Feature / Music
Pass The Mic: Record Labels and Artists on 2008

Words: Michael • Posted pre-2010

LINKS TO ALL THE PAGES

Skin Like Iron/Humanity is the Devil Zine (Alex Capasso)

What are your top five albums that were released in 2008?

  1. Masshysteri - Vår Del Av Stan
  2. Mind Eraser - Concious/Unconcious
  3. New Lows - New Lows
  4. Young Offenders - Big Man, Small House
  5. Blowback - Living Vibration

What band did you discover in 2008 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?

I finally "got" Bruce Springsteen. It's nice to have records that you can listen to with your girlfriend that don't make you want to puke. She's got pretty good taste in music, but I like to bang my head a little more than she does so mutual favorites are hard to come by in our relationship. A much more contemporary band I discovered would be Black Breath. They inspired a lot of gear/loudness jealousy in me. Plus, every one of those dudes can fucking destroy their instruments, and Neil's got a wild voice.

How will you remember 2008? (In terms of music)

It was a good year for my band. Without having much time to escape work and school, we managed to pull off an East Coast tour, play Rainfest, and go on a bunch of weekend trips with bands like Black Breath, Never Healed, Rise & Fall, Pressure, Alpha & Omega and Pulling Teeth. It was so much fun being able to see those bands as much as we did.

Vinyl record sales saw a significant increase this year while hard copy sales continued to dwindle. Is this a return to the glory days for vinyl or just a phase? Explain.

I think that the increased sales will ensure that vinyl finds a place in the hearts of a lot of new vinyl consumers. I started my vinyl collection in 1996 and at the time I went about 50/50 between vinyl and CD purchases. Now, I'm only buying records. It's the best of both worlds - you get the big pretty package, and can easily make portable digital files.

What was the most memorable moment for you in 2008? (Can be in terms of anything)

The Skin Like Iron/Pressure/Colin of Arabia East Coast tour was great. Nothing insanely crazy happened, but the week was full of a lot of memorable times.

What can we look forward to from you in 2009?

Our new 12" entitled "All Human Failings". It will be released in February on Free Cake Records. We'll also be doing two separate West Coast tours with some incredible bands coming up in March and April. 2009 will be a busy year for us.

What three records are you looking forward to most in 2009?

Marked Men, Never Healed, and Pulling Teeth.

Homepage: http://www.blacksummer.com/sli/

Related features

Jumalvauhti

One Question Interviews • March 27, 2025

Kalle (Jumalvauhti – bass) SPB: Who is your favorite band/artist from the 2000-2010 era? Kalle: It's hard to say, but Destiny's Child definitely can't go wrong.  Read more

Bronson Arm

One Question Interviews • March 26, 2025

Black Bickel (Bronson Arm) SPB: What is your favorite stretch of highway to drive in the US? Bickel: My favorite stretch of highway is that bit between Milwaukee and Minneapolis, two cities that Bronson Arm always have a great time playing. So if we are leaving Milwaukee, we are usually … Read more

Unstable Shapes

One Question Interviews • March 25, 2025

Kevin Hurley (Unstable Shapes – bass) SPB: What is your favorite Fugazi record? Hurley: While we can debate the best Fugazi record, a personal favorite of mine is The Argument. It was my entry point for the band. I was admittedly way late to the party on them and as … Read more

Retirement

Bike Shop

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • March 23, 2025

How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene Point Blank looks at how musicians split their time, and how their careers influence their music (or how their music provides escape). In this edition, we chat with … Read more

Let Me Downs

One Question Interviews • March 12, 2025

Paul Levesque (Let Me Downs - bass/vocals) SPB: Has the band ever been in a car/van accident while touring? Levesque: Fortunately, we haven’t! (Knock on wood) We have had our fair share of van issues. Blown tires, A/C going out in an hours-long traffic jam in the Arizona desert in … Read more

Advertisement

DCxPC 2025

More from this section

2024: A Year In Review

Music / Year End 2024 • January 13, 2025

It's a new year – hooray. And things are off to a fine start, too. If the thought of corrupt governments, AI domination, unmoderated social networks and endless war is causing you to retreat into the past, we don't blame you. In fact, we encourage it! Our writers have summed … Read more

Scene Point Blank's Favorites: Year End (2024)

Music / Year End 2024 • January 4, 2025

It's 2025, somehow. When did this happen?! Okay, okay, four days ago. But honestly. It feels like 2012 was only a few months ago. Is it just SPB who's feeling a little, well, timestruck? But don't worry – we've got you. Did 2024 pass you by, too? Still not caught … Read more

Pass The Mic: Artists and labels on 2024

Music / Year End 2024 • January 4, 2025

It's a SPB tradition to formally "pass the mic" to our artist and label friends to tell us about their year in music. What albums did they enjoy? What shows did they see? What are they looking forward to for the new year? We're joined this year by a host … Read more