Filed under: Uncategorized
In less than a week Numero’s new Eccentric Soul: A RGB Production will be hitting finer record stores everywhere. Filled with soaring group harmony ballads bolstered by Williams clean and polished recording style gives you a fresh look into the Capital City’s soul scene during the 70′s. For fans of Father’s Children, this compilation won’t disappoint with a fair share of unreleased recordings all transferred from original master tapes for a near pristine listening experience.
Washington City Paper’s Arts Desk writer Ryan Little breaks down the story of Williams and his impact on the DC scene in his article intertwined with streaming mp3′s to provide some aural support. Check out Williams’s story, love for R. Kelly and a nice unreleased instrumental of the LP-only track “P & Q’s” by the Summits, here.
If you like what you hear but for some reason have been sleeping under a rock for the past year, get Father’s Children: Who’s Gonna Save the World now.
Whatever Happened To Bobbie Gentry?
Nobody knows much. She lives on an island off the coast of Savannah (maybe) and never leaves the house. She’s 67 now. That’s about it.
We’re big Bobbie fans here at Numero, and just discovered and are currently listening to the BBC radio documentary at the link above. It’s fantastic and only available for another three days, so get into it.
Note: Yup, all her BBC series recordings have gone missing. We love that word: “missing.”
Filed under: Uncategorized
On Wednesday night, The Reader‘s Peter Margasak published a limp rebuke of our pop up store. As Margasak had framed his queries in the soft tones of gutless gotcha journalism (Quotes from the original email: “I know you guys are pretty ambivalent about RSD, as am I.” and “I’m writing a little thing for the Reader about Numero’s pop-up store and other activities.”), we can only shake our heads and chuckle.
Patrick from Carrot Top/Saki has posted his lengthy and reasoned response as well (We’re referred to as Ninjas, a first). The comments present a variety of sides and are well worth the scroll-down. It was followed by a clarifying post. It’s cool to see indie music get all up in arms for a good debate, just like the old days of Maximum Rock & Roll columnists blowing feet of column space on who is ruining the scene, man.
Us? We’re too busy setting up an awesome record store to worry about the haters.
Meanwhile on the positive side of the board, NPR has called WTNG 89.9 Solid Bronze one of the top 13 records to look out for on Record Store Day. We agree.
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A look at our silver and black art for the Codeine box. June 19th is coming fast.
Summer is fast approaching, which means that internship season is upon us. The Numero Group is seeking bright-eyed individuals, interested in working within the ranks of the Numero Group this summer. Unpaid positions are available in realms of research/editorial, design/interactive, and business development/customer relations. Interns must be willing to commit at least 15 hours a week, own a laptop, and be able to work from our Chicago offices. The internship period is flexible, but begins in late May and ends in late August. The Numero Internship is a great opportunity for anyone looking to learn more about the music business from an independent standpoint.
All applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and work samples. Applications are due no later than April 15th. Applications will be screened over the following weeks, and all applicants will be informed of their internship status no later than April 27th.
Submissions can either be sent electronically or to our physical address:
The Numero Group. 2348 South Marshall Blvd. Chicago, IL 60623
Digital Submissions should be sent to info@numerogroup.com with the SUMMER INTERNSHIP_[Desired Department] in the subject line.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Andrew Davis, Chicago soul, Dennis Franz, Gene Barge, Phil Upchurch, Ritchie Davis, Ronnie Barron, Stoney Island, Stoney Robinson, Susanna Hoffs, The Chicago Cats
April 4, 2012 8pm or April 5, 2012 8:15pm. Stony Island At the Gene Siskel Film Center
Stony Island, originally titled My Main Man Stoney Island is a lost chapter of soul music documented as it happened. We first encountered the movie back in 2004 when talking with Richie Davis about his groups Maxx Traxx and Third Rail. Both groups were talented, popular acts with big buzz in and around the Chicago and tri-state area that should have made it nationwide. Their live shows were electrifying. But there’s more to this story than your run-of-the-mill show biz near miss tale of woe. Richie Davis, the band’s nexus, grew up in Hyde Park at the center of Chicago’s changing racial landscape in an increasingly integrated environment. Chicago’s monolithic journalistic force, Studs Terkel, documented Richie’s young life as a young white man in living in a black world in his book, Race. And luckily, nascent powerhouse director Andy Davis documented it with the movie Stony Island.
