PV15

Memories - Michael Thies (Sales Manager)

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:27:49 -0600

Champaign-Urbana always seemed like a good place to grow up to me. There was always plenty to do and, if you wanted to, you could start a band and play shows. By the time I reached high school I had discovered punk rock and taken to heart the DIY mentality of bands like The Clash and Minor Threat, something that ultimately led me to figure out what types of bands were playing in my own town. One of the very first local shows that I attended was the Red Hot Valentines at the IMC in Urbana. The Plain White T’s opened up, which feels a bit odd looking back, because what seemed important that night was that there was a whole music scene happening in my town. I didn’t need to travel to Chicago to see live music and I didn’t need the radio or MTV to tell me what to listen to.

I didn’t know it when I was 15, but I would eventually discover that CU was home to an independent record label called Polyvinyl. Though I had missed the early days of the label, it seemed to fit right in with my experiences growing up here. Matt and Darcie had started off running a zine and setting up a distro at the back of shows held in basements, VFW halls, and other DIY spaces and these are the same types of shows that made it possible for me and my friends to start bands.

Being open to trying something new and having the vision to see it through is largely what punk rock has come to mean to me and I feel like this is precisely what Polyvinyl has continued to do throughout its 15 years of existence. Though the label has come a long way since the days of basement shows, the DIY spirit has remained a consistent part of everything that we do. It seems fitting to me now that the Red Hot Valentines were in fact signed to Polyvinyl, and one of my closest friends, Ryan McCoy, who plays in the band Midstress (check them out on our benefit comp for Japan!) and helps pack mail order at PV, was also at that show. Polyvinyl has played a huge role in the development of the Champaign-Urbana music scene, and consequently, Polyvinyl has played a huge role in my life. Being able to work here is a real privilege and I can’t wait to see what the next 15 years will bring.

Memories - Patricia Wysopal (In House Publicist)

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:58:00 -0600

Patricia is our new in house publicist! She holds the record of the longest commute of any PV’er each day. She’s also addicted to Nutella…and any other sweet thing. Here’s her entry!

“Although my employment history with Polyvinyl Records only stretches as far back as August 2011, my relationship with the label started long before. I was introduced to Polyvinyl artists through a friend in my Spanish class who was more interested in sharing new music than learning the language (and I was more than OK with this).

One day he brought me a Polyvinyl (Kinsella-themed) mix CD feat. Owen, Joan of Arc and Owls. After listening to his compilation, I started sampling other Polyvinyl artists on the old Epitonic site. Polyvinyl’s music quickly developed into my high school soundtrack; listening to Volcano, I’m Still Excited while driving to all-ages shows, an ex-boyfriend sending me lyrics to “Never Meant” through AOL Instant Messenger, etc. I can’t remember why I kept the track listing (seen in photo), but it resurfaced when I was packing to move out of my parents house and brought back all sorts of memories.

Fast forward to my college years. I bump into Andy in the hallway in the Creative Arts building and he tells me that he’s interning for Polyvinyl. We high-five each other and share a ‘holy shit’ moment. Yeah, it was completely left field that someone, anyone from our neck of the woods, would get to intern for a record label, especially Polyvinyl. I congratulated him and we parted ways.

Fast forward once more, one year later. I bump into Andy in the hallway again, only this time he tells me that he’s been hired by Polyvinyl. I ask a million questions, congratulate and high-five him while thinking to myself how awesome that is. It was probably the biggest thing to happen to anyone in our circle of friends, ever, and there was no disputing that Andy most definitely had the coolest job out of anyone we knew.

I’d run into Andy frequently over the course of the next few years and he’d update me on his job, all the interesting things he was doing and all the cool people he’d been meeting. My job at the time was very uncool and so it was nice to learn that at least others were contributing to society.

