Fowl Records

Last updated
Fowl Records
Founded1994
Founder Jimi Haha, Richard James Burgess, Chris Keith
StatusDefunct
GenreVarious
Country of originUnited States
Official website http://fowl.com/

Fowl Records was co-founded in 1994 by Jimi Haha from Jimmie's Chicken Shack, Richard James Burgess, the band's manager (Burgess Worldco Inc.) and Chris Keith, the band's agent (Creative Booking International, Inc.) as a means to release Jimmie's Chicken Shack's first two independent CDs. Almost immediately it became the top indie label in the Mid-Atlantic region, specializing in alternative rock, punk, and jam bands. From 1998 to the closure of the label in 2002, Chris Smoker was the label manager.

Contents

Releases

Fowl released the first three Jimmie's Chicken Shack recordings; being the cassettes Chicken Scratch in 1993 and Spit Burger Lottery in 1994, which were later put on one album called 2 For 1 Special. In 1995 a live album, Giving Something Back, was released. In 1996, Fowl incorporated and released An Udderly Fowl Release, a compilation featuring regional bands including the Kelly Bell Band, All Mighty Senators, Mary Prankster, and the unreleased Jimmie's Chicken Shack song, "Bongjam." There was a later compilation entitled A Family Fowlbum.

Fowl was not focused on a particular genre of music, but regarded by its founders as a development tool for local and regional bands in the Mid-Atlantic Music Scene, to gain exposure through Fowl's substantial local, regional and national distribution network. Also it was their online store, which was one of the first independent online music and music merchandise stores. The Fowl Records business model was built around grass roots and lifestyle promotion, leveraging mail and (early) email lists gleaned from the substantial fanbases the bands developed by playing as many shows as possible. Fowl sold hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of CDs through its own distribution network.

At its peak, Fowl was able to leverage its success and respect in the area by launching the local band stage, which was initially called "The Fowl Stage" at the HFStival. Several of the label's artists won Wammies from the Washington Area Music Association. In the days before the massive consolidation of radio properties, the programming staff at WHFS were supportive of Fowl Records, Jimmie's Chicken Shack and the label's other artists. [1]

Fowl bands

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcy Playground</span> American indie rock band

Marcy Playground is an American alternative rock band consisting of three members: John Wozniak, Dylan Keefe (bass), and Shlomi Lavie (drums). The band is best known for their 1997 hit "Sex and Candy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Mighty Mighty Bosstones</span> American ska punk band

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones were an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. From the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky Barrett, bassist Joe Gittleman, tenor saxophonist Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton and dancer ("Bosstone") Ben Carr remained constant members. The band's final line-up also included drummer Joe Sirois, saxophonist Leon Silva, guitarist Lawrence Katz, keyboardist John Goetchius, and trombonist Chris Rhodes.

Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records.

Bloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, which specializes in alternative country.

Jimmie's Chicken Shack is an American alternative rock band from Annapolis, Maryland. They are best known for their single "High". In 1996 they signed to Elton John's Rocket Records and released two major-label albums, Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope and Bring Your Own Stereo. Both LPs enjoyed minor chart, radio, and MTV success and produced their best known hits "High" and "Do Right." After years of squabbling with their label and finally being set free from their contract, the band subsequently released two more albums independently, Re.Present and Fail on Cue.

The Mid-Atlantic music scene consists of mostly unsigned bands from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia. However, there have been some success stories of bands that worked hard over the years to achieve commercial success such as Jimmie's Chicken Shack, Good Charlotte, SR-71, and Nothingface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yep Roc Records</span> American independent record label

Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Fountains of Wayne, Nick Lowe, Paul Weller, Mandolin Orange, Steep Canyon Rangers, Jim Lauderdale, Dave Alvin, Tift Merritt, Chuck Prophet, Robyn Hitchcock, Alejandro Escovedo, Aoife O'Donovan, Chatham County Line, Los Straitjackets, Amy Helm, Gang of Four, The Apples in Stereo, and Ian McLagan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suburban Home Records</span>

Suburban Home Records and Distribution is a record label based in Denver, Colorado, United States. The label was founded in 1995 by Virgil Dickerson, and is known for focusing on vinyl releases and bands in the pop-punk and alt-country genres. Its roster has included Two Cow Garage, Drag the River, Oblivion, The Gamits, and Apocalypse Hoboken. In 2006 the label founded the Vinyl Collective, an online store that serves as a community hub for independent vinyl collectors.

Ruder Than You is an American ska band that was founded in 1989 at Penn State University and, in 1991, the group relocated to Philadelphia. While ska and reggae stylings have always provided the common musical thread, over the past 15 plus years Ruder Than You has been mixing in dancehall, hip hop, rocksteady, and rub-a-dub – even adding elements of funk, jazz, and punk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Live Alien Broadcast</span>

Live Alien Broadcast is a Baltimore-based rock band that began between the Washington D.C. suburb of Gaithersburg, Maryland and Baltimore City, as a straight up heavy band and later incorporated a DJ and samples to their sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicken Shack</span> English blues band

Chicken Shack are a British blues band, founded in the mid-1960s by Stan Webb, Andy Silvester, and Alan Morley (drums), who were later joined by Christine Perfect in 1967. Chicken Shack has performed with various line-ups, Stan Webb being the only constant member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leroy Burgess</span> American music producer (born 1953)

Leroy O'Neil Jackson Jr., known by his stage name Leroy Burgess, is an American singer, songwriter, keyboard player, recording artist, arranger and record producer.

Blue Horizon Records was a British blues independent record label, founded by Mike Vernon and Neil Slaven in 1965, as an adjunct to their fanzine, R&B Monthly, and was the foremost label at the time of the British blues boom in the mid to late 1960s.

<i>Christine Perfect</i> (album) 1970 studio album by Christine Perfect

Christine Perfect is the debut solo album of former Chicken Shack keyboardist and singer Christine Perfect. The album was released just after Perfect had left Chicken Shack, but before she joined Fleetwood Mac. Released in 1970, the album was originally meant to be titled I'm on My Way as evidenced on copies of the single "I'm Too Far Gone ". It was re-released in 1976 as The Legendary Christine Perfect Album.

<i>Bring Your Own Stereo</i> 1999 studio album by Jimmies Chicken Shack

Bring Your Own Stereo is a studio album by Jimmie's Chicken Shack, released in 1999.

Margret Heater was an American, Baltimore, Maryland, based alternative metal band from 1997 to 2003.

<i>Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope</i> 1997 studio album by Jimmies Chicken Shack

Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope is an album by the American band Jimmie's Chicken Shack. It was released in 1997. The album sold more than 200,000 copies. The band supported the album by opening for Everclear on a North American tour.

Earth to Andy is an American alternative rock band from Charlottesville, Virginia.

Universal Warning Records is a record label and video production company located in the greater Philadelphia area. Universal Warning produces and releases independent music from local and national bands, as well as produces music videos, live concerts for DVD and digital transmission as well as music documentaries, primarily from the indie, punk, and hardcore genres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rocket Record Company</span> British record label

The Rocket Record Company was a record label founded by Elton John, along with Bernie Taupin, Gus Dudgeon, Steve Brown and others, in 1973. The company was named after the hit song "Rocket Man". The label was originally distributed in the UK by Island and in the US by MCA Records, both of which Elton John was also signed to.

References

  1. [ dead link ]
  2. "CD Baby: Fowl Records". Cdbaby.com. Retrieved 2 August 2023.