Madison Record Label Shortwave Records to host live showcase at the Crystal Corner

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The German art students in that is the title track from their brand new album Diamonds and

Queens, which just so happens to be on shortwave records. This is a pretty awesome album. I'm looking

at a big record right now, like from the old days, right? Vinyl. Vinyl. Vinyl. This is pretty cool.

I love vinyl and I'm glad it's making a comeback. And shortwave records. They've been releasing albums

of local national bands since the labels founding in 1999. And a label owner Eric Hartz is no

stranger to the Madison music scene, having played drums in hum machine and a few other bands

and currently the flavor that kills. Shortwave records is hosting a live music showcase at the

Crystal Corner Bar. I'm Willie Street on Saturday, February 7th with Eric Span, the flavor that

kills and other artists from the record label, including the German art students Nestor and Shazie

Hayd. Here in the studio to tell us about his band, the label, the show is Eric Hartz and he's

brought along a couple of guys from the flavor that kills Nick and Ryan. Nick, Ryan, Eric, welcome to

Maxine Gradio. Well, thanks, rocker. And thanks for, you know, promoting the show and everything.

That show actually, Shazie Hayd's not going to play it, but Shazie Hayd is going to do solo,

because some of the guys in Shazie Hayd are out of commission for a little bit.

Oh, it's that time of year. But it would be the flavor that kills the German art students Nestor,

body futures who are from Milwaukee who used to be and if I had a high five. Oh, that's right.

I remember that. And then Shazie Hayd is going to open up the show from Shazie Hayd in the new

recruits. So now what I want to know is, is home machine ever going to play again?

Yeah, that's a great question. You know, we are all active and around and living. So

yeah, you got to know. And we get, and we get along. So that's a possibility maybe in the summer.

That's a key. Yeah, we talked about that. There's actually a home machine record that's not out

yet that we might put out in the summer. So, oh, that's nice. And what year did home machine start?

Oh, God, that would be in mid 90s, I think. Right. Yeah, way back. Wow. Eric, tell us about

yourself. I mean, how did you get started in music? What's your backstory?

Oh, well, my backstory is my high school band that I played in called slow children open up for

Fugazi in Green Bay. And then since then, it's been a steady downhill climb. So I started on the

mountain and I've continued to go down that hill and I haven't reached the bottom yet. Maybe

some point I'll go back up, but I started on the top and I'm on my way to the bottom. So that's

how I started opening up for them. I just started playing drums. I play, I started playing drums

because I was in sixth grade and the most popular guy, his name was John Bacon. God, I hope John

Bacon's listening. And he was a drummer and he was cool and all the girls liked him. And I thought

maybe if I played drums, I would be cool and all the girls would like me to. That's the ticket.

Yeah. Oh, that's funny. What was your parents role in kind of your musical upbringing?

My parents were pretty cool. Fortunately, it had, well, pretty cool. They weren't always cool.

I hope they're not listening. Well, they let me play the drums. They actually like would let me

you know, play and have bands come to my house and practice. It was mainly because they knew I was

not like in trouble. So you're all hanging out with the house and stuff like that. Right.

And that lasted until they got sick of it. But yeah, that's kind of how I got started.

Yeah, I mean, let your kids play drums because they won't have money to have like a drug addiction.

They spend all their money on their own. And if they like it, they'll be doing it. So you know,

tell us about your current band, the flavor that kills you brought to your guys here.

And I even heard a crazy story that you lost half your albums in a snowstorm. Tell us about

your band and your crazy snowstorm. I'll tell you about albums and Ryan and Nick can tell you about

the band. So we had the last album, Book of Secrets and we were super excited. We spent a lot of time

and energy putting it together. And we got the vinyl and we put we assembled the vinyl ourselves

because it's cheaper. Yeah. So we were doing that at the studio and we got them all put together

and then we put them in my truck and there was a snowstorm on that night. And when I was driving

home, I think my truck latch, there was ice and it must not have latched right? Oh no, ice again.

