FORT LOWELL RECORDS

JACKSONVILLE FL VISITS TUCSON AZ

2012-01-25T23:43:00.000-07:00

We are super excited about this... Sunbears! are coming to Tucson AZ! Jared + Jonathan are ol' friends of ours from Jacksonville FL, as well as signed to our friends Keith + Susie's label New Granada Records (Tampa FL), who manages the Digital Distribution for Fort Lowell Records! Double R Nites is going to be hosting Sunbears! at La Cocina on Wednesday, February 1st! To make the night even better, our very own ...music video? is going to be playing as well! Page of Cups will be opening the show. Don't miss this event, it is going to be superexciting!

Not to mention... we always said The Red Room was the best venue for catching amazing new artists in Tucson! Now with Double R Nites taking over La Cocina and picking up where we all left off with The Red Room closing, well... we simply love what they are doing now!

Here are some videos for you to check out...

Sunbears!

...music video?

See you at the show!
Fort Lowell Records

...MUSICTELEVISIONVIDEO?

2012-01-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

Check-it-check-it out! The boys from ...music video? landed themselves a lil' ol' spot on MTV's show Caged! Scroll forward to 26:45 to take a listen for yer' self...

MICROGROOVES + MICROBREWS

2012-01-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

Fort Lowell Records + Borderlands Brewing Co. have partnered together to celebrate the release of Andrew Collberg's "Dirty Wind" 7inch record. Come celebrate with us on Friday, February 3rd, from 4:00pm-7:00pm. This will be a free event to the public, and Borderlands Brewing Co. will have tastings of their amazing all natural hand-crafted beers for only $3.00. In addition, we will have copies of Andrew Collberg's 7inch record for $5.00, along with other records from our catalog.

4:00pm - Doors Open
4:45pm - Young Mothers
5:30pm - Tracy Shedd
6:15pm - Andrew Collberg

Borderlands Brewing Co. Microbrews:
- Santa Rita, a refreshing amber ale
- Borderlands Lager, perfect for desert days
- La Morena, nutty, toasty, brown ale
- Noche Dulce, moonlight vanilla porter
- Ol' Loco, ol' frontier's citrus IPA
- Prickly Pear Wheat, summer's sweet bounty

Learn more about Borderlands Brewing Co. here:
http://borderlandsbrewing.com/

Learn more about Fort Lowell Records + Andrew Collberg here:
http://fortlowell.blogspot.com/
http://www.andrewcollberg.com/

PLUS...
After the show, be sure to make your way over to Plush to celebrate the 7inch record release for our dear friends... The Electric Blankets! It's going to be a supergreat night in Tucson, with everyone pressing more vinyl records for your ears to be blessed with! Can't wait to pick up The Electric Blankets on wax! Here is more information about their show... Don't miss it!:
http://www.facebook.com/events/296567900394907/

See you all at the shows!

HELP US SELL 1,000 RECORDS + GIVE $20,000 TO CHARITY

2012-01-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

There is $20,000 sitting in our warehouse that belongs to the Tucson Together Fund. Please help us given them their money.

Translation: We still have 1,000 copies of Luz de Vida available for $20.00 per copy. Please help us sell these records so we can give the money directly to the Tucson Together Fund, the only officially sanctioned fund established to assist victims, families, and witnesses of the January 8th tragedy.

Learn more about the Luz de Vida project and the Tucson Together Fund here:

Thank you!
Fort Lowell Records + Music Against Violence

TODAY WE REMEMBER...

2012-01-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

At exactly 10:11am, January 8, 2011, life in Tucson changed forever for all of us, but especially for nineteen individuals, six of which lost their lives. This tragic event presented an opportunity for the people of Tucson to pull together and show the world our true colors and how beautiful our community is. It also presented an opportunity for individuals like Congresswoman Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords to demonstrate her strength and determination to survive in this world. January 8th will always be a day we will remember those that lost their lives and suffered from the Tucson Tragedy, but it will also be a day to remember why we are Tucsonans and what makes Tucson home for all of us.

