Montreal-based independent record label Thousand Islands Records celebrates its 10th anniversary this month. 10 years of supporting the underground, yet oh so talented emerging punk rock scene. What began as a hobby focused on the local scene, eventually expanded to international waters. Ahead of the record label’s 10-Year Rager show at Foufounes Electriques on March 28th, we caught up with co-owner Bruno Beaulieu.
How did Thousand Islands Records start and what led to the expansion of the label?
“I remember the idea quickly drifted back in 2016. Helping out local artists was our priority, but the moment we started working with international artists it opened up many doors for us. Not only by reaching new talents, but also introducing us and our roster to a new audience and new record labels which resulted in countless partnerships around the world. From those partnerships we learned a lot as we were just getting started”.
When did Thousand Islands Records really start to gain momentum?
“Around 2019 with releases from veterans Ten Foot Pole, Much The Same and Downway, and a distribution partnership with Authority Zero. It was unreal to be honest. We were still learning how to make things work and out of nowhere, we were working with bands we grew up listening to in high school. Word was spreading like wildfire and band submissions were piling up in our inbox. It was slightly overwhelming”.
It sounds like things moved pretty quickly, where did things go from there?
“From there Thousand Islands Records quickly expanded. For press relations, Mike Cubillos from Earshot Media was hired, providing PR for the label and its artists on a daily basis. Pierre-Luc Thiffault got on board to help with the digital releases and schedule. The label then welcomed renowned California quartet CHASER to its roster with whom they did 3 releases so far including their latest effort, Small Victories. Legendary Canadian unit Belvedere signed with Thousand Islands Records in 2020 for the release of their most recent album Hindsight Is The Sixth Sense, since a vinyl reissue of Revenge of The Fifth also saw light of day. Chicago vets Counterpunch joined the same year for a 7” release, followed by the Rewire album in 2022. The same year Thousand Islands Records teamed up for releases with Twenty2, A Vulture Wake, Sic Waiting, DARKO, Straightline and more.”
How did you and Cynthia manage with the increased workload?
“At some point it was chaotic, challenging but fun. We were entering our busiest era to date, we probably said YES to way too many bands (laughs). Mike joined our team and I couldn’t be more happy, there was no way we could still do (try to) our own PR with how busy our release schedule was. Mike has been and still is an important asset to this company, he is always available even for last minute stuff. Pierre-Luc works backstage uploading the digital releases, making sure everything is released smoothly, what he does takes a lot off Cynthia and I’s shoulders. Managing the singles releases from each band, trying not to clash with each other was a headache (laughs). Then we had to give each release its time in the spotlight on social media platforms as well, without posting too much and killing the algorithm, fun – fun – fun!”
It must have been tempting to prioritise the bigger acts, how did you maintain that commitment to the grassroots and local acts?
“During that peak era, one thing remained mandatory for the Thousand Islands Records crew; they had to stay available for their local artists/smaller acts. In between the releases mentioned above they were able to put on display releases from the likes of The Corps, Trashed Ambulance, The Speakeasy, No Real Hero, Handheld, Still Insane, Our Darkest Days, Winning Streak and Record Thieves just to name a few. It was a no-brainer, not a single release was moved to the back burner. If it was going to be a great couple of years for Thousand Islands Records, we wanted smaller guys to also benefit from it.”
You also seem to have shifted the focus to include a broader musical palette over the years
“The record label also used that momentum to expand its catalogue to acoustic-folk projects. Including releases from Scott Reynolds (ALL), Steve & Ginie Jackson, S/J, Jon Snodgrass, Steve Rawles, Walt Hamburger and most recently, Jessie James. Melodic/Skatepunk will always be our main niche, where it all began for us. But why stop there? I do appreciate folk/acoustic music and it’s not rare to see acoustic artists open for punk shows nowadays. It’s all connected in the end. We thought about doing a label imprint who could release the folk-ish projects, but this would have been a two-faced move from us, considering how inclusive the punk scene truly is and should be. So with that in mind we dropped the imprint idea to keep everyone, Punk & Folk, under Thousand Islands records, like a family living under the same roof.”
Tell me more about the Label’s commitment to the grassroots and local scene and you involvement in the Music 4 Cancer Festival
“The record label’s involvement toward the local scene goes beyond supporting the music releases, for the last few years Thousand Islands Records has been involved with the Music 4 Cancer festival by curating the after parties for the weekend. our house/HQ also becomes a Punk Rock Hostel for all their artists playing the annual event. Music 4 Cancer takes place 15 minutes away from the HQ. It’s basically in our backyard, our neighborhood. Helping them out has been a no-doubt decision as we all know someone who fought or is currently fighting Cancer. Jay and his team are working hard to build a killer edition year after year. Indeed our house gets packed with punks during that weekend. It gets messy in no time, there’s mattresses everywhere, luggages, stage gear and way too many shoes. It’s a way to help our out-of-state bands to save on lodging fees. Some of our bands also play Quebec City and Ottawa on that weekend and will come back to our place after the shows. It’s also fun to hang out obviously and a great way for some to be introduced to new labelmates.”
With a catalogue now including more than 150 releases ranging from Punk, Hardcore and Folk from artists around the world, a ‘The Sauce’ compilation plus a distro, how do you and Cynthia manage the demands of the label and home life?
“We never thought we’d still be doing this after 10 years. Cynthia and I are really grateful for all the artists who worked with us since the beginning, the handful of dedicated volunteers helping us out year-round, the medias and everyone who keeps supporting us. Yes the label grew in the past decade, but behind the curtains we’re still operating from our family home with half the basement serving as the HQ/warehouse. With both of us working full time jobs, the label stuff like mail orders, accounting, website updates etc… is all being done mostly at night. During the day we try to squeeze-in emails/chats and social media management while being at work. So it’s basically like having 2 full time jobs (with only one paying the bills, sadly). Last but not least, we need to be there for our 3 kids on top of everything. It’s really time consuming, some people might think we’re just packing a few orders here and there and sharing stuff on social media platforms but it’s so much more than that.
Any surprises for this anniversary year? Anything you can spill?
“Meh, I can’t spill anything but we’ll be partying with a first (of many?) 10-Year Rager show on March 28th at Les Foufounes Electriques, we have Belvedere flying in from Calgary for that show, supported by The Speakeasy, Killing Daisies, Curbside and Dutch Nuggets. Can’t wait for this one! As for album releases, we’re getting old and slowing down a notch (laughs). But we have a handful of solid releases coming up, so keep your eyes peeled for that. Tour-wise, many of our bands will be on the 123Punk Tour, The Corps just won’t stop touring, same with Belvedere and CHASER. Killing Daisies and Oh The Humanity are flying to Europe/UK for a string of festival appearances, while Straightline and Walt Hamburger are coming back to Canada! We recently announced a new “Saucy Since 2016” merch collection which is available to order now and will be available at our booth during festival season. Best is to stop by our website to check out our latest releases and sign up to our newsletter to stay in the loop. If you’re new to Thousand Islands Records, we have an awesome spotify sampler to help you discover our roster. Thank you all! “
That just leaves us to say a massive HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Thousand Island Records, I’ll be raising a glass to your first decade and we’ll be looking forward to sharing what’s to come.
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