In The Red Records

As the cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness we realise that rock'n'roll is rock'n'roll, is rock'n'roll, is rock'n'roll. Any garage rock aficionado, such as 'curator' of In The Red Records Larry Hardy knows. Allegedly hip, defiantly niche and bordering on prolific with 189 official releases; this music business super feather weight has become infamous for its particular blend of blown out garage and contemporary leftfield artists. Whether its The Strange Boys earnest and shambolic southern drawl, The Hunches noisy, experimental pacific north-western garage or the flirtatious party pop of the eccentric King Khan and BBQ, there's something to interest most people. At this particular point in the abyss, they seem to be a tad more endearing than whatever Cowell has in store for us. So with a severe lack of brain power (possibly methadrone related) I rip off hard a typical Guardian Review interview format (Thanks Guardian) and give you a Larry Hardy interview circa December two thousand and nine...

I'm Larry Hardy and I was born in Orange County, California. I grew up in Anaheim, California (home of Disneyland). In the 90's I moved to Los Angeles, which is where I'd wanted to be since I was a teenager. I eventually settled in the North Eastern tip of Los Angeles in a neighborhood called Eagle Rock.


I love Los Angeles. I totally understand people's disdain for it, but that's not my position. This city has everything - all that is great and all that is atrocious. That's what I like about it. There are things about this city that I've embraced and excite me (the cinema history, to name but one) that might not impress everyone. I live near where Creeping Terror was filmed!!


I got into rock n' roll and buying records at a very early age. It was the influence of baby-sitters, I suppose. I started buying records before most people I was going to school with who were my age seemed to care about music. As I got more into finding out about music I was definitely drawn to fairly eccentric artists. The first concert I ever went to was Iggy Pop. I had just turned 14 the week before. Iggy might be mainstream now but he wasn't in 1977.


I believe it (In The Red Records) started in 1991, though I may not have actually gotten a record until early 1992. It's a bit blurry now. Old age. Only in the last seven or eight years did the label become something that resembled an actual business that was a full-time concern.


I went to Cal state Fullerton to work on a fine arts degree (before starting In The Red). I dropped out after three semesters - I figured out that I'd end up an art teacher, which wasn't what I wanted to do. I worked for my step-father, who was an interior decorator, for a while. He taught me how to hang draperies. After that I took a job in a grocery store. It was during my time at the grocery store that I started the record label.


It was not a reference to finances. It was a term I hear applied to certain recordings (which I loved) that were blown-out, distorted or recorded too loud for the equipment that was capturing the performance to tape. My friend Tim Warren, founder of Crypt Records, was staying at my house and used the term several times in reference to records we were listening to. He's say things like, "Listen to that Sax! It's totally in the red". Also, around the same time, Pussy Galore (my favorite band at the time and still an all-time favorite) had a song called Adolescent Wet Dream that had a line that said, "Tun it up, baby, in the red". That sealed it, for me.


I was collecting records and a fanatic for rock n' roll music for so long that I felt I needed to participate. I had no desire or talent for being in a band so starting a label seemed like a perfect fit. It's like being the curator at a gallery. The first band I got in touch with, who were supposed to be my first release, were The Gories. They had just released their debut record on Wanghead records. It took a while before they delivered the record so I released a couple of singles before they gave me theirs. I wish I'd waited.



Crypt Records was definitely a big influence/inspiration to me. I have much admiration and respect for that label. I based my work on Tim Warren's teachings, for sure. Apart from that, I also love Sympathy, Siltbreeze, Norton, Hozac, Sacred Bones, Sun, Sweet Rot, SS, Chiswick, Staxx, Estrus, Florida's Dying, Shattered, Dangerhouse....uh, I could go on all night. 


I don't know that it's al that "hip". but I am surprised that my records are still selling well at a time when I'm told the music/record industry is dead. That's a bit of a relief.


My father passed away last year. If he'd ever heard The Hunches or The Hospitals I'm certain he'd have left this Earth much sooner... I never tried to describe the music to him except to say, "you wouldn't like it all". My mother and I are much closer and she has a far more open mind than my father did in regards to music, art and life. She actually likes a few things I've put out. She likes some Dirtbombs songs and she thinks Mick Collins is a fantastic singer.



The Hunches

There haven't been too many hard decisions I've had to make. I've made some regrettable decisions but none were too hard to make.


Staying in business and growing has been the achievement I'm proudest of. I can't believe it's lasted this long and is still going well (nearly two hundred releases). While I wouldn't consider it my greatest achievement, it was also pretty mind-blowing for me to work with Sparks. They've been a favorite band of mine since I was 12 years old. That was pretty cool.


As far as new stuff that isn't on my label, I really like Tyvek, The Mantles, Wizzard Sleeve and UV Race. Lately I've been mostly listening to old UK punk rock. I grew up on that stuff and I've gone back to it in a big way lately. I also am nutty for the Messthetics compilations put out by Chuck Warner. If you aren't familiar with those, they are comps of late 70's - early 80's UK DIY records. I didn't hear this stuff when it came out, unfortunately. There is some incredible music on these things.


I like to cook. I'm having my kitchen re-done as I type this and once it's done I plan to cook even more. I have a small dog. She's a 14 year old Chihuahua named Penny. She can't really walk anymore but she's still awesome. I mainly stay in and listen to records and watch old horror movies with my girlfriend. I just inherited a portion of Lux Interior's DVD collection so I've stayed in a lot lately just watching those.


I've got a lot of records coming up that I'm excited about. The debut album from a Los Angeles band called Wounded Lion is fantastic. The new album by Haunted George is sick! I've got new ones coming from the Strange Boys, Cheap Time, The Fresh & Onlys, Thee Oh Sees and more I'm sure I'm forgetting.


Hear The Strange Boys cover 'Baby Please Don't Go' below.

[DOWNLOAD]