This is an interview I’ve (Mike Thorn, Razorblades And Aspirin) been meaning to do for a minute – we get into it off the bat but, for me, Persistent Vision is a record label which manifests a lot of my beliefs around punk and how its not how you look or what you sound like but how you do it that matters. One of my favorite things about their releases is the total deconstruction of what is “punk,” mixing it up, and putting it back together again to create newer and compelling forms of art and music. It’s all one beautiful sonic landscape of noise, not music. There is a taking from the past and expanding on it which is so important, at least in my mind, for the continued vibrancy of this scene and culture. So, l like I said prior, I’ve been meaning to do this interview for bit and with their upcoming Dark Days, Bright Nights festival (13th-15th September) here in Richmond, I figured it was an opportune time to speak with label maestro, Paul Hansbarger.

Persistent Vision feels like a label rooted in the late 90s/early 00s DIY scene – leaning more into the Ebullition/HeartAttack side of things. Am I crazy about this assumption? Can you talk a bit about the label’s origin? 

That is very flattering to hear. I’m definitely an Ebullition fan and have been for a good chunk of my life. Since I first dove head first into hardcore and punk in my early teens, I wound up gravitating toward Ebullition and HeartAttack. HeartAttack and Slug & Lettuce (the long running newsprint zine by Richmond photographer Chris Boarts Larson) were the first two real zines I ever got my hands on as a teenager in the mid to late 90s, growing up in a rural Virginia small town. I ended up moving to Richmond to attend VCU around 2000 and instantly fell into the scene here that really embodied that HeartAttack/Ebullition vibe.

Persistent Vision isn’t my first time doing a label. In 2002, I started a label, Perpetual Motion Machine, with a few friends. We started with the Pageninetynine and Circle Take The Square split 7” and ended up doing around 30 releases over the course of about ten years. My last few releases were for Kowloon Walled City, Thou, and Get Rad, and I stopped around 2012, taking a break from releasing records for another ten years.

In late 2022 and into early 2023, I started thinking about releasing music again, and reached out to my old friend Mike Taylor about some of his bands’ material, initially Pygmy Lush. We’d been in touch and would see each other over the years through doing shows for Pygmy Lush, the early Pageninetynine reunions, and just bumping into each other here and there. That initial inquiry into Pygmy Lush evolved into a conversation about reissuing Pageninetynine’s Document #8 and Document #14 (their Singles Collection), to coincide with a series of reunion shows they were doing last summer. Both of those releases were on Robodog / Robotic Empire, but hadn’t been kept in print and after reaching out to Lindsey who currently runs it, they were okay with it finding a new home. Instead of picking up where I left off with my old label, I decided to start a new label, a fresh start with a new name.

Persistent Vision came from the Rites of Spring song, which I thought was a perfect name for an old dude doing a label a second time around. My old label was somewhat inspired by a Nation of Ulysses song, so another Dischord reference seemed to be fitting. Originally, I considered the possibility of being a reissue-only label, but didn’t want to feel too limited or too stuck in the past. I like the idea of doing a label that has one foot in the present and one foot in the past, able to release music from older bands and reissues, as well as younger, contemporary bands.

What about that era of punk resonates with you? How do you feel it connects to the current era?

I have a lot of love for what I think of as more traditional hardcore – Minor Threat, Black Flag, Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today, etc – it’s what got me into it all of this in the first place but there was always something about that Ebullition style that really grabbed me. Not to throw shade on bands of the time, but the 90s’ hardcore scene that I experienced early on was a little too macho for me. I was a nerd, an art class kid that kinda kept to myself, and was somewhat of an outsider growing up. That wasn’t me. All of that shared a little too much in common with the jocks that I despised and was looking for an escape from. The Ebullition side of things seemed more of a place for the freaks and weirdos of hardcore.

Another aspect I have always appreciated is how DIY and hands-on it is. It felt a lot more within my grasp and doable. Like I could see myself being in one of those bands, putting out those records, or writing and laying out a zine. I missed out on that golden era of Ebullition, Gravity, Prank with bands like Portraits of Past, Torches to Rome, Los Crudos, His Hero Is Gone, In/Humanity, etc. But I was able to see another wave of bands that seemed to be cut from the same cloth – Reversal of Man, Kill the Man Who Questions, Orchid, Majority Rule, Planes Mistaken For Stars, Tragedy, and so on. Seeing bands like these in VFW halls, living rooms and basements, broke down that barrier of fan and band – it really personalized it for me, I felt like I could do it myself. That spirit still lives on today, in many of the bands I love and in those I’ve had the opportunity to work with.

What is the connective tissue to the band’s/projects you’ve released? 

The Pageninetynine stuff was something I was already very close with, people I know, and have some history with. More recently I reconnected with some friends from Italy, Raein, that shared a member with a band La Quiete that I had done a release for on my old label. I just reissued one of their old albums and a collection of out of print splits and 7”s they did in the early 2000s. Beyond that, it has primarily been bands playing within the same scene, more or less, that have come onto my radar or I’ve crossed paths with in some way or another. The younger bands such as Habak, Massa Nera, and Blind Girls, I think are the torchbearers of some of that old familiar sound, adding their own experiences and context to it. There’s definitely a community that exists with many of these bands and a shared lineage that connects each of them in some way or another. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to work with such a diverse group of people that have allowed me to have a hand in helping release their music and let an old guy be a part of their community.

