Celebrate 10 Years of No Time Records at No Time For Fun Fest 2024
Tommy Smith and Fern Aguilar- Courtesy of No Time Records
This month marks 10 years since Tommy Smith started No Time Records to release some of their friends’ and their own music. A decade later, the label is averaging 40 releases a year, working with bands from around the world, and most importantly, still managing to have fun. No Time will be celebrating their 10 year anniversary with a festival at 1720 Warehouse in Los Angeles on July 27, and a Pre-Fest show at Programme Skate & Sound in Fullerton the night before. They’ll also be releasing a compilation album on cassette and vinyl.
Smith originally started No Time Records with their longtime best friend, Fern Aguilar, to release a split of their two musical projects at the time, High Tension and Insomniac Collective. In 2020, Aguilar left to start his own label, Stay Tough, although the two have remained close friends, helping with each other's shows and labels, and playing in Orange County “anti-ska” band, Corrupt Vision, together.
While No Time Records is the biggest and busiest it’s ever been, it’s essentially a solo operation. It’s difficult to imagine how Smith manages to juggle releasing records, booking shows, and touring with their bands, Corrupt Vision and Daunted. “It’s insane. It doesn’t end. I think it’s gotten crazier and crazier every year. I’m in over my head at this point. I’m at peak No Time. I can’t do it anymore. Tell people not to hit me up,” Smith laughs, “It’s a labor of love, for sure.”
It’s impossible to name the “best releases” on No Time Records. Their roster is diverse and constantly evolving. However, here are a few albums that mark various turning points in the label’s history:
Courtesy of No Time Records
High Tension / The Insomniac Collective Split [NTR 001]
This split single is the release that started it all. These are a couple of Aguilar and Smith’s earliest projects, which contain traces of what would later evolve into Corrupt Vision’s “anti-ska” sound, along with a whole lotta angst.
Courtesy of No Time Records
SiBANNÄC - Controversial NonCommercial [NTR 017]
Released in 2016, this album offers a solid blend of hardcore and ska. It also played a huge part in No Time’s early years. “That was the beginning of No Time putting out cassettes, which is basically what we’re known for at this point,” Smith says.
Courtesy of No Time Records
Groin - S/T 7” [NTR 344]
Hailing from Arizona, Groin are masters of chaos. They hit tight starts and stops in the midst of blistering blast beats and sinister riffs. “That was the first release on vinyl that I ever fully funded by myself,” Smith explains. “That was a big moment for me. It was the first No Time vinyl release that wasn’t co-released with 6 or 7 other labels. It was just me putting my full weight behind it and I have not regretted it. The record has done very well and the band has done very well, so i’m very proud of them.”
Courtesy of No Time Records
No Time For Fun Vol. 10 [NTR 410]
Every year, around No Time For Fun Fest, No Time releases an accompanying compilation album. “They are great bookends to the year. They cover what the label did that year and what’s coming ahead,” Smith says. “It’s interesting seeing how those have changed over the last decade.” This year’s compilation features live, rare, and unreleased tracks from the likes of The Stupid Stupid Henchmen, Sordo, Holy Grinder, Disparo!, and Hong Kong Fuck You, to name a few. Pre-orders for vinyl and cassette copies are available now!
Christian Hell, the crazed mastermind behind Hong Kong Fuck You (a project that puts every band whose sound has been described as “pummeling” to shame), has been working with No Time Records since 2020. “I’d rather not work with anyone else,” Hell says. “We’ve maintained a pure DIY ethic the whole time, whilst still coming up with the dumbest ideas humanely possible that have been nothing but a fun success.” HKFY will be touring the United States this summer.
It’s clear that Smith is proud of the No Time discography, which spans grind, ska, folk punk, metal, hip hop, and some spaces in between. “It’s a very eclectic mix,” Smith admits, “but at the same time, it’s all music that I enjoy and I’m doing this with my friends. That is more important to me than anything else.”
Courtesy of No Time Records
The No Time For Fun Pre-Fest will take place at Programme Skate & Sound in Fullerton, California, on July 26. The lineup will feature Se Vende, Lo-Cash Ninjas, Big Brother, and Smith and Aguilar’s band, Corrupt Vision.
No Time For Fun Fest will be the next day, July 27, at 1720 Warehouse in Los Angeles. World Peace, Magnum Force, Sniping Pigs, Presser, and Tension are among the many bands listed on the bill. No Time is bringing artists together from all over North America for this show- don’t miss it.
Tickets are available at
NoTimeRecords.com/Fest
Courtesy of No Time Records
If you can’t make it to No Time For Fun Fest, check out the hundreds of releases on No Time’s website. Chances are that you’ll find something up your alley. As for Smith, they plan to keep releasing music they believe in through No Time Records. “It’s just me figuring this out as I go,” they say. “I didn’t read a book, there’s no real guide on how to do this. Everything I’ve done is self-taught. And I’m not completely broke, so…”
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