Stony Island is a work of fiction, but it doesn’t feel like it. Many of the relationships are real. A host of cameos and burgeoning stars surprise and amaze throughout: Chicago guitar powerhouse Phil Upchurch, Denniz Franz, the Bangles Susanna Hoffs, legendary arranger Gene Barge, keyboardist Ronnie Barron and, posthumously, “The Boss” Major Daley, whose funeral procession was retrofitted into the script when it happened to occur during the filmmaking. The most famous star of the movie, however, is the city of Chicago… at the time it was so difficult to film in Chicago that few movies were actually shot there in the 1970s. Stony Island’s guerrilla-style filming makes it, today, an archive of period footage rarely seen in the years since it was shot. What is perhaps most noteworthy about the movie is that the film tells the the story of an obscure but real group that meets a tragic end. The Stony Island Band, assembled from a pool of extraordinary Chicago musicians, actually had a record deal and an opportunity to go national. Sadly, that opportunity was snuffed out by the tragic death of Ritchie Davis’ best friend Stoney Robinson shortly after the filming was wrapped. A true vocal star, the only place to see Stoney and hear this music is in this film.
http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/stonyisland
April 4, 2012 8pm or April 5, 2012 8:15pm
Stony Island At the Gene Siskel Film Center
164 North State Street
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 846-2600
For ticket and parking information: STONY ISLAND siskelfilmcenter.org
Filed under: Uncategorized
We just saw a recent list of exclusive Record Store Day product being issued on 4/21/2012, and all of the sudden our Solid Bronze comp we started feeling like it was sending a message that Numero was just half-assing this whole thing. To remedy the situation we had a five hour power meeting late last night and came up with a list of 14 titles we’re going to rush into production to fill the obvious customer demand. Look for the following in stores on Record Store Day, and don’t forget to thank Michael Kurtz for helping us raise the bar.
Syl Johnson – The Unedited Interviews, Volume 1 {6LP marbled-vinyl picture disc boxset, housed in a custom slipcase, plus 496-page “libretto”} [Packaged with a hand-numbered vellum pamphlet replicating the complete #shitmysylsays tweets]
Johnny Lunchbreak – The Break Goes On {Reunion tour 3LP set} [4000 pressed in steam-colored 150-gram vinyl, 1000 on sky-colored 180-gram vinyl, packaged in a 200-gram vinyl lunchpail]
Shirley Ann Lee – The 4hero Remixes {Double 10″} [1000 on marbled vinyl, 1000 on shredded swiss cheese vacuum-pressed into LP, playable only once (perishable, keep refrigerated)]
George Lopez – George Lopez Delivers A Somber Meditation on Lowrider Soul Oldies {LP + mp3 CD-R} [Limited to 1,976 copies.]
Various Artists – Rinked: The Skips & Scratches Compilation {7″} [A bracing cacophony of harsh pops and clicks pulled from vintage records and unique acetates used as original Numero source material, presented as two side-long tracks. Hear five decades worth of damage! Every 7” pressed with a one-of-a-kind inclusion of crumbled acetate pressed into the vinyl!]
Syl Johnson versus Branford Marsalis versus Flaming Lips {2LPs on white chocolate vinyl with a graham cracker crust} [Three legendary performers/creators collaborate on, cover, and remix each other’s material; packaged in a confetti-stuffed and fake-blood-soaked Megadeth t-shirt. Limited to 50,000 copies]
Eccentric Soul: The Capsoul Label, Special Edition {2LP} [8th Anniversary limited edition: Exactly the same release Numero fans have come to know and love, pressed on white vinyl and then hand-blacked out with Sharpies by Numero interns. Limited to 10,000 copies]
Eccentric Breaks & Beats: Chopped & Screwed Edition {LP} [We’ve taken a limited number of deadstock copies and added a FULL COLOR printed sticker that implores the listener to pitch the record way down.]
Numerophon’s Impressions Series: Nilsson(?) Sings Numero {2LP, hand-cut lacquers, candy cane vinyl} [Yes, Harry Nilsson’s been dead for some time now....But it’s a little known fact that Cheap Trick axeman Rick Nielsen does a mean Nilsson impression. Here, he warbles through 20 of your favorite Numero selections with that distinctive Nilsson charm. Limited to 20,000 copies]
Quentin Tarantino Presents: Eccentric Soul: Twinight’s Lunar Rotation {4LP, extra virgin blacksploited vinyl} [Replicates the original Twinight's Lunar Rotation in exacting detail, but with Tarantino’s name egregiously displayed across the top....and the liner notes rewritten as a banal conversation about The Jackson 5, held over a lunch consisting of Chicago-style deep dish pizza and shots of Jeppson’s Malört. Limited to 2000 copies]
Eccentric Soul: The 10” Series [All 28 of our Eccentric Soul 45s recut on this noticeably bigger and more unnecessary format.]
