Full Moon Productions Interview With Jon "Thorns" Jamshid

Full Moon Productions is a US black metal record label started in 1991 by Jon "Thorns" Jamshid of the "Petrified" zine, whom I used to trade fanzines with before he started the label. I reached out to him about doing an interview, and he said yes, and away we go:

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

Jon: I was born in Monterrey, Mexico, but I grew up in Tehran, Iran, and eventually in Boulder, Colorado.

What sort of kid were you and what did you want to be when you were growing up?

Jon: Not a normal upbringing; I came from a wealthy family and basically got away with anything. In retrospect, I now understand that kids learn boundaries when they're young; I never had any, so we would push everything to the fucking limit. I was introduced to heavy metal in the early 80s but quickly progressed into heavier and more extreme music. By 1985/1986, I was already listening to Venom, Celtic Frost, Bathory, Mercyful Fate and so on.

A lot of people have goals in life; I had no choice but to go to school and college. I assumed I’d be working at a bank all my life - but that never materialised. By the time I was in my late teens, I started writing to bands and eventually started my fanzine "Petrified 'zine" in the early 90s.

What did you do for fun down in Florida during your early teenage years?

Jon: In my early teen years, I lived in Kansas; we didn’t move to Florida until the late 80s. But that’s not really important; in Kansas we had a large group of like-minded friends that basically went to metal shows, partied in abandoned homes, missile silos and participated in rituals and shit like that. It really became intense and dangerous. All my energy was focused on anger and the dark side of life, really wasted energy for the most part. Once I moved to Florida, I was able to immerse myself in the metal scene. Even though I was a huge fan of Death Metal, I realised that I was more obsessed with satan, the occult, violence and everything negative.

When did you discover rock n roll and then metal? Was there a lot of record stores that stocked rock and metal releases where you lived?

Jon: My brother David got me into metal. At first, we started with bullshit stuff like Quiet Riot, Mötley Crüe, etc. Then soon went on to Iron Maiden, Metallica, Slayer and bands like this. Something was interesting about the lyrics and the music itself. The aggressive nature of the vocals was also mesmerising. In Kansas, we used to hit a couple of shops in our area; one was Wizards and the other Mother Earth. Both had a lot of import metal, but you mostly had to order it. Once in Florida, we would hit Ace's Records in Tampa. Really a fucking legendary metal store. The first time I went to Ace's Records, I met David Vincent/Morbid Angel and some members of Obituary. It was really mind-blowing.

Now, how did you discover underground metal? Was it a style you got into right away, or did it take a few listens and then you were hooked? What were some of the early bands that you got into?

Jon: In Kansas, I had a friend who was a metal maniac. We used to go to his house, and he had records and tapes from wall to wall. Pictures of suicide victims along with articles of metal heads who killed themselves or tried to kill themselves pinned up. Was really a fucking crazy place. He used to recommend bands; I’d go home and listen to them. Eventually, I decided to write to these bands. To my surprise, they mostly wrote back and would include flyers or information for other bands. One of the earliest bands I wrote to was Destruction, followed by Sodom and Bathory.

As far as early bands, I think my first obsession was Mercyful Fate, followed by Running Wild.

Did you do any tape trading, and did you travel to stores like Ace's Records in your early days of being involved in the underground?

Jon: Interesting question. I mostly did tape buying from bands directly. But whenever we would go to Mexico to visit family, we would hit metal stores and buy up anything with a sick logo or cover. The coolest thing about Mexico was how fanatical metal fans were. In the flea market there, we would buy dubbed tapes of real unknown bands - that’s when I first discovered Brazilian bands like VOLCANO, SARCOFAGO, SEPULTURA and so on.

Living in Florida made things easier, because we were exposed to more music, and I even got to meet lots of bands and many unknown bands that attended shows. What was amazing about the Tampa Death Metal scene was that whenever a band would play. For example, NOCTURNUS - every band in the area would show up to see them play, and many bands from abroad also showed up. So, it was basically an audience of metal bands with a few fans sprinkled in. Pretty fuckin' amazing.

