Everything you ever wanted to know about Nice Guy Records and Jamie Mandel (updated 5/03)

Nice Guy began in 1999 with a little money I saved up by working at a fruit & vegetable market. At the time it was just a way for me to put out CDs by my own band, The Scrubs. I also put on a lot of shows in the Cincinnati area, so it was handy to have a name to tie it all together. I never dreamed it would amount to what it has. I put out a few DIY CDs for my friends' bands, but the catalyst that made this into a real business was when I released the Bottom Line EP in 2000. I realized then that if a band works really hard and a label works really hard too, people actually buy CDs. I also realized it was a whole lot of fun!

Since then, I have released three compilation CDs and some albums by some other hard working, talented bands who all vary in style as much as my musical taste varies. I even had the privelege of putting out a CD for pop punk legends The Travoltas! Our reach has expanded to four continents and we are growing rapidly. We're even finding our way into the chain stores now. The label now occupies all of my time and money, and I've had to solve problems I never imagined I would encounter, but I still love doing it. I run the company mostly myself, with some help from a handful of interns and an awesome street team who help me more than they know. We are very serious about what we do, but we are not a huge company and I see no reason to pretend it is. If you send an email to Nice Guy Records, you will likely get a response back from the head of the company. You may notice that I use the pronoun "we" in reference to the label. This is because I prefer to think of Nice Guy not as a company but more like a family (as cliche as that sounds, it's true).

I am inspired by other record labels like Asian Man, Sub City, Springman, Suburban Home, and Lobster that put out quality music and keep a very personal connection to their customers. This is what punk rock is all about. I believe in the importance of running a business ethically, even if the profits are not as high, and working with other independent businesses (manufacturers, distributors, zines, labels, bands, etc.) whom I feel share this sentiment. I do not believe in a corporate greed model that involves abusing people and the Earth in order to make huge profits and then donating some of these profits to charity. That just doesn't make sense. We also choose not to work with any artists whom we feel are sexist, racist,or homophobic.

I consider myself an activist for a plethora of causes, including but not limited to peace and justice, political action, nonviolence, and the resistance of corporate globalization, extreme commercialism, and over-consumption. I feel that an important part of punk rock is getting involved in things that interest you and trying to make a difference in your community in whatever way suits you best. I love to discuss these things, so feel free to email me your thoughts on any of them.

In fact, in general I love exchanging letters and emails and meeting in person the people who buy our records. I learn so much from you all! If the personal connection to music fans was not there, I would stop running the company right away. We have signed a couple of our artists through demo submissions, but the final decision is always based on the vibe I get from them as people.

Our mission is to expose the punk music-loving world to awesome, unique artists and to have fun while doing so!

Related links:
CiNWeekly cover story 1/7/04
Citybeat article/interview 12/19/02
Sleepforever interview (2002)
Cincinnati Magazine: Creative Class (May 2003)