25 DIAMONDS LABEL

MIKE(Y) OTT INTERVIEW, 6/27/21 – 8/20/21:

#1: Remind me where you grew up? Northern Cal, but with connection to Seattle scene, is that correct? What was the climate like at these times in these places?

Mike: I grew up in Valencia… moved to San Diego after high school for two years Went to a random punk show in like Visalia and we saw death wish kids… I bought an area 51 7 inch and that’s how my connection with Derek and Seattle started.

#2: Was the DWK 7″ the very first record you ever had part in putting out? Do you remember much of the process? Did it ‘move units’?

Mike: Yeah, that was our first record. Still one of my favorite punk records of all time. It was a strange process because we didn’t really know what we were doing since it was our first record release… and we were learning as we went along. We were only dealing with Derek from DWK over the phone and he was super short and curt with us all the time. So we always thought he was mad or we were fucking up… later we realized that’s just the way that dope talks. God bless him.The record did really well for a 7 inch. The first pressing sold out in less than six months which I’m not sure if that is good or bad but it was impressive to us at the time.

#3: Why did starting a record label feel important? Was it? Where did you draw inspiration from with Hopscotch? Where did you adamantly not?

Mike: I don’t think it was important necessarily, but at the time it was a way to feel more active in the punk scene and support bands I liked. We drew inspiration from Vermiform, Recess Records, Dischord etc.. I was inspired by labels that had their own aesthetic, the idea that you could see a record or an ad and instantly know which label put it out.

#4: Let’s get into the shit. What are the best records you put out? What should you probably not have? What do you wish you could have?

Mike: I think for sure the best records are the Death Wish Kids, Area 51, Blood Brothers… that’s stuff I still listen to today. I think the Apeface record is one that we could have passed on, maybe Hail Mary too.They seemed like a good idea at the time, but oh well. The records I would have loved to put out would have been something for Born Against and the Blatz/Filth split 12”

#5: Am i safe in assuming the popularity/fame that MCD and BB reached must have been a real trip? Did shit get dumb? Did/do you remain friends with those involved? Did you ever get to make out with Chloe Sevigny?

Mike: Yeah, it was pretty strange how popular they both got, but I was very happy for all their success. I think for both bands their records got much less interesting overall so maybe it’s good they called it quits when they did. I don’t talk to many people in general these days, but I stay in touch with Derrick from MCD and Jordan from the BB. Never got to make out with Chole, but saw a lot of people who did.

#6: Let’s revisit some of the ads from back when – always one of my favorite elements of the aesthetic. you talked a lot of trash in those things. Can you recall with who? Did it ever get real?

Mike: Ah, I’m glad someone was noticing and appreciating my shit talking in those ads. Yeah, it got real a few times. I remember once I was on tour with the Red Scare and Mike from Trouble Man Unlimited came to our van and started talking about me (not realizing that I was in the van) and he was ranting about what a dick I was, I just chimed in and said, “yeah man, I know that guy, he’s a real cocksucker!” He later realized it was me, but we were already back on the road, so I escaped unscathed. The other time was one where I talked shit about some straight edge guy and he found me at some club months later and confronted me… he threw a drink in my face (alcoholic one, not very straight edge) and I spit in his face then he rushed at me but it was quickly broken up and we both got escorted out. If I was a better brawler I would have just replaced the spit with a punch.. Oh well.

#7: Why did Hopscotch become Sound Virus? Why did Sound Virus become nothing? Do you miss doing either label? Will you ever release another record in your lifetime?

Mike: I started Hopscotch with my good friend Aaron. At some point I kept on with the label, and he went on to concentrate on making music (he started the band Liars), so there was part of the label that never felt it was totally my vision and aesthetic. So I think part of starting sound virus was taking what I loved about Hopscotch and making it completely my own. Yes, I actually really miss putting out records and being part of that process. There’s something exciting about finding a new band, putting out their first record and taking part in the nascent of their inception. I found myself at a strange spot with sound virus at some point, where all the bands I had put out, out grew SV and had gone on to bigger labels (which I completely understood and supported) but I was also not feeling inspired by the new crop of bands that were coming up and I just kind of lost interest in music in general (or maybe just got old and jaded, who knows). I think it’s also quite expensive to put records, especially 7”s and the amount you have to sell just to break even is no easy feat, so I think I was also just growing broke, old and jaded. Will I ever put out another record again? I definitely wouldn’t say no, I think if the right band and situation came about I would do it in a heartbeat.

