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Kill Rock Stars
E-mail Newsletter 1/14/02
PETERBILT !!
"PETERBILT EXPOSÉ" GUY PICCIOTTO INTERVIEWED BY TOBI VAIL, JANUARY 2002
Tobi: Your label is interesting to me because it is so small and seems to document stuff done by your friends and you seem to make it work, which I think is a hard thing to do. I was wondering why you started Peterbilt and if part of your label idea was to keep it small or if that is just the way it's turned out.
Guy: Peterbilt came together kind of by accident. I never set out with any
aspirations to "grow" a label or make a going business concern, its just
that at certain points in my life i've gotten swept up into some specific
enthusiasm that made me want to release something. that's all Peterbilt is
to me really - a spontaneous outlet for sounds that i think are cool or are
personally important to me in some way.
The label started out with my old band Happy Go Licky in 1987. Our band was
really volatile and uncertain in terms of ambition and attitude so i think
for that reason the label that would most logically have been involved with
us (dischord) wasn't interested. we knew the band had a limited life span
because of different plans and tensions, so we only loosely asked Dischord
for money to go into the studio, and weren't really that surprised when they
didn't go for it. We did have alot of live tapes that documented our songs
and once the band broke up, we decided to try and put out a 12" of some
selections from that live archive - just as a way to mark the band's
existence. We named the label Peterbilt after one of our songs and put out
the 12" in early 1988. There was no plan to keep the label going after that
but the HGL record made some minor amount of money so it occurred to me that
i could use that to put out a tape by the old DC band Deadline that had
never come out. Deadline was one of the early DC hardcore bands that was on
Dischord's FLEX YOUR HEAD sampler. They had recorded a great tape that
never came out because they broke up soon after so that became Peterbilt
#2. Soon after, I was approached by a local band Rain who were trying to
get their tape out. At this point I was touring alot so i kind of "lent"
the label out to their band cos i thought they were cool - i just put up
the money for it and made them commit to the Peterbilt tradition of using a
manila envelope for a sleeve but beyond that, the Rain lp was pretty much
put together by Eli Janney of Rain. After that release, Peterbilt just kind
of languished cos I wasn't interested in keeping things in print or
haranguing distributor's for money - i just wanted to make cool records,
put them out and that's it. A few years back, the label got a second wind
through the co-release of two projects with Dischord records. One was a
more complete overview of the Happy Go Licky live tapes, the other was a
One Last Wish Cd (another forgotten tape that had never come out). The
Peterbilt aspect of those 2 releases is really more honorary than anything
else - I mean I coordinated all the material and artwork for them but
Dischord is responsible for pressing them and the distribution so those
releases are more permanently in print and available then your average
normal Peterbilt release. Since then though, Peterbilt has had 2 other
proper releases - a Black Light Panthers 12" and a double shaped CD package
by Octis.
Tobi: Can you talk a little bit about the weird packaging Peterbilt has used over the years?
Guy: The tradition of weird packaging came about because when we
were doing the
first HGL 12" we were wracking our brain to think of a way to make a super
cheap sleeve that didn't look like everything else. We came up with the
concept of putting the records in a cut off 12" manila envelope with a
sticker for cover art - a rubber stamp for the label info and a business
card inside with track information. We had to cut 1000 manila envelopes in
half with a paper cutter then stick on the stickers and stamp the backs -
then we had to get the vinyl inside which was pretty tough to do cos they
were so tight. i know that is one aspect of the records that frustrates
people - how hard it is to get the records in and out of the sleeves.
still, its become a tradition with all the Peterbilt vinyl releases to use
the manila but honestly its a crazy pain in the ass assembling them by hand
.it takes forever and results in alot of paper cuts.
Every release has its own idiosyncratic element - the Deadline release was
one sided with a smooth blank B-side which was aesthetically pleasing, the
BLP 12" had a gold foil front sticker and a collage insert. I am not crazy
about CD packaging so when I did the Octis CD, i was determined to find a
different way to present it. We found a company that had a special die-cut
process which could cut the sides of the discs so they look pill shaped.
You lose alot of space for sound data so we had to make 2 of them to hold
all the music and we stacked them in a case with a clear cover so you could
take in the drama of the weird disruption of the traditional CD shape. the
basic idea is not to be too precious about it - but to just come up with
some different take on how records can look. I am a little bummed that the
Cd's aren't somehow put in manila sleeves but at least all the Peterbilt
vinyl records look cool stacked together in their thin crummy manila.
Tobi: How did being a part of the early DC punk scene effect the work you are doing now as an artist and label person?
Guy: that's a tough one because its basically like everything in my life has been affected by that involvement. i kind of think of the early punk scene in DC as being the cannon that i was shot out of - the whole trajectory of my life stems from that .
