“We were sitting outside an abandoned diner, and we were like, ‘There’s so many things going on in local music right now, especially [with] teenagers. Wouldn’t it be so cool if we could do something to document this moment in time in music?’” said Sophomore Sofia Guyer, co-founder of Breakfast All-Day Records. From the creation of New York Hardcore to significantly influencing rap and hip hop genres and beyond, the youth music scene is establishing its own musical history. Fellow B-CC students, Sofia Guyer, Tonito Tijerino, and Toby Zapruder have conquered the task of recording and spreading the word about this history-making music.
Established July 2023, Breakfast All-Day Records is a youth-run record label that hopes to create community and new chances for musicians. They have a wide range of opportunities for artists. “It’s kind of dependent on who the artist is, like for some artists, we’re going to get them into the studio, we are going to advertise, plan release road maps; promote them digitally. For other bands who are maybe more established, we are just opening up opportunities to get physical pressings of their music,” Guyer commented.
“We are also hosting a lot of events with local record stores, with local venues, with local bands, but we are trying to expand our outreach more nationally, so we are reaching out to different bands across the U.S,” Tonito Tijerino added, also a sophomore and another co-founder.
In October 2023, the label had its first vinyl release by Kingfisher, a Michigan saxophone band, Grip Your Fist, I’m Heaven Bound. “I’ve been listening to them for a long time so this was very exciting for me to kind of like reach out with them and talk to them in more professional terms and figure out how to work together,” said Guyer.
Tijerino described a few challenges that they have faced as founders throughout the process of creating the label. “There’s a lot of stuff I don’t really understand, like legal stuff. Also, we are all teenagers, so we’ve got to get jobs and find ways to make money, and it’s like all the money you’re making is going into this project, so we really want to get some financial support.” Despite these challenges, they have found the process to be quite rewarding. “It’s amazing to see it all coming together. We got our first international order, which really put things into perspective for me–we’re worldwide!” exclaimed co-founder, Sophomore Toby Zapruder.
As for personal inspirations, Tijerino mentions his appreciation for Ian McKaye’s Dischord Records. Dischord Records is an independent record label in Washington, D.C., co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson. McKaye and Nelson established Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by their band, The Teen Idles. Tijerino expressed, “Dischord Records made me think, ‘Oh yeah, we can do it because they did it when they were teenagers.’”
For Guyer, much of her inspiration is from the role record labels play in music. “Labels have always been one of my favorite parts of music, because I find them so interesting. They’re an intersection of so many creative individuals who are coming together to make something collectively that they wouldn’t have the resources to make by themselves.” She noted several artists, such as Phoebe Bridgers, Yo La Tengo, and Black Country New Road, who derived their popularity from their record labels working hard to publicize their music.
Tijerino and Guyer have known each other for most of their lives and grew their friendship through their shared passion for music. “It’s a dream come true because I get to work on this record label with one of my best friends,” said Guyer. “We hope our new release is successful so we can get started on our next!”