#8: So then: are you still punk as fuck? Punk, at least? If so, how does it apply to your current daily life? Can you talk a bit about your transitioning from label guy to movie maker guy? What are you currently working on in life?

Mike: Good question. Punk has forever influenced me and has shaped my life and the choices I make in it. However, it’s no longer about music or a dress code but rather the way I approach everything I value, especially my work and the things I create. My idea of what punk is has changed a lot because I think there was a huge culture shift in the late 90s and early 2000s where pop culture hijacked what it meant to be punk or an outsider or someone who is on the left side of politics. And it’s made things pretty tame and boring. One of the most important things I took away from being a punk was that there is no right or wrong way to do things, however there is the way that I choose to do them and it’s okay to stand behind that approach even if it doesn’t coincide with people in a certain scene or ideology. It’s very strange to me because the older I get the more I see people from my punk past who no longer are questioning basic things like the media, social norms, etc etc. I feel like these same folks would have someone like GG Allin canceled today… and no matter your opinion is on a character like GG, I think the world needs more actual weirdos because weird is officially dead. Really. When it comes to film and the things I create I made a conscious decision long ago that I only want to spend time making things I like and with people that inspire me because life is too short and creating is too hard to waste time working on things or with people I despise or don’t enjoy. When I started making films I was only interested in creating work that questioned and annoyed those on the right, but today it seems that liberals have become the new conservatives, so I’m more interested in critiquing them and making work that questions what it means to be on “the Left” today, especially since we live in a world and society that seems more interested in looking open minded rather than being it.

#9: 2 parter my man: A, how does “punk” get things really correct? how does it get things very incorrect? B, i think what i meant more specifically about label to movie was the literal transition. What were your last releases and when? What band/project would break you out of record label retirement? What was your first film project and when? What came next? And after that, etc? What (where, when, why, who) are you currently up to?

Mike: To me, punk gets it right when it emboldens people to find their own path in life and encourage then to be an individual. It gets it wrong when punk becomes pious. There is nothing radical about being moralistic or self righteous in your beliefs. One of the first rules of cinema is: show me, don’t tell me. This could maybe apply to punk too.

B, The transition happened very naturally because I had just graduated from Cal Arts with my MFA degree and was finishing my first feature. At the same time I had put out 3 full lengths (LP and CD) and all three bands broke up within weeks of the records coming out, which basically bankrupted me. A year or so later, I put out my last record, it was a 7” for an LA band called Moonrats (which has Nathan from Pretty Girls Make Graves). The moment I think I officially threw in the towel with the label was when I went down to Amoeba Records in LA, I had some Moonrats 7”s with me and asked if they wanted to buy some. Even though Moonrats are an LA band and had a following, they only bought two copies on consignment and expected me to drive back up from Valencia (30 miles) if and when they sold to collect my 4 dollars. That was a sign I think.

My thesis film for grad school was a film called Analog Days, it’s a film that was inspired by John Hughs, Over the Edge, Dazed and Confused, etc… about my home town where I grew up. After that I did a film called LiTTLEROCK which randomly became somewhat of a festival darling and garnered me some awards and money to continue on. I’ve made five feature… most are a blend of fiction mixed with documentary. All my films, thus far, are about small towns and people on the fringe of society.

#10: You’re simply too good at being interviewed, Mikey. So, in conclusion: what still needs to be said? What’s next? Why? How? What matters? What doesn’t? How do we know the difference? What’s next?

Mike: Well, for me the only thing that is truly important is to spend time with my wife, my mom, my friends, my dogs… make the art that inspires me and hopefully piss some people off in the process. That’s all that really matters at this point. The world is obviously really fucked up and it’s easy to get worked up and lose sleep about it… but awhile back my good friend Louis Perez was giving me a tattoo and we were discussing all this stuff, he reminded me how some times instead of getting angry about things that are out of our control, you have to instead let the chaos happen and watch things burn down. It reminds me of something my mother taught me growing up, which was that the majority of people are terrible listeners… so maybe the thing that is important in times like these is to just observe, listen and learn. And also not forget that life is short, so try to also enjoy yourself in the process.