PHIL MacDOUGAL
from Maximum Rock'n'Roll #245, October 2003. Thanks to Bob for letting me reprint the interview!
of Reactor Records
One lazy afternoon, while leafing through an old issue of Maximum Rocknroll, I came across a review for a double album compilation of Australian hardcore bands called, "The Not So Lucky Country." It sounded like just the sort of record I would enjoy. Unfortunately, the zine was fifteen years old and I figured my chances of mail ordering a copy were slim to none. I noticed the record label listed in the review was Reactor Records, the very same label that released the first Depression 7", which I was also in need of. I figured it wouldn't hurt to write a letter to the label and ask if he had any spare copies of the double LP or the Depression 7" to sell or trade, so I fired off a letter, gambled a stamp. A few weeks later, I got an email from Phil MacDougal, who ran the label. (Apparently, he has kept the same address all of these years!) Phil explained that he had no spare copies of the double album, but he might be able to dig up a copy of the Depression 7" for me. A short time later, Phil located a used copy and I sent him some well-concealed American currency. While spinning that Depression single over and over, I got to thinking that Phil might have some precious nuggets of punk history to pass on. Here's the Reactor Records story, conducted by email. Interview by Bob Suren.
MRR: If you don't mind me asking, how old are you and how was it that you first became exposed to punk music? Was it difficult to find punk music in Australia at that time?
PM: I am 43. A friend of mine who I went to school with had some of the early English punk singles, such as the first three Sex Pistols singles and the first Stranglers four track 7" and he played them to me at his place. Also an alternative radio station in Melbourne, 3RRR, was playing punk records on the air. There weren't many record shops in Melbourne selling punk records but thank god there was one called Archie 'N' Jughead's, which turned into Missing Link Records in the late 70's run by Keith Glass. He imported a lot of the early English punk records and also stocked some of the first Australian punk records if bands brought them in to sell. There was another shop in Carlton called Reading Books that sold import punk records around that time as well. Band-wise, the Melbourne punk scene was starting up as well with The Boys Next Door, Babeez, News, Teenage Radio Stars, Negatives, the Chosen Few, La Femme, Zorros all playing live at the main punk rock venue called the Crystal Ballroom, later to be known as the Seaview Ballroom and then in the 80's as The Ballroom. The Saints and Radio Birdman toured Melbourne around this time.
MRR: I have heard that Aussie punkers are a particularly wild breed. Are they? Got any war stories of berserk Outback punks you'd like to share?
PM: Aussie punks are not any wilder than the rest of you overseas. We all enjoy a drink and a good time when we go out to see bands. War stories.... Well, you would have to be very fucked up to join the army wouldn't you!
MRR: At what point did you decide to become more involved in punk rock than just a spectator? What was it that made you decide to run a label and how did you get started? Did you have any idea how to go about it?
PM: In 1983 I had been seeing punk bands for a few years and after seeing Depression live a couple of times I really wanted to put out a record by them. They were the best punk band in Melbourne at the time. In Australia no one was releasing records by hardcore punk bands; I couldn't believe it. There were a few independent labels around but they were concentrating on the garage bands, of which there were many, but no one was putting out the new hardcore bands. Getting started was interesting to say the least! Basically I didn't know anything about putting a record out. Luckily, Ross Giles, a friend of mine at the PBS FM radio station, where I did a punk show, was a tech guy there and he helped me out. He told me of a pressing plant in Sydney that pressed up records. He produced the first single and LP by Depression. Depression did a demo first, up in a small studio in Surrey Hills in Melbourne, but when we went back a week later to mix it, we where told the guy who owned the studio, named Rudie, died during the week of a heart attack. Maybe the experience of a full on hardcore band was too much! R.I.P. Rudie. Well, it was all new to me, but a great learning experience. Just before the labels where going to be printed on the record , which was the Depression "Money Chain" 7", we realized I didn't have a name for the goddamn label I was setting up. Smeer and Liddy from Depression came over to my place one night with the beers and we went through a long list of possible names... Nothing seemed to gel. Then since it was going to be a punk label with bands singing about political issues, etc., I thought of Reactor Records, along the lines of a nuclear reactor. The first single by Depression was released on 26 January 1984.
MRR: And the first pressing of Depression's "Money Chain" was 500 copies. Did you have any notion of how you would sell 500 copies of a punk record in Australia? Was there any international distribution at that point? How did you sell them all and how long did it take?
PM: Yes, I took them myself to the independent record shops in Melbourne like Greville Records, Missing Link Records and Exposure Records. The international distribution came later on in the label's history. The first pressing of the "Money Chain" single sold out in Melbourne in three months. I sold them to the record shops and also at Depression gigs around town like at the Seaview Ballroom when they played there on a punk night with other hardcore bands. I would set up a stall at the front and sell my records as people were going out.
