Shock Treatment: So What made you decide to want to start the record label instead of playing in a band?
Shock Treatment: When you started out, did you already have a particular sound in mind or a direction you wanted to go in for the label?
Gabriele:Yes, I had lo-fi / punk / rock ‘n’ roll / trash / DIY sounds in mind, even though over the years other musical genres have found a place on the label. Many years have passed since the first records, and I still feel I’ve remained true to my vision—even though I’ve released different kinds of punk—always with black-and-white covers and raw records. The sounds may change, but the intentions remain the same as ever.
Shock Treatment: According to Discogs, you put out a Giustino Di Dregorio EP in 1995. Then a 7” by The Whittingtons in 1999. What led to that 4 year gap between those releases?
Gabriele: The CD *Sprut* by Giustino Di Gregorio—who is my older brother—was a self-produced release from 1995, put out by the label *Goodbye Boozy Records*. After that, I released four cassettes dedicated to Italian bands, each tape featuring four bands,
*16 Lo-Fi Wild Italian R'n'R / Punk Bands - 1996–1998*— originally released on four cassettes between 1996 and 1998 by GB Records. You can listen to it on Bandcamp
Goodbye Boozy Records Mixtape 96–98 by Various Artists, and all the tracks from the cassettes were re-recorded and remixed by my brother and me (Re-recorded by Sprut, Rags) and it was a lot of fun!! After these cassettes, I decided to release some 7" 45 rpm vinyl records, but as I told you, it always takes me a long time to get anything done;
I want to highlight the bands:
Tape 1 - Funeral Homme, Malore, S.T.P., Superargos,
Tape 2 - Morticia’s Lovers, Semprefreski, Boomers, Insensible Eggs,
Tape 3 - Sleepwalkers, Creeptones, Pussy Toothy, Amplificators,
Tape 4 - Cleopatras, Brainsuckers, Stereoracers, Ray Daytona.
Shock Treatment: Ever since 1999, not a year has gone by that Goodbye Boozy hasn’t put out records. What motivates you to keep the label going?
Gabriele: I live with my wife Mira, I have a small vegetable garden that I tend to, I have lots of cats that bring me a lot of joy, and I hang out with my friends, but life without rock ’n’ roll would be very sad for me: first thing in the morning, I put some lo-fi rock ’n’ roll punk trash on the turntable to start the day off on the right foot! For me, it’s impossible to do without it—it’s part of my life.
Shock Treatment: Looking back at 27 years of Goodbye Boozy releases, is there anything you would have done differently?
Gabriele: I’d do everything I’ve done all over again without changing a thing, including the mistakes and everything else; 27 years have passed, but Goodbye Boozy has always remained just as it was in the beginning. I always produce small runs of 250–300 copies at most, and I’m very happy with that; lately I’ve been producing more vinyl LPs because, unfortunately, 7" vinyl has become very expensive, and I’m sorry about that because it’s my favorite format.
Shock Treatment: What have been some major differences in running the label now, as opposed to twenty years ago? Has things like social media or Bandcamp made it any easier?
Gabriele: When I first started out, we used pen and paper and communicated through letters or postcards, which took more time; now, with emails and social media messages, everything is faster, and digital music is what people listen to the most and what reaches the widest audience, so today it’s definitely faster and easier than it was twenty years ago. When I started out, everything was more “romantic,” but I don’t miss the past. Times change, and that’s okay.
Shock Treatment: What’s something about running an independent record label that you feel people don’t know or talk about?
Gabriele: As for my label, I run it all by myself: it takes a lot of perseverance, and I devote an enormous amount of time to it; plus, mine is a DIY label: I personally handle the cover art, especially for the 45s; I cut them out, fold them, number them, stamp the inner sleeve of the 7-inch records, go to shopping malls to get the cardboard to ship them, stand in line at the post office to mail them, and sometimes it takes a lot of time. Lately, I’ve started making cardboard sleeves for cassettes: I couldn’t even tell you how long it takes, and I just can’t keep going like this anymore; the last cassette with a rough cardboard sleeve will be “The Sex Shoppe,” a European edition limited to 20 copies… if you want to make money with your label, don’t follow my example.
Shock Treatment: What advice would you give to someone if they wanted to start a record label now?
Gabriele: Sicuramente di fondare un’etichetta fai-da-te, se ti piace farlo: sarà sicuramente divertente e rock ‘n’ roll!!
Shock Treatment: What releases are coming up for Goodbye Boozy in the near future?
Gabriele: Scheduled for early October are:
TAPE
THE SEX SHOPPE - "The Sex Shoppe"
8 freaky songs made by an even freakier duo in the swamp! Raw rock n roll !!! european edition 20 copies
Xray Xeroxx - new album !!!
Punk / Garage / R'n'R!!!! ( Los Angeles, California ) european edition 20 copies
VINYL
Baby Tyler - 7" ( Euro Tour )
garage punk hardcore ( Wisconsin ) limited 250 copies
Cheap Fix - 7"
raw garage punk r'n'r blues ( Austin, Texas )
limited 250 copies
The Nu-Viles - 7"
punk wave hardcore ( California ) limited 250 copies
Termite - Inside These Walls - LP
The crew from Bikini Cops (and Matt Rodrigues) are back with a hardcore band, and it rips. (Perth, Australia ) limited 250 copies!