I guess it goes without saying that I never imagined that I’d be here, sitting in this chair behind my desk in PV’s San Francisco office. It’s surreal to think that a few years ago I wondered just how great it must be to work for a record label and that now I know firsthand. It’s nice to know that however small, I’m contributing to a pretty fantastic cause, indie music. Now, I’ve already started accumulating new Polyvinyl memories, only this time as an employee. From meeting the rest of the team in Champaign to learning just how intense an of Montreal album release is, it’s been a pleasure to work for (and with) such talented individuals. And no, not even my 2-hour commute each way can change that.”

Memories - Mark Jiggsaw (European Label Manager)

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:12:00 -0600

Mark rules. He handles everything for Polyvinyl in Europe, so he’s always busy with something! If you live in Europe and make it out to one of our band’s shows, or buy one of their records, it was probably coordinated by Mark. You know those people who can get away with calling people “brother” without it sounding weird? You know, when it makes you feel kinda cool? That’s Mark. Here’s his story…

“In the year 2000, I had no cell phone, iPods didn’t exist yet, and the World Trade Center was still standing. I was on a train in Chicago blasting Braid’s “Frame and Canvas” on my headphones through a mini-disc player and studying for a philosophy test. In case you missed the 6 months when mini-discs were cool, these ‘futuristic’ devices played what looked like small floppy discs. You could skip songs and even record your own ‘CD quality’ playlists. This made a lot of sense to me at the time because a traditional disc-man (portable CD player) tended to skip on the train (even with skip protection engaged).

One year later, I was bumming around the Tenderloin district in San Francisco, sleeping in hostels and parks and sneaking into bars that didn’t check IDs. My friend had made me a mix tape (an actual cassette) before I left Chicago and labeled it “Mark’s Dream Tape”. The Dream Tape included songs from Braid and Rainer Maria.

One year later, I had found myself living in a town called Champaign. After exploring various job opportunities in the food service industry, telemarketing services, college-town cafes and corporate bookstores, I began as an intern at Polyvinyl in 2004. I loved working there. I packed mail orders all day and helped put postage on envelopes. After a few months of interning, I was offered a part-time job and was even invited to CMJ later in the year.

I sat on an airplane (the first airplane I’ve ever been on) on my way to CMJ in New York. Across from me sat Matt (the owner of Polyvinyl) and Seth (the in-house publicist at the time and now label manager). I had a device in my pocket that I considered truly state-of-the art. It was called an “iPod” (an entire library of music, thousands and thousands of songs right in my pocket). I was nervous about the flight and played of Montreal’s “Satanic Panic in The Attic” to calm down as the plane shook violently in the clouds.

I remember Seth asking me if I had been to New York before. “Yeah, I’ve been there a few times. It’s one of my favorite cities.” I had been there before September 11^th, I had been there many times afterwards, trying to sneak into CBGB’s, drinking Champagne in the streets on New Years and sleeping in a van parked in Queens. And I’ll never forget what Seth said, “Oh yeah? You gonna start the Polyvinyl New York office one day?” I laughed at the time. I was just excited and happy to be visiting my favorite city.

Life is pretty amazing sometimes and my work at Polyvinyl has been no exception. I’m thankful for all the incredible Polyvinyl memories over the years and look forward to many more (including new memories from my home office in New York). I’m also thankful for one more thing; this year I bought an iPhone and discovered the art of streaming music. A person can now listen to (literally) millions of songs instantly and they don’t even have to burn them to a mini-disc!

After being here for a while and watching the industry change, I guess I’ve come to realize that it doesn’t matter if you’re sleeping on a park bench in San Francisco, or huddled under a blanket in a van in Queens. The music will find you somehow; as long as you’ve got your ears open and batteries charged.”

A Brief History in Moving Pictures

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 13:05:00 -0600

On Dec. 6th, we’ll be releasing our first ever video collection on DVD - A Brief History in Moving Pictures. This bad boy features 60 videos from artist that span our entire roster (of Montreal, Volcano, I’m Still Excited!!, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Rainer Maria, + tons more) and also comes with a download code good for all 60 MP3s!

The best part? It’s only $10!

