Interview #54 - Tom Hazelmyer [Amphetamine Reptile Records]

[Photo Credit: Buzz Osborne]

Boss Hog. Unsane. Helmet. The Melvins. Yes, musically these are very diverse bands. But as diverse as they are, or as they might be seen nowadays, there is something that connects them all: They all released on the legendary Amphetamine Reptile Records label once and that really meant and means something as the label from Minneapolis has played a hand in many careers. Therefore we are really happy to talk to Tom Hazelmyer, the founder of AmRep

Back in the day it seemed like AmRep was the "biggest indie" label on the planet, with maybe the best "nose" for great bands and when you released an EP or an album even through Tom's label, you could be sure that people would notice your band. But whether this notion of the biggest label on the label also co-related in a huge number of people working there - well, if you want to know that and much more - then you should watch this video with Tom in which we talk a lot about AmRep's history and "business model", about the fact that Tom witnessed the explosion of an alternative scene twice and even more about the relationship between AmRep and The Melvins, whose King Buzzo also provided us with the wonderful picture of Tom. Enjoy all you VoS-aficionados out there and tell us - which label shall we shed some light on next?!