I’ve long been inspired by people that find ways to celebrate the things they love and believe in, and in a lot of ways it’s become super easy to do just that with the advent of blogs, Tumblrs, Pinterest boards and whatever else we have access to these days online. But sometimes there comes a reason to get off the internet and champion the old ways, linger in the analog, make connections face to face – and that’s exactly what Loglady Records has done.

Founded in 2010 by Lauren LoPrete and Jason Hendardy, Loglady Records began as an effort to release music by DIY musicians and friends in San Francisco. In a world where indie rock has become the mainstream, the label is both inspired and informed by what came before—labels like K, Creation, Slumberland, Dischord, and Factory. Currently featuring a roster of exceptional bands that include Terry Malts, Permanent Collection, Grandma’s Boyfriend, Moon Bell and Part Time, Loglady is obsessed with the sounds of the pop genre that explore noise, atmosphere, vigor, and imagination. (I highly recommend clicking here and listening to some tracks while you read on…)

Here’s a little interview we did with Lauren to see what it’s like behind the scenes at Loglady. They’re a total inspiration, and I’m really excited to see what they do next.

xoChristine

Where do you hail from?
Actually, I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit and went to art school in Chicago before moving out to San Francisco 3 years ago. I moved here because I got a job at McSweeney’s Publishing, I had only visited the city a few times and barely had any friends on the west coast. It’s been nice though, I never regret leaving the Midwest.

Have you always been a fan of DIY/underground music? What bands/influences brought you to the scene?
I’ve always had a DIY mentality. I spent a lot of my time in high school in basements, either going to shows or working on painting/sculpture/general mess making. I discovered a lot of music watching skate videos with my big brother as a kid. I was fascinated by the connection between skate culture and music. Pavement and The Smiths were two of the biggest influences in my early music life, they introduced me to much smaller, more contemporary music and continue to shape my tastes and interests.

Why did you start Loglady Records? Tell us a little bit about the label.
My boyfriend, Jason and I were at SXSW a few years back and decided we wanted to collaborate on a music venture. I had been into the idea of independent publishing for a while and Jason had a background in recording and playing music. We decided to pool these strengths together to form Loglady, which started as just a cassette label. It’s a great feeling being able to collaborate with your significant other, it’s a lot of work and I couldn’t do it myself. Jason takes a lot of the A&R responsibilities, and I focus on the art direction (both print and web). Neither of us had a background in writing press or accounting, but we figured it out as we went along. We didn’t have a business plan, and we weren’t exactly sure how we wanted it to grow, but now in our second year, we’re happy with the direction it’s moving. 

We’ve been good friends with the guys in Terry Malts since before they formed, their first demos were recorded in Jason’s bedroom. To date it’s still one of most popular releases, we keep selling out of them. We’re not exactly sure how the story goes, but somehow the tape got into the hands of Mike Schullman (of Slumberland Records) and he couldn’t stop listening to it. They just released their LP with SLR this February.

What goes into running an indie label on a day-to-day basis? How do you manage time with your career in graphic design?
Running a label and being a graphic designer are similar—people get into the business because they enjoy doing it, not really aware of the business side of things. I love being able to collaborate with bands and release music, but the creative aspect is such a small sliver of the actual work that goes into it.  
Since our third release (Permanent Collection - Delirium) I’ve had a heavy hand in the cover design. 

While in art school, I was hugely influenced by Stefan Sagmeister’s covers and collaborations with bands (Talking Heads, Rolling Stones, Lou Reed). I always knew I wanted to do work like that but I never figured out how to approach people about it. Now I meet musicians all the time that want advice on design, and I love the collaboration. They usually have a great vision, but need help bringing it all together.

What’s your favorite thing about being involved in the local indie music community?
I love being surrounded by people who make something out of nothing. It’s so easy to live a life that’s been constructed for you, I really appreciate people I meet who create their own reality, whether that means starting a magazine, forming a band or running a gallery. When I go to shows I always feel extremely lucky to be part of the community here. So many people have been so supportive of what we are doing. Robin Juan and Kirsten Harkonen of Hungryman Gallery have also been big supporters of Loglady since the start. We’ve thrown a good amount of shows at their gallery space, and they always stay positive—even when the police show up and try to shut it down. They also carry our whole catalog in their pop-up shop, located at 485 14th Street. 

We love your name! Is it safe to assume that the Log Lady character from Twin Peaks is the inspiration behind your moniker? Was it a total pain in the ass to pick a name or did you already have something in mind when you guys set up shop?

It was definitely a total pain in the ass to pick a name. We threw around a few ideas for months, I even designed logos for other names we liked... I like the idea of someone saying ‘Log Lady released it’ and confusing people a bit. Loglady stuck because we were in an addictive phase of watching Twin Peaks. It also happens that my initials are LL, which is kinda fun for me. 

I know from my past playing bands that the scene in San Francisco is really so small—regardless of genres, you just start to know everyone after a while. Are all the bands on Loglady friends/acquaintances of yours?
We started out because we wanted to release our friends’ music. We’ve known the Terry Malts guys for a while and they’re always introducing us to other musicians (that’s how we met our next release, Dead Angle). Most our releases come to us from our friends in the scene. We met Davida from Part Time through Kevin at Positive Destruction. 

You recently went on tour with Permanent Collection—how was that experience? Have you ever been on tour before? Wanna go again?
Tour is great, at least the short ones are. In February I traveled with the band while they played a few shows in San Diego and LA. For me it was more like a vacation than tour, since fellow girfriend-of-the-guitarist, Kelcie was along for the ride. The highlight of the trip was a show at the Echo for Part Time Punks (with Dead Angle and Terry Malts). I don’t think I’ve danced that much in years, and afterward I was completely bruised up (sign of a successful night?).

When Jason was playing in a different band, I met up with them in a few cities, like New York and Austin. Those were both great times, it’s an interesting way to travel and see the world. I could never tour for a month though, I think I would go insane. I like showering regularly and my queen-sized bed too much.



How do you think the scene here differs from places like LA and NY?
The scene in San Francisco feels a lot smaller than the music community in LA or New York. I don’t have much experience with either, but they seem guided by large music blogs. I like the manageable size of San Francisco. After living here for only a few years, I feel like I run into a lot of the same people, and the tightly knit feeling of it all is nice... I guess that’s a double edged sword though, if you’re trying to separate yourself from the past.

How is your personal style influenced by your musical taste?
My style has been influenced by many female musicians, although I am not sure how obvious that is in my actual wardrobe. I think I would describe my personal style as kindergarten goth, although I’m not exactly sure who influenced that. I definitely look up to Kim Gordon and Hope Sandoval as style icons, I just bought a dress that's so Mazzy Star-esque that it's frightening (and likely the reason it hasn’t been worn yet). Maybe the next time I attend a séance I’ll wear it.

What’s your favorite perfume?
I’m not very fussy when it comes to fragrances; I like the smell of essential oils. Recently, my friend Robin got me addicted to the gardenia essential oil from Kiehl’s.

What’s next for Loglady? What can we look forward to?
We’re so super excited about our upcoming releases. Terry Malts and Dead angle have a split 7” out in mid-June, and Permanent Collection’s Newly Wed Nearly Dead 12” LP is out August 7th. 

All the bands are playing great shows this summer, including Terry Malts and Permanent Collection playing at Bottom of the Hill together this June. And we’re just generally excited to continue releasing music out of SF.

Visit Loglady Records to learn more!