Hopeless Records was started by Louis in 1993 while he was directing Guttermouth's "1, 2, 3, slam" video. The band asked him to put out a 7", and Hopeless was born. The label's name came from the first track on that record.
Today, Hopeless is one of the more successful independent record labels out there. They tend to emphasize quality rather than quantity, and also represent a variety of artists across the punk spectrum. They also have a small subsidiary label called Sub City that has a percentage of each sale going to charity. One of the more honorable practices in the industry, in my opinion.
The Hopeless sampler CD used to have a beer theme, with such releases as "Cinema Beer Nuts," "Cinema Beer Goggles," and "Cinema Beer Belly." However, recently the title has been three volumes of "Hopelessly Devoted to You."
Hopeless recently celebrated their 50th release with a special 2 cd set, featuring one song from each release. To choose the songs, they had an online survey, and encouraged people to cast their vote. In the liner notes of the album, they thanked every single person who voted.
And on Sub City: