Cloud: It is my kind of my life’s work. It is 100% independent record label, not funded by any larger parent company, pretty much all of the happenings of it happen right here.

Cloud: Yeah we have kind of run the gamut. It is mostly indie rock kind of oriented stuff, but then every now and then there will be a Phaedo or a Stavesacre or a Ghoti Hook or something off the map like that.

Cloud: Actually I get excited for every release. Right now the newest stuff I’m excited about. We started this thing called the Scissors & Blue series and it is a series of six split EP’s and a new one comes out every other month. We have 1 & 2 out right now and number 3 is Viva Voce and Soul-Junk.

Cloud: Yeah, so I’m really stoked about that. The new LN record is the first full length we have ever done with them after 3 EP’s so I’m real excited about that. Pretty much, there is not something that I put out that I am not stoked about.

Cloud: The newest stuff we have coming out is the LN record. A new band we are working with called Other Desert Cities, which is this 5-piece folk-alt, kind of alt-country-ish. They are recording right now. Then we are working with another band called the John Wilkes Kissing Booth, and they are working on their debut full length right now too. And due out next, on April 1^st, the new Charity Empressa EP called "The Skin Of Whippetts" that is coming out, I think it is going to be cool. The other three parts of the split series. We have a 7" with Jeff Suffering and Rocky Valado.

Cloud: Yeah. I don’t know there is always something brewing.

Cloud: Vinyl goes pretty well for us. It is just one of those weird things where you can manufacture a CD for the same price, if not cheaper, than you can make a 7" and definitely a 12". So whenever we do vinyl it is more like, I just wanted to do it on vinyl. Economically it is not as viable as CD’s, but we just kind of like vinyl.

Cloud: There are a few things that we have re-pressed in the past, but generally the selling out thing has become an allure to the label, and it is almost like a safety net for me. When something comes out, people know that if they don’t buy it right then they might not have a shot at it in six to nine months. It’s hard, there is some stuff I would like to repress, but at the same time, by the time I do all the re-pressing and junk for a little bit more money I could have a brand new release. I’m always kind of torn between re-pressing and not re-pressing.

Cloud: Actually, we have a compilation that is kind of being put together right now called "Velvet Blue Music Past & Present" which will be two CD’s. Instead of making the new sampler just a new sampler, disc one will just be selected tracks from all the old releases and disc two will be all new tracks and everything.

Cloud: Yeah, do you want to start with anyone in particular?

Cloud: Map, is a three-piece band from Riverside, CA. The drummer from Map plays in Starflyer 59. The singer songwriter is just a long time friend of Jason (Starflyer 59) and mine from high school.

Cloud: John Wilkes Kissing Booth is a band from here; they are from Long Beach (CA) area. They are a five-piece band. They call the music New American Romance; it is a little bit more hard-hitting, kind of pop-rock kind of stuff. They do super good around here, so I’m hoping that when their first album comes out. They want to hit the road for the majority of the summer. Sort of a, the more they get out there the more people will see them.

Cloud: Other Desert Cities, they are recording their album with Matt Wignall producing.

Cloud: At this point I have not heard one single lick of the record, but I’ve seen them play and I’ve heard all of their demos and stuff. They are from Long Beach too, they are right around here, and they play all the time here. So the same thing with them, hopefully just to get out on the road.

Cloud: As you probably know, Ghoti Hook is breaking up so this six song EP we did with them is their last official release. Tooth & Nail will be putting out a collective kind of thing, but the six song EP is their last actual Ghoti Hook release. They are doing a farewell tour of forty-five dates in May and June.

Cloud: As you know it is Jeff Suffering, and it also features members from: The Prom, Stars Theory, Damien Jurado, and Velour. I might be leaving out one band I’m not sure. They currently are just playing a lot of shows in the Pacific Northwest; Seattle, Portland; all that kind of area. They are looking to do a West coast tour pretty soon.

Cloud: The Colemans are actually all of the members of the band Phaedo with the addition of their sister on vocals. The Colemans are literally Colemans; they are all brothers and sisters. We have only put out the one four song EP for them. They used to live in Canada and they all moved to Chicago. I’m not sure what we will be doing in the future, hopefully something soon.

Cloud: S.S. Bountyhunter is a very oddball band. Probably the least contact I have ever had with a band, because their phone is always disconnected or you can’t reach them. As mysterious as the record, is pretty much as mysterious as the band is to me.

Cloud: We put out the 7", Stavesacre split, and the full length. We just worked out a deal for them with Floodgate Records, which is a Christian based label that has distribution through Word. So the new album will be a joint venture between Velvet Blue and Floodgate and then the album will be picked up by Warner Brothers for the general market.

Cloud: The Gold is still together; they are going on tour with Joy Electric in April for 24 shows. The EP, again that is a thing we did with Floodgate Records as kind of a developmental thing as a joint effort. If we continue to do stuff with The Gold is kind of undecided at this point.

Cloud: Yeah, LN is almost in the S.S. Bountyhunter category. They are very mysterious. We talk about what we want to do, I send them money, and he records the songs and sends them in. And he is just real cool. He kind of lets me do whatever I want to with the stuff, and I always think everything he turns in is incredible music.

Cloud: Reverse broke up, which I was really bummed about. They broke up right before we put out that double 7". They were one of my favorite bands; I thought they were real cool. The new members are working various stuff, so I’m hoping to hear and maybe do stuff with them in the near future.

Cloud: We have put out one full length, which is actually one of the few releases we have ever repressed here. We put out one EP, which is now sold out. And we put out a 10", which is just hard to find. We have been working on new material for an album that is entitled "Becoming What You Hate". And it has been very slow going due to the fact that I don’t put my band as a high priority compared to the other bands, it is kind of always in the back.

Cloud: Viva Voce is not technically on the label. We have had some discussion about that, at this point we are just doing the split stuff together and maybe stuff in the future. It is just they have a lot of other options so it is kind of dependent on that.

Cloud: Currently the only distribution we have right now is general market through Revelation, which is kind of weird because it is mostly Emo and Hardcore stuff. We are in the midst of trying to work out something with Grassroots right now for Christian distribution. It is mostly Mom & Pop indie stores, and lots of mail order and on-line stuff.

Cloud: Um, no not really unless you…

Cloud: Yeah.

(Laughter)

Cloud: Ok.