Var (No Idea Records)
SPB: As No Idea has become an established DIY label, what is the more tiresome stereotype you’ve encountered as a result of that success?
Var: The short answer would be that "all the bands sound like Hot Water Music." *
The long answer is that "success" is a tricky word. Our daily lives and work on the label/mailorder/distribution are filled with an unending flow of tiny successes and failures. It's hard to say which we learn more from; sometimes a well-timed stubbed toe allows us to protect ourselves from falling down a mine shaft. Do we weep over a bruise or toast an averted disaster?
* Or perhaps that we all have beards. I do not have a beard. I cannot grow one properly, even if it were my keenest dream. I didn't shave for a month just to see what would happen. Itchy happened. Dirt-scraggle happened. I didn't start hanging around the arcade selling clove cigarettes, but I certainly felt relieved and liberated when I cracked and put the razor to use.
