a package destined for a friend in Norway bounce back and forth from New York customs to Norway about 5 times.
Scene Point Blank: Do you have any entertaining stories about your trips to the local post office or shipping center? Do you have a relationship with the employees there?
I am fortunate to live close to my local post office (see above response about going everyday, haha!) and I absolutely have a relationship with the employees at my local post office. I have been at my current place for about 12 years, so I have seen some USPS folks come and go but I am on a first name basis with all the clerks who work at the front desk. Most times, it’s just a simple “Hello” or “see you tomorrow” but when it’s not busy I always try and chat.
As for stories, I don’t think I have anything that’s too entertaining. I don’t have to stand in line much anymore, but I have spent a lot of time in USPS lines over the years and are I have some interesting observations. The amount of disrespect and ire I see hurled at the clerks is frightening and infuriating. Waiting in line 45 minutes isn’t fun for anybody, but do people really think it’s the clerk’s fault for not hiring more people? My real trigger is when some douche says, “I pay your salary.” I hear this and I want to start swinging. I know a lot of folks in retail take a lot of abuse, but I wonder if the US post office is worse because people think everyone there works for them and them alone. On the inverse of that, the sheer amount of patience a lot of clerks have. I would last about a half a shift. I am fortunate to have one the nicest and most patient clerks at post office. Shout out to Chingyi, you are the best!!
Scene Point Blank: As a distro, you're both receiving and sending merch. What is the most unique element of running a distro (from a mailorder perspective)?
Maybe not unique, but a surprising thing to me after starting the distro was how much of your life now revolves around cardboard. Of course, I knew cardboard would be a big element, but I guess I just didn’t fathom the sheer amount of cardboard (and space) it would consume in my life, haha!
Breaking down boxes, keeping and sorting boxes for reuse and recycling the ones you can’t reuse. Buying materials in bulk to keep shipping prices down. All this leads to every spare space having stacks and bins of various cardboard and packing materials.
One unique element from the mailorder perspective is the opportunity to engage with people through the long-lost art of handwritten notes. I always write a note for every package, and this has encouraged folks to write back via email. Now I have a bunch of new friends around the country and it's pretty damn cool. This is how we did it in the olden days when I was a kid and it’s cool that the method lives on, even if in a modified way.
Scene Point Blank: What's the weirdest thing a customer has told you related to a package you sent them?
Just a weird story with a package. The customer didn’t receive the package but tracking showed as delivered. It turns out since this was an apartment building someone must have taken the package by mistake. So we waited for someone in the building to realize they didn’t order a bunch of angry tapes but...nothing for a couple of weeks. I was about to refund when the package did show up at the customer's door, opened but everything still there. We laughed that they must not have liked the angry music after all.
Scene Point Blank: How often does somebody email/call/text that they didn't get their package? Does it happen often?
For the most part everything arrives fine, but I do get inquiries from time to time. Generally, it’s just delayed and will show up within a week, sometimes its delayed for a few weeks. Anything after a month is usually forever in the abyss and it's refund time.
Scene Point Blank: Have you noticed patterns with any specific types of mailers, or packages, or sending a certain medium to people?
As I ship mainly records, it’s nice that there are lots of record mailer options out there. I see a lot of Mighty Mailers, which I don’t like personally but they do the job. I still use standard record mailers for 1-2 records. These mailers work but you must do some extra work to make sure they arrive safely (use corner protectors people!). I do like Whiplash v3 mailers for 3-4 records or mixed mediums. Anything beyond that, I double box usually reusing mailers from other distros or one-stops.
Scene Point Blank: What is a bigger problem: lost mail, broken mail, or returned mail?
Since I started the label and distro, I may have 2 or 3 lost packages -- not that bad. Since I am only shipping to the US, the biggest problem I have is delayed mail or tracking going into limbo. I check tracking for all packages I ship and sometimes tracking just doesn’t update and my OCD will not allow to let this sit, so I reach out to the person to ensure they received, and they always have.
Scene Point Blank: Do you have any unusual stories about receiving packages from others?
Oh yes, great question! I think one of my favorites is a 7” I ordered from Discogs quite some time ago. It came in a Dominos small pizza box. Literally, a used pizza box with grease stain and crumbs in the bottom. The 7” was in a plastic grocery box and arrived perfectly. I wish I remembered which 7” it was...I think maybe Career Suicide??
Scene Point Blank: Do you have any sage advice for others on how to send the perfect package?
Poor packaging drives me fucking crazy and I rant it about it a lot! I think the best advice is to assume the package will be thrown around and dropped many times, so pack accordingly. I’m pretty sure I read this on Ebullition’s site, who has/had a great "How to package records" page along with pictures of poor pack jobs.
I have three main goals with shipping: ship fast, ship secure and make no money on shipping. Ship fast, I already covered, but ship secure I take to a whole other level. I won’t go into the gory details, but I have received some feedback like “bomb-proof”, “this package could have made it through the apocalypse it was packed so good”, and “packaged like a tank”. When I get this type of feedback, it just warms my heart.
Scene Point Blank: What is the worst thing to do?
Besides shitty packing, the worst thing to do is make money off shipping. Setting up shipping rates on any site is not a perfect science due to so many variables, but I will always refund any shipping charge overage that is more than $1. If you make money off shipping, you pretty much suck.
Example/Rant time: I once ordered three records and paid $12 shipping. The records came in a single white econo mailer ($.50 cents), no pads, no bubble wrap. At the time this would have been around a $5 media mail cost. So, the shipper paid less than $6 bucks in shipping cost and then made over $6. And all three records were damaged with dings and seam splits. Fuck this and fuck you. It’s not punk to ship like a fool.
Scene Point Blank: Anything you’d like to add?
Shout out and thanks to Loren and Scene Point Blank, this interview was a blast. A quick wave to Nathan from Soda Killers zine, who is relevant to these topics as I have been mailing back and forth with him for over 5 years, which stemmed from mailorder.