As you may know, Music Against Violence + Fort Lowell Records partnered together to provide the world an opportunity to help out those affected by the Tucson Tragedy. Luz de Vida is a compilation record that was put together to raise money to help the victims and families. Thanks to the many sponsors that provided funding to pay for all manufacturing costs, 100% of the money raise from all sales of Luz de Vida goes to the Tucson Together Fund. In turn, the money will go direct to those in need to help reimburse lost wages, pay for doctor bills, and provide the long term support required for the years to come.

We are asking for you to donate $20.00 to the cause, and in exchange we will mail you a vinyl copy of Luz de Vida. You can also show support by purchasing a digital copy of Luz de Vida from iTunes or Amazon for only $10.00. Either way, the victims and families will receive 100% of your contributions. In exchange for your support, you will receive an amazing record featuring some of the greatest artists from Tucson, and others that hold a special place for Tucson in their hearts. You can learn more about Luz de Vida on the Music Against Violence website.

Luz de Vida is available direct from this website, as well as in many stores in Tucson and Phoenix, AZ. Please review the column on the right side of this page for more information to purchase.

Thank you.
Fort Lowell Records

ANDREW COLLBERG RINGS IN THE NEW YEAR

2012-01-02T21:56:00.001-07:00

We are UBERexcited to be releasing Andrew Collberg's follow up record to his amazing 2010 release On The Wreath (Le Pop Musik)! Andrew's 7inch will feature two amazing new tracks...
"Dirty Wind" and "Back On The Shore!"

Check out the A-Side track here as an MP3 webstream...
Andrew Collberg "Dirty Wind" by FortLowellRecords

...and the video for the B-Side track!

The Pre-Order link is up on our website now... over there---> (on the right side). Order your copy now! You do not want to miss out on this awesome 7inch!

TRACY SHEDD | WINTER TOUR: NOV 23 - DEC 23

2011-11-20T20:02:00.005-07:00

NEW VIDEO: TRACY SHEDD "ENCOURAGE ME" - LUZ DE VIDA

2011-10-29T08:20:00.002-07:00

Tracy Shedd has partnered with Canadian filmmaker Jesse Ewles (who has made videos for Grizzly Bear, Of Montreal, and Tokyo Police Club, to name a few) to make her latest video for her song "Encourage Me" from the Luz de Vida benefit compilation.

Enjoy!
~ Team FLR

HAPPY RELEASE DAY LUZ DE VIDA!

2011-10-18T07:04:00.010-07:00

In case you have not been on the up-and-up the past few months, Fort Lowell Records' latest release is a partnership with Music Against Violence, a team of music professionals in Tucson that have come together to release a compilation record made up of local Tucson and national artists that will be sold to benefit those affects by the shootings in Tucson on January 8, 2011, otherwise known as The Tucson Tragedy. The compilation record is called Luz de Vida and today, Tuesday, October 18, is the official release date for this record. Luz de Vida is available in two formats: a 12inch vinyl record that features 12 Tucson bands with exclusive tracks to this project, and a 37-track digital download that includes the 12 from the vinyl, additional Tucson artist, as well as many great national artists. The vinyl record does include the download card with all 37 songs. This project was funding 100% by local and regional businesses, so all of the money made from Luz de Vida will be given to the Tucson Together Fund to help those in need.

If you would like to help support this project, you can purchase the vinyl record directly from Fort Lowell Records by clicking "Add to Cart" from the right column of this website. Luz de Vida will also be available from all of the retail outlets in Tucson and Phoenix that carry all of our other releases. If you do not live in Arizona, you can request your local record store to order a copy from our distributor, StickFigure Distribution. Otherwise, if you are interested in purchasing the digital download for Luz de Vida, you can do so from sites like iTunes and Amazon, amongst many other digital outlets that will populate very soon. There is one track that is exclusive the vinyl record, so please note that when purchasing the digital download via websites, there will only be 36 tracks.

If you are looking for additional ways to help the families affected from that tragic day last January, please spread the word about Luz de Vida. It is a very simple, cheap, easy way for anyone in the world to help make a difference. The added bonus is all of the amazing music one will receive for purchasing Luz de Vida. It is a simply stunning compilation. The Arizona Daily Star recently claimed Luz de Vida "one of the finest showcases of Tucson's music community ever presented."

