Ipecac Turns 10

It's seems like only yesterday that I was a fresh faced kid with dreams of the big city. So I quit my job at the local pizzeria, grabbed my guitar and moved to the city. There, I was working on my career as singer-songwriter while dancing on bars at Coyote Ugly...oh wait, none of that actually happened to me and that happened a year after hearing the first Fantomas album.
Instead, I was a freshman in college waiting for two things in the mail. Fire Pro Wrestling G for Playstation (which didn't arrive until Summer's end) and the self-titled debut from Fantomas and when that shiny booklet finally showed up, I nearly screeched in excitement at the shrinkwrapped disc before my eyes. One was a hyped, intriguing supergroup with members of Mr. Bungle, Slayer and Melvins that left audiences confused. Two was Mike Patton's first band since the breakup of Faith No More and three was the debut of Ipecac Recordings. Other than it being a label formed by Patton, I had no idea what that meant.

Now, it's 10 years later and I've listened to countless releases from the label and have gone to numerous shows of their artists (including two of the three "Geek Tours"). In fact, I've had the pleasure of having King Buzzo of Melvins sign a copy of The Maggot as well as interview Kevin Rutmanis, former bassist for Melvins and Tomahawk, in college. With that said, this birthday message is way past due. There hadn't been much thought about the label turning 10 years old this year until I read this posted on Indiepit celebrating the label's anniversary and pondering how it has lasted so long as an artist friendly label.

The last 10 years have brought forth some albums from great artists and that only Ipecac could have presented. From Melvins to Isis, The Kids Of Widney High to Dälek and, most importantly, Fantomas, Ipecac has been the label that not only gives their artists creative freedom but it is a label that trusts their fans by releasing music their fans would enjoy. Thanks, Ipecac for a decade of interesting, entertaining and creative music without ever compromising their integrity.