Brand new local record label House Party Records, run by music-appreciator Gerry Hubley, is putting out their first release, an album by Vancouver’s Hextalls, that should be available by Christmas. Hubley tell us about the Hextalls: “I saw them in June at Insubordination Fest in Baltimore and loved them. I came home and downloaded their record and thought it was insanely good, so I emailed them asking if it was being released on vinyl (because I don’t buy CDs) and they replied saying ‘Barring some miracle, no.’ I’ve wanted to start a record label since I was 16, so it just made sense. Basically I started House Party Records because I wanted to own the Hextalls record on vinyl. It is the best pop-punk record to come out of Canada since Chixdiggit’s self-titled record, and it deserves a vinyl release. It’s goofy, it sounds awesome, and there are a jillion swear words. It’s just fun and awesome and everyone who listens to it loves it. It’s gonna be on orange vinyl and there will be some sort of special edition press too. I have no idea what I’m doing, so I’m just trying not to fuck up too bad or lose everything I own—two credit cards.” Representation of pop punk from across Canada is something Hubley is actively promoting. “My next two releases are a 7 inch for The Visitors from Ottawa and a Statues release that might be a 10 inch. The Hextalls, The Visitors and Statues are my three favorite Canadian bands, so I really wanted them to be my first three releases,” says Hubley. “I also want to do a Stolen Minks/Mean Jeans split 7 inch which would mark my first US band release and my first local release all in one.”
This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2008.