There's no shortage of collector-nerd labels which rely on obscurity alone to draw in their customers -- the scrappy rockabilly fanatics, or '60s beat fans, for example. And then there are labels like Interstate Music, which combines ultra-amazing record collections and not-too-stuffy scholarship with apallingly good taste, classy packaging and nice sound quality. Interstate specializes in CD and LP compilations of rare 78s and radio transcription discs, historical items which we mere mortals could never hope to locate -- much less own -- in their original form.
Label head Bruce Bastin has opened the door to numerous collector nerds and co-conspirators who've assembled the hundreds of discs in the Interstate catalog. Almost every record I've come across-- be it country, Cuban, international, blues or whatever -- has been worth checking out: some are fabulous revelations, many are cherished gems. In the past, Interstate discs showed up rather infrequently in record store bins, although in the last few years distribution has improved remarkably. I'm not sure what is and isn't out of print on Interstate, but you should be able to find at least some of these records with a bit of determined effort. Also, you could try contacting the label directly, or either of the U.S. contacts listed below.
INTERSTATE IMPRINTS:
Country Routes
Flyright
Harlequin
Heritage
Krazy Kat
Interstate Music, Ltd.
20 Endwell Road, Bexhill-On-Sea
East Sussex TN40 1EA, ENGLAND
Other contacts include:
Down Home Music
10341 San Pablo Avenue
El Cerrito, CA 94530
Phone: (510) 525-2129
Fax: (510) 525-4827
(The world's finest roots music retailers)
City Hall Distribution
101 Glacier Road
San Rafael, CA 94901
Phone: (415) 457-9080
Fax: (415) 457-0780
(Information for record stores to order copies)
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