Posted by: detourmag on November 6, 2007 at 9:00 am
Detour loves Dim Mak for a lot of things. (They held our hand once at the Star of the Sea dance in fifth grade, but that’s another story.) There’s the Deadly Syndrome, for one, and great releases in the label’s archives from the Von Bondies, No Knife, Panthers, and Soledad Brothers. (Remember their live set at the Gold Dollar in Detroit? Yow.) But now we love the Los Angeles-based lifestyle powerhouse for Ana Calderon. Handling the reins for this Meet & Greet, Ms. Calderon gives us the lowdown on Dim Mak’s history and hangout, and her love of civilization-killing reality TV. Pescetarian! — Johnny Loftus
Who runs the label?
Mr. Steve Aoki, Ms. Ana Calderon, Mr. Michael Dutcher, Mr. Luke Mulderink, Mr. Jacob Lee and a slew of part-timers/interns and hanger-on’ers whom we love.
Where is the label located? Describe your digs…
Dim Mak is located in lovely Hollywood, California on Hollywood Blvd. and Kenmore. Our office is essentially a two story storefront on a corner that also houses a hookah cafe, a trinket store that sells Precious Moments dolls and fake flowers, an Armenian bakery, and a costume jewelry store that’s truly confusing. The downstairs of our HQ is the soon-to-be-opened flagship Dim Mak Store. Upstairs is the official offices of Dim Mak Records, Dim Mak Collection and Dim Mak Events. Laying around the office we have funny-colored furniture, weird headless mannequins, lots of fancy sneakers, a large poker table, horse-head masks, CDs, half-drank energy drink cans, vinyl, stickers, 10,000 mac laptops, half-drank bottles of vodka, turntables, and more…
The walls of our humble abode are bright yellow on one side, bright green on the other. There is crazy blue piping/trim throughout the space, and we top it off with some fabulously bright neon-orange painted floors. It’s hard to be in a bad mood at our color-therapy-haven HQ, well, unless you’re moderately Vampire-y and from the underworld. Honestly, even then you could probably still hang, we don’t discriminate… Vampires, Zombies, Hipsters, Gremlins, Suits, and Chimney Sweeps are all welcome inside the Dim Mak gates.
How did the label get its start? Its name?
Steve started the label about a decade ago in his college apartment/venue a.k.a. The Pickle Patch. He would have bands from all over the world come perform in his living room. Eventually he decided to release 7″’s from some of his favorite bands to grace The Pickle Patch stage, and the rest was true indie rock history. The name of the label comes from a martial arts move made famous by Steve’s hero Bruce Lee; translated, the name means “Death Touch”.
How many releases do you issue a year, on average?
We’re racking them in at anywhere between 10-20 per year but that includes all singles, 12″, EPs, etc…
True or false: Digital downloads are okay, but 7″’s are cooler…
No comment. Paid digital downloads rule because they are a huge percentage of our business nowadays, and how we stay afloat… But, how can you not love the 7″. If it weren’t for the 7″, this label wouldn’t exist. So it’s a toss up, unfortunately.
6. Favorite label besides your own…
Modular in Los Angeles, Sub Pop in Seattle, Touch and Go in Chicago, Merge in Chapel Hill, Rangelife in Lawrence, Vice in New York, We Are Free in Baltimore, XL Recordings in London and Ed Banger in Paris.
7. Favorite record ever…
I calculate my favorite record as the one I’ve listened to the most times in my entire life, and that would have to be The Flying Burrito Brothers’ Farther Along: The Best of the Flying Burrito Brothers, which isn’t so much a record as a collection of their best songs and some funny studio outtakes.
8. Favorite movie ever…
Old film school nerd… Squirming to eyeballs being sliced open with razor blades in Bunuel and Dali’s Un Chien Andalou is kind of cool… crying to the sad beauty of De Sica’s The Bicycle Thief is kind of sweet, as is being totally weirded out by everything in Jodorowsky’s Holy Mountain. Still, nothing beats cheering along with Kirsten in Bring it On.
Vegetarian or carnivore?
I’m a steak-loving pescetarian (the poultry, dairy and pork have no place on Ana’s plate).
Your guiltiest pleasure. The thing no one would believe you watch, read, or listen to…
I really, really love reality television. “Rock of Love,” “Top Chef,” “Flava of Love,” “America’s Most Smartest Model,” “The Hills,” “Project Runway” — it’s like some sort of dirty obsession. When someone comes to visit me unannounced and I’m watching brainslutty TV, I instantly change the channel as if I’d been caught watching hardcore porn or something. And yes, I’m definitely contributing to the decline of Western civilization. Hell, I’m actually contributing to the decline of all civilization. Have you ever seen that movie Idiocracy? It’s really not that far-fetched of a potential future, and probably mere decades away. Can’t wait until I live to see the day that a show called “Kick My Balls” is kicking it at #1 on the Nielsen ratings. Hot Dogs and Gatorade for everyone!
[tags]Dim Mak, Ana Calderon, Steve Aoki[/tags]
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But “Top Chef” and “Project Runway” are both REALLY good shows!
I like to think that reality TV showcases the fine craft of editing. For so long quality television has focused on the writers and the actors. But now, the lowly editor is finally getting the spotlight! Hurray for them!
Ana is my new hero.
my sister is really not that cool. she once passed out at the new kids on the block concert from pure hysteria and excitement for jordan knight. ahhh ana, priceless