Dániel Perlaky
The multi-tasking maven keeps the indie community moving forward
Dániel Perlaky
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Hungarian-born hustler Dániel Perlaky runs more companies than most of us have fingers, and if you’ve got any stock in Austin’s creative community you’ve seen traces of his work somewhere—from albums on his record label Indierect to graphic design work with his firm City On Fire and Blue Buddha Design House, to his fashion photography and the semi-annual Art Disaster party series. Perlaky took a break from his endless multitasking to talk with Decider about his journey from growing up as a Cold War kid to becoming one of the Austin music scene’s most tireless supporters.
Decider: How did an Eastern European like you end up in Austin?
Dániel Perlaky: My dad’s a cancer researcher, and unsurprisingly, a lot of his work just wasn’t being funded in communist-occupied Hungary. He was looking for a way to get more academic research grants, and eventually we made it to Houston.
D: How did you get started doing all the things you do?
DP: I started my first business while I was at UT, and I’ve just stayed in town. I first began [City On Fire] as a way to make money as I went to school, but also as a way to get into clubs underage. Coming from Europe, it’s odd that you can’t just go see music and drink here. The only way I was able to get into clubs was to print posters and hook it up. I worked in a print shop so I was able to do it on the sly. I introduced myself to the club community so I could work with them, but my main focus was on seeing bands.
D: Over the years you’ve attached the Perlaky name to a record label, magazines, photography, and party planning. Anything we’re leaving out?
DP: That’s about everything—and I think I’d put it all under the umbrella of "multimedia production." I’m interested in a lot of different vehicles for communication, whether that’s on the interactive, web-type side, or the music label and management side. All of those classifications are just words for trying to get content out there. A lot of younger professionals coming up now are aware of every type of media, and they’re able to dabble and mix them together in unique ways.
D: Speaking of the label: Is the name Indierect records really an “erection” pun?
DP: You know I’ve never thought about that before. [Laughs.] I guess that’s a valid assessment. But I meant it as a play on “indirect,” in that the label, the artist, and the management are a partnership. It’s two pieces of a puzzle coming together, rather than a typical artist-management relationship. The label is essentially hired to join with, say, Belaire, to promote the band according to their desires. It’s a flipped agreement, basically.
D: These days, it seems like labels are working almost as PR firms for bands more than anything else.
DP: Right. And to manage the business aspects of the music industry for them. With the small business experience I’ve had over the years, I’ve learned that a band is a small business, and they need to watch out. There’s no small business in the world that would sign over their rights knowingly and screw themselves, but a lot of bands do that on a regular basis.
D: Tell us about the newest band Indierect is working with, The White White Lights.
DP: The band kind of happened by accident. There was a group called Monster Girl that Jill Matthews was in, and it was kind of a solo gig where she played the piano. It was beautiful music. Then Lomita had a performance at Emo’s and the singer was stuck on tour with another band, so Jonas asked Jill to play with them. They played half Lomita, half Monster Girl songs. It was probably one of the most powerful small shows I’ve seen in five, 10 years, and it was one of the first bands that excited me since Belaire. I told them, “See if you can meld this stuff into a new format.” They named themselves The White White Lights and started writing songs. It sounds like shoegaze meets Sonic Youth meets Fiona Apple. It’s a very sort of orchestral and experimental sound, but it’s not going to scare people away.
D: You had a bit of a falling-out with Ghostland Observatory, which was one of the first artists on Indierect, but then you recently photographed them. So everything is okay between you guys now?
DP: Things have always been okay. There was a change in our relationship that I definitely see as having worked out very well for Ghostland, and I’m very happy with the direction they took. We’re all still friends. It’s hard for me to think of them as big rock stars. I continue to do all of their artwork.
D: You’ve also recently had a hand in throwing ATX Converge and ATX Emerge events. What are those, exactly?
DP: ATX Emerge is what we’re working on with our partners at Reversal Films, which began when they came up with this idea to straddle music and film during SXSW. Last year was the first one that we did at Speakeasy. A bunch of bands played. and it was kind of like a film industry event or multimedia exhibition. Whereas Emerge brings in out-of-town people here to meet with local talent, ATX Converge is more about getting locals mixed together—to help synthesize Austin’s creative community and get people talking.
D: What does it mean to you to be a Scene Captain?
