S.H.S. Label Spotlight - A389 Recordings

S.H.S Label Spotlight

     A389 Recordings was started around the year 2004 by Dominic Romeo in Baltimore, formerly of the bands Slumlords, Pulling Teeth, & more. Although today it's one of the top labels for hardcore fans and record enthusiasts, Dom started it much like many other great DIY labels... just to get his friend's bands some exposure. Even after over 120 releases, the man still runs things entirely by himself...  with two children and a day job to boot. I discovered A389 only a couple years ago, mostly through love of the band Pulling Teeth, and the label's increasing visibility on the web helped too. I have always been drawn to heavy hardcore with occult imagery, such as Integrity, and its no surprise that Dwid Hellion contributes quite a bit to A389 on top of his own endeavors. 

     Coming across A389 was intertwined with my then new-found obsession with collecting vinyl. Dom recognizes that in the 'digital age' certain things are lost and recognizes the charm of physical media. I applaud his respect for getting each band's complete expression appreciated in the truest sense. This means a record to hold, and listen to, from start to finish, in the order it was meant to be heard. Large artwork, to give your imagination a starting point, and a lyrics insert, so you can fully dive into each song before seeing the band perform live. Digital downloads are included as an extra, as they should be, for convenience of listening on the go after absorbing the record initially. Eschewing major-label faux mystique, all of the albums he puts out can be previewed right on the A389 official bandcamp, so you know exactly what you are purchasing. 

     Of course there always will be an esoteric nature drawing us to this music, but we the fans figure it out long before we are placing an order. Ultimately, Dom runs his label in the spirit of being a fan of the music himself, above all else, driven by a genuine wish to spread the word about bands he's into. These virtues are not simply espoused but demonstrated, as many of my A389 orders have contained free records and such. I would love to personally follow in his footsteps one day... Dom's attitude and work gives me hope for the future of hardcore and the music industry in general!

Read more:

Dom was featured in an article in the Baltimore City Paper:

http://citypaper.com/music/headbangers-ball-1.1426600

Decibel Magazine did a nice 'behind the scenes' piece about Dom, which includes video:
http://www.decibelmagazine.com/uncategorized/chances-are-behind-the-scenes-at-a389-records/

Scene Point Blank features an article about Dom's favorite releases:
http://www.scenepointblank.com/features/interviews/a389-records-history-101/

Great interview from Toxicbreed's Funhouse:
http://toxicbreedsfunhouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/interview-domenic-romeo-a389pulling.html

     Dom started a zine called 'Midnight Mass,' which is on its second issue. One of the most interesting things from #2 was a commentary about reunions from Jeff Beckman of Left For Dead... "It's always hard to get stoked on the fact that no one cares while something is alive, but when it dies and they can't have it anymore, THAT'S when it seems to matter most." "...Anything from an era kids weren't a part of is held in some mystical way..." "Pre-EBay hardcore was much better."

     I take all of that to mean get out and enjoy shows going on RIGHT NOW and lose the internet snark, it's a bad look. This is only scratching the surface of the issue - there's also great interviews with Catharsis, Mike Apokalypse of Gehenna, and more!  Each order from A389 gets one in the box.

Every year, an 'anniversary bash' is held, to showcase the bands, and also a time for Dom's friends get together and celebrate his birthday! This year the lineup was bigger than ever, having moved from the Sonar to primarily the Ottobar in Baltimore. After a near-instant sellout, Dom knew he needed to expand the fest to a full weekend for the fans. Here's the full lineup:

I couldn't make it out to Baltimore this year, so here's the footage I have been living vicariously though...

Blow The Scene recap

RTF Forum thread about the weekend 
hate5six's A389 Bash page on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/channels/a389ix 

*A389 in 2013*

-Here are some miniature reviews from my latest order-

Weekend Nachos - 'Watch You Suffer 7"
My opinion of this band has transformed from when I first heard them... At first I did not get their tongue-in-cheek 'jock powerviolence,' but I came around. After seeing a ferocious set at the 2012 A389 bash I knew they had more than just punchlines. This release is far more accurately touted as 'unapologetic,' rather than joke-y. They bring it like Tragedy on this new 7" with production similar to the handiwork of Kurt Ballou... perfect!

Dylan Walker from Full of Hell writes, "John has been singing for the band Weekend Nachos since 2004 and the band has released a slew of crushing and lyrically intense (albeit sometimes hilarious and tongue in cheek) albums. The band has been consistently berated by genre snobs and internet warriors, whom insist on categorizing the band and judging the direction of the material."
Well said, Dylan, well said. Full interview is here (via CVLT Nation)

God's America - "Our Bones Will Bleach In The Sun"
Posers need not apply... this is caustic power violence that will drain every 'warm and fuzzy' feeling from your body! Dissonant and lo-fi are quite the understated descriptors. The crunchy, barked vocals over scathing guitars and killer blast beats make this a must buy. (I mentioned in my review of their live set that the drummer was amazing...) For when you'd rather your ears bleed than scream at the top of your own lungs.

They also have an album under a former name 'Seeds of Rape,' available at GRINDCORE KARAOKE

Left For Dead - "Devoid Of Everything"
I once read that Dom was trying to do a band comprised of equal parts Hamilton (Ontario) hardcore and Holy Terror hardcore with Pulling Teeth. That might be why I am drawn to Left For Dead just as much as the classic Cleveland stuff that I have had more exposure to personally. For those of you, like myself, that missed the boat of LFD's heyday, we can now enjoy the band as if they had just formed today. This is fast, gritty, angry hardcore with a nod to powerviolence that fits in with the current scene and A389 records.
This record is the band's entire discography restored and remastered from the original 1/4" reels. Devoid Of Everything was said to be a reference to childhood in Hamilton. You could never guess that the original recording was done in a basement for $40! A "must buy" for original fans, newjacks, or the Chris Colohan obsessed!


IN OTHER NEWS (straight from the A389 official site)

COMING MARCH 20TH 2013 IRON REAGAN Worse Than Dead 12″ (CD On Magic Bullet Records) YOUNG AND IN THE WAY/WITHDRAWAL split 7″ SEVEN SISTERS OF SLEEP Opium Morals 12″/CD
We also have a few things up our sleeves for record store day….
UPCOMING RECORD STORE DAY RELEASES SEVEN SISTERS OF SLEEP/ILSA Split 7″ RINGWORM 1991 Demo 7″ Re-issue LIKE RATS Self Titled 7″ Re-issue ILSA The Maggots Are Getting Hungry 12″ (Limited Edition)
AND we have a few represses coming on new colors. Namely SICK FIX Vexed 12″ and RINGWORM The Promise 12″…stay tuned for that!!!
It doesn’t stop there!!! We’ll have new FULL OF HELL and GEHENNA albums out in time for their appearances at MDF 2013. Speaking of which we’ll be announcing a new signing in the upcoming weeks. You’ll be able to catch this new signing at MDF as well, with their new A389 LP in tow. More on that to come!!!
THis year is going to be insane. Wait until you see what we have up our sleeves for the second half. For one thing…EMPIRE OF RATS will be recording their LP and it’s going to be unreal! So much to do in so little time, it’s 2 am now and I have to be up at 5 am for work so I’m going to cut this short.