Local Customs: Lone Star Lowlands, Toxic Petrochemicals Edition {3LPs} [All three picture discs feature a horrifying image of a Golden Triangle oil rig fire, shot by an East Texas townie. Guest preface by Werner Herzog. Our original compilation is resequenced and pressed into 240 grams of virgin PVC sourced from condemned Gulf Coast/Piney Woods oil derricks. *Not a limited pressing]
Syl Johnson: Complete Lithography Etched Vinyl Boxset [No music for Kanye West to “borrow,” just 20 unique, limited edition scenes from Syl Johnson’s history of litigation, etched by Alaskan scrimshaw pioneer Archie James Cavanaugh, packaged in a gorgeous attache case fit for any court room!]
I Got’Cha!: The Office Confrontations, Volume 1 {2LPs pressed into blood red vinyl} [The first in a vast, multi-volume series of field recordings captured for posterity inside the Numero office, a rented van, or a midwest Chili’s franchise. Volume 1 features four entire LP sides brimming with bitterly contested and scintillating arguments concerning the punctuation of possessive nouns in Numero liner notes! Limited to 1500 copies.]
Filed under: Uncategorized
If you’ve bought a Numero release, you probably know by now that these are often little documentaries. Come for the music and stay for a story. We know full well that there so many overlooked and forgotten stories that need to be told, but not all of them have a built in soundtrack. The Nick Gabaldon Story is one of a kind. His legacy could be over-simplified as the Jackie Robinson of surfing, but even such a reduction begs the question: how does a solo sport that seemingly thrives on its sense of freedom need to be desegregated? The racism that black and latino surfers faced in the 1940s California was shocking to consider now. His triumphant story is surprising and sad, and needed to be documented. Richard Yelland put together an extraordinary visual history, but he needed a sonic pallet. It was a perfect fit for the Numero Group, and alert Numero listeners will recognize a veritable sampler of extraordinary selections (supervised by Maxwell Gosling of Little Ears Music.) We’re thrilled to be a part of this amazing story. You can see the whole thing here.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Another heavy, unpolished gem from the Numero Group, Songs of Light is an imagined LP, cobbled together from a few 45s and unearthed tracks. And it’s hands down the best thing I’ve heard this week. Shirley Ann Lee’s garage-gospel wailing gives goosepimples. That ghostly air of old, old blues records hangs over these recordings. The charming amateur bashing of “Stay on Your Knees” or “I Shall Not Be Moved” stops and goes in spurts like the Shags; the guitars on “All I Have to Depend On” are so broke down they sound like sitars. But that sort of record-geek connect-the-dots is meaningless. Gospel’s got nothing to do with tambourine smacks or jagged juke-joint guitar. It’s all in the voice. Lee, a nobody, swung for the heavens and the bat flew free from her hands. Decades later, it hits you in the back of the knees.
Don’t miss out on this special record, Numerophiles. We only made 2000, and once they’re gone, they’re gone for good.
Filed under: Boddie, Uncategorized | Tags: Boddie Recording Company, Hard Rock, Kissarmy, Wicked Lester
It’s been almost a year since our limited Pressed at Boddie edition (an LP whose release date coincided accidentally with Record Store Day 2011) and we’ve had many questions come through our website and blog about the mysterious groups contained therein. To refresh your memory, the compilation was built around a very obscure concept: these were all selected from records pressed at the Boddie Recording Company‘s tiny backyard plant. Certainly a strange link between all the different artists, we realize, but it resulted in a phenomenally diverse compilation that really only shared “obscure” as a descriptor. All of the collection was licensed from the individual artist, but in many cases we had the original production masters from Boddie’s archives. One track, however, was never pressed at Boddie… it was only dubbed at Boddie, a fairly inconsequential distinction. However, Wicked Lester’s demo was pressed in such miniscule numbers (resulting in no known copies in the collector’s market) that the small taste of it that we gave hard rock fans was more of an affront. We have a cure for rare hard rock blueballs: Wicked Lester’s Boddie recording sessions issued on 2 7″s, replete with notes and photos. As the title of the final song on the record succinctly expresses: “You Are Doomed”. But in a good way.
