WGNS Recordings releases music recorded by WGNS Studios.
WGNS was initially started by Gray Matter's Geoff Turner in Maryland in the early 1980s as a cassette label. [1] WGNS stood for "We Gots No Station." [2] Initial recordings were mastered to a cassette and then dubbed from the master to cassettes which were numbered and sold. The releases typically included a ziploc bag containing artwork and lyric sheets.[ citation needed ] As time went on, Turner built WGNS Studios as a basement recording studio for local musicians. [2] The studio moved many times, with locations in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia. [1] [3]
In 1984 the first vinyl release, the Bloody Mannequin Orchestra's Roadmap to Revolution LP, a 12" 33⅓ rpm record was released.
WGNS was responsible for the rise of great artists such as Ennui and Dave Grohl.[ citation needed ] In the summer of 1991, Scream drummer Grohl went into WGNS Studios and recorded four songs, playing all the instruments himself. [2] A tape of the songs, given by Grohl to Simple Machines co-founder Jenny Toomey, became a candidate for the label's Tool Cassette Series. [4] Simple Machines released the songs on the Pocketwatch (album) using Grohl's pseudonym Late! in summer 1992. [2] In May 1992, Ennui recorded at the WGNS studio located in Arlington, Virginia. [5] Grohl recorded again at WGNS Studios in December 1996, when it was back in Washington, DC. [1] [6]