SPOOK CITY

by Myk

Spook City's catalog seems influenced by the Hardcore scene of the early ‘90s, and that’s just fine. The Philadelphia label has just released a live album from Integrity, and also an album by Nerve Gas Tragedy, a group which contains members of All Out War. Bands like Shattered Realm call this label home, and there’s even a release by Slapshot. Spook City bands are tough, and they sound tough. Label owner Shawn Hopman is so good at what he does, I felt some questions were in order.

Under the Volcano: How did the label get started?

Shawn Hopman: The label pretty much started because a friend’s band got screwed by their label and their CDs would not be pressed in time for their US tour. So I got a live set, burned a whole bunch on my computer and made covers. It was just something for them to sell and make some money. I didn't really expect it to go anywhere. But, six years later, here I am...

UTV: Where does the name Spook City come from?

Shawn Hopman: This is a quick and easy one. I’m a huge Misfits fan, and I took the name from the song “Spook City USA.”

UTV: Your web site lists the band Punishment as your second release. What was the first release, and why isn’t it listed?

Shawn Hopman: Hopefully only my wife knows the first release, and hopefully it stays that way forever. Years before Punishment, I had a friend who did a tiny label, mainly for his pop band. He asked me if I'd be interested in doing this project with him, and that was release number one. Very embarrassing, to say the least.

UTV: Tell me a little about the Slayer tribute you released.

Shawn Hopman: Well, when I first started, I figured I would do some sort of comp to gain a little exposure. It sounded like a cool idea to have different Hardcore bands covering the songs--in order--from the Reign In Blood album. So I spent a ton of time contacting bands about being on it. Some were really cool--Most Precious Blood--some initially agreed, but then backed out--American Nightmare and Death Threat.

In the end, it was a cool idea and I executed it to the best of my abilities, But if I could do it all over again, with the experience I've gained and my ability to get much bigger bands, I think it would come out a lot cooler now.

But all in all, the album featured a member of Fallout Boy, Most Precious Blood, members of Terror and First Blood, The Bad Luck 13, and Punishment. Not bad for an early release.

UTV: You’ve done vinyl releases for a couple of bands that are on other labels, like Shattered Realm and Blood For Blood. Do you find that releases like this cause any problems you didn’t expect?

Shawn Hopman: I've done Blood For Blood, Slapshot, and Shattered Realm, in that order, on vinyl. Problems? Not particularly. I mean, I knew going into the situation that vinyl--especially in that style of music--doesn't sell too well. And I caught a little bit of flack for making a lot of different versions. But whatever; if you don't want to buy it, don't buy it. I don't want your two cents. But all in all, I did the releases to get more exposure and for that reason, it worked. So I'm happy.

UTV: Tell me about the live Integrity release you did. Is this a one-time partnership, or do you know of anything the band may release in the future?

Shawn Hopman: I've been a huge Integrity fan for a long, long time. When I started the label, I told myself that my goal was to work with all of my favorite bands. So I contacted Dwid, and we worked something out for the Palm Sunday album. It will most likely end up being a one-time thing, though. As a one person label, doing a release for such a big band took its toll on me, physically and mentally.

UTV: You seem to frequently work with Thorp Records--what’s your relationship to them?

Shawn Hopman: Andy King [Thorp owner] used to live right by me...well, like 10 miles away. And we sorta had a similar way we started out with our labels, and we took similar paths. I just started afterwards. So, he tried to look out for me.

UTV: Death Before Dishonor has moved on to Bridge Nine Records. Have you seen a bump in their back catalog since?

Shawn Hopman: Absolutely. Death Before Dishonor has been my biggest catalog piece, and was so even before signing to Bridge Nine. Since the Friends Family Forever EP came out, I haven't seen a huge spike in sales, but I have steadily and consistently sold albums. Death Before Dishonor are great guys and a hard-working band, so I’m glad for all of the success they’ve had so far.

UTV: What’s been the biggest selling release on the album to date?

Shawn Hopman: Death Before Dishonor, then Blood In/Blood Out, then Integrity, then Folsom.

