In high school I was continually frustrated with the fact that some of my favorite local bands, and bands that I felt were better than most of the other bands out there, had records that either were never released, or were so poorly distributed that they may as well have not been.
In college, my friend Zach and I started Don Giovanni Records so we could release a record by a hardcore band we were in at the time. We took the money from that release, and used it to press another record by one of our favorite local bands at the time, and then kept doing that.
Our goal of releasing music from New Brunswick, NJ and the surrounding area (including Brooklyn and New York City), and attempting to level the playing field between those bands and bands on larger labels, remains unchanged from when we first began. The label is also still run entirely by Zach and I, essentially out of our apartments.
Shellshag, “1984”
Zach and I call each other just to talk about how good this song is sometimes, and I probably shouldn’t publicize this fact, but since hearing it I’ve been using 1984 as my pin number for a few things.
Screaming Females, “Arm Over Arm”
This is the song that really got me into Screaming Females, they never play it.
For Science, “Headaches”
Zach and I were in this band.
Pregnant, “Falling Over”
One of our favorite bands to see live at the moment.
Black Wine, “Couch Critics”
By the time Black Wine finished playing this song live the first time Zach and I saw them, we knew we needed to do their record.
The Ergs!, “Anthem For a New Amanda”
Almost no band has done more for our label, or the New Brunswick scene in recent years than The Ergs!, and it was really sad to see them break up. This is from their final release, and one of their strongest songs to date.
Dustheads, “The Ides”
Zach and I don’t really like to play favorites. But this is our favorite release to date.
Download the full compilation here.
