Erin Kelly-Burkett: BIGSOUND Keynote On The Art Of Treating Bands With Respect

It's almost difficult to believe, but Kelly-Burkett formed the Fat Wreck Chords record label with her then-partner Michael 'Fat Mike' Burkett of NOFX fame way back in 1990, and it's still going just as strong as ever now. Their beginnings were very humble, their ambitions barely extending beyond helping a few friends' bands out, and looking back now Kelly-Burkett, speaking from her home in San Francisco, seems as surprised as anyone that their label has survived and thrived for almost three decades.

"We had our big 25th-year anniversary party, and I didn't even know it was our 25th anniversary until the beginning of that year and people started talking about a party, and I said, 'Oh crap, are we that old!'" she laughs.

"But yeah, Mike and I just put it together out of a mutual love of a certain genre of music," she continues. "Which was mainly pop punk. It was just us being fans, bands that we wanted to listen to, and it was really truly just a hobby, we did it for fun, we were both in college, and I honestly never thought I would be sitting here, about to fly to Australia 27 years later, and making a living off it, and having built this network and this family and this community."

She is more than pleased to note that running the label and dealing with the bands and everything that goes with it, is just as enjoyable now as it was in those heady early days. "It's just given me this really amazing life," she states. "I never thought it would, it was just fun for us. But the thing is, it's still is! If it wasn't still fun I wouldn't do it."

It gives her time to pause and reflect back on those times, the choices she faced and how lucky she was to find something she could do that she was really passionate about and even make a living off it. "I was going to go into public relations," Kelly-Burkett recalls. "I was working at the time, I was a creative writing major, at a high tech PR firm and I thought, 'I could do this.' I wasn't super-passionate about it, but at that time I just thought, 'I don't know how many people are actually really passionate about their job,' I just thought you need to find something that you like, and that pays the bills and that's good enough. If you've got a happy life, a happy family and good friends and all that, then who cares, that's enough.

"I never thought we would make money out of this, and I never thought it would have survived a divorce even. The fact that this label has sustained a divorce and we're still going strong, I mean, who does that!"

Another major hardship the label has survived is the well-documented massive downturn that the music and recording industry have suffered during that period. Again, Kelly-Burkett seems quite surprised that her organisation has come through these tough times so well.

"There were times when it looked bleak," she admits. "But we're still here and we're going strong! Sometimes I have to pinch myself, because I can't actually believe that we're still thriving and doing as well as we are, and having the opportunities that we're still getting with up and coming bands who are young and fresh and hungry.

"It means so much to me that these bands still put so much faith in us and trust us with their music. It's a gift, it's an honour."

She happily reveals something else that many fans of the labels and its bands might not know, something that is quite astonishing in the often cutthroat world of the music industry. "Bands like Lagwagon have been with us forever, from day one, without a contract," she says. "And they still come back and want to be with us. Again, it's an honour."

So that entire 28-odd year professional relationship has been done on a handshake? "I think we may possibly have had one contract, way back in the very beginning, but I have no idea where it is, it's long since lapsed, and every record since then has indeed been on a handshake.

"I think the reason we still thrive is that we do our best to be open and honest and fair, and treat our bands with respect and dignity and try to give them, as much as possible, to give them what they ask for instead of us telling them what to do, within reason of course. And I think that they value that."

Almost three decades into the fight, Kelly-Burkett still seems to be veritably overflowing with pep and enthusiasm for what she is doing, saying that she and the label still have plenty of juice left in the tank personally, creatively and motivationally, and feels that age is not wearying her to any great extent.

"I reckon I've got another ten years, maybe more," she states confidently. "It's weird because, as you age, and I'm not going to reveal exactly how old I am, but I'm a lot older than I thought I was going to be, ever. I remember when I was 15 I thought that 40 was just so old, but then as you age that number gets higher and higher. And you don't ever really feel your age, I mean I have a 13-year-old and sometimes I wonder where the adult is in the room, and I look around and go, 'It's me, I'm the one who's responsible for this.'

"So I would say at least another decade."