I am 34, married, with two kids. I work as a project manager for web applications development during the day. I took up guitar as a teenager and was a fan of progressive and “underground” music in high school and college. I’ve been more involved with the label side over the years than as a musician.

Started in 1991 just to put out a couple of singles from friends (vhf#1 Rake “Motorcycle Shoes” and vhf#2 Wingtip Sloat “Half Past I’ve Got”). I wasn’t really planning on making it a continuing enterprise but somehow it got a momentum of its own and here I am 13 years later still doing it.

There’s no central concept behind it other than that it’s a reflection of a certain aspect my interests. I am interested in a kind of unfiltered expressionism - there's a certain "vibe" that the most personal music has in any setting (rock, folk, experimental, etc) and that’s what I’m most affected by when I listen to proposed releases. Practical considerations like sales and style are secondary. I don’t consider the label to exist for any reason other than to help the groups get their music out. I enjoy working on the releases, of course - putting together the artwork and master and writing the press copy, that sort of thing.

It started with people I knew from around Washington DC/Virginia and has expanded to include music from groups from all over -the common thread is that I meet them via somewhere -they are not just strangers. Since I'm doing this on my own time I think it’s important to have a personal connection with the musicians, even if it’s just via email or an occasional talk on the phone. So I’ve got nothing against demos, and I get some good ones, but since my time is relatively limited, I try to concentrate on releases from people already inside the “family.”

The CDR’s are supposed to be less “formal,” for items of less interest than the usual releases. Iﾕve been a little bit frustrated by the format - I'd like to do more “quick” releases of live shows, archival material, but most of the family like to keep pretty tight control over what they’re releasing.
Some of the things Iﾕve wanted to do (live Pelt, Richard Youngs archives -that sort of stuff) have been rejected by the groups for whatever reason. The handmade nature of the CDR’s has also caused things to move very slowly in terms of making and distributing them beyond my little web mailorder.

Doldrums haven't played in several years -we are all living far apart these days so it’s just impossible to get together. I enjoyed playing with them a lot, but we made 4 records and I think that even if we were able to play more, we had pretty much accomplished what we could with that sound. The last sessions we had were as a quartet with someone playing bass but none of that ever came out.
Since my twin boys were born in 2000 (and I took a day job with long hours and commute), I have had little time to play myself, although I miss it a lot and am trying to start back up again. I am able to work on label
business here and there during the work day, but I can’t do that with a band, obviously.

I think there’s a little community in every town that supports all types of outsider music and that the internet and little labels like vhf are a kind of glue that hold it together. People are very supportive and loyal -there’s a trend of having shows in houses and galleries and other non-traditional venues that I really like. I also like that there’s a real acceptance of all types of music in the underground -I donﾕt think it's
unusual to find people who listen to minimalism, noise, free jazz, and traditional music all with equal interest. People want real expression, regardless of what nominal form it takes!
The "Weird America"underground scene is fairly small -I can't imagine there’s ever been a band on the cover of the Wire that had sold fewer records than Sunburned Hand of the Man -you have to applaud them for giving so much print space to such an obscure group. I think the current trend towards more acoustic folk and improvisational music lends itself to the climate - it's a lot easier to have someone play acoustic guitar at a show in your house than a loud rock band that needs big amplifiers and PA systems. At this point, I think it’s easier for someone from our scene to book a tour of houses and art spaces than a tour of traditional rock venues.

I think lots of people in the US are quite knowledgeable about the Japanese underground -the internet has made it a lot easier to research and buy the CD’s. Labels like PSF are as well known here as US labels of the same size and style.
My favorite records from Japan are L “Holy Letters” (I am going to re-issue this later in 2004 on vhf), Taj Mahal Travellers “1974,” Magical Power Mako "Polydor," Fushitsusha "Double Live," Floating Flower "1&2" - I could think of lots more, of course!

I have been spending a lot of time working the reissue of “Holy Letters,” and also plan new releases by Kawabata/Youngs, Black Twig, Jack Rose, Vibracathedral Orchestra, and probably most of the others in the usual family.