Interview: Pushing Play With Impetus Records

( Impetus Records label owners Diego Romero-Aros and Liv Forney)

When the general population thinks of music hot spots, their mind often travels to destinations like Nashville, New York, or California. Although Delaware has proven time and time again with artists like blues musician George Thorogood, country music star Jimmie Allen, and now pop princess Olivia Rubini, that it can be a destination for musical entertainment, it is still overlooked. For the better part of a decade Wilmington Indie label Impetus Records has been doing their part to change that. We sat down with co-owners Diego Romero-Aros and Liv Forney to hear their story and get the scoop on what's coming next.

Where are you from originally and where do you currently live? 

Diego Romero-Aros: I was born in Newark, DE and live at Impetus House in Claymont. Truly Delaware born and bred. My parents are both from Chile though.

Liv Forney: I grew up in Elkton, MD. I currently live in Wilmington.

What are your pronouns?

Diego: I have a lot of thoughts regarding my pronouns, but he/him is fine for now.

Liv: They/she

What was your introduction to the Delaware music scene?

Diego: I started getting involved in the punk scene when I was 17 in my band Paint The Sun, circa 2015. We weren't able to play any shows at the bars and so we had to start booking shows by ourselves. That led to us having our own little scene that later came to include a lot of people from the UD college scene. Early bands like The Subterraneans, Shooting Shark, and Anatomy of an Outcast were early friends and freaks like us.

Liv: I was a freshman at UD when I wandered into the basement of The Temple, a long running Newark house venue, for the first time. The rest is history. I quickly became ingrained in the DIY music community and that's how I met Diego and many of the people whose music Impetus puts out.

What inspired you to start a music label? 

Diego: The shared feeling that we all had around 2017 was that no one really cared outside of our city about the music we were making, but that it was probably because we had little outreach letting anyone know that there was anything to watch out for. Additionally, all of those early bands like Paint The Sun and the Subterraneans had broken up, but we really wanted to see releases from these bands that were so formative to us. 

We decided that we'd put those records out and gauge interest. Thankfully we had some, and by the time we were putting these out the scene had grown significantly and we were all in new bands, so we decided to keep the thing going.

Where did the name Impetus Records come from?

Diego: When the label was starting, we were really happy that it felt like things in the scene were growing, and that maybe we could help bands a little more press and play. The name Impetus just came from that idea that we could help provide the push we wanted to see for the scene as far as wider reach.

What are some of the daily/routine things you do to help your artists?

Diego: We maintain an ongoing list of places for press and radio, so when it comes time to release something we have a huge list of places to reach out to. It's very easy for it to get out of date, as publications like zines and blogs will close, ADs and connections leave radio stations, etc. So that takes up a decent portion of our work.

Besides that we handle distribution, mail order and manufacturing for our records. That means we are pretty consistently in communications with record shops and smaller distributors in the country and in the EU to get our bands' music out there.

What have been some of the most rewarding moments of running Impetus Records?

Diego: Well, paying royalties for one is a huge thing for me at least. It's a shame to see how many bands get screwed over by inconsistent or late payments, even by smaller labels. When we first started, we couldn't afford to give bands royalties. The bands knew this of course and were really supportive of us. Everyone understood that the label was kind of like an investment in a way. The idea that by helping to prop us up early on we were able to secure a better standing down the road. So that was a pretty pivotal moment, when we started being able to give bands their fair share. We do a 50/50 profit split.

Besides that, we genuinely like handling our mail order. {I} try to write notes to everyone who buys something - an update on a band, asking if there's any shops in their area we should look to sell to, that kind of stuff. It's nice to feel like we're getting to actually know some people in the larger punk network. 

What have been some of your biggest challenges?

Diego: We're a small operation. Oftentimes it is just the two of us (Diego & Liv) running the show, so we've got a lot of work on our plate. On top of that, we don't personally take any income from this so we both have our other jobs. Our friend Athena from Graver's Lane & Lonely Bird Records helps us out with social media, and we have a few folks who help us with the odd task here or there, which we're very grateful for. 

(Impetus Records band Think Machine)

What sets Impetus Records apart from other indie labels?

Diego: We are one of the only labels based out of Delaware, and working exclusively with Delaware bands, we've been able to help boost the profile of some DE bands that otherwise might not get more press. We pride ourselves on being friends with our bands well before we actually work with them in any official capacity, so we really get to know them and see if they would be a good fit with us. We really try to champion the scene here, so even with our mail orders I try to toss in a copy of zine made here, like Against The Machine or an interview zine Liv does.

We also work as hard as we can to keep our prices down. For example, most independent labels charge $20 for an LP, which is pretty affordable considering the price of vinyl, but we try to keep ours at $15 max. 

What will the funds for the Kickstarter be used for?

Diego: The Kickstarter is actually being used to help fund the special projects we're making specifically for it. Things like new posters and t-shirts, a book that compiles every issue of the punk zine DisturbancE which documented the local scene from 2017 to 2020, and a special compilation CD that's going to compile a bunch of tracks from Impetus bands that haven't been released. Some will be alternative takes of songs, demos, live recordings, or even an unreleased song. We're very excited about all this and can't wait to get them into people's hands.

We're not in dangerous need of any cash or anything like that - this isn't a save-the-label type of fund. But because cash is always a little tight, we frequently can't work on putting out things like these extra projects. To do so would mean choosing between either putting out a record or paying for one of these on their own. So it's nice to be able to generate the sales for us to get them all out at once.

What can readers look forward to in the future from Impetus Records?

Diego: We've got a whole mess of records either in the works or waiting to see the light of day. Records from QuickChange!, [my] old band Kindred, hopefully Kobika one day, and maybe a few other secret releases we aren't totally ready to mention just yet. 

Beyond that, we have been taking a break from putting on any shows but I think we may be resuming that soon. Time will have to tell!

Visit impetusrecords.com to keep up with new releases from Impetus Records and support them when their kickstarter goes live on June 28.