Asian Man Records turned 20 this year, and the label celebrated with a festival in San Francisco this past June. While we weren’t able to make it out to the party, as huge fans of the label and its fearless leader Mr. Mike Park, we thought now would be a great time to celebrate in our own way by asking some local Vegas musicians about their favorite Asian Man-released records.
Christopher Piro, Rayner
MU330 – MU330
If there’s one record label that I would consider to not only be consistently great and influential but actually life-changing it would be Asian Man Records. They’ve put out some of my favorite records over the past 20 years and the DIY ethics of how the label is run is inspirational. I struggled for a few days about what album to pick but, when all is said and done, I think there’s one band that truly epitomizes everything great about Asian Man Records.
That band is the mighty MU330 and their self-titled album is absolutely perfect! It’s a fun punk record that doesn’t tone down the ska parts and doesn’t shy away from being pure rock-n-roll either. It sounds like a band that was confident in what they were doing and doesn’t ever pander to any specific genres stereotypes. Plus Dan Potthast’s lyrics are smart, clever, and funny. For example, songs like “Favorite Show” (“She’d rather go solo than be acting with me”) or “Baby Rats” (“If all the landfills have filled up how could she think of me / If I don’t recycle cans will she ever hold my hand”) are so simple and perfect. As I’m re-listening right now it sounds just as fresh and new as it did when I first heard it. I have an autographed copy of this CD and I think Dan Potthast summed it up pretty greatly for me with a simple “Rok On!”
And if you’re going to listen to any song, you have to listen to this one:
Get more MU330 | Get more Rayner
Emily Matview, Punks in Vegas
The Broadways – Broken Star
Before the Lawrence Arms, Brendan Kelly (bass, vocals) and Chris McCaughan (guitar, vocals) made politically charged punk rock with Dan Hanaway and Rob DePaola as The Broadways. Broken Star is like some beautiful combination of Fifteen, Jawbreaker and old Goo Goo Dolls, with Kelly, McCaughan and Hanaway sharing vocal duties and singing with a tremendous amount of earnest passion. The music is catchy and I love the blending of the three vocalists.
Listening back to the album now, it’s crazy just how topical the lyrics still are. “Police Song” for instance, sounds like it could have been written just in the last month, as Hanaway sings:
Do you remember the first thing you had to memorize?
Was it the Pledge Of Allegiance?
A five year old stands for a flag
That killed off all the real Americans
But one of the aspects that really makes it stand out to me, above many other like-minded socially conscience bands of its era, is that there is a still a sense of hope stuck just underneath the layer of nihilism, as McCaughan sings on album closer “The Nautical Mile”:
And if it comes down to just you and I
Standing on the last corner of the last town of the last city
In the burning world
You’ll still have someone on your side
Get more Broken Star | Read more by Emily
Zabi Naqshband, Illicitor
Various – Mailorder Is Fun!
My sister took me to go see the”Ska Against Racism” tour in April of 98 at the Huntridge. I was 14.
Fell asleep during the Toasters according to my sister. But wide awake for Blue Meanies. I had never heard of most of the bands except for the ones my sister showed me.
At some point in the night we walked up to the merch table and I got to meet Mike Park. That’s when I got it. Mailorder Is Fun! direct from his hands. It had Alkaline Trio, Link 80, the Hippos, Bruce Lee Band and tons of other great stuff. I believe my sister paid for it. Thanks Heela!!!
Get more Mailorder is Fun! | Get more Illicitor
Aaron Mattern, Punks in Vegas
Nicotine – Samurai Shot
My favorite Asian Man release is Samurai Shot by the Japanese band Nicotine. It’s crazy how certain albums can make you remember every single thing about the first time you listened to them. This album makes me vividly recall my college apartment bedroom, the act of downloading the album, burning it onto a CD, and listening to it as I drove to a party at my friend’s house in the windy hills of Eugene, Oregon. Don’t worry Mike Park, I actually ordered this album afterwards because it’s that great.
I bought a bundle along with School of Liberty and some Nicotine posters that are still on my wall to this day. The album has great production, and is a perfect fast 90s punk-rock album with great guitar work and 200-bpm drums that would satisfy any picky NOFX or Lagwagon fans. The songs even with their charming grammar mistakes are all a lot of fun and related to such important political and social topics as getting a perfect game of bowling, receiving an unfair speeding ticket, and even being chased by a shark at the beach. They are some of my favorite songs by any band, not just Nicotine.
