Flashback: Dirtnap Records

As widely respected Portland-via-Seattle punk label Dirtnap Records prepares to celebrate its 14th year, we asked founder Ken Cheppaikode to reminisce about its first release, a 7-inch record from Swedish ragers the Don't Cares.

"This is our first-ever print ad, for our first-ever release, made when the label was only a few weeks old. In some ways, the label has come a long way since then. But in some ways, it hasn't. I designed this ad myself, and 14 years later, if I were to make the ad again, it would probably look much the same. I'm afraid my graphic-design skills haven't developed much, or at all, in the interim. Luckily for the label, it's been a long time since I've designed my own ads. I would probably still have copies of this release lying around today, but the last 250 or so were destroyed (along with the rest of my apartment) in a raw-sewage flood circa late 2001." —Ken Cheppaikode, Dirtnap Records founder.

SEE IT: Dirtnap Records' 14th anniversary show, featuring Marked Men, Mean Jeans, Guantanamo Baywatch, Youthbitch and more, is at Slabtown, 1033 NW 16th Ave., on Friday, Sept. 20. 8 pm. Advance tickets sold out, but select tickets will be available day of show for $15. 21+.

WWeek 2015

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