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Actions speak louder
than words and Rat Pak Records owner, Joe O'Brien, is making things happen!
Rat Pak Records 5 year Anniversary is offering a FREE Compilation CD "UNLEASHED
5" this Autumn.
Featuring cool Hard Rock and Heavy Metal side projects, collaborations and solo
efforts from current members of Five Finger Death Punch, Black Label Society,
Rob Zombie, Hatebreed, Queensryche, Sworn Enemy, Metal Church, The Scorpions,
F5, Mushroomhead, Twisted Roots, Hour Past, Q, Pulse 8, Prophesy, Spiral Trance
and Widow Sunday.
Unleashed 5 comes with an additional bonus CD featuring both American
national/regional up & coming Indie bands - Finespun, Purenform, Snake Skin
Prison, Candelit Chaos, Metal Knights, Where Vegas Lies, and more.
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Q |
It’s been a while since our last interview, what’s new with Rat Pak Records? |
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A |
Forward motion on all levels, it’s the only way to describe it. |
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Q |
As an independent label owner, have you found it tough to stay competitive with the bigger record labels because of the economy being the way that it is? |
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A |
No, I just wake up and go full throttle with no excuses and no doubts. I don’t even pay attention to the economy or anything else around me. No time for that, too busy working lol. |
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Q |
Since our last interview you were picked up by Century Media Distribution, how did that come about? |
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A |
One day I got an email and it said, “Call us, we want to talk” so I did, and it was done. It was the same thing with Disk Union in Japan, and with MH in Europe. If you spend enough time making noise on your own, eventually you get heard I suppose. |
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How does a band get signed to Rat Pak Records? |
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Every situation is different. I have my own personal guidelines I follow. There are also certain “red flags” that tell me what bands to stay away from. |
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Q |
What advise would you give to someone wanting to start their own label? |
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Two things: 1. Be prepared to sacrifice everything to make it happen 2. Have as much fun with it as you can. |
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Do you think the really big record labels consider Rat Pak Records a contending label in the industry? |
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I don’t think about that too much. I see what everyone else is doing, and they see what I am doing. Some take the time to say hello, others do not. No biggie. |
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You seem to be more of a "public figure" than most label owners, do you feel that has helped or hindered your company? |
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Not really sure, I just have fun with it. It's hard not to be seen when you have attempted to tackle everything from radio, live events, and host appearances. |
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Do you have any soon to be released albums you are particularly excited about? |
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A |
I would hope anything we release is exciting. There are some I can mention right now and some I cannot, as it hasn’t been made “official” yet. I know that in 2010 we will have new releases from Q, Pulse 8, Widow Sunday, SBT, and a cool offering from Michael Wilton (Queensryche) that people will really love. There will definitely be surprises coming before then as well. |
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Q |
What’s been your best selling release so far this year? |
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A |
Ronny Munroe “The Fire Within”, that thing took off like a bat out of hell and just keeps going and going and going. I would also say Hour Past “Drift” is whooping some serious ass, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that catches right up to Ronny’s eventually. There is also Twisted Roots “Vol 1” that is well too. |
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Q |
You have “Zen Film” on all of your websites, does Rat Pak Records own Zen as well? |
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No, that is owned and operated by Ross Wells out in Houston Texas. It’s on everything because one day he kind of showed up and said, “Ok, I’m here” then just started making videos, coming up with online marketing plans, and tons of other cool stuff. A huge blessing to the label he’s been. His partner in many crimes, Dan Workman, has also brought much to the table as well. |
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Q |
Why did you stop hosting "The Big Rock Show"? |
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I ran out of time, plain and simple. It was only once a week but things got so busy I had to stop. So, I hired who I felt was the only person for the job. Her name is Tina Peek and she has done an amazing job with it. She's boosted the listener base up in to the thousands and keeps people interested. |
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What can we expect from Rat Pak Records over the next year? |
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New music, new videos, new merchandise….and. more deranged blog titles. |
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To check out more about Joe and Rat Pak Records, visit
and
I would like to thank Joe for this interview and can't wait to see what he has in store next.
Keep It Loud! |
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