UTV: When signing a new band, what do you look for?

Shawn Hopman: For a long time, I looked for selling points--ex-members of this band, toured with that band, etc.--but now, I look for bands that play good music, are good dudes, and work hard.

UTV: Do you usually end up signing bands that blow you away live, or from blind submissions you receive?

Shawn Hopman: I get a ton of blind submissions--A TON. I enjoy getting mail, but 99% of them are pretty ridiculous... “We've been a band for two weeks and have had 19 lineup changes. We played our first show in front of 22 people and sold 18 demos. What sort of tour support do you give, and what kind of recording budget will you offer?" or "Yo. Check out r myspace."

I pretty much find most bands on my own, or somebody I know tells me about them. If your band is good, somebody will come to you.

UTV: You’ve released two albums by Nerve Gas Tragedy, which is four out of five members of All Out War. Do you see the “ex-member” thing as automatically giving bands a built in audience?

Shawn Hopman: Yes and no. In a sea of a million musical choices, you need something to make kids slow down and at least gaze at [it]. That's all I hope for with the ex-member thing. Some of my bands tour a lot and have built-in audiences. Some don't fit that same mold, so you need something to put a foot in the door.

UTV: Blood Stands Still is the label’s newest release, tell me about them.

Shawn Hopman: Blood Stands Still is a great band from the Los Angeles-area. Two of the guys used to be in Donnybrook--the ex-member thing again [laughs]--and they have a couple of self-released albums, an EP on War Machine Records, and now a full-length on Spook City entitled Tomorrow the World. They’re really great guys, and really hard-working. It's been cool dealing with them. I can definitely see them blowing up just like Death Before Dishonor. All they need is the that one break and BAM! They'll be huge.

UTV: You just opened an office in Europe; how is that working out?

Shawn Hopman: “Spook City Europe”--I never thought I would hear that term. It's all pretty new, though, so the jury is still out. But the goal is to get some killer European bands going and really take shit over--that's the plan, anyway. Spook City has never released a European band, so this is the time to change that.

UTV: What’s the story behind the “Fuck Victory” shirts you’re selling?

Shawn Hopman: [big laugh] We all know that Victory used to be great, but seriously went down the shitter big time. Tony V. will try to spin it that “Victory didn't sell out, they bought in,” or some shit, and how they're so much better because they sell a lot of records. But what idiot equates record sales with talent? If that was the case, O-Town and 98 Degrees would be better than anything Victory has done. So, the shirts are just my little way to take a jab at “the man,” and hopefully make a few bucks.

UTV: You have a posting on your website to “Help Joe Hardcore.” For the people not from the Philly area, can you fill us in on what is going on?

Shawn Hopman: The short of it is that Joe, singer of Shattered Realm and Punishment and guy who does the Hardcore shows in Philly, was arrested for a violent crime that he didn't commit. Before the skeptics say “I've heard that before,” we have three different people, filming from three different angles, that show he was not only not involved, but also not even present for the incident. He's just being railroaded by the cops and courts. Even though he’s going to beat the bum rap, he’s building up stupid amounts of legal bills. For a single father, that's an awful lot of shit he doesn’t need to go through.

UTV: Is there one band, since you started the label, that you didn’t sign and now regret passing on?

Shawn Hopman: There have been a few bands that have gone on to sign to big labels and have done well for themselves, but to be honest, I don't regret it at all. I didn't get in this to be rich or famous, and there was a reason I didn't sign the band in the first place. So, just because they ended up doing well, I don't have negative feelings about that. I wish the band the best of luck.

UTV: What can we expect from Spook City for 2007?

Shawn Hopman: Well, there is the Palehorse/Colin of Arabia split CD coming out... If you've heard Palehorse's debut on Bridge Nine or Colin of Arabia's full-length on Rock Vegas, you know just how damn good these bands are. And this split will kick your ass. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine [laughs]. Email me some suggestions--I'm open for anything.

UTV: Thanks!

Shawn Hopman: No, man, thank you. X