Two members of the Southern California Punk band Heartwells, including lead vocalist and guitarist JT/Justin Tauch, and bassist David “Moki” Marino, have announced the launch of their new indie label, Hey! Fever Records, based in Long Beach.
Heartwells’ LP The New Old School is out now, and the band is currently in the studio working on their upcoming EP, slated for early summer 2025.
In addition to the upcoming release of Heartwell’s next release, Hey! Fever has also announced the signing of fellow Southern California bands Empired, Stoke Signals, and Upper Downer.
Empired’s new single, “Money,” will be released on February 14th, 2025 and will appear on their upcoming label debut, slated for release this summer. The track was recorded and mixed by guitarist Cam Mosavian, with mastering by Producer Paul Miner. Upper Downer will release a new single sometime in early Summer.
Regarding the launch of Hey!Fever, JT reflects:
I started listening to punk when I was in the 1st grade. I was handed a Ramones cassette and a Blondie cassette by my mom. I hated the top 40 pop that was coming out and she knew these 2 bands would change my life. This was in 1992. Life definitely put me on the path of punk rock and I soon discovered all the 90’s bands immediately after. I remember hearing Op-Ivy for the first time, NOFX, Rancid, you name it. I was all over it. This never stopped, I even started forming punk bands and played my first show at 15 years old.
I have devoted my life to this music and wanted to make sure that I could build a home where I can preserve it and expose more people to it. The bands that we are working with on the launch of this label are some of the hardest working independent punk bands we know in Southern California who are embodying the DIY ethos that HEY!FEVER celebrates. No one needs a label in 2025, but we all want to create a larger community celebrating this music we love. I am excited to share this with the world and we are super proud of what we are creating in the punk world. I guess that “lifer” tattoo I have makes more sense than ever.
Moki adds:
Over the years, I’ve toured the world, played shows and festivals with several bands, and met amazing people in the punk rock community. It only seems fitting to pay it back, to a family that has treated me so well all these years, thus creating and co-founding, HEY!FEVER RECORDS with JT. This provided us an opportunity to promote, curate and prolong punk music that has impacted and changed our lives. HEY!FEVER RECORDS is about the music, while building community with ambitious artists who have a DIY ethos. HEY!FEVER RECORDS is a second home for artists – we want to spotlight them for the world to hear and see live. Anyway, less talk, more rock! Everything is punk until it’s not. See ya at the show!
Upcoming Empired Shows:
Feb 21- Long Beach, CA @ Supply & Demand (With @__hexcode__ @northbynorthmusic and @saintshivers
Feb 28- Los Angeles, CA @ Redwood Bar w/ @upperdownerband @the_lucky_eejits @stokesignals
April 24- Grand Rapids, MI @ Mulligan’s Pub (with Heartwells)
April 25- Chicago, IL @ Liars Club (with Heartwells)
April 26- Dayton, OH @ Blind Bobs (with Heartwells, Nightbeast)
Upcoming Heartwells Show:
March 1- Supply & Demand, Long Beach, CA
with @madtabmusic @the_lucky_eejits (East Bay) and @sparkoflifeband
March 2- San Diego, CA @ Tower Bar
March 15- Redwood Bar, Los Angeles, CA
HEY!FEVER RECORDS PRESENTS: HEARTWELLS W/ @cowboydestroy @treasuressf and @victorypointmusic @theredwoodbar 8pm
March 27- San Pedro, CA @ The Sardine
April 24- Grand Rapids, MI @ Mulligan’s Pub (with Empired)
April 25- Chicago, IL @ Liars Club (with Empired)
April 26- Dayton, OH @ Blind Bobs (with Empired, Nightbeast)
