NEW BRUNSWICK - If you listen to the way Joseph Steinhardt tells it, the whole thing started as an accident.
Steinhardt and his friend Zach Gajewski were freshman at Boston University in 2003 and like many college freshman living in Beantown, they were in a band.
"We were pretty lousy," the now 29-year-old Steinhardt said. "Zach and I, we said we'd split the cost of the 7-inch and put it out ourselves."
And that was it. No really, that's the origin story.
That was the moment that Don Giovanni Records, the great chronicler of the New Brunswick sound, was born.
"We never thought we were going to be a real label, so we put very little thought in our name," Steinhardt said.
The name came from not from the Italian opera, but from a character in the film, Dirty Work, one of Steinhardt's favorite movies.
"The name, it doesn't conjure up any images," Steinhardt said. "It was a name we could make it mean something. We'll be Don Giovanni.
"Also, we never thought we'd do another record," he added.
But that first 7-inch was just the beginning. Steinhardt, who grew up in Princeton, was heavily involved in the New Brunswick music scene, making flyers, booking small shows, and seeing as many bands as he could in the basements of New Brunswick house parties or at the Court Tavern (if he could sneak in) and the Melody Bar.
And it was those people came to him after they heard he put out a record.
For three years, Steinhardt and Gajewski put out 7-inch after 7-inch, the sales of each justifying the next, before they decided to press their first full album.
And what did the duo decide on for their first full release for Don Giovanni?
A record that was already released on CD by a band that was relatively unknown on a medium, vinyl, that was relatively unpopular at the time. If it didn't seem like the best financial decision, Steinhardt didn't care.
He loved the music.
"We took all of the money we ever made and made one album," Steinhardt said. "This was before vinyl made sense. This album was already out on CD and everyone already has it. The band wasn't popular at the time. But we loved the record. So screw it."
The Ergs' classic 2006 debut of punk rock heartbreak, "Dorkrockcorkrod," was the first full length album to display the Don Giovanni logo and as a starting point for an up and coming local label, you could do worse than an up and coming local band that had an ever growing loyal following. The decision, based on nothing more than appreciation for the music, paid off.
"Somehow within that year, it sold copies." Steinhardt said. "It was the first thing we ever had to repress."
And with that success of the Ergs, who released their follow-up "Jersey's Best Prancers" shortly after, things started to change for Don Giovanni.
"It just felt different, because of the Ergs, people started paying attention to (other Don Giovanni bands like) the Steinways, For Science," Steinhardt said.
In short, The Ergs legitimized a label by two guys who had no intention of starting a label in the first place. Suddenly, you couldn't talk about the New Brunswick music scene without talking about Don Giovanni.
And it happened at the right time. As the label was growing from a fledgling project to a legitimate label, there was this cauterizing power trio fronted by a tiny woman with untouchable guitar shredding prowess tearing up the New Brunswick punk scene and converting anyone within earshot.
The Screaming Females, fronted by Marissa Paternoster, had already self-released two albums, "Baby Teeth" and "What If Someone Is Watching Their T.V." and were putting the finishing touches on their third release.
Although Steinhardt said he had known them for years, he said he had never considered signing the band because they were already putting out their own records with a lot of success. It wasn't until a mutual friend stepped in and played matchmaker that Steinhardt considered the possibility.
"I went to see them at a show in D.C., and they told me they we're just going to put Power Move out themselves," Steinhardt said.
But he didn't give up. He met with the group a final time.
"I told them, you have to let us work on this record," Steinhardt said.
And in 2009, Screaming Females released the blistering "Power Move" on Don Giovanni Records.
The signing marked another step in the evolution of Don Giovanni. While the Ergs were popular, they liked to maintain things on a grassroots level. Screaming Females, on the other hand, were gaining national attention everywhere from New York Magazine to Rolling Stone.
And with them, Don Giovanni has suddenly found themselves in the spotlight.
But it doesn't faze Steinhardt.
"We always tried to ignore that stuff," Steinahrdt said. "We let other people worry about that stuff. It's a little weird spotlight that's on us right now. Let's just keep doing what we're doing; I know that spotlight will pass.
"It's a really good thing and we're honored when sites cover our bands, but bands overstate the importance of it," Steinhardt said. "It's just someone's opinion. I always tell our bands not to read it."
But the positive press continues to come, especially as Don Giovanni finds themselves on the forefront of female artists. Just this year the label has released new records from women rockers such as Upset, Worriers, Waxahatchee and Laura Stevenson, not to mention Noun, a 34 song tape compiling four years of solo work from Females frontwoman Paternoster.
While Steinhardt said he's happy when people bring that up, he said it was never a conscious decision.
"It's something on one hand we are really proud about," Steinhardt said. "We're proud to work with strong female artists, we're really proud to not have to think of gender.
"A lot of that is a reflection of the incredible scenes we're part of," Steinhardt added. "I would go see what was there. It's just a reflection; this is the most exciting stuff going on now."
Steinhardt said the label continues to grow each year, and next year will be no different with new releases from almost all their active bands, plus one or two surprises that he wouldn't reveal yet.
He said his staff even grew this year, with his first hiring: a part-time employee, or more accurately, a friend who needed some cash. Steinhardt relinquished mail order duties, a time consuming task he's handled for the past 10 years, to the friend for some money.
"It's changed my life for the positive," Steinhardt said. "I didn't mean to start it. When it became more than just making records exist, that made it more exciting. Being able to help bands to make livings off their music.
"It's really rewarding," Steinhardt said. "It's more exciting than most things."
Ad Choices