If you look at a map of Kentucky, you’ll have a hard time finding Dundee. It’s an unincorporated township wedged between Owensboro and Bowling Green. Hell, even if you’re driving down highway 69, you will likely miss it as you drive through it. With its population dwindling to less than 90 people, its only convenience is a now rundown gas station. Nowadays, even the churches are having trouble staying open.
The quiet of this rural community began to be interrupted on a cold winter day - January 21st, 2006.
Before there was West Riff Records, there was Infection Records. Two middle-school kids in Dundee fell in love with now-kitschy 90’s skate punk and decided, against common sense, to pick up guitar and bass and play some of that themselves. After not quite enough wood-shopping their instruments for about a year, there came Infection Records #001 - Sourgrass93 - “Goes To Stimpyville”.
After excreting this mess, INFECTION RECORDS went out to put out a cacophony of little “albums” made by a small circle of friends throughout the rest of the 2000’s.
For a few years in this small town, you could hear the howling and feedback and snarling of these little punk bands, blasting away in garages and in backyards, at birthday parties in muddy fields or community-center rental buildings, school cafeterias and in some cases - alternative school bathrooms.
In a foggy way, I can remember an old notion that these types of lo-fi, punk rock albums were produced to be an antithesis of the daddy’s-boy metalcore albums coming out of the nearby Owensboro scene at that time.
Inability to play, mix, record, or produce an album didn’t stop these efforts.
These weirdos/nerds/geeks/freaks just wanted to rock.
Now, West Riff Records carries on and even adopts the vision and canon of this insignificant, inside-joke of a record label - but now in Nashville.
Much love.