Dionysus Records - Interview With Lee Joseph

Sean: Tell me a little bit about Dionysus Records.

Lee: Regarding Dionysus, it's been around for over ten years. Our early bands were Yard Trauma, The Untold Fables, The Beguiled, and Thee Fourgiven. We also put out the first album by Big Sandy and The Fly Rite Trio. Hell Yeah was started a few years ago as an outlet for music that didn't fit into the garage-surf-rockabilly sound. Between all the labels we've released around 200 records. Currently, my fiance Aime has taken over the label and is doing marketing and promotion, something we sorely lacked for many years. While we still do one-off 7" projects, we have been concentrating on a few bands, Hot Damn, The Bomboras, and The Boss Martians. We will be taking on a punk band from Philly called Thorazine next year. Their album is already recorded and ready to go. Also, we've been doing some neat reissues on the Bacchus Archives label, including a Les Baxter 10"/CD, The Esquires, and Gene Grey and The Stingrays. In '96 we will be releasing more cool stuff from the 50's and 60's.

Sean: How was Dionysus started and what was your first release?

Lee: Dionysus began as an extension of a cassette-only label that myself and a pal were running out of this record store I managed in Tuscon, circa '81-'83. I was taking a humanities class at the local community college and when we got to the ancient Greeks and Romans, the name and concept of Dionysus appealed to me as a great name and concept for a record label! About a year later (November of '83) I used it on the very first Yard Trauma 7", "Some People" b/w "No Conclusions". The name Dionysus looked cool on a record label. Little did I realize that most people can't fucking pronounce it, let alone know what the hell it means!

Sean: How do you decide which bands to sign?

Lee: We currently have four 'signed' bands, Hot Damn, The Bomboras, The Boss Martians, and Thorazine. We sign bands that we absolutely love, but that's not all. It is important to us that the bands are 100% dedicated to their music and are willing to tour, do interviews, and make a team effort between themselves and Dionysus. We also do several singles and an occasional album with bands that are not signed to the label.

Sean: What portion of your releases are sold on vinyl? CD?

Lee: Right now, I'd say that CD's account for between 55%-65% of our sales, and vinyl takes up the rest. That is quite interesting as for most of the larger labels (Epitaph for instance), vinyl accounts for approximately 15% of sales per title.

Sean: How do you promote each release?

Lee: Regarding our signed bands, we start our promotional efforts with retail and distribution, our next priority is press, then the last priority is radio. We promote between 200-400 copies to record stores at the moment. Press ranges between 150-250, and about 120-210 go out to college radio and specialty shows on commercial stations. We also do posters and postcards for all our priority releases. We even did panties with Hot Damn's logo silk screened on 'em as a promotion for their album which contains the track "My Panties Are too Tight"! As far as one-offs, the number is quite lower. With vinyl only 10" and 7", we send a very small number to fanzines and radio. I've found that you sell the same amount of singles if you promo 300 or 30!

Sean: Which methods are the most effective?

Lee: Retail definitely. That's why we're constantly on the phone to stores.

Sean: How do you promote a band on the road?

Lee: We essentially make sure that retail, press, and radio know about the shows in their towns or regions. Many times, we will re-service promo copies of the release, along with the bio & promo photo. We also make sure that writers, DJ's and buyers get a spot on the guest list.

Sean: What are the pros/cons of running a label?

Lee: It is a lot of work, and the margin of profit is very low. I've kept part-time jobs all these years, in order to keep the label going. It is just been in the past year that the label has become self-sufficient. Now, my fiancee Aime runs the label and we have one other full time employee, plus two or three part-timers. I am still in charge of choosing most of the projects, coordinating the production, from artwork to finished masters (though Aime does much of our photography), and signing the checks (four days a week, I work at Anti-Inc. as vice president and buyer). Being involved with the technical, clerical and especially aesthetic angles of this business is a constant learning process. So many things can go wrong at any step of the way. It is fun to take nothing but ideas and at the other side, end up with a great record that is fun to listen to and look at. The transition from watching a band go from playing to five people on a Thursday night, to packing a club on a Friday night while there is a display for their album at Virgin Mega-Store is a great chain of events!

Sean: How much control is given to the artist in regard to producers, artwork, etc.?

Lee: Prett much full-range, although everything is discussed in full before it is executed, so there are no surprises on either side.

Sean: What gave you the inspiration to do reissues from the 50's and 60's on your Bacchus Archives label?

Lee: I grew up with 50's and 60's music as a kid, and got into collecting records from those eras when I was a teen in the 70's. At certain periods of my life, I felt that most current music blew, and pretty much immersed myself in recordings from previous eras. Even though there are more than enough current bands making awesome music nowadays, I still have a passionate love and historical sense about 'old' stuff. It is great to make available stuff that is either impossibly rare or has never seen the light of day on a commercial recording.

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