10 Chicago-Based Record Labels

[@soundofminder]

I've tried to start watching this video 4 times since you first posted it and every time got a work call within the first 2 minutes, finally made it through uninterrupted! Despite being aware that most of these were Chicago based labels, I don't know how I've never really summed these parts the way you just did. Nice feature.

[@seekingathread]

Right, and I know there are more. More underground labels to speak of for sure. I get what you're saying about being interrupted. There's some videos it takes me a week to watch. Particularly Stunty's streams lol

[@michaelvalentini4869]

Dom, yes, yes, ''The City Of Big Shoulders''. That ''nickname'' for Chicago comes from the 1914 poem, ''Chicago" , written by Carl Sandburg. It was a poem that I learned in Junior Highschool, the words really evoke the spirit of the city and emphasize the importance of the ''working- class'' population. In 1927, Sandburg compiled folk tunes from all over America, in his book, '' The American Songbag'', which, years later, would inspire guys like Pete Seeger. B. B. King's album, '' Live in Cook County Jail'' caused me to explore the music heritage of Chicago. A few years later, in my early twenties, I bought '' People In Sorrow'' by the Art Ensemble Of Chicago, my copy was the first reissue, on the brilliant Nessa label, based in The Windy City. In a comment exchange with Aaron, the one and only Metal Theologian, I stated that most of my favorite Sun Ra albums are the ones that include the bass playing of Ronnie Boykins. When my pal, Jack, was Sun Ra's manager, the band used mostly electric bass players. I don't remember their names, but I did chat with them, of course my favorite chats were with Sun Ra, John Gilmore and to a lesser degree, June Tyson, she was always distracted by her duties as the Arkestra's self- appointed, Mother! Jim O'Rourke should have been the Mayor of Chicago, every time I see his face, I think of Carl Sandburg. I just bought a cd copy of your favorite Wilco album, ''A Ghost Is Born'', produced by O' Rourke. I'm sure that the aura of Chicago influenced your recordings done at Electrical Audio, at least on a ''subliminal'' level.

[@diamond_marimba]

michael you are the hog butcher, tool maker and staker of wheat of the VC, stormy, husky, brawling.

[@michaelvalentini4869]

@@diamond_marimba Yes, I'm also the streetsweeper.

[@seekingathread]

well said, both of you.

[@seekingathread]

Ah good call sir. Nessa. Great label and I missed the mark there as well as not mentioning the big boys of Chess and Cadet. There is a resemblance between O'Rourke and Sandburg, isn't there? Or is it just spirtually speaking. He is kind of the mayor, at Tweedy perhaps. Or Ryan Sandberg. And then there's Michael Jordan. I love the Sun Ra stories. Have you done podcasting Michael? Clifford Jarvis turns up on these too, he's a monster. That Wilco lp is definitely in there, glad to hear its in your house.

[@michaelvalentini4869]

@@seekingathread Dom, I'm sort of happy that you did not include Chess and Cadet, they are both ''small' big labels that are more well known than the labels you highlighted. I meant that Sandburg and O' Rourke both embody the spirit of Chicago in their creative work, just like The Velvet Underground always sound like New York City. I promised Sun Ra that I would never reveal certain things that he told me during our man to man conversations. Thank God, most of the time I didn't understand the entirety of his convoluted stories, I would interrupt him and talk about a topic that I was interested in discussing. No podcasting yet, but I want to start making VC videos again. Speaking of Chicago, Drag City just released ''Home Of The Demo'' by Anthony Moore.

[@twofromthetrunk9932]

Enjoyed the stroll down Chicago publishing lane. :)

[@mikalzanna2076]

Keepin it real my brotha! Chicago is my city 🚋🚋🚋🚋

[@diamond_marimba]

glad the trip went well. this feels like a video I should have made a long time ago-- many of the records of my early vinyl days are from those labels as they were always interesting and cheap. I need to get some of my califone records back, that was a cool band live as well. I miss the city, I'm down for a trip at some point in the near future.

[@michaelvalentini4869]

Alex, when you go back to Chicago, try to visit the Corbett vs Dempsey art gallery. In the early 1980's, I met John Corbett when he was studying at Brown University. Jim, my music mentor, introduced me to John and his friend and fellow student, Russell Lee Fine. Bolstered and inspired by Jim's support, John and Russell, brought many top- notch musicians, to play at Brown and other venues in Providence. John has a deep connection to both Peter Brotzmann and Sun Ra. If you don't know John or Russell, check out their activities. More on this later....

[@diamond_marimba]

@michaelvalentini4869 I've definitely been following them in recent years. amazingly never went to the gallery even though I lived a mile away

[@michaelvalentini4869]

@@diamond_marimba Alex, they might have moved to a new location recently. I thought you probably knew the work of Corbett, but not Russell Lee Fine. Corbett's tale of rescuing archival materials from Sun Ra's Chicago home is awesome. In the future, I hope to reconnect with John and some other guys and gals from the past.

[@seekingathread]

Seen Califone a few times years ago. those records hold up! Would love to do an actual shop visit to Chicago. plus eating of course

[@NotedArchived]

Cool to see a little BTS of the studio. We'll have to have a catch-up before long. Wanna hear about it all. And stoked to hear the results, as well. You know I love this topic and video. Not familiar with that book by Bruce. Will check that. Hyped on a few of Numero Group's newest catalog acquisitions. Speaking of, I was fortunate to see Clikatat Ikatowi last week opening for Unwound. F*cking incredible. Tortoise's S/T is still one of the most uniquely bizarre and beautiful albums I could imagine. That album truly opened my brain and I've not thought about music the same since. Helen in the background also a perfect fit. Was glad to see them live in LA last year. Incredible that you got to see Rachel's. I missed them back in the day but played a couple shows with Rachel Grimes solo. What a lovely and pleasant human. See you soon. Thanks, D.

