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Brothers Tim and Mark Janchar have have been
putting out punk records for years now, releasing vinyl outings from the
likes of The Bugs, Hey Lover, and their very own band, Cafeteria Dance
Fever. Slapping a Hovercraft release on the turntable is a sure way to make
both yourself and your record player very, very happy, although this
doesn't necessarily hold true for neighbours and roommates. Curiously,
both brothers work in the Emergency Department at Tualatin, Oregon's
Legacy Meridian Park Hospital - something that perhaps manifests itself in
the franticness of the records they put out, and also helps explain how
they fund the whole operation. Tim took some time out of his busy day to
answer our 20 Questions; read on and be enlightened...
Mole People's eponymous record
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1. How did you get into unconventional
music?
At my high school homecoming dance back in
1986 someone slipped the Violent Femmes "Add It Up" onto the turntable and
it got about halfway through the song before one of the Nuns cut the power
on the sound system, and from then on I was
hooked.
2. How and why did you start up
Hovercraft?
Hovercraft was originally an art
gallery/creative space that was used as a sounding board for the creative
output of me, my brother, Mark, and our friends ranging from video,
painting, print, design, and music. Over the last few years it has been
honed down to doing exclusively music.
3. Every release on Hovercraft is either
on vinyl exclusively, or offered on vinyl. How important are vinyl
releases? Why do they appeal to you so much?
There's something authentic and special about
vinyl. It takes more time and effort to put out vinyl releases and also
you don't lose the artistic aspect of albums. I really think the design
and art of an album is essential and people have no connection to the
visual design of most of the stuff on their iPod
or computer.
Some people say "vinyl
sounds better." but my record player is a cheap piece of crap so I can't
really comment on that.
4. How did Hovercraft end up putting out
the latest Autorace album?
Our best friends (and label co-mates) Justin
and Terah Beth of Hey Lover toured in Europe with them a few years ago
back when they were the Furtips and turned me
onto their album "We are Communications," and I
was hooked since then. I got to meet them when our band Cafeteria Dance
Fever toured Europe with Hey Lover and we played a show with Autorace in
Amsterdam. Just awesome great folks.
5. Tell us about the first release -
Bullet Teeth's "Hope Freaks." What was the music like back then, and how
has Hovercraft evolved?
My little brother Mark was the guitarist in
that band back in Bowling Green, Ohio, and we
put that out right before he moved out to Portland. Aren't most record
labels formed to put out a friend's band?
Bullet Teeth's Hope Freaks LP
Hovercraft's first release
6. Running a small label comes with its
fair share of mundane duties (corresponding with pressing plants, mailing
stuff out, answering emails, etc...) Which duties leave you with a special
sense of joy? Which ones do you absolutely despise?
I actually love mailing stuff. People like to
get stuff in the mail; it's
like a lost form of communication - like the love letter is now some {{xoxokissy!!!!}
:) text message deal so I like being able to drop stuff in the mail to
people who dig the music. I suck at promo stuff though. It's tough trying
to shuck stuff to people and distribution companies who are listening to
your music with the ear of "will this sell?"
rather than "this shit makes me bust a skip!"
7. How in touch are you with your
customers? Do some people buy all the records? How, and to where, are most
of Hovercraft's records sold?
We sell a lot in our hometown of Portland,
Oregon - and there's some people who religiously buy anything we put out.
But it is pretty widespread over the United States with a scattering in
Europe. The Bugs, Hey Lover, and Cafeteria Dance Fever have all toured
overseas and make friends everywhere they go.
8. Why the name Hovercraft?
Back when I was a kid I loved all the G.I.
Stuff - comic books, action figures. And the coolest, baddest-assed
vehicle they had (outside of Snake Eyes) was the Hovercraft and when I was
12 my mom got me the thing for Christmas.
I played with that thing non-stop in the bathtub.
9. Name one critical album from the
sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties. Good luck!
60's - 13th Floor Elevators "The Psychedelic
Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators"
70's - Electric Eels "The Eyeball of Hell"
80's - The Wipers "Is This Real?"
90's - F.Y.P. "Dance My Dunce"
00's - The Hunches "Exit Dreams"
10. What are your day jobs?
Both me and my brother work in an Emergency
Department in Portland, Oregon. Good skills for the punk shows.
11. Do Hovercraft releases break even?
Hah!!! This is a money losing venture. But it
is done out of pure love for the music and our friends.
Cafeteria Dance Fever's Heck on Earth LP
(Tim and Mark's band)
12. What would be your dream record to put
out? What band, and how would you design it?
I swear this is not self promotion!!! But,
The Mirrors (pre-Styrenes, Pere Ubu, Rocket from the Tomb crew) were an
amazing band from Cleveland in the early 70's and they never released a
formal full-length and
they let us go through they're original releases from the 7"s and
compilations and we are putting out a 12" this summer entitled "Something
That Would Never Do". They gave us free reign on the music, lay-out
and design. I'm super stoked on this one.
13. Describe the most hilariously
repugnant demo you've ever received. No need to name names (although it
helps).
Well I'm sure this wasn't repugnant by any
means, cause I'm sure the music was killer, but Here Comes A Big Black
Cloud sent in a tape demo a few years back and I was too dorky to not even
have a cassette player so I never got to listen to it. I love that band to
death and they forgave my shortcomings and we're putting out a ten inch by
them called "Party Vietnam" this spring.
14. Your strangest, most wild and wacky
story. Go.
Well this isn't music related but a few years
back a woman came into the ER after cutting off
her labia majora (beef knuckles is the common term I believe) with some
pruning shears but didn't expect them to bleed this much. I guess her
husband didn't like how they were looking. Well, ah, I hate to adimit it,
but I think I did a pretty good job getting what was left to look like a
younger, tighter version of their predecessors using some needle and
thread. Everyone left happy (and a little scarred, physically for
her.....emotionally for us).
15. How important are reviews and music
criticism to Hovercraft? Do you read press about your releases?
Ah, my brother
always said the press is a love/hate relationship. But I think it's
important.
I Google myself all
the time.
16. Which of the bands on your roster
would an enormous free-for-all barfight?
The Hey Lover shows normally turn into
massive mosh pit fights, but Terah Beth - Justin's wife and the drummer of
the band - is actually usually the toughest one
in the bar and I've seen her body slam a few people into commission
several times.
17. Which record is your all time greatest
seller?
The Bugs' first
record sells the most by far, but I give away the Cafeteria Dance Fever
record for free the most.
The Bugs' eponymous 12"
(it rules)
18. Digital music: friend or foe?
Ah, it's a friend.
It's accessible and man, you gotta get it first
to get it.
19. What is your favourite colour? Justify
your selection.
Red. It's a good, safe default to go back to.
20. What does the future hold in store for
Hovercraft?
We've got a lot of great releases this year:
The Mirrors, Here Comes A Big Black Cloud, The Bugs, Hey Lover and I'm
starting a series of split seven inches with one side
housing Portland bands and the other side international bands.
Getting to work with great bands such as Les Meatles from Lille,
France, Stinky Pinky's from Berlin, and Meny Helkin from Metz, France.
interview
conducted by Michael Tau
March 2009
published June 3, 2009
photo credit:
Hovercraft website
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