Yeah. And they fell and if the latch fell off, my hatch fell down and we lost like a box,

which is about 50 or 60 records in the snow. And I was driving around trying to find them. When I

got home, I realized it happened. I didn't find them until the morning after the spring melt.

Hey, look at all these albums. Yeah. And you know, they're expensive, right?

The vinyl is expensive. So it's like, oh, what a loss. A lot of people actually want the road

worn. I have the road worn ones. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. They're special. Yeah. Brian. Brian,

Nick will tell you about the band. Oh, all right. Ryan, Nick, tell us about your band, the flavor

that kills. Ryan first. Well, I don't know if I'm Mike's son. Oh, well, the band is an explosion.

It's on. Oh, you hear me of explosive guys exploding all over the front row of the audience.

I'll tell you to those guys, those, you know, being a band with people is really difficult

at times. Oh, no, I got you. We can hear you. Oh, okay. We're back. Well, you're doing a great

job here. So I love nothing to add. Well, Ryan and I, I'll tell you, Ryan and I knew each other

for a long time, because Ryan used to be an awesome car fun maker. And I was in hum machine.

And then Shazie Hayden, those two bands, kind of, you know, just disintegrated in their own ways.

Yeah. They were trying to go further downhill, like you said. Yeah. Yeah. And Ryan had a project

use work, kind of a solo project, he was working on called Lake Dalton, which you can listen to

on the shortwave records bandcamp pages. It's not called Lake Dalton. I think it's titled

the labor that kills, but it's basically Ryan's solo album that's on there.

The flute, the one with the bunny on it. Yeah. Yeah. The guy running right in the bunny. Yeah.

So, and I said, hey, do you listen to start a band? And so we were talking about like doing something

like Gary Wright or something like that, like, you know, 70s disco type of. Right. 70s disco. Yeah.

That's what you're just, you know, spitballing and stuff. And, and this is the band that we ended up

kind of like starting. And then we did Christian Bernson, who was in screaming since then in the ponds.

We brought him in to play. And then there were some different variations along the line. And then

the current lineup was with, you know, Ryan and me and then Nick. And second guitar. And then

Christian Bernson and the bass. And then we brought in John Paul Jones. Not John Paul Jones.

John Paul. John Paul. John Paul. The Pope. Yeah. Yeah. Who is in the dead

familiars and is played in a bunch of other places? So there's a bunch of all.

And he does all the synth parts because we needed a synth player because we played so much synth

on the last record. We didn't really have someone to do. We just did it ourselves. We brought

someone to do that stuff live. That's John Paul. Nice. And I got to ask that you're here.

Is awesome car fun maker ever going to do a reunion show?

God, I wish they would. Yeah, there's still a live somewhere out there.

Have fun guys out. New Jersey and other guys out. I think he's in Philadelphia or London.

I kept up with them. And I think the drummer, the drummer is still in town center. So I may

have to find them. That would be a great show. Wouldn't that? Yeah. That would be classic.

You do. How much do you want to see a car fun maker?

Just to make it down. And then do like another older band.

Oh, you're the man. Put it together.

Oh, you know, let's hear it. Yeah. If you if you ever saw awesome car fun maker back in the day.

Yeah. In the 2000s, you might have seen sealed casket as well because they played a lot of

shows together. And that's what I want to see again. Oh, yeah. They're a metal.

And a theatrical metal band. And you're probably in your 40s.

Now, tell us about creating shortwave records. I mean, how did you get to this point?

Yeah. Well, there's been a couple variations. You know, it started with a hum machine.

And then I had a solo thing called Vultrus, which is still active now.

And I want we, you know, just didn't have a label. So we were talking about that's with

Courtney Collins, right? Well, early versions of it is. The new versions are with Roscoe Mitchell.