You can pre-order the DVD right here - http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/pvdvd

Memories - Andy DeSantis (Promotions Manager)

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:36:00 -0600

Nearly every employee at Polyvinyl started as an intern, and I’m no exception. While I was going to college at SF State, I got my weekly Polyvinyl email (yes, being the mega PV fan that I am, I was subscribed to the email list…and still am!) In it was a section about Polyvinyl needing interns in the Berkeley/Bay Area. I didn’t even know there was an office around there, so I quickly wrote an email to the label manager - good ole’ Seth Hubbard.

Seth moved from the Polyvinyl mainland of IL out to CA and was working from his home office in Kensington. After interning there for 6 months, I joined the “Holy shit I graduated college and still don’t know what to do with my life” club. Luckily, Polyvinyl offered me a job, so I started working as a part timer.

Here’s where my memory comes in. Since I was between apartments at the time, Seth was nice enough to let me stay in his basement for a while. At the time, I thought it was pretty amazing because they had a washer/dryer down there…which is harder to find out here then you might think. Anyways, one day we were working upstairs, just like any other day, when we started to hear this weird sound…We couldn’t pinpoint where the sound was coming from, but it kinda sounded like running water. We even went outside and looked around, because we were pretty baffled. All of a sudden, I hear Seth screaming from downstairs, “HOLY SHIT!!!! ANDY, GET DOWN HERE NOW!!!!!!!”

Turns out, the water heater in the basement had burst and was leaking water all over the place, so the basement was flooding super fast! It didn’t help that we had no idea how to turn the thing off, so we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off. While I was rapidly carrying all my shit upstairs, Seth figured out how to turn the thing off. Luckily, none of my stuff was damaged. I’ll always look back on this and laugh, because I’ll never forget me and Seth wading through the water, frantically carrying all my stuff upstairs.

I live in a somewhat normal house now, but I kid you not…the water heaters in both places I lived in after Seth’s basement have broken/flooded. Maybe I’m just cursed.

Memories - Chris Hassen (Production Manager)

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:37:00 -0500

Let me tell you a little something about Chris Hassen…this dude knows all! He’s our Production Manager and he rules at what he does. As much as Chris might not like this, we’ve adopted this motto: “When in doubt…ask Chris, he’ll probably know.” Here’s his story:

“When I was still in college and just an intern at Polyvinyl, I was given a school assignment to analyze how a specific business uses communication technologies.

I decided to make Polyvinyl the focus of my project and started interviewing various people in the office. While talking with Seth, he said something that wasn’t really related to the topic of my paper, but is the only thing from it I haven’t forgotten: “We sell records. It’s not rocket science.”

Simple as it is, that statement has helped guide me over the nearly four years I’ve been with Polyvinyl.

From my time in mailorder (which started off with the crazy learning experience of our first annual Garage Sale followed quickly by packing and shipping the even crazier Skeletal Lamping Collection pre-orders) to my current job as Production Manager (which began as a sink or swim plunge into the world of spot color printing with the Deerhoof vs. Evil album art) every day has been a new and exciting adventure.

But no matter how many things are on my to-do list or how difficult they may seem to accomplish at first, I always remember what Seth said and realize that at the end of the day everything boils down to helping our bands’ music get heard by people who love music as much as I do.

And even though I actually did want to work for NASA when I was little, now that I’m older I think working at Polyvinyl is the coolest job I could ever hope to have.”

Chris is also the brains behind Polyvinyl’s other Tumblr page, which you can check out here - http://polyvinylrecords.tumblr.com/

Memories - Seth Hubbard (Label Manager)

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:25:00 -0500

To round out 2011, we’re gonna have each employee at Polyvinyl share a work-related memory that they won’t ever forget. Here’s the first one from our label manager, Seth Hubbard. Take it away Seth…

“This fall marks my 8th year working for Polyvinyl. In 2004, I received my first raise and put together my first ever event.

