We've recently added 2 new sections to our website. In the "Comments & Reviews" section you can comment on just about anything, or read what others have said. In the "Lyrics" section you'll find the lyrics to many songs on various Unable Records' releases.
At Unable Records we are a team. We all work together to bring you the very best in independent music. While this record label is based upon the "partnership" principal, and focused on teamwork, we feel that the individuals that work here have unique and interesting stories. We each bring something different to the company and to the scene.
Click on the name below to learn more about each of us...
Hello everyone! I'm Mike Ransom, and I'm the founding partner of Unable Records. I founded the record label in May of 2007, adding Kevin and Devon to the roster about a month later. Let me tell you a little about myself:
I'm 26 years old and I live outside of Jacksonville, FL in Fernandina Beach. I grew up in Moorestown, NJ and went to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, from which I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. I am currently an Air Traffic Controller employed by the Federal Aviation Administration. I am a radar controller at a large, regional facility known as the Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center. I love my job, I hate my employer! I am a proud member of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, and I am very much supportive of all organized labor.
I've been married since July 2003 to a wonderful woman named Amanda. We had our first child, a boy named Cole, on January 28th, 2008. I love being a dad.
I also love punk rock. I've loved it since I was a kid, and will likely always love it. When I was a teenager, I was in the band Point Blank (you can buy an album from us on our "Products" page). Together with my best friend, Jay Bintliff, I formed Point Blank in September of 1996 and stayed with it until its end in early 1999. In 1998, I started a record label known as Twisted Records. My label released a compilation CD titled "Waiting for Punk?". The comp. featured some great bands such as Tinkle, 30 Foot Fall, The Abducted, The Pushovers, Racketball, Link 80, Straight Faced, Kid With Man Head, The Bagheads, Brain Candie, Santa's Dead, Mohawk Barbie, Public Service, and many more (including Point Blank). You can buy a copy from Unable Records. I closed the label in 2000.
For many years, other than going to shows, I was fairly far removed from the scene. There weren't many days that went by that didn't think about how much I loved being a part of the punk rock scene. That scene in NJ in the late '90s was truly amazing...I really missed it. I continued to write songs over the years, in the hopes that I would someday start another band. I just never found the time or the right people to start a band with.
Finally, in May of 2007 I'd had enough. I couldn't stand being away from the scene any longer. With the support of my wife Amanda, I decided to start Unable Records. Several weeks later, I somehow managed to talk two of my coworkers into joining my crazy scheme of a record label. Kevin and Devon both became full partners in June. Two months after that, we had signed The Bastard Suns and No Fuego, and were well on the way to putting together our first release, "Dropping Expectations". It turned out amazingly, I couldn't have been happier. It was a great first release.
I can't wait to see what happens next here at Unable Records. We don't have any huge master plan. All we know is that we love music, we love punk rock, we love being a part of something. We'll keep putting out good records, records that have a meaning to us. I hope you enjoy them!
I'll be moving back to NJ in August of 2008. Unable Records will continue and will expand. I've also been talking to Jay Bintliff (of Point Blank fame) about starting a band again, and I think it will probably happen. Stay tuned...I'll keep you posted!
Mark Black - Recording/Mastering Engineer. Moselle, MS. Markblackaudio@aol.com