What Are Records? | |
---|---|
Founded | 1991 |
Founder | Rob Gordon |
Distributor(s) | Select-O-Hits |
Genre | Various |
Country of origin | U.S. |
Location | Boulder, Colorado |
Official website | whatarerecords |
What Are Records? (or W.A.R.?) is an independent record label located in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in New York City in 1991 by owner Rob Gordon, former director of A&R at EMI, [1] the company moved to Boulder in 1994.
W.A.R.? has released over 100 records by Frank Black (of The Pixies), Bill Burr, Stephen Lynch, The Samples, Maceo Parker, Melissa Ferrick, and Whitest Kids U' Know. [2]
What Are Records? was founded in Gordon's New York City loft in 1991. From the beginning, it fostered a direct-to-stores and direct-to-consumers distribution strategy [3] Friend of Gordon and The Samples then-manager, [4] Ted Guggenheim, urged W.A.R.? to sign The Samples and they soon were among the first signings to the label. [5] Other early acts included comedian Stephen Lynch, [6] funk saxophone legend Maceo Parker (known for having played in James Brown’s band), former Squeeze frontman Glen Tilbrook, Grammy and Tony-nominated composer and piano man David Yazbek, singer-songwriter David Wilcox, and singer-songwriter Melissa Ferrick.
Gordon relocated the company to Boulder in 1991 [7] and has been operating out of the offices designed by architect Charles Haertling ever since. [8]
Squeeze are an English rock band that came to prominence in the United Kingdom during the new wave period of the late 1970s, and continued recording in the 1980s, 1990s and 2010s. In the UK, their singles "Cool for Cats", "Up the Junction", and "Labelled with Love" were top-ten chart hits. Though not as commercially successful in the United States, Squeeze had American hits with "Tempted", "Black Coffee in Bed", and "Hourglass", and were considered a part of the Second British Invasion.
Cover art by Ronald "Stozo" Edwards
The J.B.'s was the name of James Brown's band from 1970 through the early 1980s. On records the band was sometimes billed under alternate names such as Fred Wesley and the JBs, The James Brown Soul Train, Maceo and the Macks, A.A.B.B., Fred Wesley and the New JBs, The First Family, and The Last Word. In addition to backing Brown, the J.B.'s played behind Bobby Byrd, Lyn Collins, and other singers associated with the James Brown Revue, and performed and recorded as a self-contained group. In 2015, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but failed to be inducted and can be considered for Musical Excellence in the future. They have been eligible since 1995.
Domino is a 1998 album by the British new wave group Squeeze. It was the band's twelfth studio album. After a career struggling with various major record labels, the band decided to record and release Domino independently, on Glenn Tilbrook's own Quixotic Records. Core members Tilbrook and Chris Difford were joined by three brand new Squeeze members for this album: drummer Ashley Soan, bassist Hilaire Penda, and keyboardist Christopher Holland.
Melissa Ferrick is an American singer-songwriter. Their song "Drive" (2000) is considered a lesbian anthem. They are a music professor at Northeastern University and at Berklee College of Music.
"Tempted" is a song by the British rock band Squeeze. Written by the Squeeze songwriting team of Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, the song features lyrics inspired by Difford's experiences on an American tour and an arrangement inspired by the Temptations. "Tempted" is one of a few Squeeze songs with Paul Carrack as lead vocalist, at the suggestion of producer Elvis Costello.
The Samples is an American rock band formed in Boulder, Colorado in 1987. The band's name came from the members' early sustenance of food samples from the local grocery store. The music has been described as "reggae influenced rock/pop" and a cross between The Police and the Grateful Dead. The founding members were Sean Kelly (Guitar/Vocals), Charles Hambleton (Guitar), Andy Sheldon (Bass/Vocals), Jeep MacNichol (Drums/Vocals), and Al Laughlin (Keyboards/Vocals).
KBCO is a radio station in Denver that is licensed to Boulder, Colorado. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) format.
Trombipulation is the ninth album by the funk band Parliament. It was released by Casablanca Records. It was the last album of original material produced by the group for 38 years until Medicaid Fraud Dogg in 2018. Unlike previous Parliament albums, George Clinton did not serve as sole producer of the album, as other P-Funk figures assisted in producing individual tracks. Bassist Bootsy Collins emerged as the principal musician on this album, playing virtually all of the instruments on a number of tracks. The track "Let's Play House" was sampled by the Hip-Hop group Digital Underground for their single "The Humpty Dance".
Caribou Ranch was a recording studio built by producer James William Guercio in 1972 in a converted barn on ranch property in the Rocky Mountains near Nederland, Colorado, on the road that leads to the ghost town of Caribou. The studio was in operation until it was damaged in a fire in March 1985. The ranch hosted some of the most prominent acts of the 1970s and 80s and was closely associated with the band Chicago, who recorded five consecutive albums there between 1973 and 1977.
Hey, Man, Smell My Finger is the sixth studio album by American funk musician George Clinton, released October 12, 1993, on Paisley Park Records. It is Clinton's second and last release for the Paisley Park label, owned by Prince. The album features an array of musical guests including Prince, Dallas Austin, Humpty Hump from Digital Underground, Ice Cube, N'Dea Davenport, Dr. Dre, and Herbie Hancock, as well P-Funk alumni including Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, Maceo Parker, and Fred Wesley. Hey, Man, Smell My Finger furthers Clinton's incorporation of hip hop elements such as electronically produced beats, rapping by Clinton, and sampling of older P-Funk material.
Trevor Paul Moore was an American comedian, actor, writer, director, and producer. He was known for being one of the founding members—alongside Sam Brown and Zach Cregger—of the New York City-based comedy troupe the Whitest Kids U' Know (WKUK), who had their own sketch comedy series on IFC that ran for five seasons.
The One Giveth, the Count Taketh Away is an album by William Bootsy Collins, released by Warner Bros. Records. It would be the last album that Bootsy Collins would record for the label. It would also be the first album produced solely by Bootsy Collins, with the exception of the track "Shine-O-Myte " which was produced by Bootsy Collins and George Clinton. The album was released on April 28, 1982.
Funk of Ages is a solo album by former Parliament-Funkadelic keyboardist Bernie Worrell. The album was released in 1990 by Gramavision Records. It includes contributions by numerous guest musicians, including Sly and Robbie, David Byrne, Herbie Hancock, Keith Richards, Vernon Reid, and Phoebe Snow. P-Funk bandmates Bootsy Collins, Maceo Parker, Gary Cooper, Doug Duffey, and Michael Hampton also contributed.
The Berklee Performance Center is a 1,215-seat theatre located on Massachusetts Ave. in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest theatre space on the Berklee College of Music campus and is used primarily for college-affiliated activities. Presenters from outside the Berklee community also rent it for performances of all kinds. In 2009, the Berklee Performance Center hosted a total of 200 events.
Stephen Large is an English, London-based keyboard player, composer, arranger, and long-term member of UK band Squeeze.
"If I Didn't Love You" is the ninth track from Squeeze's album, Argybargy. The song, written by Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, features lyrics about the early stages of a relationship and the insecurity that comes with it. The song has vocals and a slide guitar solo by Tilbrook.
Monica Lynch is a music business executive, record producer, and former President of hip-hop/dance music label Tommy Boy Records. She has hosted radio programs on free-form WFMU since 1997, and worked as an A&R consultant for Queen Latifah and Martina McBride.