Character Sketch
Character Sketch (July 18, 2007)
By Eric Allen
Jul 17, 2007, 09:52

Dave Buick
From Italy With Love

Does Dave Buick really need an introduction? As a sometime-member of The Go, proprietor of the defunct record store Young Soul Rebels and the co-host of WKRK’s much loved but now extinct Radio Fever show, you have no doubt crossed his path at least once.

However, if none of these ring a bell, perhaps you have heard some of the bands that he has committed to vinyl through his imprint, Italy Records. The White Stripes? The Hentchmen? Rocket 455? Clone Defects?

The story behind Italy Records starts back when Buick went to live in California and left Michigan behind in a sea of dust. “I lived out in California for about eight months, but then my dad got sick so I came back to take care of him,” Buick says.

While Buick’s father would succumb to his sickness, he wouldn’t leave Dave without some help. “When my dad died, he left me some money and I went and saw this band The Dirtys and I thought they should have something out,” Buick says of his foray into producing vinyl. “It ended up being the second release on Italy after Rocket 455.”

After the initial release of the Rocket 455 “Ain’t Right Girl” 45 on Halloween night 1997 and the subsequent release of The Dirtys’ “It Ain’t Easy,” Buick would go on a tear, releasing some of Detroit rock ‘n’ roll’s most prominent records. Perhaps the best known of Italy’s initial catalog onslaught is that of a certain peppermint striped duo, The White Stripes.

While at first Jack White turned down Buick’s offer to release a White Stripes seven inch, he later reconsidered and Italy put out both the “Let’s Shake Hands” and “Lafayette Blues” 45s. Sales went well and Buick was able to release more records from The Hentchmen, The Greenhornes, The Soledad Brothers and The Clone Defects. Yet, after the release of Whirlwind Heat’s “Glaxefusion” 45 in 2000, things got quiet — too quiet.

After nearly seven years away from making records, Italy has come back with a bang in '07. First, Buick released a single for his former band, The Go, entitled “You Go Bangin’ On” earlier this year. Then in June he re-released The Hentchmen’s masterpiece mini LP, Hentch-Forth. “It took a year to get that one going,” Buick says. “One day I was thinking about it and it was like, ‘Crap we own these tapes. Why don’t we reissue it?’”

The nine-song LP, which features The Hentchmen with Jack White on bass, initially was limited to only 1000 copies. The original record, plus an additional five tracks, is now available on the CD and on iTunes.

As for Italy and Buick’s future, there are no more foreseeable hiatuses on the horizon. Buick admits to looking forward to working with newer Detroit artists like The Terrible Twos and Zoos of Berlin, along with old friends such as the Tranzistors.

This is all good news for people who love great news ... really, it doesn't get any better.  | RDW

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