Despite his recent success, Sufjan Stevens’ Asthmatic Kitty label is still a very small operation. Alongside a small staff, Lowell Brams (Stevens’ former stepfather) heads the label, which is home to Stevens, Liz Janes, The Castanets and more. Brams took a moment to answer some questions.

Tell me a bit about your relationship with Sufjan. How long did you live together? Was music involved?

Though the time we lived together was limited to summers when Sufjan was very young (5 to 8 years old), his mother and I almost always had music on, and we also made “radio tapes” with the kids; they would take turns playing DJ and doing skits, and we’d select music that we liked, but thought they would like, too. So early on, they heard The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Ry Cooder, Love and The Byrds. We did always keep in touch, and when I realized Sufjan had a particular interest in music, I sent him tapes, and to his brother and sisters.

How small was Asthmatic Kitty at first? What were the initial stages of the label like?

As small as it gets. Several projects never materialized, but we finally “released” Sufjan’s A Sun Came in ‘99. He was in New York by then, and played a little, but because of grad school, didn’t have that much time. I placed the album in some Michigan stores and Sufjan shared it with friends, but that was about it for awhile.

Sufjan tells us that you’ve always been interested in getting into the music business. Did you ever pick up a guitar or get involved when you were young?

Well, what I really wanted to do was own a bookstore, but instead always worked for other people. I always loved music, but didn’t seem to have the manual dexterity or attention span to play an instrument.