The history of drp records….
Paul LaFata conceived the drp indie label in the winter of 1999. Based out of the hills of Wyomissing, PA, drp records officially launched in the fall of 2000 with the release of Seven Inches of Darey October.
In December 2000, LaFata approached his longtime friend, visionary, musical talent, recording producer, former skate park and club owner, booking agent, and writer, Frank Phobia to join the caravan of drp records. With Phobia on board, work began on the second drp release, a compilation of bands that have traveled into the trenches of Reading, PA, over the last two years.
Following the release of Gimmie the Medicine, LaFata and Phobia set forth in signing a handful of bands that rocked their world. We want to run our label like a family, not a sterile business. Every band can bring something to our table, states Frank. Be it web design, printing t-shirts, booking bands, contributing artwork, writing press releases, handling the street team, or just good ol grunt work like answering e-mails and doing press and radio follow up, that fact that everyone involved is helping each other in an egoless fashion is the founding concept. Its about a team of bands that are extremely talented, comprised of gifted song writers, and which are great live acts that want to work together to expand the horizons of all involved and help them move to the next level of their career. We are partners with the bands and we are equally in this together.
In the winter of 2004, with over a dozen releases under their belts, Paul and Frank decided to move in different directions. Paul bowed out of the label to concentrate on his medical practice. The logical replacement to run the label with Frank was I Want To Kill You’s own, Troy Hinson. Troy had been actively involved with the label for 2 years at that point. In 2006 with Hinson living in NYC and working at Sirius Radio his time was limited to help with the day to day label workload. Frank brought aboard BGL’s Chris Noecker into the staff and partnership of drp. The army has been assembled, time for war on crappy music everywhere. Prepare for battle!
The future for drp records is looking bright. A partnership with a punk rock/ brother label, Overdose On Records, headed by Justin Enemy, is co-releasing some of the crossover artists such as Common Enemy, Kill The Car, Black Moon and FMF. In Spring 2009 drp records signed a worldwide distribution deal with powerhouse, MVD !! Now our releases can be found worldwide ! Giving our bands more outlets than ever before to be discovered !
Almost all of the drp bands are East Coast based, but willing to travel and play anywhere, kicking ass on stages from coast to coast. Each band is on the label in order to broaden its base, grow as musicians and performers, and move up to the next level in the music industry. Frank and Chris take great pride and interest in watching and helping this process unfold. At the same time we have recently been happy to release some one-off CDs/ vinyl with some of our friends signed to other labels. The drp records/ drp entertainment group keeps growing and evolving including 2010 the upstart publishing and multi-media branches.
drp records PO Box 6257 Wyomissing, PA 19610