Did you ever have any desire to pick up any instruments or sing at all? Did any bands over the years ask you to manage them?

Jon: Even though I would like to say yes, the answer was really NO. I was a huge fan of the music-but didn’t think I would or could ever be a musician. PETRIFIED 'ZINE originally was a fanzine true to its definition. I was a fan of the music and wanted to put all my energy into the zine to promote obscure or unknown bands. But I think views and opinions got in the way. I didn’t see metal as just music, but a way of life. And I didn’t see the lyrics as fiction but fact. In this life, I believe you have to stand for something and not give in to trends - I’m not just talking about music.

What was the 1st arena show you saw, and were you blown away by it at the time?

Jon: The first metal show I attended was IRON MAIDEN, with a band called WAYSTED (Pete Way from UFO’s band) opening for them. It was fuckin impressive, but nothing like the metal shows I saw in Tampa. Watching ATHEIST, OBITUARY, SEPULTURA, NOCTURNUS, DEICIDE, NAPALM DEATH, etc. was more my cup of tea. The pure brutality of the shows and intensity of the crowd was everything I wanted for a metal show.

Now, the underground scene, what was the 1st underground show you went to?

Jon: The first underground show I attended (I think) was ACHERON from Florida. They hadn't even put out an album yet; I also saw NOCTURNUS with a band called PAIN EATER.

What were some of the 1st fanzines that you saw? I imagine Ace's Records always had some on sale. Were the zines mostly thrash metal, or were some death metal as well?

Jon: I found some zines at Ace's Records, and they had a cult following - it was easy to find mega underground metal there. One of my first and most influential zines was Comatose 'zine by Kam Lee (Massacre), and another was Darkness 'zine from Germany. Both introduced me to Scandinavian bands and more extreme metal bands. In my opinion, without those two zines, there would not be a Petrified 'zine or a Full Moon Productions. Keep in mind that my mindset was much different back then; I gravitated towards the extreme, whether it was music, thoughts, or just attitude in general. My outlook on life was dark and embraced some fucked up shit. I don't deny my past but accept it for what it was; in many ways, I still have the same outlook, but it’s suppressed.

What gave you the desire to start up your own fanzine? Did you write for any others before starting your own? Did you ask anybody for advice on starting one up?

Jon: Honestly, I was pissed off at myself for not contributing to the metal scene - everyone was moving towards cleaner and more overproduced death metal, while I was pushing my own limitations in music. Diving deeper into the underground and finding bands that played rawer death metal and black metal. I found the European scene to be more pure when it came to the music, not selling out. But that was early in the scene.

Soon CULT NEVER DIES is releasing the entire collection of PETRIFIED ZINE plus unreleased (unfinished) interviews, and it includes my old zine MOONLIGHT and an in-depth interview with myself. You can find them at

https://www.cultneverdies.com or on all social media apps.

Now how did you come up with the name "Petrified Zine"? Did you do the zine all yourself? Was it going to be strictly black metal based only?

Jon: I found the word PETRIFIED to be interesting; for one, it was like finding an ancient book that was dug up from the ground. Filthy, old, and needed to be dusted off. Secondly, reading the subject matter would PETRIFY the readers with fear.

Truthfully, I was also very isolated at the time, so my thoughts and ideas were antisocial, aggressive, and fucking angry. I'm not sure how they would hold up today, but they have a cult following.

How many copies did you print of each issue? If I remember, it was newsprint. Was every issue newsprint, or did it go to newsprint later?

Jon: Petrified zine 1 was only printed in 100 copies back in 1993. Number 2 was released later that year at 100 copies, then 10,000-12,000 copies in newsprint. Issue #3 (1994) was printed in 1000 copies only. Issue #4 (1996) was 1000 copies. At this point, I started Moonlight zine, which was printed in 10,000 copies with the intention of doing 4 zines a year, but it wasn't realistic with my schedule. I did start working on issue #5 but gave up - just not enough time or interest on my part. Realistically, I should have printed more, but my focus was on the label over the zine.