Here are links to many of the great reviews Luz de Vida has received:
- ANIT- Records
- Arizona Daily Star
- Arizona Daily Wildcat
- The Bay Bridged
- Blabber 'N' Smoke
- Blurt Magazine - News
- Blurt Magazine - Review
- The Caliente
- Captain's Dead Blog
- Dead Oceans Records
- Delusions of Adequacy
- Here Comes The Flood
- Ick Music
- Merge Records
- Peninsolar Blog
- Phoenix New Times
- R.A.D. Vinyl Blog
- The Right To Be Heard
- 7 I N C H E S
- This Is Book's Music
- Tucson Lifestyle Magazine
- Tucson Sentinel
- Tucson Weekly - Cover Story
- Tucson Weekly - The Range
- Turntable Kitchen
- West Coast Fix
- Wilmington Star News
- Zocalo Magazine

Thank you in advance for the support!
We, the people of Tucson, truly appreciate it.
~ FLR

PRE-ORDER LUZ DE VIDA NOW

2011-10-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

Click the "Add to Cart" link in the right-side column, right over there--->

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22nd, THE RIALTO THEATRE

2011-10-10T07:49:00.001-07:00

HOWE GELB + TRACY SHEDD TAKE THE NORTHEAST!

2011-10-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

Hot off the press...
Howe Gelb + Tracy Shedd have added three more US dates for this upcoming winter season:

Tuesday, December 6th - Cambridge MA - The Brattle Theater
Wednesday, December 7th - Brooklyn NY - Littlefield w/ Ani Cordero
Saturday, December 10th - Chicago IL - The Volcano Room at The Bottom Lounge

Looks like the holiday season is going to get started early this year!
- Team FLR

OCT 22: LUZ DE VIDA RECORD RELEASE BENEFIT AT RIALTO

2011-09-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

It's official folks... the Record Release Benefit for Luz de Vida is going to be held at The Rialto Theatre in Tucson AZ on Saturday, October 22. All proceeds from ticket + record sales for this night will go to the Tucson Together Fund, helping those affected from the Tucson Tragedy (January 8, 2011).

Confirmed Artists to Perform (in no particular order):
- Kiss & The Tells
- Reno del Mar
- Mariachi Luz de Luna
- HAIRSPRAYFIREANDGIRLS
- Tracy Shedd
- La Cerca
- Golden Boots
- Silverbell
- Rich Hopkins
- Tom Walbank
+ more artists to be announced

Ticket / Pricing:
- $5.00 for Entry
- $10.00 Free Entry + Digital Download of Luz de Vida
- $20.00 Free Entry + Digital Download + Limited 12inch Vinyl of Luz de Vida

Mark your calendars now! Times for event and performances are still to be determined, but will be posted soon!

Thank you for all of the support!
See you October 22nd at The Rialto!

~ Fort Lowell Records + Music Against Violence

HOWE GELB + TRACY SHEDD KILL THE WEST COAST

2011-09-21T20:05:00.002-07:00

Mr. Howe Gelb and Ms. Tracy Shedd are hitting the West Coast together this coming Winter Season...

Wednesday, December 14th - Seattle WA - Columbia City Theater
Thursday, December 15th - Portland OR - Doug Fir Lounge
Saturday, December 17th - Oakland CA - The Parish

Tracy Shedd will be out on her own full US Winter Tour (more dates to come), while Howe Gelb will be flying in to play these exclusive US dates!

This.
Is.
Going.
To.
Be.
Beautiful.

More to come on a wonderful winter season from Fort Lowell Records!
Enjoy!

~ FLR Executive Committee

HEY MOM!

2011-09-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

In just one month, Luz de Vida (FLR007) will be available for everyone to enjoy! 100% of all sales will go to the Tucson Together Fund and will help those affected by the Tucson Tragedy (January 8, 2011).

FLR IN THE UK

2011-09-06T12:15:00.001-07:00

Our friend Mary P from Zia Records (here in Arizona) recently went on a trip to the UK and ran across this at Piccadilly Records. Sweet!

