No matter how ingrained you are in the Pittsburgh music scene, you still might not know just how many record labels are operating locally. Many of them fly under the radar, but they're definitely worth knowing.
So, Pittsburgh City Paper decided to create a Pittsburgh Record Label Roundup, featuring larger labels like the North Side’s Get Hip Recordings, to smaller ones like the electronic Machine Age, to help give a glimpse into the diverse and plentiful selection of record labels based in Pittsburgh.
Follow along with us (almost) every other weekday, as we will feature a different Pittsburgh-based label ... until we run out.
20 Buck Spin
Founding Date/Founder(s): 2005, Dave AdelsonGenre: The ugliest of Death, Doom, and various other Heavy Metals
Artists/Bands Highlights: Tomb Mold, Spirit Adrift, Cerebral Rot, Witch Vomit, Obsequiae, Vastum
Inspiration: Metal Blade, Mute, Touch & Go, The Ajna Offensive, Earache, Alternative Tentacles, No Fashion, Deathlike Silence, Threshold House, Roadrunner
Info: 20buckspin.com. Submissions currently open. Read the demo policy here.
Originally based in the Bay Area, 20 Buck Spin relocated to Olympia, Wash., around 2007, before settling in Pittsburgh two years ago — the label had strong connections in the area they wished to strengthen. So, because of its transcontinental work, 20 Buck Spin has talent on the roster located both nationally and internationally like Cauldron Black Ram in Australia; Tomb Mold in Canada; Solothus, Ghastly, and Foreseen in Finland; Acephalix in San Francisco, Calif.; and Deadbird in Fayetteville, Ark., to name a few.
"The best underground metal bands on the planet help us stand out," says Adelson.
In addition to selling its own vinyl, CDs, tapes, and merch online, 20 Buck Spin also offers releases from other labels of "ill repute."
"A lot of people like the color vinyl editions we release," says Adelson. "But the music is what matters. ... The hard part is not making records, which anyone can do, it’s selling them."
Are you a PGH record label? Contact Jordan at jsnowden[at]pghcitypaper.com.
