In Memory of David Gibson
Founder of Moxie Records (1951-1996)My father, David Gibson, was a gentle giant in the truest sense - standing over six feet tall with a physical presence that was matched only by the size of his heart. He was a man whose passion for music and art shaped not just his life, but the lives of countless musicians and artists in the Los Angeles underground scene of the 1960s through the 1980s.Dad founded Moxie Records from our family home on Carondelet Street in Los Angeles - a house that came to be known as the "Danger House" for the strange sounds and characters that filtered through its walls. In a beautiful twist of fate, he had purchased his own childhood home, transforming it into a sanctuary for music preservation and creation. The label was named after his beloved dachshund, Moxie (who, as family legend has it, had quite a persistent flea problem).In that house, Dad installed a professional cutting room with a Scully lathe, where he would master records himself. He was an innovator - even modifying 8-track recorders to run at double speed to reduce noise levels. His technical expertise was matched by his artistic soul - though he was shy about his own talents as a visual artist, his love for comic books and psychedelic art of the 1960s influenced everything he did.Dad seemed to know everyone in the LA scene. From Forrest J Ackerman to Kim Fowley, from Robert Williams to the pioneers of punk rock, our home became a gathering place for the creative underground. The infamous LA punk label Dangerhouse Records was even conceived on our second floor by some of Dad's tenants.Through Moxie Records, he preserved and released an incredible array of music. The label became home to recordings from artists like The Moving Sidewalks (featuring pre-ZZ Top Billy Gibbons), Baby Ray and the Ferns (featuring Frank Zappa and Ray Collins), The Last, The Pandoras, The Miracle Workers, and countless others. He didn't just release records - he created a community.What made Dad special wasn't just his work as a record label owner - it was his genuine love for the music and the people who made it. He was, as his friends described him, "a friendly, gregarious sort of fellow, a man to be trusted." Whether he was hosting holiday barbecues with underground comics artists or helping local bands press their first records, he approached everything with enthusiasm and warmth.I lost my father when I was sixteen years old - he passed away prematurely at age 45 in Springfield, Oregon. But his legacy lives on in every Moxie release that collectors cherish, in every band he helped along the way, and in the countless lives he touched with his generosity and passion for music.The "Danger House" may no longer echo with the sounds of Dad's latest discoveries, but the impact he had on independent music and DIY culture continues to resonate. He showed us that music isn't just about what's popular - it's about preserving the strange, the overlooked, and the beautiful sounds that might otherwise be lost to time.David Gibson's physical presence may have been imposing, but it was his enormous heart, his artistic soul, and his dedication to preserving the music he loved that truly made him larger than life. He proved that sometimes the most important cultural preservation happens not in big institutions, but in places like our "Danger House" on Carondelet Street, guided by people who care enough to save the sounds others might forget.Written with love by his son,
Max Gibson
