Greg Ginn

The REM and Nirvana successes don't mean much to me except as a potential distraction for bands who want to cash in on the trend. Don't try to sound like someone else. REM and Nirvana don't sound like anyone else.

I listen to everything that comes in. I'm not real worried about demo sound quality. I can hear through that sort of thing. If a band can play, then they can play.

If people are really excited about their music, and that's their primary motivation, then that comes through in demo tapes. That's the most important ingredient.

Putting out the things that I like best hasn't been the easiest way to run a label, and it still isn't because it requires finding an audience for each record.

You have to keep the business side together as well as the creative side. We have constantly surprised people and stayed with bands until they have grown on people.

The Minutemen were seen as more of an art thing than Black Flag, although I didn't see them that way. It confused people when we put out Saccharine Trust, too.

It took us two years to get our first real gig. That was a big dream. We ended up booking a lot of our own gigs and putting on a lot of our own shows. We were trying to get our actual music across, trying to make a connection there.

We're not good at propping up old carcasses. We want to be on top of what's vital at any particular time, and not just hold onto something because it has a name.

Most good things happen with time; especially music, which needs time to breathe and to find its own way.

There aren't enough people who are scaring the kind of people who work at these record companies.

The English scene got more media attention with their emphasis on fashion, with the safety pins and all. There were some really good bands over there. The Sex Pistols were great.