It’s hard to believe, but Richmond’s own Rorschach Records has been releasing music for five years now. The Rorschach staff–label founder Curtis Grimstead and his recently recruited business partner Talia Miller–have had their ups and downs over those years, but they’ve also put out some of the best underground, DIY music to come from the Richmond scene and beyond during those times: Ultra Dolphins, the Best Friends Day 6 compilation LP, and both Brainworms albums, just to name a few. Now, to celebrate having made it this far, and in an effort to propel themselves to even greater heights, Rorschach Records are having a five year anniversary party this Sunday at Steady Sounds. In addition to live performances by The Two Funerals, Gull, and at least one more Rorschach Records band, the show will also feature a plethora of Rorschach-related goods, from limited edition test presses of the brand new Two Funerals Boy’s Club EP to free CDs and download codes from older Rorschach releases. Plus, get the opportunity to pre-order the next two Rorschach releases–the new Two Funerals EP, and Capsule‘s No Ghost LP–and discounts on the entirety of the Rorschach catalog. It should be a pretty great afternoon on the whole.
To prepare for this glorious event, I asked Curtis some questions about the history of Rorschach, the future of the music business, and what he’s learned from the past five years. Here’s what he had to say:
It’s hard to believe, but Richmond’s own Rorschach Records has been releasing music for five years now. The Rorschach staff–label founder Curtis Grimstead and his recently recruited business partner Talia Miller–have had their ups and downs over those years, but they’ve also put out some of the best underground, DIY music to come from the Richmond scene and beyond during those times: Ultra Dolphins, the Best Friends Day 6 compilation LP, and both Brainworms albums, just to name a few. Now, to celebrate having made it this far, and in an effort to propel themselves to even greater heights, Rorschach Records are having a five year anniversary party this Sunday at Steady Sounds. In addition to live performances by The Two Funerals, Gull, and at least one more Rorschach Records band, the show will also feature a plethora of Rorschach-related goods, from limited edition test presses of the brand new Two Funerals Boy’s Club EP to free CDs and download codes from older Rorschach releases. Plus, get the opportunity to pre-order the next two Rorschach releases–the new Two Funerals EP, and Capsule‘s No Ghost LP–and discounts on the entirety of the Rorschach catalog. It should be a pretty great afternoon on the whole.
To prepare for this glorious event, I asked Curtis some questions about the history of Rorschach, the future of the music business, and what he’s learned from the past five years. Here’s what he had to say:
So, five years. How many releases have you put out over that time?
19 total to date. 16 have been officially released, two in production as we speak, and one about to enter production.
What can we expect from the five-year anniversary party on Sunday?
Some killer stuff. The Two Funerals and Gull are playing [plus one more band we can’t tell you about yet]. It’s killer to have such a diverse lineup on the show, and all the bands have worked with the label in some capacity. Even though we have never put out a record for Gull, [from] working with him and his other projects, it feels like he is part of the family. I’ve got a few rarities that I have been saving: test presses, out of print LPs, limited color vinyl versions of some records (there were 7 Brainworms/Catalyst splits on clear–weird, right?). I think we might have some original artwork to raffle off, and maybe a complete discography.
What’s the Rorschach release you’re most proud of thus far? Which ones do you think were unreasonably slept on?
All 5 of the Brainworms records are very important to me, because they have been the band that has really given the label its character. I wouldn’t be here talking to you if it wasn’t for those dudes. I can never thank those dudes enough, for letting me put out their records and teaching me how to run a label. I would have to say, though, the Amateur Party LP is probably one of my favorite releases to date. I loved their 7″, and Mike Mckee’s other band, Armalite. It was a treat being able to work with some dudes who I can get nerdy about their past work. I am really stoked on Capsule too. I was getting kinda bummed on the label for a minute. They hit me up about putting out No Ghost, and it gave me a shot of energy to be redirected at the label. I was really proud of Field Day–myself and the band knew how big of a risk it was, but it was totally worth it. They did everything they could to get those records out in people’s hands. There was one random dude who e-mailed me saying they were one of his favorite bands thanks to the record, which is what it’s all about: getting people to enjoy stuff you want to share with them. To be honest, Snacktruck is probably one of the most slept on releases in the catalog. Outside of Richmond, most people don’t know who they are, which is a bummer because they are killer!
How much time does Rorschach take up in your daily lives? What elements of the work were you surprised to spend as much (or as little) time as you do on them?
I probably spend at least 20 hours a week on the label/distro. I hate doing PR! I am so glad Talia is willing to take that over, and she does a much better job at it than I do. I never thought I would ever do as much graphic design as I do now for the label. I’ve pretty much had to mess with every layout in some shape or form since the Mouthbreather/EYC split.
In this era of widespread panic over the decline of the music industry, do you see the changes brought on by widespread downloading having an effect on your business? In what ways do they effect you?
I will never put out a CD by itself again, unless the band is touring like maniacs. CDs are dead, and it’s crazy. The killer thing is that the vinyl community is very supportive and will never die. There are always going to be kids getting into records and collecting them. I’ve come to the realization that this will always be a hobby. Old DIY labels from the late 90’s/early 00’s that were able to make careers off of their labels would have a hard time doing that today. As you get bigger there are more expenses, which are now harder to make back. The cost to manufacture a CD can be less than a dollar; the cost for vinyl is much higher, and it is hard to keep records affordable and make your expenses back. I think what is going on now is a great wake up call, though, to ask why you get yourself involved with this stuff to being with.
What do you think the future holds for the music business on the underground/DIY level?
I think you’ll see CDs end up like tapes. Vinyl will always be great. Look at Richmond right now–we have three primarily vinyl stores in town that all seem to be doing good. I think this could hurt new records on the DIY side a bit, because you can find records that you could only get on ebay 5 years ago everywhere now, and I am sure that is true outside of Richmond too. Smaller mom and pop stores like Vinyl Conflict, Steady Sounds, and Deep Groove will make it based on the passion of the collectors. Bigger stores like your mall chains, though, won’t make it–they have based all of their sales on CDs. So I think as more vinyl stores open, it will be a little more competitive to sell new releases. I know I would buy an OG Agent Orange record over whatever new record is $15.
Kids will always buy from distros and bands on tour, though, which will always rule. I sell more records at Macrock, BFD, The Fest, and on tour than anywhere else every year. So that is the real market for DIY: direct person to person sales.
I think you are going to see a lot less random people purchasing vinyl than they did CDs. Which is probably why bands in the Jade Tree, Vagrant, Doghouse, etc. catalogs sold so many goddamn CDs. It’s a much bigger commitment to start collecting vinyl than CDs ever were. My 18 year old cousin, though, told me he bought some AC/DC LPs. So who knows, maybe vinyl will become more accessible to people who just dabble their toes in music.
What can we specifically expect from Rorschach in the near future?
Once we get through these 3 releases, the possibilities are endless. More pop punk, definitely. I always like to keep shit interesting and all over the place like No Idea, but I wish I put out more pop punk records. Shit’s like bubblegum for me. There are a couple of killer bands coming out of Florida now that haven’t had any records put out that I was thinking about hitting up. Also I would love to reissue something that is a classic to me, that is long out of print. I have always wanted to put out a 10″ since I started this thing, so maybe I’ll finally do that.
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Check out the Rorschach Records Five Year Anniversary Party, at 3 PM this Sunday, April 3, at Steady Sounds Records (322 W. Broad St.).
