Label Feature #14: Father/Daughter Records

Founded in 2010 by Jessi Frick and Ken Hector, Father/Daughter Records celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2020. The product of years of experience working across the music industry, Jessi Frick has since taken the wheel solo and now boasts an incredible roster of artists and bands across the globe.

As the name would suggest, Father/Daughter Records was established by co-founder Jessi Frick and her father Ken in Miami, Florida. A decade on and the label has gone from strength to strength, having gained a worthy reputation for being artist centered and kick-starting the careers of many talented acts. With releases spanning from indie rock to singer-songwriter, alternative pop, emo and everything in between, the label is a fan favorite across multiple demographics. We caught up with Jessi in October 2021 to discover more about her journey to owning a label, what she’s currently listening to and the releases coming soon on Father/Daughter Records.

Not many people can claim to have founded a record label with their father. Was Father/Daughter born out of a mutual appreciation of the same music or did you complement each other with differing tastes?

The label was born out of our mutual appreciation for music in general. I grew up in a household where records were always on the stereo. I took piano lessons for years. I became enamored with jazz, swing & big band music, tagging along with my grandparents who would go dancing multiple times a week. Then I discovered record stores and it was all over. My parents were in their early 20s when I was born so still being kids themselves, they spent a lot of time discovering new music, going to concerts, etc. I believe that innocent excitement for music informed my love for it.

Every record label owner takes a different route to starting their own venture. Tell us about your journey into the music industry?

I like to say I went to punk rock university. I didn’t study music business–I studied photography, eventually fell out of love with it and subsequently dropped out of college. A friend of mine was working at Fueled By Ramen at the time, back when they were still based in Gainesville. One of my all time favorite bands, The Impossible were on FBR and I can’t remember how it happened, but I got the opportunity to tour manage them, never having tour managed a day in my life. I learned so much in those early years, mostly how hard touring is. From there, my oldest friend Amy started a label in high school called Fiddler. They released seminal records in the pop/punk/emo genres from artists like Dashboard Confessional, New Found Glory. At the time I joined the label, they were in a distribution deal with MCA/Geffen. I moved to LA and worked in marketing/promotion for bands like The Bled, Recover, Name Taken. After that I bounced around the East Coast, eventually landing in NY working at various PR & digital marketing companies. I missed the label culture and having been inspired by Amy and what she created at Fiddler, I talked to my dad about starting a label. A few years after that I fell into artist management and now manage a few artists too. I try to remind people just getting started in music that there are other ways to gain experience and education beyond going down the traditional college path.

The label was founded in Miami but has since relocated to San Francisco. Artists often talk about how their surroundings tend to color their musical outlook, do you feel your tastes have been altered at all?

The label was founded in Miami because that’s where I’m from and where my dad still lives. But really the label started when I lived in NY and has since followed me to San Francisco. NY and SF definitely informed my listening tastes & the kinds of artists we’ve worked with.

The team has expanded since the early days of the 2010s, how has your role evolved now that you have brought more people on board?

I’m not sure my role has changed all that much but having part time staff has allowed me to challenge my curiosity. I love getting my hands into everything, learning new things, exploring. Now that I don’t have to be involved in every little decision, it’s opened more time for me to look at the bigger picture.

Which three releases have been important or unexpected milestones for the label since you launched?

It’s hard to narrow it down to just three but looking at our catalog, I’d have to say Pure Bathing Culture’s s/t EP, Diet Cig’s Over Easy, & Vagabon’s Infinite Worlds were three touch points where it felt like “whoa, things are changing.”

Pure Bathing Culture was the only record we released in 2012. I didn’t know what to expect, I just knew I loved this band and I wanted to own these songs on vinyl. I did everything on that record – PR, project management, manufacturing, socials, advertising. I learned so much and it felt like the music connected with a lot of people, especially on Bandcamp.

Diet Cig came into my life via an email from the band right before Christmas. I listened to 1 min of the EP and immediately wanted to release it. It came together really quickly, the band and I worked super well together, and it just hit. It’s still one of our biggest sellers.

Vagabon changed the entire outlook of the label. That was a record that we wholeheartedly believed in and pulled out all of the stops–well, as many stops as we could afford, ha. Laetitia is an incredible talent, a once in a lifetime songwriter with an iconic voice. We were very lucky to be affiliated in any way.

As artists begin to venture across the country on small tours, what’s one album from another label that you’ve personally been playing on repeat during the pandemic?

A couple of albums that I’ve come back to over the past year are Katy Kirby‘s Cool Dry Place (Keeled Scales), Origami Angel‘s Gami Gang (Counter Intuitive), and Cassandra Jenkins‘ An Overview on Phenomenal Nature (Ba Da Bing!). I’m notoriously bad about keeping up with new releases so I typically come around to records a couple of months after they’ve been released.

What can we expect from Father/Daughter during the remainder of 2021 and beyond?

We are releasing Tasha‘s sophomore album Tell Me What You Miss The Most this year and have some new, unannounced things for 2022. The plan is to keep finding deserving artists to work with!

For more information about the label and releases visit fatherdaughterrecords.com