Matthew Rudzinski owner of Divebomb Records
by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer
We’ve all heard the dire predictions. “The music industry is in freefall!” “The CD format is dead!” “Everyone is downloading now!” And yet, there’s probably never been a better time to be a collector of out of print or previously unreleased melodic rock and metal. This is thanks in part to the efforts of smaller reissue labels with a real passion for the music, and run by people who know what collectors are looking for in a reissue.
One such label is Divebomb Records, which in recent years has reissued long out of print titles from Casanova, Sargant Fury and TKO, among others. We asked label head Matthew Rudzinski about the industry and Divebomb’s past and future efforts.
HRH: First, tell me a little bit about your label. When did you get started, what’s your speciality, are reissues your primary focus, etc.?
MR: Well, I have two record labels currently, one is called Divebomb Records which I started in 2008 as outlet away from my normal dealings within my main record label, Tribunal Records, which I began back in 1999. Reissues are the main focus for Divebomb except in cases where I feel that bands I have signed to Tribunal represent something I think the average Divebomb fan might enjoy as in the instances of bands like COLOSSUS, LINE OF FIRE and BLATANT DISARRAY, who are all current bands playing a definitely more retro kind of music. So with bands like this I am trying to cross promote to some of the Divebomb clientele simply because I think they will dig what they are doing. I know I do and I run the label! (laughs) But overall, reissues are the main focus for Divebomb at the moment. I have been approached by some reunited bands who want me to work with them on a new release so that may be changing in the very near future.
HRH: What made you decide to get into reissuing out of print (or never in print) material?
MR: I had always had the idea in my head as far back as about 2004 I think, it was around the time CONFESSOR announced their reunion and I approached them about reissuing their old demos but it fell through at the last moment. So, that is when I had the desire to really make it happen, but it wasn’t until 2008 when the first reissue was unveiled.
HRH: What was your first reissue?
MR: The first release was from one of my favorite bands growing up, TKO’s In Your Face. It was #1 on my list to reissue, so I went after it and tracked Brad Sinsel (vocals) down and we worked it all out. The fans seem to be as stoked as I was to get it back out there again.
HRH: How important is it to you to give buyers something extra in terms of packaging and/or bonus content (in contrast to the bare-bones Wounded Bird reissue, for example)?
MR: It’s VERY important to me, so if I have access to bonus material I will include it. Sometimes there aren’t any bonus tracks or anything like that so I try and reach out to the artists and get them to do new interviews or have journalists (who are friends of mine) write cool essays about the album and what it meant to them. I try to give it that personal touch as opposed to what *cough* some labels do which is just slap the cover image on a booklet and release it, but thankfully I have a great designer in Chris Harris at Daywalker Creative (www.daywalkercreative.com) who really helps to make Divebomb releases look good. Unfortunately, something else I have noticed with a few other reissue labels is the lack of remastering the original audio (which doesn’t cost much, honestly) which is a crime in my book too, which is why I try and use my long time engineer and buddy Jamie King for all of my Divebomb mastering. Sometimes we aren’t provided the best source material but he is fan of classic metal, like me, and he knows all the techniques they used back then and applies it to how he masters everything for release within today’s high standards. I try and make every Divebomb releases as top notch as I can naturally working within the realm of material that is provided to me by the bands.
HRH: Are you a collector, and if so does that affect how you approach your releases?
MR: “Collector” I don’t think describes my disease accurately. I have an obsession, honestly. It definitely shapes what I try to achieve with my releases. It’s funny because some bands don’t get the die-hard fan mentality – so since I am one I am always quick to present to them my ideas from that side of the spectrum. For instance, SOLITUDE were not too keen on me including their Focus Of Terror demo material on the discography I was doing because it was so old and they didn’t like that material and were possibly embarrassed because they were really young. So, I had to tell them it’s not about you anymore it’s about your fans – fans like me who love that demo tape (as it has one of my favorite songs on it) and why now, 20 years later deny them access to it? So I try and make sure we think about the fans that way when we do our reissues because they are the ones who have helped in some way to keep the music and the bands alive all this time.
HRH: Are there any reissues that made you think “Damn, I wish I had done that one”?
MR: All the time. I even had one idea stolen from me long ago. I wish I still had the email I submitted to them telling them my idea for kick starting my label *laughs*. But more recently I just read that Rock Candy Records is reissuing the WORLD TRADE debut which is a great album. Yesterrock Records did the two BOULEVARD records I wanted to do and Shrapnel Records is getting around to doing their back catalog now which I had approached them about VICIOUS RUMORS’ Digital Dictator a couple years ago. My remastering I had done trying to convince them to let me do it still sounds better I think. (laughs)
HRH: Do you release your reissues in MP3 format? Why/why not?
MR: No way. Digital music sucks. I am so against the digitization of music it’s not even funny. Some people think I am a prick, but honestly I am stuck in my ways and refuse to budge on the issue. I am not reissuing these albums for people to download them. We are taking the time to put together a package with special material inside that I, personally, don’t want to be viewed or read on a computer screen. I want them to be able to hold something tangible in their hands. Call me “old fashioned” or a “grumpy old man” who is stuck in my ways I don’t really care. I am almost 40 and remember sitting in front of my stereo studying my LP covers/liner notes for hours. With the digital age music is no longer “art” because it’s not being presented as art it’s being presented as simply another generic consumer product. I refuse to follow that trend and would never disrespect bands I love like that.
HRH: Do you think the CD will remain a viable format? Are its prospects different for niche, collector-oriented music than mainstream releases?
MR: I believe it will. Will labels be selling the same amounts they were 5-10 years ago? No way. Things are changing but I do believe there are enough people who still care and don’t follow trends or don’t like being told that CDs don’t matter just as vinyl was phased out, but is making a comeback. CDs won’t be going anywhere. There were far too many sold in the last 25 years for them to actually go anywhere. *laughs* Maybe if we start making solar panels out of them or something they will disappear. *laughs* But seriously, the majors may phase them out, but small independent labels like myself and others will keep doing what we do until the very end because we have to do it. I think someone will always be there to help carry the torch.
HRH: What’s next for your label (new releases, upcoming projects, etc.)?
MR: Well, in November we reissued CHASTAIN’s For Those Who Dare and LEATHER’s Shock Waves. For early 2011 we are handling the second run of ANACRUSIS’s amazing Hindsight collection and a reissue of FORTE’s debut album, Stranger Than Fiction, plus their early demos. I am also very excited because CONFESSOR and I are finally going to do the originally planned demo collection with bonus DVD or archival live footage. After that is a deluxe edition of CYCLONE TEMPLE’s second album, My Friend Lonely. Besides all that stuff I have been chatting with some guys in GOTHIC SLAM, DEATHWISH, IRONCHRIST, DR. KNOW, HARD KNOX, VENI DOMINE, ENCHANTER, SKITZOTIK, THE AWFUL TRUTH and EPIDEMIC so we shall see if anything comes about from the talks (I hope so). If not, it’s been a blast chatting with some of these guys being the fan I am!
You can check out all of Divebomb’s releases online at www.divebombrecords.com.