I did the zines by myself and FMP by myself till 1995.

Were you getting a lot of promos and such? Were you honest with your reviews, and did you ever get any negative feedback for being honest ha ha?

Jon: I've always had a different outlook than most people. I only reviewed bands that I approached and purchased their demos myself. In other words, I didn't accept demos for review. I also NEVER accepted a penny for any advertising; if you see an ad in my zines, it was because I supported the band or label - and didn't expect anything in return. As the zine grew, I had no choice but to filter out a lot of shit bands. Eventually, I was overwhelmed by bands wanting to be in the zine.

Some negative feedback came from VLAD TEPES, who threatened to kill me and another from CRADLE OF FILTH - because I called them POSER BLACK METAL.

I can't endorse a band if I don't like their music; I wasn't looking to make friends in the scene - just telling it like it is.

(I do think it is weak and childish for a band to threaten to kill you over you calling them "poser black metal". I haven't been threatened that far, but have been told to "go fuck yourself" many times by bands because I gave them not-so-great reviews during my print fanzine days. These days it's not so bad, though- Chris

I remember getting your ads in the various letters I was getting back then. Did you trade with many zine editors back then?

Jon: When the label was growing, I invested in advertising in many zines and mainstream magazines, but I pissed a lot of people off. Most of our ads were offensive and pushing the envelope. I don't have any boundaries, so it's hard for me to judge how far I can push something - METAL MANIACS was a good example. I ran an ad saying that we sold SODOMIZING BLACK METAL. I guess they didn't look over my ad and got pissed off. A lot of people today don't see extreme metal the way I (we) saw it back then - the music is EXTREME for a reason. You get offended? Go fuck yourself.

(Obviously, I can't get their version of what happened as the mag is long gone now, but for those who don't know what Metal Maniacs is, it was a huge semi-underground magazine that was sold in stores and covered bigger underground bands, and the mag was all colour as well. The mag was around from 1989 until 2009 (Chris)

What led to the demise of the zine? Was it just getting to be too much work with mail, reviewing stuff, etc. Please give me the rundown?

Jon: The demise came from the label itself. As the label grew, I had to spend more and more time on orders, promotion, merchandising, and distribution. As I mentioned before, for the most part, it was only me working at FMP, plus my girlfriend and 1 employee. It was easier to control the situation that way. I didn't wanna be pulled in any direction I didn't wanna go. If you look at the FMP roster, instead of going mainstream, we only went heavier, uglier, and more antisocial. Even in the metal scene.

Did you know there was a record label called “Full Moon Records” that was around from 1974 until 1992 and signed such bands as Chicago, Dan Folgelberg, and Joe Walsh?

Jon: No idea. Before starting the label, I wrote down a few ideas focusing on the FULL MOON aspect. Originally, I thought Full Moon Records, then realised Full Moon Productions had a better ring to it. In retrospect, I think I focused on FMP more than the actual name. I think the logo was important to me more than the name itself. You have to realise also that I started the label as a whim and hobby; I didn’t think it was going to go anywhere. To be talking about it now, 36 years later, kind of blows my mind.

I’d like to add that maybe a year after starting the label, I realised that there was a horror movie company called Full Moon Productions or Full Moon Entertainment, but by that point it didn’t matter to me anymore.

Over the years, has your stuff been bootlegged by many people? Do you know if it is being done now?

Jon: I have seen some bootlegs out there, both with the music and merchandise. I have seen lots of shirts, banners, tapes, CDs and so on. At first, it pissed me off, but later I embraced it. The underground tends to be about supporting cult labels and bands, so shutting down dedicated fans making merchandise isn’t something I ever wanted to do. If anything, I have taken it as a badge of honour that what I’ve done has influenced people in so many ways.

One of the most interesting things has been the explosion of black metal and how large it’s gotten. From 2008 to 2010, my label was really struggling; I couldn’t make ends meet and did everything I could to keep the label above water. I hit a crossroads and decided it would be best for me to walk away from it. If I’m not 100% behind something, I have to walk away.

