Handstand Records

HANDSTAND RECORDS started out like many other punk rock labels as a vehicle to release my own music. As a high school student in Alexandria, VA, I had put out a handful of tapes over the years, but never had a consistent name to go by. I had also been gradually building up a massive mailorder distro which operated under various monikers, including Tron Distribution and Homemade Waffles.In 2000, while I was attending college in Charlottesville, VA, I started looking into pressing CDs for my current and former bands (EXCITEBIKE and THE INFERTIL, respectively). The artwork and layout was handled in typical do-it-yourself fashion, which involved lots of cutting, stapling, and numerous trips to Kinko's. After these two CD releases, my buddy Joe sent me a four-song recording of a project he was working on, but was having trouble funding an official release. I loved the songs and decided it would be just as much fun to release music from my friends as well as myself. Thus, the first IN ARCADIA EP was born.Now that I had a couple CD releases out, I decided it was time to tackle my primary fetish: vinyl records. Enter the Northern Virginia thrashers CRESTFALLEN. I had been friends with these dudes for years, and we had always talked about doing a record together. They had already agreed to release their CD on Magic Bullet Records, but we all agreed that a proper vinyl LP was in order.Early 2004 saw the move of Handstand Headquarters from its native state of Virginia to the big apple of New York. I spent a year in Manhattan attempting to cram my extensive distro and all my computer and music equipment into a tiny room. Skyrocketing rent expenses prevented a new release until February of 2005, when I moved to a bigger, cheaper apartment in Brooklyn. I started a band almost immediately and was finally able to release IN ARCADIA's first full-length CD.I now have five releases under my belt, with no intention of slowing down. I am currently expanding my distro catalog, while planning new releases of my current musical endeavors (OLDE GHOST, THE TIME BEING, WILLY MAMMOTH) as well as those of friends. I'm not trying to be the biggest label or distro, or even the best for that matter. I just want the music that I love to be available at a reasonable price to those who want it. I have always been and will always be an independent label that emphasizes art over business and community over commodity.-Will Cole (September 2005)