How does that connect to the Dark Days, Bright Nights Fest? What was the impetus for doing the festival?

We didn’t really set out to do a festival. Initially it began out of a desire to bring the bands on the label together for a special evening of music, one big show. With Pageninetynine already on board to play, I asked Mike (Taylor) if he’d be interested in helping with curating a few additional bands beyond the label. As we compared our wish lists and started brainstorming up potential ideas and line-ups, that list quickly snowballed and evolved to a bigger weekend of shows. We included a mix of old friends of mine and his, such as Nø Man, Thou, Portrayal of Guilt, Young Widows, and Kowloon Walled City. There are a few reunions as well, including Pygmy Lush who haven’t played a show in seven years, a reunion from Kilara (the 90s Virginia band, with members of Avail, City of Caterpillar/Pg.99, and Alabama Thunderpussy), and The Red Scare, the late 90s / early 00s Knoxville, TN band who I have absolutely loved for years and never got a chance to see. We tried to include a cross section of both local and up and coming younger bands as well, some connected to the label and some that aren’t, but that we felt really captured the DIY spirit of what we’re after. It’s a wildly eclectic, mixed bill with something for everyone – chaotic hardcore, crust, sludge, doom, noise rock, and a little of everything in between.

Richmond has a rather massive punk/underground culture – especially for a city of this size. Can you speak to this and how you see this fest and your label fitting into that? 

Richmond has an incredibly vibrant and prolific scene for punk, hardcore, and other underground music. There’s no question about that. Any given night there are multiple shows going down, tons of great local bands on the bill, at a variety of venues, including houses and warehouse shows. I’ve been going to shows here since 2000 and have experienced a few eras of punk/hc/underground music here. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed such a wildly active, diverse, and supportive scene as it is now, even with its own splintered niches and micro scenes within it.

I do feel like there has been a bit of absence of a fest here in Richmond for a while, and we wanted a way to showcase many of the amazing bands from here, alongside a curated line-up of out of town bands. We wanted some of the DIY spirit of the house and basement shows that have been such a big part of our lives, but presented on a slightly bigger stage that could accommodate out of town visitors, not have the anxiety of it getting shut down, and have an opportunity to share a bit of a Richmond experience with our out of town friends. I hope that we can achieve that with what we’re doing.

Regarding the label, I’ve also done releases with a few bands from here including Prisoner, Private Hell, and Vigil and I guess you could sort of include Pageninetynine in there. But I also have gotten the chance to work with bands from all over the globe. Maybe it’s the possibility of sharing a little of Richmond with the rest of the world, and bringing some of that back to Richmond?

Can you chat a bit about why you think it has been this fertile place for underground/punk for so long? Do you feel that is changing – be it getting better or worse?

I don’t know if I’m the right person to answer that question, since my time here doesn’t predate 2000 and I don’t know if I have the knowledge to provide the right context. But I do agree it has been a hotbed for punk and underground music for as long as I can remember. Coming up I heard the lore of early Avail, Young Pioneers, Hose.Got.Cable., Kilara, Action Patrol, Inquisition, and so many other bands of the 90s. Then got to experience first hand bands like Strike Anywhere, Count Me Out, Light The Fuse and Run, Municipal Waste, City of Caterpillar, Government Warning, and many others. It’s been a place for outsiders to make music and exist in a generally very supportive, positive community. My experience is that there’s always been a bit of crossover between genres and scenes, mixed bill shows, and that’s something that is always cool to see and I feel like that makes it even more unique. I think the scene itself is continually changing for the better and continues to evolve.

That said, I do have concerns about the city itself being increasingly an unsustainable place to live for both young and older punk/hardcore kids, artists and outsiders already living on the fringe. As I see many of my friends getting older and encountering challenges with health issues, employment, and the cost of living – that’s something I think about and worry about. I wonder how that will impact the city in the years to come. You look at cities like Austin, Asheville, Oakland, the list goes on, that have long been crucial places for punk and underground music, and yet they are becoming more and more impossible to survive in.

Tell me about the artists you are most excited about currently – both at the upcoming festival as well as in Richmond in general.

There’s so many bands I am excited for from the fest lineup. It’s hard to pick favorites but I’m definitely looking forward to sets from Habak, Pygmy Lush, Kowloon Walled City, Rid of Me, Thou, Soul Glo, Glassing, Infant Island, Fórn and The Red Scare. In terms of Richmond bands playing I’m looking forward to Kilara, Inter Arma, Prisoner, Private Hell, .GIF From God, Listless, and Northeast Regional. In general, Richmond has so many incredible bands right now coming from every corner of punk/hc. There are too many to name but some of my other current favorites include Killing Pace, Ostraca, Division of Mind, Richmond Vampire, Terror Cell, Public Acid, Suppression, and The Barbed Wires.

Anything you’d like to add?

Thank you for inviting me to talk a little bit about the fest and label. Thank you to everyone that is supporting what we’re doing, and being patient with us. It has been a learning process and I have a lot of respect for people that have been in our shoes.

Finally, thank you Mike, for continuing to support, write about, photograph and document DIY punk/underground music and culture. You are doing really meaningful work and I want you to know that we don’t take it for granted.

This interview was first published by, and all photos are courtesy of, Mike Thorn of Razorblades And Aspirin.  To find out more: