Zafio Records- what it is!

Kamala (and The Karnivores, Gr'ups, Cringer, Naked Aggression, Hers Never Existed) and Jesse Luscious (Blatz, Gr'ups, Criminals, Frisk) started Zafio Records in 1993 to put out the 2 Gr'ups 7-inches.

The Gr'ups did 2 European tours in 1993 and along the way Zafio added the US version of Jasper/Citizen Fish 's video compilation "Oriental Transistor." Guillaume and Kamala assembled the kick-ass international compilation LP "Blague" and Jesse assembled the kick-ass local compilation 7-inch "This Is Berkeley Not West Bay."

We continued putting out vinyl with some of our favorite local bands (Black Fork, The Tantrums, Sheephead, Multifacet, Sake) and traded with other d.i.y. labels from around the planet. Here's the currently incomplete discogs page for Zafio. Eventually we tried to step away from the label and our friend (& Jesse's bandmate in The Criminals) Dan Grr took over the label briefly. We dissolved the label, returning the masters & remaining records to the bands we could find in the late 1990s.

Fast forward to 2008. Jesse is looking after some of his old bands (Blatz, Criminals & The Frisk). After Alternative Tentacles took over pressing the Shit Split (with Filth & Blatz) on LP & CD, and Silver Sprocket took over pressing the 2 bands' 7-inches, he took the Filth, Blatz, Criminals, & Frisk music to the digital realm under the name Zafio Records.

In 2011, he finally finished the long-threatened repress of the now-classic east bay 7-inch comp, "This Is Berkeley Not West Bay," but that's another post.