Oh, I said, but so there wasn't a vehicle to put out music. And so, you know, awesome kind of

for our car fun maker was on the early version of shortwave, which was called Cancer Records at

time. Okay. And we did early compilation of smart studios and the slipper club with some local

bands called under the radar. But we put out, you know, stuff. And then we got a big distribution

deal through Red Eye, who's a pretty big company now. Yeah, that is. And we were, you're

actually getting records in the stores. This is in the late 90s and early 2000s. Yeah, I got

the best buy. Yeah, it was in a lot. Yeah, it was a good distribution deal. It was like pretty legit.

And then it just kind of, you know, just went idle for a while. And then when flavor that

kills start, I kind of relaunched the label. I see. Mainly to do vinyl. And then lately,

I've been doing archival stuff with 90s, early 2000s bands, like Clip the Daisies,

Transformers, they're not on there. Wheelie King is. Oh, really.

Met Trucker, God, man, certainly has an invitation if they want to be on there. And Lady Beard, too,

for that matter. Yeah. But Clip the Daisies is on there. Wheelie King, Transformer loop bag.

We have a, I don't know if people remember Ham G, but we're working on a new release from Ham G,

which has never been out. That was Jim Bruss, who sadly died a couple of years ago.

But that is almost on its way to being finished that we're going to put out.

So we're, you know, reworking some of the older, older Madison bands. Yeah, I love it. The

throwbacks. Yeah, and it's all free. It's all free. It's all free. It's just more archival. Yeah.

And it's available for everybody just so they can hear it. You know, a great service to the public.

You know, because, you know, Led Zeppelin, right? They're not around anymore. But you're going to

hear their music all the time, right? But a local band, when they cease to exist, they're done.

Where does their music go? Right? And that's why we try and keep you here alive on Maxing Radio.

And I love that you're archiving stuff, too. That's a really a noble cause.

Thanks. It's going, you know, it's, it goes really, a lot of people listen, you know, like a lot of

people are going back to, because they want to hear that stuff. And there might be cassette tapes

that was out sometime. Yeah. They're having it anymore. No, right? It's impossible. Yeah.

Tell us quickly about your showcase at the Crystal Corner bar in February 7th.

Yep. So we had a couple bands on the label. Like I said, he's not doing it, but Chinky is.

And that's a shortwave person. Yeah. And then the German art students, you just played.

We just put out their vinyl nesters, another band in town. We put their last vinyl out and they

have a new one coming out in May. So that's going to be out on a shortwave. And their body

futures is not on the label, but they're playing there from Milwaukee. And I know those guys,

a lot of people know those guys to be in a band called if I had a high five out of Milwaukee.

Yeah. Right. So yeah. So we thought we'd try like a showcase and just get all the bands

in the label together. And then I want to do more of these as we get more bands. And I, you know,

my goal is to to burn through as much money as possible before I can't do it anymore.

Tour out of it. And that's a business plan. Yeah. It's a good one. But when you have it set up

like that, you don't have to freak out, you know, so yeah, right. But I do want to do more.

I want to do a lot more local stuff. So, you know, my goal is to hopefully find more local bands to

work with. And, you know, we have a pretty friendly deal with the bands to help them out with

getting the vinyl out and they get all the right, keep all the rights and stuff like that.

It's kind of like, you know, recoup when they sell it. But we also have, though,

we also did the Dick Valentine album and he's from Electric Six. It's his solo stuff.

So we put one out last year and we're going to do another one this year too. It looks like we're

doing another one with him. And then the flavor that kills, we're going to do a couple shows with

Electric Six in April and May coming up this summer. So that's a stuff coming up. Eric,

thank you so much for coming down to the studio tonight. And your buzz, Nick and Ryan,

we can't wait to go to the Crystal Corner Bar February 7th to see the shortwave records.

Music showcase happening at the Crystal Corner Bar, over on Wheeling Street. We have a brand

new flavor of the Kill song. It's called Evaporate. Quickly tell us the song. Evaporate.

The whole record is a cast shift. There we go. It's part of the plot.

It's part of the plot. Right now, let's check it out. Brand new music from the flavor that kills.

This is Evaporate. You're listening to Maxine Gradio. We are local music.

You found Wisconsin's local music authority. This is Maxine Gradio. We are local music.