Now take me through what a typical day was like working at the label. How much money was spent in any given week on postage?

Jon: Heh, the schedule was pretty crazy and intense. Not only were we filling orders, but we were answering emails and phone calls all day/back to back all day. It’s fucking amazing how much we were able to accomplish with just 2 employees (including myself). Don’t forget, I also did all our ads, CD layouts, promotion, distribution, and website. I wanted to be able to have full control of what FMP was up to, without losing sight of my goals. Unlike most other metal labels, which were (and are) just a business, I pushed ideology and what I thought True Black Metal was about. Like it or hate it, I did that till the end of FMP.

Out of all your releases, are there any that are rare?

Jon: Some of the rare ones would be the debut Burzum Cassette, the Nastrond EP called "Digerdoden", Argentum "Ad Interitum Funebrarum", Weapon "Para Bhakti... Salvation" EP, Ildjarn "Son of the Northstar" MCD and a few others. Keep in mind that most of our releases were limited editions, so we never really printed unlimited copies of each release; we just didn’t have the manpower or budget to do that. We would end a run of a specific release and move on to the next time.

I know you released a cassette from the band Burzum. What are your feelings or thoughts on him killing a member of the band Mayhem?

Jon: That’s correct. It was my first release on Full Moon Productions. As far as my feelings, at the time I had mixed feelings about the murder. I had been in contact with both, but had better correspondence with Christian (Varg). I have always believed in survival of the fittest, and I think both Christian and Øystein did as well. It was a fucked up situation, but in retrospect I think it was a fucking shame. You have to understand something: back in those days I had a different mindset - much more literal, serious and bleak. I didn’t end up being into extreme metal by coincidence. Even though I consider myself a nihilist today, in those days it was pushed to the extreme. I’d like to add something else: the attention Black Metal received from all this was fucking horrible. Black metal became mostly trendy, non-threatening, sellout bullshit - in the early days, it was much more than just music; it was an ideology. Not what it once was. Keep in mind there are exceptions, but you get what I’m saying.

(Yes, I do, Jon; myself, I think Varg is a piece of shit for what he did-chris)

In the latter part of the 90s, you did a double CD release called “A Tribute to Hell-Satanic Rites Compilation. How did this come about, and some tracks were exclusive to this release. How did you get all the bands for this release?

Jon: Yes, that’s correct. The idea for the compilation was simple - instead of releasing a tribute to a band, it was a tribute to HELL itself. I reached out to many bands about having exclusive music and had many bands reach out to be on the compilation. To be honest, it was fucking overwhelming, financially, mentally and logistically. Initially, I intended to do several different “Tribute to Hell” compilations, but it broke me in the end. Just too much fucking work. At the same time, I contacted Petagno for original cover art - which turned out fucking killer. That alone took a year or two to get done. The project was fucking too massive for one individual.

So now, over the years, say after 5 years in, did it get too hectic at times? Did you hire more people, and around how many hours were you putting in a week?

Jon: The label itself took off pretty quickly, so I was extremely busy with it. Initially, I was so passionate about the label that the time I put into it didn’t matter to me. But as time passed and the label kept growing, it became very difficult to keep up with everything. Unfortunately, I was the label’s worst enemy. I refused to hire anyone that I didn’t see fit for the label. Frankly, I would have preferred to do it all by myself.

It would have been easy to hire staff, rent a location and run a professional business - but that’s the last thing I wanted. The idea behind FMP was to be as extreme, harsh and aggressive while keeping true to the roots of what black metal was supposed to be about. For me, metal was a progression. Starting with heavy metal bands like Dio, Wasp, Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden, etc to Speed Metal, then Thrash Metal, Death Metal, then eventually mixing music with ideology - which was Black Metal for me.

Tell me about some of the great shows you have seen over the years?

Jon: Too many to list, honestly, but I always enjoyed seeing Nocturnus play in Tampa before their THE KEY release. For me, Nocturnus was an amazing band; their demo "The Science of Horror" was one of my all-time favourite releases, so seeing them play that music was fucking mind-blowing. RIP Mike Browning. (absolutely-chris)

Now, in 2006, you moved from Florida to Colorado. How tough was that, and how did it affect the label at the time?