Tobi: Can you talk a little about your favorite Peterbilt releases?
Guy: I haven't put out that much stuff so i have really strong affections for every one of them. I guess i am particularly sentimental about the Deadline 12" because they were they were the first band i really hung out with 24-7. They were the band that the whole DOD hangout coalesced around which is what basically led to me being in bands myself so that record has a special resonance for me. The Black Light Panters 12" is kind of similar in that way. The whole A side is just a boom box tape i made with brendan canty in his bedroom when we were like 15 or 16 - hanging out and just fucking around. it appeals to me in a perverse kind of way to put something like that out because the whole point of it is just to document the spirit of fucked up friendship that informs it - plus it rocks. that kind of perversity is similar to how i feel with the Octis CD - its a kitchen 4 track recording done by Mick Barr of Orthrelm all by himself- its 72 songs some of which are barely 10 secs long. it may not be everyone's cup of tea but its got an obsessiveness, intensity and atmosphere that made me feel it should exist as a thing in the world - plus it rocks.
Tobi: How do you distribute your stuff?
Guy: I don't have any really set distribution plan - I usually sell a bunch to Dischord Records who deal with stores and handle some mail order for me. I also just contact indie distributors that i come across or who come across me and send small amounts out that way. I don't do any kind of exclusives with anyone - I tend not to press too many of each release so i just try to improvise my way to unloading the pressing.
Tobi: How do you keep from losing money?
Guy: So far everyone of the records has at least broken even, except for the Octis CD but its only been out for 5 months. I guess i just don't overextend myself - the pressings are small so i don't end up living among boxes of unsold stuff forever. the releases are generally archival material or home made recordings so there are no real studio costs to underwrite. the artwork is all done manila style or whatever so that's fairly cheap costwise (though labor intensive of course ). i also just do one release at a time so i'm not overlapping myself. i don't ever put one out till the other one is completely done and accounted for.
Tobi: What underground activity excites you in the year 2002?
Guy: 2001 was such a demented year that ANY underground activity cheers me up .... this year, i am not picky.
Tobi: What are your future plans for Peterbilt?
Guy: I'm not sure. I have kind of a loose idea to release the Rites of Spring first demo maybe at some point. People have been agitating for rereleases of some of the early records so i might consider doing that but beyond that I don't know. its funny though, whenever i think i'm done with the label, something happens that excites me and i keep going. 7 releases in 14 years is obviously not a whopping track record but what the hell, its still here. if people want info or a complete list of the Peterbilt releases they can write me at PO Box 21603, Washington DC 20009-1603.
Tobi: Do you see what you are doing as being political?
Guy: i guess - in the sense that i think there is something political about doing things for the fuck of it without profit or power motivations. the more stuff that bubbles under the radar the better, i think.
Tobi: What bands are you listening to these days?
Guy: the Shadow Ring, Mighty Flashlight, trooper, Quix-o-tic.
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PETERBILT RECORDS FACT SHEET
Here are some facts about the label:
The following is a list of releases of records that came out on Peterbilt:
Peterbilt 001 - Happy Go Licky - live 6 song 12"- ( 1000 pressed - out of print) - 1988
Peterbilt 002 - Deadline - 12 song, one-sided 12" ( 1000 pressed - out of print) - 1989
Peterbilt 003 - Rain - "la vache qui rit" 6 song 12" (1000 pressed - out of print) - 1990
Peterbilt 004- Happy Go Licky - "will play" 21 song live CD - (split with Dischord Records #109- still in print) - 1998 - Note: Peterbilt 004 contains all the material on Peterbilt 001 plus an additional 15 songs.
Peterbilt 005 - Black Light Panthers - "1982-1997" - 6 song 12" ( 1150 pressed - out of print) - 1998
Peterbilt 006 - One Last Wish - "1986" CD- (split with Dischord Records #118 - still in print) - 2000
Peterbilt CD Projects 001 - Octis - "UPPRAGN SRILIMIA IXIOOR OCRILIM NOLLFITHES MRITHIXYL" Double CD - 2001 (72 songs on 2 custom shaped CD's)
Because Peterbilt is essentially a one-man operation and not a normal functioning business enterprise, I have not been able to keep the majority of our releases in print over the years. When our stuff comes out it is generally available through Dischord Records at 3819 Beecher St. NW Washington DC 20007. At the moment only 004, 006, and the new Octis double CD are presently available through their mail order - check www.dischord.com for more info about their mail order prices and policies. The latest Peterbilt release is from our CD Projects sub-division: the Octis double CD. This project contains 72 songs on 2 custom-cut pill shaped CDs. Octis is a solo project from Mick Barr, formerly of Crom Tech and presently in Orthrelm.
Contact Address: Guy Picciotto/Peterbilt - PO Box 21603 - Washington DC 20009-1603