Pressing Client Spotlight: No Idea Records

NO IDEA is an independent record label founded in 1985 in Gainesville, Florida. The label was originally a fanzine started by high school friends; the first NO IDEA record — a 7" by local band DOLDRUMS that accompanied NO IDEA magazine #6 — was released in 1988. Since then, the label has released 350+ albums by bands worldwide. Owner / founder Var Thelin shared more about the backstory.

Citizen Vinyl: How did No Idea Records evolve from a zine into a label?

Var Thelin: No Idea started in 1985 as a magazine project created by a few high school friends in Gainesville, Florida. Ken Coffelt (actively involved through 1988) and I were steadfast supporters of the local music scene, often portraying it to the outside world as a much bigger deal than it may have actually been, but that was the point: celebrate what is happening in your own backyard! This same thing was happening in `other parts of the country as well: East Bay California, WDC, Athens, Seattle… all over.

At the time, Gainesville bands would make a demo tape or two at most, but no records (the exception was Roach Motel, who put out two 7” EPs just before our time). We felt strongly that getting local music onto a record was important. The initial thought was a flexi-disc, but I realized it was only a few cents more to press a “real” record.

In those days, I would send letters and copies of the zine to punk labels we looked up to, like Dischord Records, who would surprisingly share their experiences, contacts, and advice. These were early examples of the “no separation between creator and audience” ethic. There were also locals like MUTLEY CHIX who showed us the ropes.

A couple years later, Rabid Cat Records in Texas wrote a long letter explaining exactly how to make records and where to go to do it. We took it from there, and in 1987 / 1988 we pressed our first record, a 4-song 7” by Doldrums, which was included with No Idea zine #6.  

I did the same thing with issue #7 through #10, moving to a 32-band compilation CD with #11 and a 2xLP / CD comp with #12, both including bands from all around the world and, of course, a large amount of music from Gainesville. From 1991 onward, I also started making stand-alone 7” EPs separate from the zine.

I never made a conscious decision to move away from making zines and focus 100% on running a record label. The local scene really started hopping, in a small way, and then, fairly quickly, in a much larger way.

The local bands cross-inspired each other to keep upping the bar on what a band could do, from playing shows in other towns, to putting out records, all of it. This was the era just after “the year punk broke” when mainstream awareness brought a massive bump in people starting bands, etc. In tandem, CDs were super cheap to make and helped bands afford gas on tour. In the late 90’s, No Idea was simultaneously making both 300-run 7” EPs and  CDs that sold 20,000 in a year. It was all over the place, and a quite extraordinary time.

In your FAQ you tell bands who’d like to be on your label that “No Idea encourages you to take the D.I.Y. approach.” What does the D.I.Y. approach mean these days?

This note is a polite way of encouraging bands to pursue their individual dreams in a hands-on way, while at the same time discouraging them from sending demos via bulk messaging.

What are some qualities that make a great album?

A great song. And then another one.

An energetic, yet messy recording of a great album can work out fine. A brilliant recording can bring additional life to an already great song, whereas an immaculate recording of a crap song is just an expensive crap song.

Why is Citizen Vinyl a good pressing partner for No Idea?

As a result of how difficult it became to even get records pressed at all (or maaaaybe after an undefined, year-long wait), we stepped away from actively pressing new records for several years.

With the dawn of the current decade, there was an explosion of new independent regional pressing plants, built with modern machines and technology. Suddenly it was possible to press a record without hiring a mental health counselor!

Citizen ticks a few boxes: domestic plant, independently owned, based in the south.

Citizen has a highly organized workflow, makes excellent quality records, has a good turn-around time, and the PEOPLE are genuinely friendly, helpful, and have obvious love for records, recording songs, and just music in general. Fans as well as participants, it seems. Choosing to send a project to Citizen was a leap of faith, one that CV has retrospectively FULLY earned!

Proudly pressed at Citizen Vinyl for No Idea Records

As someone who’s been having records pressed for nearly 40 years, what do you think about the resurgence of the vinyl industry in the last decade or so?

CDs were the lifeblood of indie labels for the mid-90’s into the early 00’s. Those sales subsidized and paid for making other formats. In those days, records had to be sold for LESS than CDs, despite costing 3-5 times more to make. Records were often the format of choice of “taste maker” music nerds and certainly punks and collectors.

