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The page-turning, definitive guide to beloved ska musician Mike Park and his iconic indie label Asian Man Records.
Sourced from over a hundred hours of interviews with musicians, producers, booking agents, label owners, writers, fans, employees, volunteers, friends and family, Elvis is Dead, I’m Still Alive tells the singular story of Asian Man Records.
In its first thirty years, Asian Man Records released over 400 albums, all from the garage at Mike Park’s parents’ house. Founded when Park was in his early twenties, the label has started and supported the careers of musicians across many generations, all free from the pressures of the larger music industry. It seemed things could even stay that way forever, until an unexpected email arrived…
Spanning early releases by breakout artists like Less Than Jake and Alkaline Trio, to albums that went viral on TikTok, every record has its own story. All of them connect back to Mike Park, the record label founder, who went from struggling with racism as a Korean American in an overwhelmingly white town, to his current status as international underground inspiration.
Written by Mike Huguenor, a musician who has seen the label from inside and out, this music biography documents thirty years in the life of a record label unlike any other—the one and only Asian Man Records.
"Throughout, Huguenor highlights Park's ceaseless ambition and brings the history alive with exacting detail. Devoted ska fans will want to take a look." —Publishers Weekly
"On the surface, Elvis Is Dead... is a thoroughly researched history of an independent label and its many acts, but at its heart, it’s the unlikely story of a punk kid who started a business in a garage and somehow wound up being the last man standing 30 years later. A fascinating and at times inspiring look at how Mike Park ran Asian Man Records and outlasted most of his industry peers without compromising or selling out." —Dan Ozzi, author of Sellout: The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore (1994-2007)
"Mike Huguenor—with a musician’s ear and as a lifer himself in DIY punk—expertly captures the joys and pitfalls of a scene and label that are both bygone and tremendously active and vital today. Part memoir, part scene report, part loving homage to the road, Elvis Is Dead, I’m Still Alive is the measured, thoughtful history of punks and band nerds who insisted on forging their own paths. I couldn’t put this thing down." —Keith Rosson, author of Fever House and Coffin Moon
"The story of Asian Man records and its intrepid founder Mike Park is unique and totally entertaining. 90% of the boom and bust indie labels of the nineties went bankrupt or had to be rescued at some point. Asian Man not only thrived but continued to break great and relevant new bands and reach new audiences. Mike himself is a one of a kind human being as anybody who knows him will tell you. the story is brilliantly realized by author Mike Huguenor. This should be a must-read for anybody interested in DIY culture and 90s / 2000s-era punk, indie and ska music." —Jesse Michaels, singer of Operation Ivy, Common Rider, and Classics of Love
"What Mike Huguenor has captured here is a revelation, what great care he has taken to capture the history of not just the early days of Asian Man Records, but all the bands and people that build a towering memory. Beautifully written with great care for all details big and small, such that the days of the past come to life in your hands, as if you could smell the room when bands build to a fever pitch, or feel the rough-hewn texture of record mailers on your skin. An impassioned love letter to all that is built by the communities that gather around scenes and build impossible futures propelled only by the desire to see their greatest dreams realized." —Niko Stratis, author of The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman
"Mike Park is one of indie music's greatest unsung heroes. Over the past 30 years, he's done a lot for punk, ska, indie rock and DIY culture in general. Mike Huguenor's book, Elvis Is Dead, I'm Still Alive, is the first document that shows the full scope of Mike Park's influence on music, culture, and politics. It's a deeply researched and fascinating read! A must-own for any music lover." —Aaron Carnes, author of In Defense of Ska