16th November 2010

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Nerds Interviewing Nerds #2: Whitehaus Family Record

Corey from Sex Sux (Amen) and I are teaming up ONCE AGAIN. It’s like Scott Hall and Kevin Nash getting back together to reform the Outsiders, except it’s not at all like that!

Corey got things started over on his blog (and he pretty much got things started on this idea in general), so head over there to get the full backstory on what we’re doing with this series. The brief rundown is this: we’re interviewing record labels that put out cool records. The first entry into this thang (also over on Corey’s blog) is an interview with Larry Hardy from In the Red, a record label that has put out all sorts of awesome shit, including Blacktop, King Khan & BBQ Show, and the Country Teasers, to name just a few.

So, how about entry number two?

I found out about Whitehaus Family Record back when I was doing a radio show at WMUA-FM, UMass radio. A record got entered into the new music section by Truman Peyote. It was weird, awesome, contained a cover of a Spacemen 3 song (which was also turned into a Christopher Walken reference), and it was on a record label I’d never heard of before: Whitehaus. A few months passed, and I received a copy of the Whitehaus Family Record Family Record, a compilation CD of tons of artists who’ve recorded on the label, which I liked so much I wrote it up here.

So, of course, I was intrigued. I did a bit of research on the label, and found out that not only did the collective put out records, but they were also a house, a music venue, and, according to their website, about a million other things, including a rotten sinkhole and a heaven on earth. Based out of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, the label has put out stuff by the aforementioned Truman Peyote, Prince Rama of Ayodhya, Many Mansions, and a whole slew of other kind (I imagine) and interesting (I know) folks.

Corey and I got in touch with them to pick their brains a bit, and here’s what was asked and answered:

Interview with folks from the Whitehaus Family Record

Corey and David: Why do you run a record label?

Whitehaus: to record and label the things that happen around us. jamaica plain is so juicy. we’ve been having so much fun here and we love documenting and sharing it.

C&D: What are your favorite record labels?

W:
- autumn records - run out of burlington, VT by greg davis. includes great artists like kurt weisman, ruth garbus, chris weisman, greg davis.
- resipiscent records - based in san francisco. the weirdest of the weird… horaflora/ralph white, hans grusel’s krankenkabinet, etc.
- feeding tube records - prolific western mass oddities - cave bears, zebu, ralph white.. great spirit and artwork
- from the heart media - a project devoted to documenting the cape cod music scene. they release tons of kickass recordings for free or very cheap. some really great bands that never left the cape.
- sonic meditations - based in kansas city, MO and run by justin wright of the band expo ‘70. really great drone tapes, records and cds

C&D: What band(s) that are flying a little under the radar should we check out from yr neck-of-the-woods?

W:
- peace, loving - always on tour. the most innovative band in the country. the farthest out jazz.
- the points north - smooth folk inspired by new england living.
- kid romance - sexy, unafraid classic rock.
- the needy visions - catchy garage rock, great musicianship, also form the major booking/promotion group “bodies of water”
- hello shark - sleepy postmodest pop from new england/america.

C&D: How do you define yer record label’s aesthetic? How do you decide what albums to put out?

W: our aesthetic is defined by our time and place and changes rapidly as different people take leading roles within the whitehaus family record. whitehaus releases albums created by people who have either lived at the house itself or are deeply associated with the place and people. historically, there hasn’t been a planning board that decides what albums to put out. more like, if you hang out here and you have a recording you’re proud of, you can do the work and release it on the “whitehaus family record.” this has changed a little bit since we have started putting out vinyl and using community money (raised through organizing events such as Blastfest and Weirdstock) to do that. for the whitehaus family record family record double 12”, there was a lot of meetings to decide who wanted to be on it and who would be on it and what tracks would be used and what the art would be like.

C&D: What would be on your dream compilation?

W: recordings from the great bands that have played at our house and contributed so beautifully to our lives over the last four years — ideally it would be comprised of primarily live @ the whitehaus recordings, since so much of our operation has been focused on the shows that happen here.

C&D: Who’s been the silliest band or musician to work with?

W: raub roy/horaflora. he is the silliest man on earth.

Tagged: BlacktopCountry TeasersIn the RedNerds Interviewing NerdsTruman PeyoteWhitehaus Family Recordsex sux (amen)Spacemen 3Prince Rama of AyodhyaMany MansionsKing Khan & BBQ Show

2nd July 2010

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The Roar of the Masses Could be Farts: The Pack A.D. - We Kill Computers

Corey from Sex Sux (Amen) and I have decided to destroy you. Here’s how we’re going to do it: collaborative blogging. Knowing Corey to be a fan of theirs, I asked him to check out The Pack A.D.’s most recent record, We Kill Computers.  Over on Corey’s blog, we talked about Woven Bones’ new one, In and Out and Back Again. Once you’re done here, head over and check it out. Now, take it away, Corey.

Corey: I had forgotten about my favorite Canadian garage punk duo, Becky Black and Maya Miller, even though they dropped a couple excellent LP’s last decade on Mint Records: Tintype and Funeral Mixtape.

The girls are burning down British Columbia on this record: the vocals from Becky are more biting, confident, and angry and her guitar playing is heavier and noisier.  Maya’s thrashing drums complement Becky’s downright evil fire she is spitting.  Check out the best tracks, “Crazy” and “K Stomp,” and you can feel Becky’s snarl right in your mouth.

The mostly blues-inspired song writing from their earlier records occasionally got repetitive.  On this record, they choose to branch off a little more, diving into heavy rock and punk territory.

In retrospect, The Pack AD’s earlier records showed off promise, and, since they weren’t over-hyped/were over-looked, they’ve been able to organically develop into a motherfucking powerful force.

David: I’ll be honest, I got this record when it came out a few months ago, and I didn’t even make it all the way through. It seemed over-produced, and, when the basis for most of a group’s appeal is based on raw energy, too much time in the studio can really dull that edge. But it’s been a while, and I figured since their previous two records were nasty, I should give this one another shot.

I guess my real issue the first time around was just that their visual aesthetic seems to have changed a bit in between this record and the last, going from hairy tomboy southern (yeah, I know they’re Canadian) thugs to a cleaner, hipper look, and I expected that to transfer over into their sound.  But, now that I’ve had some time to remember I shouldn’t really give a shit about what they look like, I can recognize that I made up that “over-produced” bit.  I was expecting to be able to start a debate with Corey over this record, but it looks like I fucked up. I don’t know if I see as much improvement in between Funeral Mixtape and We Kill Computers, but my original appraisal was definitely misguided. It’s a solid album. Go fuck yourself, me-from-the-past!

I don’t know how I missed it the first time around, but the first cut, “Deer” fucking stomps. It’s riffy, and there’s just enough space to make that riff really land hard. Is it me, or is “Crazy” just a reworking of “The Hardest Button to Button?” Can’t go wrong starting in that territory.

Corey: Haha I actually tried listening to it a little while back and got bored but you forced me to listen to it again and it’s pretty good, right?  Fuck us.

David: Yeah, I think the main issue is “Cobra Matte” sucks. I think that’s as far as I got the first time, and this time, I got up to that song and was still like “what the hell?” It’s not that bad, but it’s sucky.

Corey: Yeah that “Cobra Matte” sucks.

Tagged: stuck in thee garagethe roar of the masses could be fartssex sux (amen)