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Blackout Records

1989- 2007

About Me


It's all Tony Pradlick's fault.
See, he was that guy. You know the guy at the local hole-in-the wall record store, who knew all about all the new music that was coming out and had the most insane knowledge of every genre under the sun. Like some sort of wacked-out Pied Piper for freaks and kindred spirits, he turned me (Bill) and my group of friends onto bands like AGNOSTIC FRONT and BLACK FLAG from the black/thrash metal that we were into. It was 1985 and none of us ever looked back.
Now, I can't talk about "back in the day" because I was not part of the first wave like Jimmy G, Paul, Roger, and many other people who I have come to know and love like brothers over the years. I wasn't an early pioneer at A7 or the Mudd Club, or even the Jane Street Rock Hotel, and I never got to see Harley play in the STIMULATORS. But what was different at that time was a genuine sense of community: we were all outcasts and misfits, who felt somehow uncomfortable in our own skin and only at home surrounded by others like us. The mainstream ignored us or treated us like pariahs, or displayed us like circus freaks on episodes of DONAHUE or on the cover of NY Magazine. Plus, there was no such thing as MTV, the internet, etc. It was our special world, off the radar of the rest of the planet, and we didn't fuckin' want you there.
Blackout Records was started sometime in 1988. To me, hardcore punk isn't about just being a fan or a consumer; it's about participating - creating something. Some people were in bands, others did zines or college radio shows. I started a label. One that was going to do something other than the trendy youth crew hardcore that was flourishing at the time.
Myself and a friend of mine, Jim Gibson, pooled a few thousand bucks we saved from our part-time jobs and released a compilation called "NYHC: Where The Wild Things Are" in 1989. It featured cuts from BREAKDOWN, RAW DEAL (KILLING TIME), SHEER TERROR, UPPERCUT, OUTBURST, and others. From what I'm told, many people think that compilation symbolized the high point of NYHC, along with Revelation Records' "The Way It Is" release.
Sometime in early 1990, Jim amicably took his half of the spoils from the compilation and started his own label, Noiseville Records, to concentrate on releases from THE ACTION SWINGERS, DRUNKS WITH GUNS, THE RADICTS, and more. Blackout Records continued as a primarily hardcore label and we continued to release music from SHEER TERROR, OUTBURST, UPPERCUT, BREAKDOWN, THE ICEMEN, EYE FOR AN EYE and AMERICAN STANDARD.
But things change. As the early '90s wore on, hardcore turned into something different - more violent than ever before. It escalated to the point where guns were drawn at a KILLING TIME matinee and created a rift in the scene... the more "punk" bands shifted to ABC No Rio while the harder metal/hiphop influence hardcore became the norm. For a while we stayed away from it. We signed some bands outside of the scene - OUTCROWD (a DC proto-emo band whose members later joined H20), and did a limited pressing of a greatest hits by UK Oi! band, THE BUSINESS. We kept the hardcore flag flying though with continued releases from SHEER TERROR and KILLING TIME. We also started an imprint, called Engine Records, that released albums from such musically divergent bands as THE NEW BOMB TURKS, GUIDED BY VOICES, DEADGUY, DISH, THE KOWALSKIS, and ALLOY (featuring members of ARTICLES OF FAITH, DAG NASTY, and CRO MAGS).
One day in 1992, our friend Armand was walking past CBGB and saw this band: female fronted punk rock that was a throwback to the age of the '70s NYC punk scene. They were called THE GOOPS (and if you need a contemporary comparison - think THE DISTILLERS). After going to a live show, we were hooked, and released the band's album and quite a few singles on Blackout Records. Hanging out with (and virtually living with) THE GOOPS marked a new era for the label. It rekindled our love for punk rock. We were lucky enough to get the band on a coast-to-coast leg of RANCID's Let's Go Tour and get a track of theirs on Kevin Smith's "Mallrats" soundtrack. In 1994, THE GOOPS signed to Warner Brothers and suffered the unfortunate fate of many punk bands that get the major deal...
Around the same time, SHEER TERROR signed to MCA Records (and we got some free office space out of it). That whole saga, and the bands somewhat premature and spectacular demise, is documented in brilliant living color on their DVD, "Beaten By THe Fists Of God," (so go buy it). It was also around this time that our friend Toby started his band H20 and we were able to release the band's first album, which is the best selling title we've had on the label. We also came up with the radical idea of having newer bands record some of their favorite old school punk tunes and released two volumes of the "Punk Rock Jukebox" compilations. Some of the participants on those compilations include THE DROPKICK MURPHYS, KID DYNAMITE, SWINGIN UTTERS, and members of RANCID, SHEER TERROR, and Marky Ramone under the name NOBRAIN.
After our short lived dalliance with midtown offices and pricey lunches at someone elses expense, we moved our operation back to the 'burbs and released albums from KILLING TIME, POWERHOUSE, REDEMPTION 87 (featuring Jade of AFI), KILL YOUR IDOLS, and AWKWARD THOUGHT. After a short break in 2000-2001, we started releasing newer bands including PROTAGONIST, THE COMMERCIALS, CRIME IN STEREO, THE BANNER and most recently CRANKED UP! and THE FIRE STILL BURNS.
All in all it's been a fun and wonderful ride. There have been dramatic ups and downs. Times when eating ramen noodles for dinner and sleeping on couches didn't make it seem worth it. Times petty arguments with friends escalated to stupidity before they were ultimately resolved. And there are times when you are on the road in a crappy van, cruising at 100mph across the desert with four other idiots in the middle of nowhere, laughing your ass off- and it's all worth it.
Thanks Tony

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 3/8/2005
Band Website: blackoutrecords.com
Band Members: The Label Consists of:
Bill- Head Chef
Carl- Consigliere
Murph- Swinger
Billy D.- Binary
Arik- Audibles
Sean - Promotables
Kelley- Consumables

Influences: THE BLACK TRINITY: FLAG, SABBATH and BIG.
Sounds Like:
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Earn It Yourself

I was on the Thorp Records messageboard the other day, trolling for people who may have seen my handiwork on my first producer effort- the Sheer Terror Beaten By The Fists Of God DVD. While I was th...
Posted by Blackout Records on Mon, 01 Jan 1900 12:00:00 PST