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THE OUTSIDERS:
GOOD INDEPENDENT RECORD LABELS

da Flower Punk
Sep. 15, 1999

With mass media giants merging and consolidating like mad, the latest example of which being Viacom's 36 *billion* dollar acquisition of CBS it's good to know that there are still some independents out there doing it for the sake of the music. Here are some of my favorites.

KOCH http://www.kochint.com -- Owned and operated out of Port Washington, Long Island, Koch is several things at once. The label seeks out fine songwriters of all kinds, such as Greg Trooper and Elliott Murphy. They embrace unique personalities, such as Ithaca's Johnny Dowd, who writes some really twisted alt.country songs about murder and other violence that is hardly commercial radio fare but certainly has its audience. Koch also revels in seeking out classic albums that are not yet owned by the conglomerates for re-release on CD, such as early 70s stuff from the Texas songwriter Willis Allen Ramsey, and the King Curtis and Solomon Burke soul collections. On another level, Koch Jazz seeks out old jazz classics for rerelease on CD as well, and their tastes are equally impressive in that genre. Koch also serves as a distributor for many other fine independent labels, such as several on this list.

COMPASS http://www.compassrecords.com -- Partially owned by banjoist Allison Brown, this Nashville based label specializes in new acoustic and Americana sounds. They have put out the many recent releases of Darol Anger & Mike Marshall, for example, including the their jazzy jamgrass collection, "Jam," their "New Grange" project, which Anger, Marshall and Brown, are joined by Phillip Aaberg and Tim O'Brien for some super tasty acoustic Americana sounds, and Anger's impressive collection of fiddle duets, "Diary of a Fiddler." They are also the musical home of Victor Wooten's solo projects, and Phillips Grier & Flinner, who also have an impressive new acoustic collection out. Add to that folkies like Kate Rusby and Kate Campbell, and it's easy to understand why this company's successful.

HIGHTONE http://www.hightone.com -- This venerable Oakland, California institution is another home for great songwriters like Tom Russell and Julie Miller, song collectors like Ramblin' Jack Elliot, and fine guitarists such as acoustic blues-picker Chris Smither and electric Telecaster player Bill Kirchen. HighTone also has good taste in western swing, as recent releases from the Hot Club Of Cowtown and Big Sandy & the Fly-Rite Boys demonstrate.

SCI-FIDELITY http://www.stringcheeseincident.com -- This Colorado based label is the newest of the bunch but is already proving quite impressive. The SCI in Sci-Fidelity is String Cheese Incident, who decided they were better off founding their own label than signing with one of the so-called "majors." Considering the strength of their music, fan base, and savvy, I suspect they were very right. They have also begun signing other artists to their roster: an absolutely superb recording from Keller Williams, "Breathe," is as auspicious a sign as one could hope for in this business.

GRATEFUL DEAD http://dead.net -- This is the mack daddy of the do- it-yourselfers, regardless of what any punk rocker will tell you. The Dead began experimenting with the DIY ethic back in 1973, and though GD Records (and its sister Round Records) weren't very successful at first, the Dead eventually learned as well as blazing a few new trails themselves. The concert tapes in their vault now have an estimated commercial value of tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars. That may be before you even begin discussing old classic tapes from other bands they have, such as their recent release of Allman Bros. material from the Fillmore in 1971, and the new material from the most recent incarnation of The Flying Burrito Brothers. The Dead's commitment to audio quality has been maintained and expanded over the years, as any fan of "Dick's Picks" or the "From The Vault" series will attest to. GD Records collaborates with Arista when they want to give something hardcore distribution (such as the upcoming 5-CD Dead retrospective, "So Many Roads: 1965-1995", which is due for release in early November), but generally they sell everything themselves.

SUGAR HILL http://www.sugarhillrecords.com -- The finest label in bluegrass and newgrass music. Sam Bush, Doc Watson, Jerry Douglas are just a very few of the artists they have released excellent records from recently, and Sugar Hill has been at this for decades. They are not limited to just to grass either, as the fine recent discs from Donna The Buffalo and Tara Nevins demonstrate. You can trust just about anything on this label to be good.

RED HOUSE http://www.redhouserecords.com -- Another label where the brand name alone is worth as much as the artists' names. Virtually everything they do is good. Minneapolis' Red House is a folk label, and a great one at that. Music from Greg Brown, John Gorka, last year's tribute to Kate Wolf, and the extraordinary acoustic guitarist Adrian Legg are just part of what makes this label very special.

FOG CITY / UBIQUITY http://www.fogworld.com -- You like Acid Jazz? Then you love San Francisco's Fog City and Ubiquity labels. These labels first brought bans like Galactic, Stanton Moore, the Greyboy Allstars, Karl Denson and Robert Walter's 20th Congress to our attention, but that isn't even a quarter of it. I have never heard a bad sound on a record from these labels. Seriously.

ARHOOLIE http://www.arhoolie.com -- An El Ceritto, California label that has been releasing great blues, cajun, zydeco, Tejano and WorldBeat for so long it is starting to be inducted into music halls of fame. Arhoolie is a world class record label featuring American roots musics of every type and time period, as well as other very compelling music from around the world.

