Today we’d like to introduce you to Dillon Maurer
Hi Dillon, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
FULL PLATE is a record label and entertainment company founded by artists & best-friends, Dillon Maurer & Paten Locke in 2013.
Paten Locke was a rapper/DJ/beatmaker/record collector/musicologist who moved from Boston to Jax in the early 90’s as a late teen. Upon his arrival, Paten would begin laying the foundations of Duval’s eclectic Underground hip hop scene, connecting with fellow titans, Willie Evans Jr., J-One-Da and DJ Basic to form the almighty Asamov crew. Paten passed in 2019.
10 years younger than Paten, Dillon Maurer is a rapper/DJ/beatmaker/audio engineer…and chef – who grew up in Jacksonville, FL idolizing Paten Locke and his crew. Dillon has been living in Atlanta since 2005, after graduating from the University of Florida.
In 2009, Dillon & Paten Locke connected to make their first album, ‘Studies in Hunger’. Dillon on the raps, Paten on the beats & cuts. In 2013, when the duo received the rights back to their album and had no home for it in the new era of streaming and digital music, they decided to start their own label, FULL PLATE as a home base for their music and other affiliated artists from the Jacksonville / Southeast US.
Since 2013, FULL PLATE has released nearly 40 albums on vinyl, cassette, CD and digital focusing on Underground / Left-field/ psychedelic hip hop, instrumental beat tapes & modern soul music. FULL PLATE is currently the home to Dillon / Paten Locke / Batsauce / Willie Evans Jr. / Day Tripper / The Difference Machine / Lady Daisey / Yamin Semali.
In 2019, Paten Locke passed suddenly after being diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. Since then, Dillon has been at the helm and carrying on the legacy they began.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As a start-up business & record label, we had no mentors or investors or anybody helping us out, so we had to navigate everything from scratch. All we had was GOOD MUSIC, we were sure of that. Of course funding / money was and continues to be a problem, but we press on. Since Day 1, every dollar has been self-generated and self-funded.
When we started in 2013, we had no physical distribution for our records & tapes so they were hard to move. Luckily we partnered with Fat Beats distribution in 2016 and they have helped get our records in stores.
Of course the main challenge has been Paten’s cancer diagnosis and death in 2019. We are still figuring out how to move forward as we release his sizable back catalog posthumously.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a label FULL PLATE is known for their commitment to high quality music paired with classy & creative merchandising. We are loved for our array of vinyl records, CDs and tapes and for preserving the physical component of the art of music which has all but gone digital. We are also different because we have a slight leaning towards food-oriented music & events – hence the FULL PLATE.
Another thing that sets us apart is the caliber of Hip hop artists that we have collaborated with over the years, and who we are able to call #FullPlateFam – Chuck D, Kool Keith, Grand Puba, Diamond D, Count Bass D, Greg Nice, Supa Dave West, Quelle Chris, Homeboy Sandman, Akrobatik, Sadat X, Edan – the list goes on and on and on. That’s just who we have records with, the artists who we’ve shared the stage with is too many to count.
Personally, I’m most proud of being consistent and prolific.
It was fun and much easier to do this in my 20’s, in my 30’s it was still fun but became more of a challenge, now that I’ve entered my 40’s I’m fully aware of the time, sacrifice and dedication it takes to remain a full-time artist and label.
We’ve never taken a break or a hiatus and have continuously released over 40 projects in the span of the last 10 years – ranging from vinyl, CDs, cassettes, books, garments, music videos (40+), concerts, DJ events, Dinner Parties – the list goes on. I think that sets us apart.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
We’ve always believed in the music – no matter how far left-field it is or strange so we wouldn’t consider that a risk. Mainly it’s the financial aspect. -everything is self funded and there are times when we are working on projects that are yet to be released where I’ll have to invest thousands and thousands of my own personal money in order to make sure the project sees the light of day – with the aim that it recoups in the long run one day of course…
Now that it’s just me running the label, that financial burden falls squarely on my shoulders and it is not fun.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fullplatefam.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fullplatefam/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fullplatefam/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/fullplatefam/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/fullplatefam/
- Soundcloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/full-plate/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/fullplatefam
