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R.I.P. 1983-2000

"eclipse of the moon"

Eighteen years ago, in 1983, Moon Records set out (initially as Icebear), to press and distribute Ska in the Usa. Since that time we have seen a phenomenal surge in popularity of the music we loved, metamorphs of which attracted more fans than ever before. Many of these new fans were able to discover the roots and culture of a musical style that reached back over forty years, and was in effect, one of the last unexploited styles of true indie music.

But as popularity waxed, so also has it waned, and with an ebbtide of a proporton that none could have forseen. The spotlght, for whatever reason we might speculate, has moved on. Fans and even bands have surged off to the next trend of the week. Regrettably insufficient support now remains to preserve the status quo. Against this backdrop I have decided to close the doors at Moon Records and concentrate on my own band, The Toasters..

This has been a tough decision to make, since one would always like to optimistically believe that an uptick is just around the corner. However a reality of circumstance, both financial and personal, has rendered it impossible to continue. This is a bad time for indie music and indie distribution in particular. Distributor failure, massive product returns, vanishing bands and evaporating sales have created a tsunami overwhelming cash flow and rendering further business operations impossible. On a personal level I have discovered the bitterest truth that there is no such thing as a friend in the music business. Personal and financial betrayals, have undermined my will to carry on.

There are, however, no regrets. We are grateful for having had the honour to support ska music and to release so many great artists. We have been lucky to have worked with so many dedicated people who did so much to keep the scene alive in the really dark days. Whereas it is easy to second guess, we always believed that we were the little label that could. We took a shot at taking Ska music to the next level and fell just short of the touchline. There are detractors - it's a free world, you can say what you like - but Moon always reserved the right to put out records for bands we admired, and for hardworking bands that we felt deserved a shot on account of their hard work. It was never about being trendy, it was about loving what we did. It was never about the money, we turned down lucrative deals from major labels on more than one occasion because we simply didn't see anyone in those organizations who really cared about the music. They were just looking at the dollars and we felt that would have been a disservice. The record will show that we tried our best and we will always be proud of that.

No cloud is, however, without a silver lining. there remain many quality bands who, I trust, will persevere. And perhaps there is yet a new label to rise from the ashes in the tradition of this great music and carry Ska forward into the dawning of a new era.

Thanks for all the support through the years, we couldn't have done it without you Bucket new york december 17th, 2000