Kevin Burke is my age, the ripe old fallin’ apart age of 37J He’s married, lives in Wisconsin and has two daughters. He also has the best job in the world, or I would think it is! Of course we all wish we could make more money for what we do – we probably all feel we are underpaid to some degree – but as far as just straight up cool jobs, Kevin holds the reigns to that. I think I first heard about him when his company, Vinyl Remains, decided to rerelease The Huntington’s Sweet Sixteen and Fun and Games on vinyl. I thought that was pretty cool, and while I still need to snag those records from him, I have bought several others in his catalog. Some of the awesome things about Vinyl Remains that make them so fun is not only that everything is pressed to vinyl, but there are some pretty awesome colors of wax available as well! The music is all heavy metal, horror rock, punk and hardcore.
What really makes this a great company and one that we should all support is that Kevin has built Vinyl Remains from the ground up, and he is 100% independent of any corporate monies and any corporate rules about who he can or can’t support. This is the real deal: a company that loves and respects music and the art that is created, and in return they collaborate straight with the artists themselves. Swing on over to the website when you finish this article, find them on facebook and become their friend, and please, above all, tell all your friends about Vinyl Remains!
(Keep your eyes open too…The Crucified box set on vinyl is coming)!!!
How did Vinyl Remains come to fruition?
It’s been a dream of mine for years to start a record label. As a fanatic vinyl collector, I was always disappointed that most of my favorite Christian artists didn’t release much of anything on vinyl. So, instead of waiting for someone else to release the titles I’ve always wanted to see on vinyl, I figured I’d just try and do it myself!
Is this a completely indie operation for you?
Absolutely! I’ve got no ties to any major labels, and I like it that way! I’ve recently partnered with another like-minded label owner (Jesse from Colorado based Veritas Vinyl). It’s been such a blessing to find another label that has the same ideas and goals as I do, not to mention the same great taste in music that I have! HAHA. We plan on co-releasing a bunch of great stuff in the future, and have already released The Crucified’s Pillars of Humanity on vinyl.
What is your profession or what do you do for a living?
Believe it or not I’m a professional record collector! At least that’s what I’d call it. I’ve been a fanatic collector of vinyl, cd’s, etc, for many years, and I’d always fund my hobby by selling rare records or cd’s that I found for cheap, and sell them on eBay or Amazon for a profit. I realized if I had enough time to travel a bit and hit up as many record stores as possible, I’d probably be able to make a living doing it (and expand my record collection at the same time!). Up until 2010, I owned a UPS store franchise, and after the economy took a nosedive, so did my business. I wasn’t able to pay myself one cent from the store, so I did a “dry run” so to speak, and for two years the only income I had was from scavenging used cd and record stores hoping to turn up a rarity or two. I realized that this crazy idea just might work, so when I sold the store and paid off all my business debts, I dedicated myself to doing it full time. Now, I’m certainly not making a bunch of money doing it, but it pays the bills, and I absolutely love doing it. My wife has been totally supportive of me doing this as well, and that really helps!
Given that you love hardcore/punk/metal, who are some of your favorite bands from past and present?
Wow, I could probably give you a list of several hundred bands! I listen to mostly punk/hardcore and metal, but pretty much listen to the entire musical spectrum those genres cover, everything from pop-punk to grindcore. If I had to narrow down the list to just a handful of bands, it would have to include The Crucified, Scaterd Few, Ramones, Misfits, Descendents, Napalm Death, Tourniquet, The Huntington’s, Entombed, Social Distortion, Black Flag, Grave Robber, Black Sabbath, Dropdead, Spazz, Motorhead, Bad Brains, etc.
Out of those favorite bands, what are your favorite releases by them and why?
Well, my favorite album of all time is the Crucified’s self titled album. From the moment I first heard it over 20 years ago it became an instant favorite of mine. That’s also the first album I ever owned on vinyl! The Crucified – Pillars of Humanity is another favorite, and it was absolutely amazing for Veritas Vinyl and my own label to release that on vinyl. That’s one of the most rewarding things about running a label. I really can’t even describe the feeling of holding one of your all-time favorite albums in your hands and realizing that you had a hand in putting it out on vinyl!
Some other all time favorite albums would have to be:
Scaterd Few – Sin Disease, what an incredible album this is! So unique, memorable, Omar’s incredible fretless bass, Allan’s one of kind voice, just a phenomenal album!
Ramones – I’d go with Mania, but I could have honestly picked any of their 1970’s-80’s albums. They were the first punk band I ever heard, and I instantly loved them. Punk as we know it would not be the same had it not been for them.
Why did you decide to start a vinyl label as opposed to something else?
Well, I’ve been a vinyl collector/fan for years, so it was a pretty obvious choice to start making vinyl. Not to say that I hate cd’s, in fact, some of the upcoming releasing that Veritas Vinyl and I will be collaborating on will definitely be available on cd. It will look a bit strange to see a cd with two record label logos both containing the word “VINYL” in them though! HAHAHA
There has been a semi recent surge in the interest of vinyl, do you think that will have staying power or do you see that tide shifting again?
I don’t think vinyl sales will continue to see the huge increases they have seen in recent years. It’s definitely a trend. It will shift back to the way it was 10-15 years ago I think, where very few major label bands saw their albums released on vinyl. The underground punk and metal bands/labels never stopped making vinyl once the cd took over in the late 80’s/early 90’s, and I don’t see that changing now that digital music is now the format of choice. It’s definitely a niche market, but it’s a market that will always be there. There will always be a small amount of fans that prefer the look, sound, and feel of vinyl to digital. I think that the CD will eventually be pushed out almost entirely by digital, and it will only be the small independent record labels making music available on any sort of physical format. That’s sad really.
How do you decide which band you are going to release, and how do you pick which album from that band? Is that a ‘band decision’ or your decision?
Well, in most cases I contact bands I want to work with; in some cases bands have approached me. It’s always a joint decision as to what to release. I always make sure the band has a say in every step of the process, from the art/layout, inserts, even the color of vinyl. It’s really important for me that the band is happy with the final product, and of course that they actually get paid for it! You always hear horror stories about bands being ripped off or lied to by record labels, even Christian ones. I’ve always been completely open and honest with every band I’ve ever worked with, and I always will be.
What has been the response to what you have released so far?
I’ve been very happy with the response so far! I’ve sold enough copies of what I’ve released to keep pressing new titles, and really, that’s my ultimate goal. I just want to keep on pressing vinyl! There are dozens and dozens of things I’d love to press on vinyl, but obviously lack of money to do it is the biggest problem. I knew that initially things would be tough, and growing the label would be a slow process, me being a new label and all. It was possible that I wouldn’t even be able to make a go of it after my first couple of releases. Really, I had no idea if anyone would buy them at all! I’ve been very blessed though, and I’ve also had a lot of help with distribution from a lot of the underground Christian distros, and even some secular ones. I’m very excited to see what the future brings! If it’s God’s will, I’ll keep doing this as long as I can!
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