Three One G (31G) / Justin Pearson Interview

If Eddie Haskell had lived next door to Slayer instead of the Cleavers, he might have ended up like The Locust’s Justin Pearson – “From The Graveyard Of Arousal Industry” book keynote

What’s in a name? What’s the story/inspiration behind the name 31G?
JP: What’s in a name? Or what’s in the name, Three One G? I think every entity gets names for various reasons. With Three One G, it was circumstance, and timing really. At the time I started the label, I was dealing with issues releasing the S/T Swing Kids 7” on Kidney Room. It just so happened that at this time, we were considering taking the record band and releasing it elsewhere. My initial thoughts on working with smaller labels were, that the ones I had dealt with all needed to pull it together. They were, for the most part, a mess, not honest, and not something we wanted to deal with. I though, I can do that bad of a job, if not better. So I decided to start my own label. The name comes from the chorus of a Joy Division song, which Swing Kids covered on our 7”EP. So for this situation, naming a label I was about to start, it just happened to be circumstance and timing.  The Swing Kids EP ended up being Three One G #2.
What are some of the biggest challenges of running a small/indie label?
JP: For Three One G, its financial survival. Hands down, the biggest challenge. At this point, it’s a labor of love, and I work other jobs to run Three One G. I think marketing and publicity come second hand, but still fall under the general umbrella of financial struggle.
Any particular labels that served as an influence / role models for 31G?
JP: Ethically I’d have to say Discord. And Artistically I’d say Gravity. Over time, GSL fell into both the influence and inspiration categories just from working so closely with that label.
So far, you released two tribute albums – one for Queen (Dynamite With A Laserbeam) and the other one is for Birthday Party (Release The Bats).
Any plans for more/similar tribute compilations?
JP: There has been talk about anything from PIL to Skrewdriver (done entirely in acoustic Spanish). But it takes a lot of thought and time to put together the right tribute compilation. Not to suck my own dick, but I think the two that we have released are pretty solid, in consideration to what Three One G is.
What do you look for in bands/artists that you would like to sign?
JP: We don’t really “sign” bands like people would think. There is never a contract binding a band or artist to our label for more than one album. If they decide to do more than one, then that is a mutual decision that was added without any pressure at all. But as for as what we look for in bands we work with, the main thing is that we know the band on a personal level. To us, this is family, it’s a musical community that serves more than the purpose of releasing music that we line. In our opinion, what Three One G is crosses musical boundaries, and even artistic boundaries. It stretches beyond the basic ideas of a record label. I suppose that attributes back to how labels like Discord only releases DC bands, or how Gravity was so incestuous.