RIGHTEOUS BABE http://www.righteous-babe-records.com -- What can one say about 28 year old Ani DiFranco's achievements musically, as a business, and politically? Very impressive, against all odds. My hat's off to her. The two DiFranco - Utah Phillips collaborations are especially good, but the Buffalo, New York company's stuff is all good.

ACOUSTIC DISC http://www.dawg.net -- David Grisman's San Rafael, California based label, Acoustic Disc specializes in... you guessed it, acoustic music. They not only release David Grisman Quartet projects, and the individual efforts of DGQ members Joe Craven and Matt Eakle, they have also begun searching the world for obscure gems by the best South American mandolinists and guitarists of the whole century, for example. The commitment to quality sounds runs very high at Acoustic Disc. The Grisman - Ronnie McCoury produced "Mandolin Extravaganza" is a classic. You like mandolin? You need it. Acoustic Disc is also to be praised for the extensive and high quality liner note booklets they include with most releases.

RAZOR & TIE http://www.razorandtie.com -- A fine independent featuring artists from the folk tradition such as Dar Williams, as well as a funky artist that is really going places but is not readily classifiable, NYC's Toshi Reagon. And that's just two of their artists. Cry Cry Cry (Lucy Kaplansky, Dar Williams & Richard Shindell) and many others make this a very special label.

SHANACHIE http://shanachie.com - It's hard to say enough good things about this New Jersey company, which is all over the place in its musical tastes, from folk, traditional and roots music to reggae to jambands to world sounds to jazz. Their latest jamband compilation is called "Help Us Get High," and while the title stinks and the cover art is lame, the music is awfully good.

RYKODISC http://www.rykodisc.com - An independent so strong that it is almost hard to believe it's not affiliated with a "major." Frank Zappa's entire catalog and Mickey Hart's work as performer and producer are just two of hundreds of reasons to check this label out.

MAMMOTH http://www.mammoth.com -- Mid-sized labels would have a hard time developing a roster this strong, as fans of Victoria Williams, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Strangefolk could tell you.

PUTUMAYO http://www.putumayo.com -- Based now in Berkeley, Putumayo specializes in world musics of all kinds. They revel as much in thematically organized collections such as "Women Of The World," and "From Mali To Mississippi," as they do in individual artists like "The Laura Love Collection" and "Kotoja." Easily recognizable by the colorful cartoon covers, Putumayo puts some very good world beat out there from just about all the corners of the globe. They also reach into non-traditional outlets, like hip clothing stores, with their product very successfully.

PHOENIX RISING http://www.radiophoenix.com -- An interesting new label that has picked up several jam bands, such as the newest incarnation of Kingfish, as well as releasing a new one from funksters Foxtrot Zulu, Phish compatriot The Dude Of Life, and the next Big Wu record.

ZEBRA http://www.zebradisc.com -- Zebra specializes in fusion music, and while this can have its downsides, some real good stuff comes out of this too, such as Jazz Is Dead and the forthcoming reunion of the 1979 version of the Dixie Dregs recorded live in LA last month. Zebra Acoustic focuses on unclassifiable masters like the compilation disc of French-Algerian fingerstyle guitarist Pierre Bensusan.

PADRE http://www.calobo.com -- This label is said to be the largest independent operating in the Northwest, and it is run by the great Portland, Oregon band Calobo. Their most recent disc, "Live at The Crystal Ballroom," is wonderful, if you don't already know that.

LAUAN http://www.lauan.com -- Having come out of the punk tradition, the founders of Lauan know the DIY ethic well. Now into the jamband scene, the good folks at Lauan have been experimenting with MP3 discs (which can hold up to four hours of music!) as well as more standard CD technology. Jiggle The Handle, Vinyl, and Day By The River have all been associated with this label.

HYDROPHONICS http://www.megaforcerecords.com -- Coming out of the metal tradition as Megaforce Records, Hydrophonics proprietors Johnny Z. and his wife have already proven they know what it takes for an independent label to make it. Their initial forays into the music business resulted in acts like Metallica becoming superstars. Their latest projects have been jam oriented, such as Disco Biscuits and Ominous Seapods. More success is expected in the future for this label.

HOMEGROWN MUSIC NETWORK / LEEWAY http://www.homegrownmusic.net -- Lastly but not least for this exploration of independents is a North Carolina company that is more a distributor of music than a label, but they do put out some compilation discs of their own, so they are a label too. They are the independent artists' distribution center that began as a way for unsigned bands to take credit card orders over the phone and internet. They have grown to become a real force in the jamband scene, and I, for one, wish them real well in the endeavors because they seem to coming from a place of heart as well as doing good business.

I've heard great stuff from Bar None and Nonesuch too, but I don't yet know enough about these labels to say much.

_______________flowerpunkprods______________

There are many more good independent American record companies as well. This list was not meant to be exclusive or to be considered comprehensive, despite its length. I hope to learn about the music of the best European, African, Asian, Pacific, Caribbean, Central and South American independent labels someday too. One step at time.

For more of da Flower Punk's thoughts on music, see his reviews and columns at http://pauserecord.com.