Few people have made as big an impact on the DIY music community as Mike Park. Playing in bands like Skankin’ Pickle and The Chinkees, his music has been both widely enjoyed and hugely influential for ska from the ’90s to today. But in addition to his own music, Park has also had a big influence on the scene by helping other bands get their start. He founded Dill Records and eventually Asian Man Records in the ’90s. Over the past 24 years, Asian Man has been a home and sometimes a launching pad for many seminal punk and ska bands, from The Alkaline Trio, to Less Than Jake, to Bomb! the Music Industry, to AJJ and countless others. In 2011, he even founded an offshoot of the label called Fun Fun Records to release children’s music, like the Minnesota dance-pop duo Koo Koo Kangaroo. Through the community he established at Asian Man, Park continues to touch the lives of adults and children around the world. Even after decades of involvement in the DIY scene, he hasn’t lost that love and care for the community.*

JC sat down with Mike to talk about the Bay Area music scene, what it’s like to run a record label during a pandemic, and the lack of all ages venues in the south bay. All of this and more on the next theFIVE10 Podcast!

*bio taken from New Noise Magazine