For You From the Underground is a sampler showcasing the Meter family of artists as it stould in 2002. The bands you'll find sound different from each other, but have common ties that bind them together musically. You'll find modern hardcore, solo-acoustic and punk rock songs all on this one CD... That's how the label family is built: artistic variety with commonality in its orientation. We hope you find a new favourite amongst our artists and appreciate the time you're taking to check them out. Below is an interview with label owner Dean Rudd about the history of Meter Records that is published on Belgian online fanzine www.munchkinmusic.com: - Name of label? Meter Records - Why did you pick that name? "Meter" as a musical term refers to the consistency of the music... specifically the rhythm, and when we were developing the ideology for the label my main concern was creating a trustworthy family foundation for our artists. The musical term that came closest to reflecting that steadfast-support ideology was meter. In addition, our personal aim was to release music that made an impact... music that measured highly in terms of its cultural value. This is why the "music meter" depicted in the logo is measuring "in the red"; because the music we put out measures very highly. - Why did you decide to start a label? Some friends and I started a punk band in our junior highschool year. We were all starting to think about the future and who we wanted to grow up to be. The music was so fun for me and allowed for such a potent creative medium that I decided I wanted to be involved with it as much as I could for the rest of my life. When the band started playing shows and touring, we started to meet other bands and other guys with similar vision, and that proved to be the perfect opportunity to pool our resources and launch a label that would help expose some of our friends' bands as well as our own. None of the big labels at the time would have been able to invest in our little bands, so we set about creating a label identity for ourselves, and out of that Meter Records has evolved. - How long have you been around? This February we celebrate the sixth anniversary of the release of MTRC001, which was a "demo" tape to sell at shows for a band called Guilt Trip. While we have been releasing records for almost six years now, it feels to me like we learn so much each year, that we're really only just starting to properly release records. - How many people are working for the label? Officially there are four partners working for the label as well as artists helping out at the office, interns working very hard to help us meet our goals, and a growing street team spreading the word about our awesome family of bands. - Brief history of the label? In 1998 we started the label as a means to release our band, and our friends' bands music to the world. We had now idea how big a task it was, but knew that it was what we wanted to do. At the time, cassettes weren't yet obsolete and CD manufacturing was not as easily accessible, so our first release was on cassette! We soon had more bands that we wanted to help out though and a strong desire to make a serious impact, so our second release was a full-fledged CD split EP for One Shot Left, Guilt Trip, and Darryl's Grocery Bag called "Wet Feet." We were getting our feet wet, so to speak, in the industry and decided to name the comp as such. Through our involvement and participation in the industry we kept meeting these great bands full of great people that we wanted to help out. Now on our 14th release, we are working with growing international marketing and distribution, and a growing importance for culturally enriching music. ?How deep did you have to go into debts to get the label going? What are in other words the main problems when you start a label? Retrospectively, our start-up debt was small but it felt huge at the time. We invested $8,000 into the label and first releases... of which half was borrowed money. After spending that we had an office in the basement of my parent's house, a computer, website, some merch for our bands to sell on their regional show circuit, and 1000 copies of the first CD release. This is where we really encountered the first obstacle. Punk music was not very popular at the time and the bands were not able to afford to stay on the road - which was our only form of distribution. Working part-time jobs to keep cash coming into the label and putting the returns right back into the company or the bands while finishing our business degrees was spreading us thin, so there was no real time to do the biggest jobs the label needed to perform. That was really our largest problem: limited cash flow and limited time in which to work. Eventually we put a plan together to take some calculated risks that would allow us to put enough work into the label while still being able to pay the basic bills. It's been a long learning experience, but it is paying off. - How many demos do you get a month and what happens with them? We get about 30-60 demos each month. They all get listened to, but we have a hard time getting back to everybody. We do aim to respond to everyone, but recently have had to limit our responses due to lack of time! - Do you embrace the internet or do you hate it? And what about MP3? We love the internet and basically view it and MP3 "sharing" as the replacement for cassette copying that was going on the eighties and nineties. It is here to stay whether anyone likes it or not, and we feel that there are excellent ways to use it and the technologies that emerge around it to achieve our goals. While copyright infringement is in fact an issue right now, we are not that far from having a system of use for the internet as a musical distribution and promotion tool that still pays the artists. We like to encourage people to use the internet to check out new music, and buy it if they like it. - Which album that you have released is the most underrated? One Shot Left - Something to be Reckoned With - Which album you released are you most proud of and why? All of them, and each for different reasons. With each release however, we are less focussed on our sense of accomplishment, and more focussed on continuing to work hard to promote it. - Which band (or what kind of bands) would you never sign? We try not to sign bands that are selfish or making music just to make money or just to be cool. In this sense, we try to keep music elite - our resources are only accessible to bands that have a culturally valuable message and purpose. All of our artists have integrity and talent. This means no bands that would consider lip-synching or bands whose only aim is to be "popular." - What is the biggest reward you can get by starting a label? Knowing that you are contributing to the enrichment of people's culture around the world, and having fun doing it. - Funniest thing that ever happened? The drummer from The Failure broke his foot on the second date of their first tour (... for those of you who have not seen The Failure, their set can get very violent) and played two sets a night for the rest of the tour with this broken foot. He complained the whole time, but did a great job and it was really quite funny. - Shittiest thing that ever happened? A newer member of one of our touring bands stole a Playstation system from the home of a couple that was kind enough to put them up while they were out on tour. The couple drove to the show that the band was playing the next day and got the Playstation back from this guy, but the rest of the band was very upset and when the news reached us back at the office, we were very upset too. We told the band that they had to kick that member out of the band or else they would be dropped from the label. They did kick the member out and continued on to a successful career, but there was still damage to the reputation of the band and the label that could not be undone. - What can we expect from you in the near future? releasing a full-length by The Failure called "...Of Reason" re-releasing The Browns' full length "Greatest Hits Volume One" releasing a debut EP CD for the band Sons of Daughters recording a new album for One Shot Left