Originally published in Excommunication issue #2

I first met Virgil Dickerson, progenitor of Suburban Home Records, in 1998 when I started Law of Inertia. Since then, Virgil and I have worked closely, and, I’m proud to say, become good friends. Not only is he one of the single most respected people in the independent rock music industry, but he has turned Suburban Home from a small zine started in his dorm room in the mid-90s into one of the finest punk record labels in the nation. Most recently, Suburban Home has shifted gears a bit and opened a distribution company. I recently had a chance to pick Virgil’s brain about what he thinks of the current state of underground music and how Suburban Home fits into the equation.

Please tell me the history of Suburban Home. How did you start it? What was your first release?
While attending the University of Colorado at Boulder, I was exposed to so many different kinds of new music. I had always been very passionate about music, but it wasn’t until I went to school in Boulder that I found a kind of music that really spoke to me. Some really good friends took me to see some of my first real shows like Skankin Pickle and Green Day/Tilt. Those shows really changed my life. I decided shortly after those shows to start a fanzine because I absolutely loved the music and the ideas behind punk rock. We decided to call the zine Suburban Home. After a few issues of the zine, we decided to put out a few 7-inches for our friends. Our very first release was a 7-inch by a band called Overlap. Our second release was a 7-inch by the Fairlanes, who were some of the really close friends that got me into punk rock.

What are your thoughts on the current state of punk rock?
When I first got involved with the punk rock scene during the mid-’90s, kids were very interested in the ethics of punk rock. People actually supported independent music and independent musicians were praised. Now, kids don’t give a shit that Target sponsors the Warped Tour and that major labels are signing all of their favorite bands. Even independent labels are trying to act like major labels these days, and no one seems to even blink an eye. When I first got into punk rock, I thought it was so cool that if I mail ordered a CD for $8 from Lookout Records, that money goes to a handful of people who actually care about music. Kids will instead spend $16 at the mall to buy a CD and not even think about all the evil hands that money goes to.

Do you see any problems with bands like Blink 182 and A New Found Glory pitching candy-coated punk rock to the masses?
I don’t have a problem with Blink or A New Found Glory getting more and more popular and being played on the radio all day long. There are much worse bands getting played on commercial radio and as the “Blinks” and A New Found Glory-type bands get more popular it exposes kids to a genre of music. The bigger the genre of music becomes, kids will find out about all the smaller bands that are just as good. Commercial radio sucks though and the fact that Clear Channel have created a monopoly of commercial stations and production companies is really scary.

Do you consider Suburban Home a punk company? Why?
Yes and no. I started Suburban Home with many of the DIY ethics of punk rock and still keep many of those ideals in mind when making decisions, so in that respect, yes. No, because everyone who works at Suburban Home, including myself, are just normal people who have so many interests out of punk rock. I consider Suburban Home to be an independent company.

Do you feel that independent rock has become much more professional and business oriented in the past 10 years, especially in the distribution world? What are your thoughts on that?
I definitely think that independent rock has become much more professional. Look at some of the biggest indies out there like Vagrant and Drive Thru, They have aligned themselves with major label distribution with the likes of Interscope and MCA. That was unheard of 10 years ago. Other large labels like Epitaph and Side One Dummy are distributed by RED who have ties to Sony. These larger labels only care about how many units they have Soundscanned and about selling more and more. I have even heard through the grapevine that certain indies have gone so far as to buy copies of their albums at stores in order to boost the Soundscan numbers of the first week sales. I think that is really sad and I never plan to run our distribution like that.

Where does Suburban Home fit into the business hierarchy of indie rock? Where would you like to be?
I think Suburban Home is one of those smaller labels/distribution companies that people hear of but don’t really know much about. Kids in the underground are hip to what we are doing, but our releases don’t sell even 10 percent of what the bigger labels sell. I am fine being the smaller company, but it would be nice to be able to sell more. I would love to see all of our labels selling more copies so that they could run their labels full time and I would love to see the bands we distribute selling more so that they could do their bands full time. That would be my definition of success.

How is the Denver scene? Has Suburban Home played any role in making it more well known or expanded it at all?
I think the Denver scene is amazing. There are so many great things happening. I think we play a small role in the local scene. We do a show email list that goes out every week to 5,000 kids that informs everyone of all the shows going on in the area. And we have helped release and distribute a number of great local bands. Some very positive things are happening in Denver with bands like Planes Mistaken For Stars, Dressy Bessy, the Gamits, Apples in Stereo, Vaux, and a million of great up and coming bands.

What record labels/distribution companies do you look to for inspiration or to model your company after?
The record label I have the most respect for has to be Jade Tree. They release some of the most diverse acts of any label and everything they do, they do 100 percent. Everything from their record covers to their website to their policies with their bands is done so professionally. I also have a lot of respect for Dischord, who have helped document a local scene and put out some of the most important records in independent music. As far as distributors go, I always look up to Mordam. They are so organized and have provided distribution for some of the best independent labels out there like Jade Tree, Asian Man, and so many more.

What bands are you listening to these days? What bands should we watch out for?
Some of my favorite bands of 2002 would have to be Hot Hot Heat, Spoon, Planes Mistaken for Stars, Cursive, the Shins, Pleasure Forever, Sleater-Kinney, Enon, Lucero, and Dressy Bessy. Bands to watch out for would have to be Adventures of Jet, who I think are hands down the best pop band in the world. We are lucky enough to be releasing their new album. And watch out for Turbonegro who will be releasing a new album in 2003. I am so glad that they are back together. Apocalypse Dudes has to be one of the best rock records of the 1990s.

Tell me three things we would never know about you from simply reading a typical interview without meeting you and talking to you?
One that that throws people off is that I got an undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology. Most people don’t know that. And if you have never met me before, you would not know that I am Asian American. And most people don’t know how passionate I am about food. I love cooking and I love eating at the nice restaurants. I love sushi, Indian, Thai, Korean, Mexican, and about a million other types of food.

Tell me something you’ve never told anyone in an interview that you’ve always wanted to.
Onion rings and Awesome Blossoms make me fart really bad.