MRR: What is the story about Jello Biafra and Depression? Didn't he suggest you make them your label's first release?
PM: That's correct. The Dead Kennedys toured Australia in 1983 and Depression supported them in Melbourne. Jello told me they were the best Australian hardcore band they had played with and if I ever got my record label off the ground, he suggested I put out "Money Chain" as a single, which I did.
MRR: I love all of the Depression stuff, particularly the guitar sound. Tell us about the making of the Depression LP. Why did it take so long and cost so much to record?
PM: Well, again not knowing much about recording studios and how to record a band's, music I turned again to Ross Giles, a friend at PBS Radio. Depression did not have any money to spend on the recording of an LP and they had heaps of songs to record and I knew they would make a killer record. We ended up recording the record at Platinum Studio late at night over three days with Ross Giles and Chris Wyatt. Yes, it was expensive to record there but I wanted the best possible sound, like bands from overseas had. Depression were a world class band, so why not... Once everything was set up in the studio -- which took way too long, like one day just setting up the equipment and going though a trial run, the band then just laid the tracks down one after another, with most tracks done in the first take. It was just amazing to watch; I'll never forget it, just mind-blowing... Of course the vocals were done last, but when we listened to the final mix of the record, Spike, the singer was not happy with the way his vocals had been recorded. So we went to another studio, York Street Studio, and re- did the vocals. All up, it cost $7,500 to record the record -- a lot of money back then for an independent label to spend on a punk band! Not that I can remember. To get back to one of your other questions, I should mention that Smeer had been in a heavy metal band in the 70's called Desert Rat before forming Depression in 1982, so that's why his guitar style was leaning towards metal right from the start. He incorporated that style into Depression's sound.
MRR: Wasn't there a problem with a printer refusing to make the gory album covers? I hope that at least you and the band were pleased with the finished product.
PM: (On) the first two Reactor releases, both 7"s, the covers had been printed in Melbourne, but we had to glue the covers up with a glue gun. And since it was cheaper to do it that way, we got the Depression album covers printed at the same place, but had to hand glue them all. The front cover was controversial, but we never had any negative feedback from the press.
MRR: Please tell us about the famous Hardcore House where Depression and other punks lived.
PM: Smeer and Liddy from Depression lived at Hardcore House in Melbourne, along with their girlfriends and Ronnie, the lead singer of Psychotic Maniacs, a hardcore band which played a lot of shows with Depression. Both bands rehearsed there in the back room and later on G.A.S.H. came out of the scene around Hardcore House. G.A.S.H. was made up of Liz, who was Smeer's girlfriend, on guitar, Liddy's girlfriend Vera on bass, Anna on vocals and Smeer on drums. Smeer, the guitarist in Depression just learnt how to play drums himself just before G.A.S.H. formed. The G.A.S.H. single and LP were recorded at Hardcore House on Smeer's Fostex 4- track on 30/1/86 and 14/2/86. Lots happened on any given day at Hardcore House, from bands rehearsing, t-shirt screening, interviews for fanzines, letter writing. At the height of the band's popularity, 50 letters were coming in every week from all over the world. It got to the stage that Smeer just didn't find enough time in the day to reply to them all! They were all vegetarian, so the girls cooked up great meals and much partying was done on the weekends after shows. People were always dropping over and Smeer was the center of attention, giving advice to the younger punk bands that were forming in Melbourne.
MRR: Beside G.A.S.H., were there many females involved in the Aussie scene in the 1980s? Were there any other female Aussie bands?
PM: Yes, there were girls in other bands. End Result had Vicki, Civil Dissident had Tracey on bass, Psychotic Maniacs had Liz on guitar and the infamous I Spit On Your Gravy had two back-up girl singers called the Spittettes. However, G.A.S.H. were the only mostly-all-girl band that I can remember in Melbourne. There were lots of punk girls at the gigs, for sure.
MRR: What was your favorite Reactor release? Why did the label end?
PM: Of the 21 releases on Reactor Records, I liked them all heaps. If a had to pick a couple, they would be the Depression LP and ''The Not So Lucky Country" double LP compilation of Australian bands. It had 35 songs by 33 bands and took me two years to put together. I ran out of money in the end. Some of the records I put out, I also paid for the recording. And towards the end of the label, I was owed a lot of money from distributors, so it was a cash flow problem. The two biggest bands on the label had left, Depression and Vicious Circle. They thought they could sell more records on another label, which in the end turned out not to be true. I had been running the label for five years and I felt it was time to stop on a high, with the second to last record I released being the compilation LP.
