Im Gespräch: Mike von Black Cat Records

Wir haben keine Kosten und Mühen gescheut und durften einem richtigen Labelboss ein paar Fragen stellen. Ok, nicht dem Chef eines Majorlabels, aber das wollten wir ja auch gar nicht. Dafür ist uns Mike von Black Cat Records aus Frankreich Rede und Antwort gestanden.

TrueTrash (TrTr): Hey Mike! You’re the owner of french based record label „Black Cat Records“. Could you tell us some details about you?
 
Mike: My name is Mikael, I’m a french guy and I started working in the music industry as a poster artist” under the name of Mike, making flyers for the california band Throw Rag among others.

TrTr: When was „Black Cat Records“ founded?
 
Mike: I founded Black Cat Records in 2007. I wanted to make it for quite a while and I had the opportunity to make a record with The Head Cat so I thought it was the moment. Start a label with a band like this one was so cool.

TrTr:  How did it come you founded a label? A big dream of you? Or just work that needs to be done?
 
Mike: It was a big dream. I love music, I’m a record collector and I always thought it would be cool to make records on my own label with the bands I’m listen to. And had my own records into my collection is something I like alot !!! : )

TrTr:  Where do you see your record label in 10 years?
 
Mike: To be honest, I don’t know. It’s really hard to run a label. Costs of manufacturing are very high and I don’t know if I could continue even for a long time, I hope so.

TrTr: Musicians or Record Plants are sometimes pretty chaotic. Did you have any funny, astonishing or angry experiences?
 
Mike: I can tell you one or two things concerning some Black Cat releases…
About the first release for exemple, The Head Cat – Tell Me How 7″. I asked Danny B. Harvey ( after I did a Head Cat / Charley Horse poster ) about making a record with the band for my german friend Stefan Lörchner’s label No Balls Records, not for Black Cat because Black Cat was not yet created at this moment. I knew Stefan was a huge fan of Motörhead and I wanted to do him a surprise, he didn’t know about this project in fact.
 
And when Lemmy and Slim Jim said YES to Danny, I told the news to Stefan, he was so happy and excited !!! : ) And at this moment, I decided to create Black Cat Records. Just for this release. It’s the reason why there is no Black Cat Records’s logo on the sleeve, because I had not yet created it. We pressed 500 copies of the record in Germany, 400 records with regular sleeve for No Balls Rds and 100 records with Lemmy sleeve for Black Cat Rds.
 
Oh and first I asked to Danny for a Motörhead / The Head Cat Split record, but Lemmy didn’t like the idea, but was agreed for a whole Head Cat 7″.
 
About the Viva Hate – Save Me 7″, when I received the packages of records, 40 records was missing and was replaced by some vinyls of a reggae band…
 
About the CD compilation ” Sell Your Soul… To The Cat “, my friend Gregory Lee from Hepcat promised me a new song called ” Water” for this record, but unfortunately the band didn’t have enough time to record the song and Hepcat is not on the album.
 
About the new record we’re working on right now, “Rock ‘N Roll Must Be Destroyed” by Flash Bastard was initially made for Nikki Sixx’s label Americoma Records. But during a Tour with Motley Crue and The Scorpions, Donal, singer of FB tried to stab Scorpions’ singer during a fight, and the band was fired from the label. After worked on the Chelsea Arms 7″ Donal asked me if I would like to put out the album on Black Cat Rds.

TrTr: Let’s talk about your releases. You have some quite heavy names in your list of releases. How did you get in touch with them? Did you contact them? Or did they come to you and asked if you’d like to bring out their stuff?
 
Mike: That depends… but almost all the time I ask to the band.
Do all releases represent the kind of music you like listening to?
Yes for sure !!! I don’t like the idea of making a record I don’t like on my label. Excepted to help a friend, but I love all my friends’ music !!! : )

TrTr: Most of your releases were only made available on vinyl. Why vinyl?
 
Mike: Because vinyl is best. That’s all. Like I told you, I’m a vinyl collector and I think the sound is better this way, sleeves are more beautiful and I think CDs are cold. I don’t like these plastic jewels for exemple. For my CDs I choosed the digipack version.

TrTr:  Your releases are all very limited editions, with special and sometimes different cover designs for the same record. Why do you strictly limit all releases?
 
Mike: It’s my collector side !!! : ) I think that people who collect vinyls like the fact that the record is limited, is pressed in various colors of wax, etc…
 
About the different sleeves for the same record, it’s an idea I took from Stefan Lörchner from No Balls Records. I drew several ones for his label and I thought it would be funny to do the same. Of course I ask to the band if they agree before making it.
 
Geoff Kresge from Viva Hate found the idea interesting and I’m really happy that we worked each on our own version. Geoff is a great artist. A great musician and a great drawer, I’m a real fan of his work !!!

TrTr:  What’s planned next? Are there already any releases ready for kickoff?
 
Mike: So like I told you before, next release would be the Flash Bastard album ” Rock ‘N Roll Must Be Destroyed”. Also the TrashKannon album ” Shit For Brains” is in the works. And a 7″ I’m really excited about, because it will be the solo debut of an artist I love alot, but at the moment I have to keep it secret concerning the artist. I just can say he is very loved, by me and by the people. Keep your eyes open !!! : )
 
Also I would like to do the vinyl version of the Sun Trash album, also a Chon Travis record, and I’m working with King Django on one of his songs I’m translating in french…
 
 
TrTr: Are there any bands you would really love to work togehter with and bring out a record?
 
Mike: There is so many bands I would like to work with. I would like to do a whole record with all the bands which participated in the ” Sell Your Soul…To The Cat” CD compilation…
And I would like to work with Rancid or bands with Rancid members, Swingin’ Utters, Hepcat, US Bombs, etc, etc…
 
 
TrTr:  Thanks for answering our questions, Mike!
 
Mike: Thanx to you to have interviewed me, thanx so much for your interest. Cheers.
Mike.

(Das Interview wurde per E-Mail geführt.)