Jon: The Florida weather was brutal, and the hurricane that hit us around that time was the final straw. I decided to move back to Colorado and continue the label here. Overall, the situation here in Colorado was much better than Florida - had a lot more space for our stock and merchandise, also managed to find better t-shirt places locally as well as CD and vinyl plants. By this time, I started releasing harsher and harsher music - as well as branching out to other genres like dark ambient, folk and drone. The music scene in Colorado wasn’t as developed as in Florida, but that didn’t really matter - since my label was never open to the public. It was basically a mail-order and online shop.

So now take me through the steps on how the label ended in 2012?

Jon: I had an opportunity that could and would change my life, so I thought long and hard about it before walking away from FMP. If I were to be truthful, the label really ended in 2010; I stopped releasing music on FMP around that time. The last two years, I was just selling our FMP back stock as well as merchandise from our distribution. I had thousands of records, tapes and LPs, plus hundreds of shirts, zines and other things.

As I mentioned earlier in this interview, I have to be all in (100%) with whatever I’m doing - since I could no longer do that with FMP, I decided to walk away from it.

Unlike most music companies, I reached out to all the FMP bands and gave them their rights back, so they could make money off their own music. Then I gave away all the remaining stock from the distribution to other labels, which I had good relationships with.

Do you have any regrets about any of the bands you signed? Was there ever a band you could have signed, but didn't for whatever reason, that you wish you did?

Jon: I think at some point I might have regretted a release or two, but in retrospect it didn’t really matter. When FMP was active, I would receive hundreds of band demos per month; it wasn’t just for the label but also for review in Petrified 'zine. It was extremely difficult to keep up with it.

It would have been killer to have signed Inquisition, but this particular band was a problem for me personally. Even though the music scene is rough and cutthroat, I had a relationship with Moribund Records and didn’t want to steal one of their bands. I think most labels don’t care about such things, but I couldn’t get myself to do it. Personally, I was a huge fan of the band and still am to this day. Another band was Black Majesty from Norway. An extremely unique band with an original sound. Unfortunately, it was towards the end of FMP, so I couldn’t focus or pull enough money together to make this happen - so I had to abandon the idea.

(I can only imagine the number of demos Jon got every month when FMP was in its heyday. It must have been insane-chris)

Is there any original copies of any releases or merchandise that you still have that you still sell or is all that stuff long gone?

Jon: I kept a copy of most of my releases, including licensed releases and bootlegs of our stuff. As far as extra stuff, no. I sold or gave away most of it. Around 2018, I gave the rest of the FMP stock to Thrash Corner Records in Puerto Rico.

I know there is a Full Moon Records website and Facebook page. I will post those links at the end of the interview. Do you ever see the label starting up again, or are you ever working for an underground record label?

Jon: I still get a lot of emails, interviews and interest about the label and my old zine PETRIFIED. But it would be too difficult for me to revive the label; we are currently running bars in the Denver area and have 4 locations. That keeps me fucking busy and fulfilled.

Have any labels over the years ever approached you about re-releasing your whole catalogue of releases? If one or more did, what did you tell them? If no label has, and say after reading this interview one does, would you let them or no?

Jon: Many. I have worked with different labels to do reissues and reprints. If I’m able to work out a deal with labels, I have no problem working with them for FMP releases.

What are you doing with yourself these days, and do you miss doing the label a lot?

Jon: I have lots of hobbies, so I keep myself extremely busy with that as well as the bars we run. Do I miss the label? Yes, of course. Losing the label was also losing my identity. I tend to frequent metal shows in the area, but I tend to be anonymous.

Thanks a million for doing this interview. Please add anything you think we didn't cover and any last words to wrap this up?

Thanks for reaching out to me and doing this interview. Glad you're still doing this stuff after all these years.

FMP Website:

https://www.fmp666.com/

Full Moon Productions Facebook page Link:

https://www.facebook.com/fmp666