Crypt Records is an independent record label founded by American-born Tim Warren in 1983. The label has been headquartered variously in Hamburg, Germany and in several locations in the United States. Crypt is perhaps best known for issuing the ten-volume Back From The Grave Series of 1960s garage punk compilations, although its other reissues and releases include surf, rockabilly, punk rock, exotica, garage punk, original rhythm and blues, and soul music.
Crypt Records was launched in August 1983 by the New York-born Tim Warren (b. 1960), who had spent his boyhood with his family in the Philippines and Greece. [1] The family moved back to the United States in 1974, when Warren was 14. [1]
Warren spent his first four years as a young adult working in a record store in Amherst, Massachusetts before moving to Maine to work in a gas station — a job which allowed him to save a modest amount of money. [1] In October 1980 Warren returned to his New York City birthplace to take a job in another record store. [1] It was at this time that Warren first became interested in garage punk and other underground music of the 1960s. [1]
The label's first release was a compilation LP dedicated to raw 1960s garage rock. [2] Over the next three years there would be a total of 17 releases, focusing on rare 1960s garage and 1950s rockabilly music. [2]
In the fall of 1986 the label moved towards the reissue of contemporary punk rock with a reissue of 1970s band DMZ. [2] A mix of releases followed including pioneering bands from the 1950s and 1960s as well as modern punk groups. [2]
Warren moved to Hamburg, Germany in January 1990, where he immediately began booking European tours for various bands on the Crypt label. [2] The label rented a seven-room space in the spring of 1991, in which it opened up a retail record store in addition to continuing its manufacturing operations. [2]
Although home to the commercially successful New Bomb Turks, the label found itself in financial difficulties owing to slow payments from dishonest distributors. [2] With punk exploding in popularity in the United States, plans were made for a resumption of manufacturing operations there. [2] Still hampered by cash flow problems resulting from distributor non-payment, a manufacturing and distribution deal was signed with major label-affiliated Matador Records in August 1994. [2]
In 1997 the building housing Crypt Records was sold to a new owner, leading to an escalation in rent which forced the shop's closure. [1]
In January 1999 Warren decided to return to the United States, briefly settling in the small town of Truckee, California. [1] He moved across country in June 2000 to Frenchtown, New Jersey, bringing his label in tow. [1] A Crypt presence was maintained in Germany, with a new shop opened at an alternate location in Hamburg in September 2005. [1]
The label remained in financial difficulties, hindered in particular by the bankruptcy of Crypt's European distributor. [1] Warren was unhappy in the United States and found himself spending an inordinate amount on the repair and maintenance of a New Jersey home he had purchased. [1] He managed to sell the house in 2007 and returned to New York, briefly opening a record store in Brooklyn called "Cool and Crazy." [1]
This New York chapter also proved to be a short one and a return was made to Germany, this time to Berlin. [1] The label continues in existence in 2015 and is best known for its series of Back from the Grave compilation albums.
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Psychobilly is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ramp[ing] up its speed to a sweaty pace, and combin[ing] it with punk rock and imagery lifted from horror films and late-night sci-fi schlock,... [creating a] gritty honky tonk punk rock."
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Norton Records, is an independent record label founded by musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller in 1986. The label concentrates on rock, rockabilly, primitive music, punk, garage rock and early rhythm and blues. Most of its output, both new releases and reissues, is issued on vinyl.
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"Demons" are a punk rock/garage punk group from Sweden. The band includes quotation marks in their name to differentiate themselves from other bands with a similar name. Their music has been described as "punk 'n' roll", but the band claims it should only be described as high-energy rock. Their musical style relies heavily on the energy derived from punk rock. Influences include 1960s garage rock bands such as The Sonics, The Standells and Shadows of Knight, The Velvet Underground, The Stooges and New York Dolls; and punk rock bands such as The Damned, The Heartbreakers and The Saints; and early hardcore punk bands such as Black Flag, Bad Brains and Dead Kennedys. "Demons" has often been compared to contemporary groups like New Bomb Turks, The Hellacopters and Electric Frankenstein.