It was an era where larger labels often gave free rights to press the vinyl version to smaller independent labels. Many bands still really wanted records, so these arrangements were often a benefit to all.

Punk, hardcore, and adjacent scenes thrived on records. That’s where the support came from all through the “vinyl is dead” era.

As technology advanced, humans were encouraged to dump all their clutter: to discard paper photos, CDs, movies, and scrapbooks for intangible lives in the cloud. In reaction, the current generation(s) want real, touchable experiences. It makes sense that records would strike a chord, as they offer such a profound memory reflex. Taking time to sit still, spin a record, hold the lyric sheet, and really LISTEN is super beneficial for a person’s mental health.

In addition, record stores are community hubs. They offer a place to socialize, to have off-line human interaction; to hear new music and ideas, to share.

Who was pressing your albums in the 90s and early 2000s when the vinyl pressing industry was effectively dead in the US?

Off the top of my head, let’s start with a list of defunct plants we worked with: Bill Smith, Georgia, Alberti, A&R, Rainbo, Alpha… and a couple of the active ones: Erika and Musicol.

Vinyl has been alive and thriving this whole time. Small labels like ours, and the influence of hardcore punk’s adherence to records, kept vinyl plants afloat for decades. 

Do you still design covers and sleeves?

I used to construct, if not fully design, all of the records, often pulling from parts and pieces the band brought in. Sometimes I would bring in an artist to paint the cover art as well. All of the “crazy” packaging was my idea, for the most part.

Once most people had access to computers, scanners, and Photoshop, more and more layouts began arriving in a complete or semi-complete state. I would always have to beat them into shape, make sure they would print correctly, and often rebuild them from the ground up. (Ex: Create a unique band logo, song titles, and/or what is called “branding” in the real world.) Frequently, I would throw out the majority of the design, grab the best elements, and do a full redesign to highlight these strengths. The supplied ideas and images were the inspiration and I would often see the shimmering brilliance within. (I consider these examples of full collaboration.)

I have reengaged with art and design more recently as a result of re-issuing records and making new, related stuff (shirts, stickers, tapes). I love graphic design. I prefer actually cutting up pieces of paper and gluing them together, so a lot of what I do is bringing that spirit into my and others’ designs.

The iconic No Idea stressface

Do you see a return to cassettes in No Idea’s future?

Tapes are fun. Somebody could go from mixing a recording one day to having 100 finished tapes in-hand a couple weeks later, while the spirits are still buzzing. Low investment of time and cash! No stress!

• Play: No Idea has only made two I HATE MYSELF tapes so far. 

• Rewind: I had intended to make a couple tapes in 1996 at the very tail end of the original “tape era” as a tip of the hat to us growing up making mix tapes…

• Forward: there are several more tapes in the works.

Do you still make Zines (even if not for public consumption)?

I have not revisited the fine art of zine making in any larger sense over the last thirty years. The impulse has never faded, though. I learned everything I know about formatting text, choosing fonts, cropping photos, and smashing logos together from years spent cutting & pasting zines in the middle of the night. That same spark of creativity has been funneled into individual records.

I wouldn’t mind making a book or two. A book could be nothing more than a straight collection of the No Idea zines… or it could be the graphic-art, record-by-record story of every release on the label, including as much source material, photos, stories, and asides as possible. That would take years and would possibly exhaust even the most dedicated enthusiast / absolute nerd.

In what ways does the music industry continue to surprise and inspire you?

“The music industry” is analogous to a rendering plant. I never wanted to be associated with it in any way.

I suppose the big surprises come from sources a little closer to home. To explain: I love music that is immediate and in the moment. Sometimes this music is of a specific time and place and goes no further. Sometimes a band or song grows exponentially over time and is more beloved thirty years later. (The song never saw this coming, ha!)

Anything else I should share about No Idea Records?

No Idea sprang from a deep love of music and a drive to be involved. There was never a plan for it to become a record label, or expand into a real-world business… and certainly the concept it would still be going 40+ years on is retroactively comical. I am flabbergasted that No Idea even registers, much less has such a positive impact in people’s lives around the world.

People are still getting tattoos of the stressface?  I never would have believed it… I still barely do!

I hope that others will feel the inspiration to create similar projects in their own small towns. You never know where things will go. Write zines, take photos, screenprint a shirt, write a song… Making one copy or 10,000: it’s all equally valid. You can do it.