MRR: Did you learn anything from running a label?
PM: I learnt how to put out records the hard way, since no other independent record labels helped me out at all. I always wanted to do film clips for the bands but did not know any film directors, so no film clips were ever done. The best thing was I met lots of cool people in the scene, some I still am in contact with today.
MRR: Are you still interested in punk and hardcore? Do you have any plans to revive the label? There is some interest in bands like Perdition, G.A.S.H and Depression. Maybe you could do some re-issues or allow another label to do so.
PM: Yes, I am still into punk and hardcore. For the last 23 years I have been presenting a two hour radio show on PBS FM, a public radio station in Melbourne. Back in the early 80's, I was doing a punk show. And for the last fifteen years I've (done) a show called "Sunglasses After Dark" on Wednesday night from 5:00-7:00 pm, where I play punk, garage, industrial, metal and lots of Australian independent bands, since the scene is so strong here at the moment. I interview Australian and overseas bands weekly and go and see bands every weekend. Music is my life and it will be till I die. No plans to revive the label, but next year in January it will be 20 years since the first Reactor release came out. There has been a demand over the years for the Depression records that came out on Reactor, so I'm thinking of a Depression CD, which will have the three (Reactor) releases. I will put it out myself on Reactor. Over the years, I have had offers to release stuff, sure, but have not felt comfortable in doing so. Also the compilation record 'The Not So Lucky Country'' may come out on CD on a new label just starting up in Melbourne that is going to specialize in re-issuing old punk bands from Australia and overseas, so stay tuned!
CONTACT: Phil MacDougal/PO Box 623/Camberwell 3124, Vic/Australia
REACTOR RECORDS DISCOGRAPHY
RR#1 Depression "Money Chain" 7", Jan. 1984
First press: Black and white cover, 500 copies
Second press: Green and white cover, 500 copies
Third press: Red and white cover, 500 copies
RR#2 Perdition "S/T" 7", 500 copies, Aug. 1984
RR#2 Perdition "S/T" 12", 500 copies, Dec. 1985
NOTE: Phil Macdougal was unhappy with the sound quality on the 7", so the second pressing was done as a 12", with the same songs and art work.
RR#3 Permanent Damage "S/T" 7", 1,000 copies, March 1985
RR#4 Vicious Circle "Search For The Solution" 7", 1,000 copies, Feb. 1985
RR#5 Depression "S/T" LP, March 1985
First press: 1,000 copies
Second press: 1,000 copies
Third press: 500 copies
RR#6 Perdition "How To Teach Your Budgie To Talk" 12", 1,000 copies, June 1985
RR#7 Vicious Circle "The Price Of Progress" LP, Sept. 1985
First press: 1,000 with red cover
Second press: 500 with purple cover
Note: This record was also licensed to Children Of The Revolution Records, who made an pressing in November 1985.
RR#8 Depression "Australia, Australia" 12", Nov. 1985
First press: 1,000 copies
Second press: 500 copies
RR#9 Vicious Circle/Youth Brigade 12", 1,000 copies, April 1986
Note: This record was made for an Australian tour by California's Youth Brigade, but the tour never happened. All of the Youth Brigade tracks are from the "Sound and Fury" album, released in the USA by BYO Records.
RR#10 Vicious Circle "A Nightmare So Quick" 7', 1,000 copies, April 1986
RR#11 G.A.S.H. LP, 1,000 copies, July 1986
RR#12 Condemned "Humanoid Or Biomechanoid" 12", 1,000 copies, Nov. 1986
RR#13 Hard Corpuscles "Decide" 12", 1,000 copies, May 1987
RR#14 G.A.S.H. "God is Dead" 7", 500 copies, Sept. 1986
Note: This record was made to promote RR#11. Both songs come from RR#11. Labels are blank, cover is photocopied A4 paper.
RR#15 Vicious Circle "Reflections" LP, Sept 1986
First press: 1,000 copies
Second press: 500 copies
Note: California's Boner Records also pressed 2,000 copies of this album for sales in the USA.
RR#16 Permanent Damage "End Of Innocence" LP, 1,000 copies, Sept. 1987
RR#17 Vicious Circle "Hope and Wait" 12", 1,000 copies, Sept. 1987
RR#18 Arm The Insane "Virus" 7", 1,000 copies, July 1987
RR#19 Psychotic Maniacs "Tribes Of Melbourne" 7", 1,000 copies, Sept. 1987
Note: These songs were recorded in 1983, but not released until 1987.
RR#20 V/A "The Not So Lucky Country" 2xLP, 2,000 copies, June 1988
RR#21 Where's The Pope? "Straight Edge Holocaust" 12", 1,000 copies, June 1988
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