Wayne: Now onto Slap A Ham, what pushed you into starting the label itself? Chris: In the 80s, it was a really big deal to put out a record. There weren’t that many hardcore labels, and not everyone had the easy accessibility, finances, or the knowledge to put out their own records. One of my first bands, Legion Of Doom, got a track on a compilation LP in 1986 and it felt like we hit the jackpot to be on that release. So, there were a ton of bands I loved, and listened to their demos constantly, but I couldn’t figure out why they weren’t putting out tons of records. They had very little or no label interest. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I wanted to help put out music by bands I liked who weren’t getting help elsewhere. I knew the guys in PHC & Infest and knew they were talking about wanting to put out a split release, so I offered to do it for them, and it became an 8” flexi. At that time, which was around 1989, the Melvins had moved to San Francisco, and I became good friends with them. Most people won’t believe it, but they had very little interest as well. They liked the Infest/ PHC flexi and wanted to do one, too. So my second release was the Melvins 8”. No Use For A Name was a band I was in & out of since 1987, and no one wanted to release a record for them, so it became my third release. Then I was visiting Eric Wood in SoCal, he played me some Neanderthal rough mixes, and asked if I’d be into releasing a 7”. And it just kept going from there.
Wayne: What is your favorite Slap A Ham release? Also, what are some releases you feel have been overlooked in the labels catalog? Chris: I have a lot of favorites, but I’ve always chosen the No Comment “Downsided” 7” as my all-time favorite. When I released it, I thought it was an instant classic. I still feel like it’s one of the best hardcore records ever. As far as overlooked, it’s funny because in retrospect a lot of the most popular releases were not popular at the time they came out. Only over time did they eventually become “popular”. Like Neanderthal, Crossed Out, Fu Manchu, No Comment, Burning Witch… none of them were huge, runaway successes. In fact, most of these records took years just to sell the initial pressings of only 1,000-2,000 copies. I think the most overlooked, underrated releases would be the Gasp LP, Burned Up Bled Dry 7”, and to an extent the Iabhorher 7”, Wayne: In 1993, your label held “Fiesta Grande #1” which took place at 924 Gilman. How difficult was booking shows which included bands from all over the world pre “internet age”? Chris: Setting up shows took a lot more time in the pre-internet & pre-cell phone world, because you were constantly trading phone calls, leaving messages, even writing letters back and forth, and it took a lot longer to confirm things. So, it wasn’t uncommon to show up in a town, and be surprised to find out your show had been moved or cancelled. Although the
Fiesta Grande shows weren’t that difficult to set up. After they really got going, by Year 3, my biggest problem was deciding which bands would NOT play, because everyone wanted to play. And I the event had a stable home at 924 Gilman, although Ken Sanderson who was booking Gilman in 1992 was the reason the first Fiesta Grande got started. Gilman, and the rest of the Bay Area, were focused on pop punk, and hardcore/ thrash/grind wasn’t “in”, so it was difficult for bands like Capitalist Casualties and Plutocracy to book decent shows anywhere aside from friend’s houses. But after the first Fiesta, things got a little easier. These shows were all about dedication & love for the music. The bands paid their own way to travel to Berkeley to play Fiesta Grande. I never flew anybody out because I didn’t have the money to do that, and I never took any door money from those shows. In fact, I remember talking to Jon from Discordance Axis about them playing Fiesta Grande, and he said “If you want to fly us out, we’ll do it.” I remember laughing at him. Back in those days, that sort of thing was unheard of, at least for someone like me who was a one-man operation. Needless to say, they bought their plane tickets & ended up coming out to play anyway. I wasn’t a “promoter”. All monewas