Ralph Rivera is a pretty unassuming-looking dude. Clean-cut, lean, and amiable, it’s hard to imagine him feverishly roaming humid, dank basements and ramshackle DIY spaces while screaming bloody murder into a microphone. But as the front man for now-defunct Chicago hardcore-punk champs Raw Nerve, Rivera has torn through countless sets filled with minute-long, thrashed-out ragers and sweaty-gross kids climbing over and bashing into one another. The added bonus following each set? Rivera hawked tapes (and a little vinyl) that capture the region’s alive-and-well hardcore-punk scene.
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Not Normal Tapes began in 2008 as a way for Rivera, 23, to rerelease a couple of demos by his old band, Cold Shoulder. Along with his girlfriend, Raven DiMichele, 22, Rivera has since dropped 15 releases—the seventh being his zine, Dead Possession. The pair has an admitted bias toward the midwest, repping not-so-household names like RazorXFade, Pukeoid, Guinea Kid, the Outs, and Poison Planet, which Rivera plays bass in.
Explore the roots of three other local labels (and give them a listen): »HoZac: The former zine that spawned the Blackout Fest and a healthy catalog of rock ‘n’ roll, garage, and scuzz »Chocolate Industries: An early education in IDM fuses hip-hop, rock, and soul »Peira: Forget turntables and a mike—how about three bass clarinets and a modular synthesizer?
The minds behind Drag City, Thrill Jockey, and more explain, “This is how I’d run a label”: »Dan Koretzky, Drag City »Bettina Richards, Thrill Jockey »Matt Clark, Tic Tac Totally Records »Michael Frank, Earwig »Plus, a whole bunch more
A self-proclaimed weirdo from Lansing, Illinois, Rivera has probably spun the Flex Your Head and Cleanse the Bacteria old-school hardcore-punk comps more times than you’ve blinked. It’s the diehard DIY-ness of bands from the comps like Minor Threat, Teen Idles, and 7 Seconds that he ultimately infuses into Not Normal—a label whose name is not only a blatant sneer at conformity but also the title of an SSD song.
Basically, they expect hardcore punk for the hardcore punk—and no racist, sexist, or homophobic bullshit.