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Back from the Grave, Volume 1 is the first installment in the Back from the Grave series of garage rock compilations put together by Tim Warren of Crypt Records and released in 1983 on LP. In keeping with all of the entries in the series, and as indicated in the subheading which reads "Rockin' 1966 Punkers," this collection consists of songs which display the rawer and more aggressive side of the genre and are often characterized by the use of fuzztone-distorted guitars and rough vocals. The set generally excludes psychedelic, folk rock, and pop-influenced material in favor of basic primitive rock and roll. The packaging features well-researched liner notes written by Tim Warren which convey basic information about each song and group, such as origin, recording date, and biographical sketches, usually written in a conversational style that includes occasional slang, anecdotes, humorous asides. The liner notes are noticeably opinionated, sometimes engaging in tongue-in-cheek insults directed at other genres of music. The packaging also includes photographs of the bands, and the front cover features a highly satirical cartoon by Mort Todd depicting a revivified "rock and roll" zombie who, along with his macabre cohorts, has just emerged from the grave to "bury" all specimens of supposedly "heretical" pop and progressive music which have come to prominence over the years, such as disco music and MTV.
Back from the Grave, Volume 5 is the fifth installment in the Back from the Grave series of garage rock compilations assembled by Tim Warren of Crypt Records. It was released in 1985. In keeping with all of the entries in the series, and as indicated in the subheading that reads "16 Crazed Bone Crunchin' Mid-60s Garage Punkers", this collection consists of songs which display the rawer and more aggressive side of the genre and are often characterized by the use of fuzztone-distorted guitars and rough vocals. The set generally excludes psychedelic, folk rock, and pop-influenced material in favor of basic primitive rock and roll. The packaging features well-researched liner notes written by Tim Warren which convey basic information about each song and group, such as origin, recording date, and biographical sketches, usually written in a conversational style that includes occasional slang, anecdotes, humorous asides. The liner notes are noticeably opinionated, sometimes engaging in tongue-in-cheek insults directed at other genres of music. The packaging also includes photographs of the bands, and the front cover features a highly satirical cartoon by Mort Todd which depicts revivified zombies, in customary fashion, returning to wreak havoc, this time exacting joyful revenge on whole chunks of the human race, by using a variety of noxious substances and even resorting to the nuclear option, while a handful of their victims wallow in a "hydroconformic acid hot tub."
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Propaganda Records company and Propaganda label are an independent Finnish record company and a record label established in 1981. Since the beginning Helsinki-based Propaganda specialized in independent punk music and hardcore. The label dominated the Finnish hardcore punk and underground scene from the early 1980s until 1986. Releases were soon distributed in West Germany, Brazil and the United States. They soon began reissues in West Germany.
Last of the Garage Punk Unknowns is a series compilation albums of 1960s garage rock created and compiled by Tim Warren and released by Crypt Records in 2015 and 2016. The series consists of a total of eight LP's and four CD's which each combine each of the corresponding LP's onto one compact disc. Like Crypt Records' Back from the Grave series, the Last of the Garage Punk Unknowns entries include the raw and aggressive numbers characterized by the use of fuzztone-distorted guitars and rough vocals, yet the songs tend to be more melodic and inclusive of the diversity of the genre. As indicated on the front sleeves, most of the songs were recorded by American groups, between 1965-1967. The series tends to follow the packaging format established by the Back from the Grave series in that each volume includes detailed liner notes that include basic information about each song and group, such as origin and recording date. The albums also include photographs of included groups, and cover artwork reflects the mid-1960s style graphic presentation popular on record sleeves of the time.
The Dagenites were an American garage rock a band from Oxon Hill, Maryland near Washington, DC, who were active in the 1960s. They shared management and frequent billing with noted guitarist and performer Link Wray. In recent years their work has become highly regarded amongst garage rock enthusiasts and collectors and has been included on several compilations. The Dagenites are especially known for their proto-punk anthems, "I Don't Want to Try it Again" and "I'm Gone Slide", both of which have been mentioned as garage rock classics.
Last of the Garage Punk Unknowns, Volumes 7 & 8: Heartbroken American Garage Jangle Misery 1965–1967 is a compilation album of 1960s garage rock available on compact disc and is part of the Last of the Garage Punk Unknowns series created and compiled by Tim Warren for Crypt Records. It was released and 2015 and combines volumes 7 and 8 of the LP counterparts in the series. Most of the set focuses on downcast and moody rock songs and ballads. Several of the tracks display folk rock influence. Packaging includes detailed liner notes that include basic information about each song and group, such as origin and recording date. The album also includes photographs of musical groups, and cover artwork reflects the mid-1960s style graphic art popular on record sleeves of the time.