[@seekingathread]

Michael! Great to hear from you as always my friend. Would love to catch up with you as well, see what's happening in your world these days. I'm sure you're busy with music which I look forward to hearing. You working with Rachel makes great sense and would dig hearing that, if it were ever on a recording. Wish I was at that show! Unwound and the hardest band name ever to spell: Clikatat Ikatowi! I know Numero has been doing fine work lately. I haven't grabbed everything but I'm a hair away from splurging on like 10 records. I didn't even know Helen played live! Be well my dude and talk soon!

[@TomFazzini]

Thanks for the video. Chicago's Locust Music was a very interesting far left field label in the early noughties, maybe you remember it : Espers, Josephine Foster, Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Lau Nau, Henry Flynt, The Family Elan et al. Had a big roster. I was fortunate enough to have a couple of records with them myself.

[@seekingathread]

Hey Tom, yes I know that label and definitely remember it. Espers is excellent, just dont have the records. Some of those I have on CD. good call!

[@danielbigna5469]

A great video Dom that illuminates the phenomenal contribution Chicago has made to 20th century music and beyond. Just the fact that 'Chicago blues' has entered the lexicon as a musical reference term with global impact would be enough in itself let alone outstanding indie labels Kranky, Numero Group, Touch & Go, Drag City, Thrill Jockey etc. Don't sell the Sun Ra 'Pathways to Unknown Worlds'. That one is a keeper. Also The Sea and Cake 1997 album 'The Fawn' on Thrill Jockey. Another good one. Hope the recording at Electrical Audio went well.

[@seekingathread]

Thanks Daniel. I am a fan of those Sea and Cakes. I do have the Fawn actually, and a few others on CD. good band and just another that could use more mentions in the VC at least. So much history in Chicago, and that is without mentioning or discussing all of the dance music as well!

[@danielbigna5469]

Thanks Dom. A quick response. Yes, of course there is the whole Chicago electronica scene that deserves a mention. But I wanted to put out a tip for an album on Drag City that came out in 2001 titled 'Tramps, Traitors & Little Devils'. The group is listed as 'A Drag City Supersession' and the main dude is Neil Michael Hagerty then from Royal Trux. But there are a whole bunch of Drag City artists on this such as Bill Callahan, Edith Frost and Tara Key. It's a bit of an oddity in the Drag City catalogue. I pulled out my CD copy that I hadn't listened to in years and it sounds great.

[@seekingathread]

@@danielbigna5469 Hey Daniel, yes I am familiar with that release but its been ages since I've listened to it. I love all those artists so I'm sure it still holds up. Good call!

[@fitzelectricbar9268]

Nice educational video, Dom. Love that Rachel’s record, as well as their Egon Schiele album. Works well as your drive soundtrack. Re: Kranky, it’s been years since I listened to Stars of The Lid (a whole bunch of purchased MP3’s from my eMusic sub) and just picked up The Tired Sounds of…. Lots of perfect sounds for rainy PNW days. Cheers.

[@seekingathread]

Rachels is beautiful stuff, this one is the only one I have. Wil have to locate more including that Egon Schiele lp. SOTL has been getting some pretty regular spins here at home, Tired Sounds and Refinement in particular. So beautiful, immersive but also kind of arduous. Thanks!

[@louiegolden]

These videos are absolutely the content I look for! Dom does such a good job!

[@seekingathread]

Thanks Louie! You would be like a kid in a candy store there

[@the-vinyl-dreamscape5084]

Really interesting stuff. Chicago is a great town; when i was in school, friends and i would travel to Chicago every couple of months to go clubbing. Then crash on the floor of a friends apartment before heading home. So I share your fondness for the city. That era of Sun Ra is a favorite of mine; Pathways, Space is the Place and Astro Black are a great way for someone to get into Sun Ra without selling the house. Thrill Jockey is an amazing label. You can almost buy anything on the label and get something interesting.

[@seekingathread]

I totally agree about Thrill Jockey. In some ways I think they're under-appreciated compared to the bigger indies of Chicago. Those are great memories Shawn. That was never a thing or a scene I immersed myself in. Or at least I never had the introduction to it. Perhaps things would be different now if I had. Stunty and yourself clearly have a deep knowledge in that area so I will continue to look for those morsels as they get revealed. Cheers my friend!

[@Localbandography]

The Windy City, the Second City, the City of Big Shoulders, The City that starts with a C ends with an O and in the middle is Hicag.

[@vinylstockholm]

Cool to see some photos from the studio, some fine amps they have, what's the one being miked (not the Fender)? Interesting to go through labels from Chicago, obviously a lot of great music coming out of there. Drag City is a big one for me, very influential on me in my youth. Best of luck with the album!

[@seekingathread]

Many thanks Jonas, was like heaven in there for me. That amp is a Silvertone, 1965 and one of two that I typically use. In pretty good shape for its age.

[@vinylstockholm]

@@seekingathread Awesome, looking forward to hear the result :)

[@2WheelsGood]

chicago punches well over their weight and has def been a focus for me the last couple years.

[@markspooner1224]

I now know a tiny bit about something I knew nothing about!

[@Allhailtheeye]

“Burnin” is my favorite John Lee hooker album.

[@willhouse]

Kinda' weird to hear about Chicago labels without mention of Chess, Checker, Cadet or Curtom... but it's always hella-nice to hear about the more recent indies that have done so well for *so long* now! 🫡

[@seekingathread]

Yep, of course those occurred to me but figured I would focus on these. But probably should've at least given them a mention.

[@willhouse]

@@seekingathread A friend of mine used to work at Thrill Jockey & I honestly kinda' dunno why he ever left