Jordan Shteif (18) and Adam Moscinski (17) are co-founders of a fairly new Wisconsin/Florida-based cassette label Parking Lot Records with a lot of passion and constant emotive hardcore/screamo releases on the horizon. We’ve been connected after a couple of IDIOTEQ features for Ukraine’s YOTSUYA KAIDAN and Germany’s MASADA and we’ve decided to shed some more light on the label, which has undoubtedly a place in the huge rabbit hole of DIY punk labels that let us discover tons of surprising and inspiring new music. We talked a bit about how the label got its start, what bands it’s putting out and where it hopes it’s heading.
Answers by Jordan Shteif.
Hey Jordan! How are you guys? How’s summer been treating you this year? Where are you based now?
Right on, I’m doing well, summer has been crazy, set up two tours for my band, trying to revive an emo scene in south florida, preparing to start my freshman year of college, I’m based out of South Florida, Adam’s based out of Wisconsin so the label operations go down out there, I function as quality control and a person for ideas to be bounced off of, hope your summer has been exciting!
Yup. I’ve recently come back from a nice trip to Croatia and now trying to get out of the city as much as I can.
Ok Jordan, so let’s give voice to your story. Tell us about your earliest musical backgrounds and the time that led you to hardcore punk?
When I was younger I found a copy of in utero in a CD case from a car my dad repo’d, I got really into NIRVANA, tried to fit in through middle school with radio rap, which was drake dominated at the time (I’m only 18) that didn’t feel right to me, some time around my sophomore year of high school my friend introduced me to TOUCHÉ AMORÉ and that was the first thing I found that meant something to me since in utero, through following Jeremy Bolm on twitter I found SAETIA around a year or two before the re-released discography and from there I’ve been into emo/screamo/hardcore punk whatever you want to call it.
Have you been in a band?
I’m currently in two bands that started over summer, FEI LUNG and JIGSAW YOUTH, Parking Lot Records is releasing FEI LUNG’s first release called “wonderful, wonderful, times” on cassette.
On recordings for FEI LUNG I play bass and guitar and do vocals, I write everything as well but for JIGSAW YOUTH I just replaced their bassist when they got kicked out, we’re touring in the fall and doing a full US in winter, which is strange considering neither bands have the fan base to merit a tour of that size.
Ok Jordan, so what were the origins of Parking Lot Records? What triggered your desire to launch a label?
Adam started Parking Lot Records a while before I joined, I had a terrible acoustic screamo (i know i know) project called DAISYFOOT, Adam found it on bandcamp and hit me up to do a release for it, I told him he could if he wanted to but I had been doing rough demos for FEI LUNG and I offered those in DAISYFOOT’s place and those were a lot better than DAISYFOOT ever was. Through that I offered to help the label as far as direction goes because if anyone wanted to release DAISYFOOT they needed help with their labels direction hahah.
I guess I just wanted to be a part of something and branch out with my music from here. I’ve met a lot of cool people through Parking Lot Records, we’re releasing SLOW FIRE PISTOL‘s next release and they were playing near me in Florida. I found out 20 minutes before I got off of work and I flew down to the venue to show up as “the dude who helps adam with Parking Lot Records.”
They gave me a shirt and I got to hear their new songs live, great band, very excited for that release.
Can you expand a little on the name of the label?
The name of the label comes from the MINERAL song ‘parking lot’ unsure why, it’s a good song, not their best, but I dig it i have no complaints haha
Cool. Who are some of the bands you’re working with? What are the common characteristics we can see in (almost) all of them?
Lately we’ve been more focused on ‘screamo’ or ’emo’ whatever you want to call it, starting with SUPINE we’ve found the route we want to take, we’re gearing up for SLOW FIRE PISTOL’s new ep and that’s what I’m most excited about releasing (outside of my own band).
Today (the 11th) we released LEAVES.
Up next is FEI LUNG, and after that SLOW FIRE PISTOL though we may dig up a dead band for a fresh pressing.
What does a DIY hardcore band need a label for? How do you support these bands? What do you do to improve their visibility? Do you organize shows?
A DIY hardcore band from Germany such as LEAVES can’t really sell tapes in the US, we just introduce the music to people who may not be aware of it yet, we figure if someone likes a band we released four months ago they may like the bands we’re releasing now, we attempted to book shows for GIN STREET on a tour last winter but things fell through, we give bands a share of tapes that they can then sell at shows, that’s the most we can do at the moment.
Speaking of your local shows, what’s your local independent music scene like at the moment? How has it changed in the last couple of years?
Well, Parking lot records is based out of Wisconsin, I live in Florida so the scene out on the east coast is thriving, eighty-sixed records and breakeven booking do a lot for south Florida hardcore and this kid Alan Hernandez books every emo show out there for the most part, South Florida is doing really well, as far as the music I make down here I’ve been lucky enough to jump into a revival of sorts for the genre I love.
Any cool local names you’d like to share for us to check out?
Oh man my friend is about to publish the first volume of “THEULTIMATESCREAMOZINE” he interviewed JEROME’S DREAM, I HAVE DREAMS, THE TRUTH ABOUT DREAMING, and me, which I find funny, GOUGE AWAY are doing huge things right now, WISH AROUND were cool but they’re finished, JIGSAW YOUTH are on the forefront of Florida emo right now (other than you’ll live and gillian carter) SUBLIMINAL KONTROL were in a fucking noisey article, the picture they used was from edge day 2015, a show I attended, I got the same exact picture from another angle haha, Florida has a lot going on on the east coast.
Ok buddy, so where do you see Parking Lot Records in 5 years’ time? What direction do you see this joint taking going forward?
5 years may as well be 50 in emo years, if possible I’d like to break into vinyl comfortably, for that to happen we have to sell a lot of tapes, I’m itching to release a BOY PROBLEMS discography 7″ that’s that’s my loftiest goal at the moment.
If you had to guess, what do you think independent labels will be in the future?
If anything independent labels will be era defining, Ebullition, Level Plane, Init.
Groups of labels showcasing good artists should give people looking back on this time period as far as emo goes a feel for our style and influence.
Ok, thanks a lot for your time! I guess we have all what we needed to get to know you better. Any last words for our readers?
Right on ! this has been fun I’m not very used to interviews haha, as far as last words, support the artists making what you enjoy, like our facebook page to keep current on releases, and don’t stop listening to emo because you feel too old !!!
Thanks! :) Cheers from Warsaw!