I’m on a solo quest to get Nicotine on Punk Rock Bowling, so everyone ought to give this a listen and then email your local Stern Brother.
Get more Samurai Shot | See photos by Aaron
Aldred Basiga, Special K
Ee – Ramadan
My favorite Asian Man Records album is Ee’s Ramadan. May be a bit biased seeing that my friend and mentor Brian Gathy worked on the album, providing bass and occasional guitar leads, but all that aside, it truly is an amazing album that carries the aura of what I know to be San Francisco. It harkens back to that 90s indie rock sound which many know my band for, but takes a much more adult and mellowed out approach to it than I do. The arrangements are astounding on it, and the production is warm and comforting. Plus the songwriting is effective, leading to some great melodies and complicated (and extremely memorable) guitar lines. Later on they would go to work with Sooyoung Park (Bitch Magnet, Seam), for which they’re most remembered for, but I’ll always know ‘em for this record. Plus I can’t find that following record anywhere. Great release!
Get more Ramadan | Get more Special K
Ashleigh Thompson, Punks in Vegas
Sundowner – We Chase the Waves
Through what I can only assume is a rift in my personal musical space-time continuum, I actually heard Chris McCaughan’s acoustic Sundowner project before hearing him in The Lawrence Arms. Needless to say for any fans of his, I fell in love with his voice immediately, and tracks like “Whales and Sharks,” “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon,” and “All Prologue” are never far from my rotation.
Get more We Chase the Waves | Read more from Ashleigh
Rory Child, Rayner
The Murderburgers – These Are Only Problems
For my favorite Asian Man Records release I had to apply a certain set of rules upon myself so I could actually narrow the list down. Deciding on one is damn near impossible so I focused on recent releases and the ones I loved the most. So I decided to go with a newer release with the fantastic album These Are Only Problems by The Murderburgers. I actually played with them and Dear Landlord a few years ago and now regret sleeping on them at the time. Seeing them at the FEST last year affirmed how much I love this band.
The album is full of high energy songs about loss and dealing with those bad situations in a positive manner and I love that shit. Also songs about growing old always make me feel lots of feels. It left a huge lasting impression on me and I’d say they’re one of my favorite bands now.
The trio from Scotland are releasing another album on Asian Man this year in October and if it’s anything like this album it will be great. Bangers to check out are “Christine I forgive you,” “All my best friends are dying” and “Everything is muted and brown.”
It’s a great album for fans of bands like Dear Landlord, Teenage Bottlerocket, and The Ramones.
Get more These Are Only Problems | Get more Rayner
Julien Boulton, Punks in Vegas
Dog Party – Vol. 4
AMR is one of my favorite record labels, and Mike Park is my ultimate music crush, so choosing just one album from the extensive discography was pretty difficult. Funnily enough, Mike Park isn’t even on my favorite AMR album. My choice was based on two main factors: 1) which album I can sing along to the best, and 2) which band I think needs a little extra love. Seeing as I know nearly every word to Vol. 4, the first condition was easily met.
As for the second condition, for those of you who aren’t familiar: Dog Party consists of the Sacramento, California-based Giles sisters, Lucy and Gwennie, who are 18 and 20 respectively. Finding an all-girl punk band with members around my age that I genuinely like was a rare treat (Dog Party totally kills it live, by the way), and if you’re looking for a fun album to listen to with friends, I would highly recommend this one.
Get more Vol. 4 | Read more from Julien
Bobby Meader, Stocksmile
AJJ – Knife Man
I love AJJ. Sean’s become a buddy of mine, and he comes to our shows in his hometown of Lansing, MI. But I liked this record beforehand. Haha. You can’t beat “The Michael Jordan of Drunk Driving.”
Get more Knife Man | Get more Stocksmile
Jonas Vece, Producer/Audio Engineer/ Safely
The Broadways – Broken Star
I got this album on my 16th birthday. I was already familiar with it from friends I had that were fans of them but I loved it and wanted my own copy. I still listen to this album to this day. The sincerity The Broadways inserted into their songs can only be matched by a few bands in my honest opinion. They put passion and honesty up front even if it meant lyrics were being shouted and pushed through cracking voices and screams. It didn’t matter. The message they were getting out was always what was most important.