DP: Um… I'm positive I would never refer to myself as a “scene captain,” and I haven’t heard that term outside of this conversation. I think "maven"-like people—which I guess “scene captain” is a euphemism for—tend to naturally integrate themselves into communities through effort and passion. Others keep up to date with those efforts, and as a result the individual is seen as a leader. I think I strive to be some sort of “leader” only in the sense that I’m very passionate about everything I do, and I seek to share that with others in hopes of improving my own work, and to create dialogue among other passionate individuals.
Dániel Perlaky: My dad’s a cancer researcher, and unsurprisingly, a lot of his work just wasn’t being funded in communist-occupied Hungary. He was looking for a way to get more academic research grants, and eventually we made it to Houston.
D: How did you get started doing all the things you do?
DP: I started my first business while I was at UT, and I’ve just stayed in town. I first began [City On Fire] as a way to make money as I went to school, but also as a way to get into clubs underage. Coming from Europe, it’s odd that you can’t just go see music and drink here. The only way I was able to get into clubs was to print posters and hook it up. I worked in a print shop so I was able to do it on the sly. I introduced myself to the club community so I could work with them, but my main focus was on seeing bands.
D: Over the years you’ve attached the Perlaky name to a record label, magazines, photography, and party planning. Anything we’re leaving out?
DP: That’s about everything—and I think I’d put it all under the umbrella of "multimedia production." I’m interested in a lot of different vehicles for communication, whether that’s on the interactive, web-type side, or the music label and management side. All of those classifications are just words for trying to get content out there. A lot of younger professionals coming up now are aware of every type of media, and they’re able to dabble and mix them together in unique ways.
D: Speaking of the label: Is the name Indierect records really an “erection” pun?
DP: You know I’ve never thought about that before. [Laughs.] I guess that’s a valid assessment. But I meant it as a play on “indirect,” in that the label, the artist, and the management are a partnership. It’s two pieces of a puzzle coming together, rather than a typical artist-management relationship. The label is essentially hired to join with, say, Belaire, to promote the band according to their desires. It’s a flipped agreement, basically.
D: These days, it seems like labels are working almost as PR firms for bands more than anything else.
DP: Right. And to manage the business aspects of the music industry for them. With the small business experience I’ve had over the years, I’ve learned that a band is a small business, and they need to watch out. There’s no small business in the world that would sign over their rights knowingly and screw themselves, but a lot of bands do that on a regular basis.
D: Tell us about the newest band Indierect is working with, The White White Lights.
DP: The band kind of happened by accident. There was a group called Monster Girl that Jill Matthews was in, and it was kind of a solo gig where she played the piano. It was beautiful music. Then Lomita had a performance at Emo’s and the singer was stuck on tour with another band, so Jonas asked Jill to play with them. They played half Lomita, half Monster Girl songs. It was probably one of the most powerful small shows I’ve seen in five, 10 years, and it was one of the first bands that excited me since Belaire. I told them, “See if you can meld this stuff into a new format.” They named themselves The White White Lights and started writing songs. It sounds like shoegaze meets Sonic Youth meets Fiona Apple. It’s a very sort of orchestral and experimental sound, but it’s not going to scare people away.
D: You had a bit of a falling-out with Ghostland Observatory, which was one of the first artists on Indierect, but then you recently photographed them. So everything is okay between you guys now?
DP: Things have always been okay. There was a change in our relationship that I definitely see as having worked out very well for Ghostland, and I’m very happy with the direction they took. We’re all still friends. It’s hard for me to think of them as big rock stars. I continue to do all of their artwork.
D: You’ve also recently had a hand in throwing ATX Converge and ATX Emerge events. What are those, exactly?
DP: ATX Emerge is what we’re working on with our partners at Reversal Films, which began when they came up with this idea to straddle music and film during SXSW. Last year was the first one that we did at Speakeasy. A bunch of bands played. and it was kind of like a film industry event or multimedia exhibition. Whereas Emerge brings in out-of-town people here to meet with local talent, ATX Converge is more about getting locals mixed together—to help synthesize Austin’s creative community and get people talking.
D: What does it mean to you to be a Scene Captain?
DP: Um… I'm positive I would never refer to myself as a “scene captain,” and I haven’t heard that term outside of this conversation. I think "maven"-like people—which I guess “scene captain” is a euphemism for—tend to naturally integrate themselves into communities through effort and passion. Others keep up to date with those efforts, and as a result the individual is seen as a leader. I think I strive to be some sort of “leader” only in the sense that I’m very passionate about everything I do, and I seek to share that with others in hopes of improving my own work, and to create dialogue among other passionate individuals.
