Interview by Jamison Harvey
-Name, Location, What You Do
David Michael Celia from Los Angeles, CA. I'm a film/tv composer, producer, musician, and founder/label head of F-Spot Records
-Tell us about your music background, who are your influences and how did you start a record label?
I've been around music and recording my whole life. My dad was a musician and recording engineer and he's always had a home studio setup. Some of my earliest memories were of being in his studio listening with headphones or touching the equipment. I started playing drums around age 8 and quickly branched off into the other instruments around the house like piano and guitar. Fast forward to deciding to go off to music college in Boston, then relocating to Los Angeles after graduating. I've always been listening and collecting vinyl since high school. Around 2013 when a few of my bands/projects finished up some recordings and I was starting to get more into recording with analog tape and equipment, I thought instead of trying to shop these around why don't we just press our own vinyl? I'd been hip to the new 45's Daptone, Truth & Soul, Colemine, and a few others were doing at the time, so decided to put my entrepreneurial brain to use and just dive in. I'd never had my music pressed on vinyl so it was very exciting to hear for the first time and can say I was hooked. The rest is history as they say.
-What's your relationship with coffee? How do you prepare it? What's your go-to spot?
Coffee starts my day, everyday. I am all about the Chemex and like it black. Go-to spots around L.A would be Verve or Maru, both in the Art District.
-What did you do other than music during the pandemic? Any new hobbies or new skills learned?
Definitely honed in my domestic life skills haha. Expanded my knowledge of making homemade pasta with various shapes and sauces, drinking nantual wine, and stepped up my cocktail game for sure!
-We really feel like coffee and music go hand in hand, what's your take on that?
For sure. Coffee stimulates the brain, as the right kind of music can do as well for the moment you're in so the two together create a nice balance to fuel the body.
-How do you feel about the world opening back up and people starting to go see live music, get back to record stores, and the like?
All for it! Especially going to record stores. It can be a pretty personal keep to yourself experience digging through the bins so I say, just keep that mask on, hands cleaned and have fun. I think live music is a great thing too, but all this has maybe taught us some better ways of going about it and treating the artist with more respect? I don't know.. but I do know being on the road is very hard to begin with so giving an artist more space, care, and attention they need is a good thing. I think the days of cramming 5 bands into a 4 hour time slot at a nasty ass club where they just throw your gear out onto the street after your set doesn't need to make a comeback though. Been there, done that, not worth it.
-New and upcoming projects, releases?
I'll just say... yes! Some stuff we're keeping under raps, but there is a new White Blinds LP in the works. New music from The Bombillas about to be recorded, and plenty more coming from Night Owls.. including the LP.
-Last Words, anything you want.
Just thanks so much for supporting and digging what we do. It's an always growing, small operation we run here over at F-Spot so keeping an eye and attention on the little guys is very warming and keeps us doing what we do! Cheers.