Along with my first raise, Darcie gave me a talking Donald Trump doll that when you push the button between his shoulder blades throws out Trump catch phrases like “You’re Fired!” Donald Trump is an idiot, but for whatever reason this doll has been on my desk ever since. It’ll be here as long as I am.

The other image above is the silk screened poster for our 2004 CMJ Music Marathon showcase at the now defunct Northsix in Brooklyn. Matt and Darcie were expecting their son Simon to be born at any point when our showcase was about to go down so they were unable to make the trip to NYC to run the event. So I had to step up and organize our line up for the night and make sure everything was promoted and running smoothly.

In the hours before the event I was running around like a crazy person because it seemed like everyone was asking me to do something for them at the same time (something that has remained consistent with every event since). It wasn’t until Ida started the night and someone handed me a beer that my nerves were calmed.

It was a great night that I will never forget. Saturday Looks Good To Me and Aloha had just released new albums and it was unfortunately the last ever Volcano, I’m Still Excited!! show, but at least I was able to be there to witness it.

I have gone on to organize every CMJ and SXSW event ever since. They all are some weird version of this very first one. Lots of stress followed by the absolute joy of having so many of our bands performing and hanging out in one place.

This poster has been in every office I’ve worked in over the years. PV HQ in Champaign, my tiny 1 bedroom apartment in Berkeley, the PV West home office in Kensington and is still hanging today at our office in San Francisco. This poster will go with me wherever I go, along with Donald.”

Photos From PV15

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 12:11:31 -0500

Here are a few photos from our show at PV15 this past Saturday! We couldn’t have asked for a better day to hold such a great event. Thanks to all our bands and to everyone that came out to the show!

Polyvinyl on Smile Politely

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:15:06 -0500

Matt sat down with local publication Smile Politely for an interview about our 15-Year Anniversary and how Polyvinyl got started. Check it out here - http://www.smilepolitely.com/music/polyvinyls_15_years/

3 New Videos Debuted This Week!

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:31:38 -0500

We had 3 new videos premiere this week, and they’re all bands that are playing our PV15 Party! Check out the new videos from STRFKR, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, and Asobi Seksu below.

Directed by Billy Pavone
Edited by Matthew Booras

http://www.billypavone.com/

Owen @ Middlewest Fest

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:00:00 -0500

Someone recorded Owen’s entire set during the performance at Middlewest Fest this past Saturday. The set features a few new songs off Ghost Town, which you can pre-order right here - http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/ghosttown - Don’t miss Owen at our 15-Year Anniversary Anniversary Party this coming Saturday 9/24!

Get a Taste of Some Live Deerhoof!

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:32:00 -0500

If you haven’t made up your mind on whether or not you’re coming to our 15-Year Anniversary Party, maybe this live Deerhoof album will change your mind. The band released this album for free on their website earlier this week and it shows just how amazing of a live band they are.

PV 15 Posters!

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:27:42 -0500

Here’s a photo of the actual PV15 poster! These silk screened bad boys were designed by Camm Rowland and are limited to just 100! You can pick one up over at our online store by clicking here - http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/pv15poster

Japandroids @ PV15

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:40:00 -0500

Japandroids are playing our 15-Year Anniversary Show at Pygmalion Music Festival on 9/24/11. Here’s a short video of Brian and Dave after their show at The Hemlock in San Francisco on 9/2. Brian tells a joke, and Seth and I laugh in the background.

Polyvinyl on The217.com

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:33:00 -0500

buzz magazine/the217.com recently stopped by our office to interview Matt about our 15-Year Anniversary. Check it out here: http://the217.com/articles/view/happy_birthday_polyvinyl

Braid "Killing A Camera" Live @ The Metro (8/27/11)

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:09:00 -0500

Win These Tickets!!!

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 23:00:00 -0500

Here’s what the tickets to our 15-year anniversary show looks like. If you haven’t gotten yours yet, head over to Thrillcall where you can enter for a chance to win 2 festival passes for Pygmalion + 2 tickets to our 15-Year Anniversary Show.

Check out the contest by CLICKING HERE.