Favorite song: “We’ll Have a Party”
sorry i didn’t call last night,
I’ve got a lot of nothing taking all my time
motivation sometimes sinks deep in the couch cushions
sometimes sleep is my best friend
and it hurt me when my friends transformed into my parents
they don’t call here anymore”
Those are some of my favorite and always relevant lyrics.
Get more Broken Star | Get more Safely
Allan Carter, SquidHat Records founder
Skankin’ Pickle – Sing Along With Skankin’ Pickle
Hands down my favorite album is Sing Along With Skankin’ Pickle.
When this album came out in 1994 I was playing in a funk metal band called Sex & Sin in my hometown of Baltimore. We played a show with them at a long forgotten club called The Rage and none of us were prepared for the absolute mania that was Skankin’ Pickle. Ska was still a DC thing and hadn’t quite caught on in Baltimore which was still clinging to the remnants of hair metal, but this band was from another planet. Funk, punk, metal, hardcore, jazz – they just blew our minds.
I still remember leaning over to my then band mate and now label partner Steve Fahlsing during the fantastic cover of “Turning Japanese” and saying “What the fuck are we watching right now?” Not only were they ridiculously talented players but great people too – and clearly having a lot of fun.
We went out the next day to our local record store, Record & Tape Traders (RIP) and picked up a copy of the cassette. It stayed on loop in the car during the long ride to our day job each morning for a very long time. Great band, great album and to this day, $13,000 is still a lot of food.
Get more Sing Along With Skankin’ Pickle | Get more SquidHat Records
Patrick “Pulsar” Trout, promoter
Dog Party – Til You’re Mine
This is actually a recent release but I wanna mention it because it’s rad! DOG PARTY’s new record Til You’re Mine is insanely fun, catchy grungy pop punk with a touch of a surf vibe. Imagine if Veruca Salt and The Beach Boys had a kid: a kid who stole your candy at recess. Check this album out!
Get more Til You’re Mine | Get more Pulsar Presents
Sal Giordano, No Red Alice
Various – Plea for Peace Volume 2
Plea for Peace Volume 2 was my absolute most favorite comp ever made since the Tony Hawk’s PlayStation soundtracks. It’s got Chuck Ragan, Tim Barry and so many other powerful artists that just make sense to anyone’s life. Asian Man always puts out quality.
Get more Plea for Peace Volume 2 | Get more No Red Alice
Dany Panda, Rayner
The Wild – Set Ourselves Free
I don’t like doing favorites. I also don’t follow labels well, and didn’t even realize this one label supported so many bands I loved until 5 years ago when a friend invited me to Asian Man’s 15 yr anniversary. The lineup was stacked with ska, punk, folk, hardcore, and one band that i’d like to highlight.
I had just found out about Set Ourselves Free by The Wild around the time of the festival. The album is beautiful, empowering, and filled with a kind of realistic positivity in the face of an objectively hard and awful world. Duel male and female vocals with super catchy hooks mask anti establishment themes, which are always a plus for me. Highly recommended!
Favorite Song: “Together Underground”
Get more Set Ourselves Free | Get more Rayner
Nick Garcia, Girls and Wolves
MU330 – MU330
To pick just ONE Asian Man Records album is a hard choice. As the whole anti racism movement in the mid-to-late nineties was something that Asian Man Records introduced me to in my small town of Ely, NV, where small town minds would rear their ugly heads. So dozens of albums I love but let’s get to the meat of it! I’m going with MU330 self-titled 1999 release. This album really captures the energy of the band, like they are live. Songs like “Favorite Show,” “Lincoln,” and “Stagnant Water,” have great lyrics and and such a fun musicianship, it sounds like they were having a great time recording.
All the memorable bass lines and the Weezer-like garage tones makes them stand out from the millions of ska bands that erupted at that time. Dan Potthast is a genuine musical maven. And to me he has my full attention when he puts anything out. The album certainly influenced my playing and style. I just love it.
Get more MU330| Get more Girls and Wolves
“PIV loves Asian Man Records” design by Andy at Empire13
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