Sunday, July 11, 2010

FAQs

Suburban Mayhem is a barely animate DIY label based in Dublin, Ireland. It's a fairly shambolic affair run by one sleep deprived, impoverished man with an apartment full of cardboard boxes filled with records.

How many times have you quit doing the label now dickhead?Pfft..how long is a piece of string? I'm constantly putting my foot in my mouth anyway, but particularly when it comes to the label. Suburban Mayhem is pretty much in a state of suspended animation, and to all intents and purposes is on its' deathbed. Easiest way to explain how things have worked up til now is that ocassionally, if I have money to spare and a band I know and like need a hand putting out a record and I can help them I do. I get them to stick "suburban mayhem" on there rather than just putting my own name down on the sleeve of the record. So it's more of an alias than a record label per se.

But you just sent me an email last week about the label closing for once and for all? What the fuck?Yeah, I know, and it's still pretty the case. I was about to stop after the Sea of Shit record but basically a band sent me a recording for an LP that was so good I knew I'd be a fool not to get involved, and perhaps against my better judgement I've been persuaded to assist with that. Plus, common sense dicatates trying to sell the remaining releases and break even is a better plan than just stopping dead and being broke. I'm still winding things down, just at a slightly less abrupt pace.

So that probably invalidates most of the below info, but still..

Will you put out our record?Currently I don't plan on taking on any further releases - and generally speaking I work with friends rather than strangers. But if you want to send me something to listen to, go ahead, maybe drop me an email and say hello first though. If you're going to mail me every couple of days asking if I've listened to it or if I'm going to put it out, or if you're going to throw a strop if I don't, then fuck off and leave me alone.

Do you only do 7inches?Aw hell no.. In fact if anything, I'm trying to get away from doing 7inches, because as much as I like the format personally they're financial suicide for a label based on an island with a tiny scene, and tend to eat up my finances really quickly. Which in turn cripples further releases. For shorter releases I prefer doing tapes as to be horribly business like about it, they're more cost effective. And more fun.

Would you be interested in doing a co-release with my label?I'm extremely picky about how these things work, having been kind burned doing these before. As a general rule: If your label is in Ireland or the UK,no. If your label is outside of Ireland and there aren't 5 other labels involved, maybe. If I haven't had any kind of personal contact with you or the band(s) involved before then I generally will politely decline.

I write for a blog/did a zine one time/am a scabby freeloading prick.Can I have a copy of your record for free? If you regularly write for a blog/website/zine then send me on some proof that it's an ongoing thing and I'l happily send you on a download with all the info, inserts, artwork etc, sure,get in touch about that - I'm always happy to supply promo stuff to people who are genuinely going to write about it. Hell, if you do that you;ll probably get sent on any future release in that format wether you want them or not... But if you're just some scene kid chancer trying to scam records off me or other hardworking DIY label folks, then you can stick it up the highest rafters of your arse.

I run a label, do you want to trade/do distro in Ireland for me?There's a small chance I might, but I'm very, very fussy. Due to the..eh.. "erratic" nature of SubHem, I no longer have the time or necessary means to run a distro. I could write an essay on why that is but I won't bore you. So generally I no longer accept trades for the simple reason that I have no real means of selling my own records most of the time, let alone someone else's. But again, it doesn't hurt to ask, as there are a couple of labels whose stuff I do ocasionally take in small quantites for local folks.. I generally only take on stuff I like and would buy myself though. The stuff I put out should give you an idea what kind of thing that is.

Can you book a tour for my band in Ireland?Sorry, I'm long retired from doing shows, being an unsociable hermit who never leaves his house and all. I can possibly point you towards someone who can though. Maybe.

Do you do wholesale?
I sure do. And I'm cheap as well. Distros and shops drop me a line about it at suburbanmayhemrex@gmail.com, but please note I don't do consignment.

Where can I get your records?Via my bigcartel page generally. In Ireland try Into The Void records in Dublin and Plugd records in Cork, two great independent record shops (I'm always looking to get my releases into other local shops if anyone can help). Otherwise check your local distro, generally the likes of Graanrepubliek, Feast of Tentacles, Halo of Flies, IFB and so on stock my releases as soon as they come out.

If I email you will you reply to me?Yes, I will. Even if it takes me a while to get back to you, and it's a very brief reply, I will actually try and reply to any mail that isn't spam - you might need to be patient though. It really, really fucking bugs me if I mail a band or label about a release or something and they just never bother replying. Particularly labels I'm looking to buy or trade with myself.It bugs me even more when those same people who don't have the courtesy to reply even briefly then jack all the addresses in my mailing list and spam other people.

Are you the same Jamie fhat was in Shank?
I've been getting this in letters/emails for the past ten years - No, I'm Jamie that's in Drainland. Jamie from Shank is a lovely man, but he's originally from Scotland, lives in England and doesn't run a record label. Scotland and Ireland are in fact different countries. I wish I'd been in Shank if that helps.

Why are you such an asshole?
Because I'm old, poor and grumpy. What's your excuse?