Today we’d like to introduce you to Frank Herbertson.
Hi Frank, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I moved to Austin in the late 80s when the city was still relatively small and “weird”. After a decade in the US military, mostly serving in Wiesbaden and doing little more than drinking bier and guarding pretzel stands, I decided to take advantage of the GI Bill and enroll at the University of Texas at Austin. I didn’t have any clear plan and changed my major more times than a chameleon changes colors in a paint factory. I started off as a history major specializing in Mesopotamian culture which rolled into philosophy and morphed into a brief stint in the theology department, went through an esoteric phase, got really deep into psychedelics, dropped out, lived with what I would call a “vestigial hippie commune” in Bastrop for 2 or 6 years, re-enrolled in UT to study neo-gothic architecture, switched to communication studies, then ceramics, culinary arts, and ultimately graduated with a BA in psychology. By then it was the mid 90s and I was moving between one meaningless job to another – dishwasher at Castle Hill Cafe, bouncer at Hole in the Wall, bartender at Antone’s. At the time, I didn’t have any interest in pursuing a career in psychology and my tastes leaned hard into the burgeoning music scene in Austin. My roommate Rick (Santos) along with drummer Lisa (Giddings) and I formed a band and started gigging around the city. We originally went by The Shrinky Finks and played mostly a blend of psychedelic garage rock that was already decades out of style. In ’96 we played this disastrous house party in Westlake, I think Gibby Haynes was there, and for lack of a better term – Rick caused a riot and trashed the place. The owner of the house was a popular unnamed concert promoter and he got us blacklisted in every club and venue from San Antonio to Dallas. This didn’t deter us for long and we simply booked shows under a different name every night – Stalactite, Dr Teal’s Epsom Salt, Felonious Monk, Towel the Band, Broken Escalators, Carbon Electra, Flood Advisory Board, Horn Swaggle and the Crabs, etc… By the year 2000 and disillusioned by the unfulfilled promises of Y2K mayhem, the “band” dissolved and we all went our separate ways. Around 2002, a wave of lysergic acid began flowing out of Canyon Lake from a character that looked suspiciously like Jerry Garcia and the next thing you know, there is a world wide pandemic and everybody is wearing bandanas over their mouths and spraying bleach on their groceries. I decided that this was as good a time as any to start a record label, called Herby Records, and began pressing super small quantities of records by friends and acquaintances locally and globally. We have worked with many fine musicians in the genres of psych, kraut, surf, doom, drone, and punk from the UK, Poland, Germany, and local Texas acts including The Foodstamps, The Sun is on Fire, China Shop Matadors, Lord of Slumber, and Wild Bill. My team and I have since released 90 records and plan on hanging it up once we reach 100.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s definitely been a blurry and pot-holed road but aren’t they all? I think one of the biggest struggles was finding the right audience. We are producing highly weird and obscure underground music that has a niche but dedicated following. Luckily, as the pandemic multiplied the amount of time that individuals spent online and on social media, we were able to connect to a worldwide network of weirdos and outcasts that find solace in strange and unusual music in a physical format. We have a small but loyal base of fans that will purchase most of our releases – or at least specific genres. Of course, every release has been a financial loss for Herby Records but integrity over notoriety; madness over sobriety. I would rather release an awesome record that nobody will buy than a garbage pop record and sell millions of copies. I probably should have studied business at UT instead of a bunch of liberal arts but “c’est la vie!” We also dabble in bootlegs, also for a financial loss, and tend to have better luck selling those IRL when setting up a merch table at various types of events. People are obviously much more inclined to buy a record with a name they recognize rather than someone they have never heard of. I remember once a few years ago being set up at a vintage market on the Eastside with all my records and someone yelling, “Hey, you got any Neil Young?!” I was about to reply “hell no”, not because I don’t like Neil Young but because he is famously anti-bootlegger and I wouldn’t mess with that. I looked over to see that it was the godfather of grunge himself grinning like an opium addict and just clowning people. I told him that I certainly did not. He bought a green fur coat from an adjacent booth and walked straight into I-35 traffic. The cars parted like the red sea and he was gone.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Herby Records?
One thing that sets Herby Records apart from other labels is the sheer volume of records we have released in just over 6 years. We released 22 records in 2025 alone – almost 2 records a month! Our goal of 100 records in 10 years has been inconsistent to say the least, but is completely on course to be finished by 2030. I am proud of the entire project and the service and promotion we have provided for so many underground bands and musicians. The culmination of Herby Records will manifest as a hardcover book the size of a vinyl box set, include a double 10″ compilation album, and tell that tale that is Herby Records in great detail from the beginning to the end. In this digital age, I still stand behind the superiority and longevity of physical media.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
For individuals that may be interested in starting their own record label, I would recommend having low expectations and be prepared to lose money. While I chose to cast a wide net and produce and promote lots of diverse musicians from around the world, it probably makes more sense to focus on one or two local bands and promote the hell out of them. Records and merch sells a lot better at live shows than it does on the internet. Know your fanbase and don’t be afraid to offend people. Art and music are inseparable from politics and it’s no wonder that the right is anti-art, doesn’t understand or support real music, and deliberately destroys the education system.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://herbyrecords.bandcamp.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbyrecords/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/herbyrecords/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@herbyrecords