TUCSON HIP-HOP DON'T STOP UNTIL THE BREAK OF DAWN

2011-09-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

I'm just curious if there is anyone else out there other than my friends Jonny and Wax, and the whole New Tribe crew (obviously), that realize how much seriously great hip-hop is coming out of Tucson AZ right now. I freakin' woke up this morning singing (do you sign rap?) my friend Manny's (Black Sai) tunes, from Stone Ninjaz. Local DJ and PR-guru Carl Hanni was quite intrigued himself to hear about what's going on with this scene in the Old Barrio. After sending him a few links to sample, he agreed about the quality and slickness. That led me to posting this article for all of you to read. Here is a track from each of my favorite Tucson hip-hop groups that I've been listening to recently...

STONE NINJAZ:
No Way by STONE NINJAZ

JIVIN SCIENTISTS:
15 Style by Jivin Scientists

Enjoy!
FLR

FUCK CANCER!

2011-08-23T14:08:00.000-07:00

SAVELAB – 10 Bands, two stages, one cause!

As part of Congress’ commitment to the SAVELAB cause, we are hosting the first part of our two pronged charity program this night. Tonight is the giant local event then, the giant national event During HoCofest the next week.

Coordinated with the Tucson Artist And Musicians Healthcare Alliance we’ve arranged to have 100% of the proceeds go to our friend Craig Schumacher who’s battlin’ the big C. We’ll have indoor and outdoor stages featuring a little something for everyone. Don’t miss out on great music for an even better cause! Doors open at 7pm!

Outdoor Acts:
Determined Luddites
Stefan George
Tracy Shedd
Ferrodyne

Indoor Acts:
Wayback Machine
Last Call Girls
Carnivaleros
Funky Bones
Sunday Afternoon

DEATH KIT HEADLINES BOOTLEG + FREE NEW SINGLE

2011-08-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

Hey there. After a bit of a break to write and re-vamp the lineup, Death Kit returns to the light of day to headline on Sept. 5 at Bootleg Theater, with the excellent Young Hunting and Paper Angels. It's a free show, DK at 9:30.

As penance for waiting so long, here's the new single "Draw Blood." Post it elsewhere as you see fit.

DEATH KIT -- "DRAW BLOOD": http://yousend.it/otiuwo

More fall shows coming soon. Thanks.

-DK

One Thirty BPM -- “Success in catchy tunes and high energy. The sound comes across as being very similar to The Rapture, especially when the singer busted out his cowbell-on-a-stick.I’m not a dancer, but Death Kit provided the kind of music that it was hard not to move your body to.”

Beatcrave.com -- “Forlorn yet effective lyrics paired with firm, romantic guitar chords and earth shattering synth lines in songs such as “Devadasi” and “I Can Make You Love Me” made melancholy shockingly danceable.”

Turntable Kitchen -- “The a-side “Devadasi” is sure to be one of the year’s strongest synth-pop gems and alone is worth the price of the record. It features brightly-lit synths, glass-smooth vocals, and purposeful percussion that alternates between stumbling and steady. Sporting an ambiance that calls to mind 80′s Cure singles, but a grooving electro-disco rhythm that transform this cut into a contemporary synth-anthem."

...MUSIC VIDEO? HIT THE ROAD

2011-08-10T20:09:00.001-07:00

Good things come in threes, and in this case it's Tucson's electro-pop trio ...music video?, who will be hitting to road in September! Check it out West Coast peeps, and stay tuned for possible additional shows:

Sept 1 - Silverlake Lounge - Los Angeles CA
Sept 3 - Freakin Frog - Las Vegas NV
Sept 4 - Audie's Olympic - Fresno CA
Sept 6 - Grant & Green - San Francisco CA
Sept 7 - The Ruby Room - San Diego CA

Also, check out ...music video?'s Facebook page for event details:
http://www.facebook.com/musicvideo

Rock on!
~ FLR

LUZ DE VIDA [LIGHT OF LIFE]

2011-08-02T16:20:00.000-07:00

Fort Lowell Records is extremely excited to announce our partnership with Music Against Violence, a coalition of Tucson writers, recording engineers, and venue operators, for our next record release and what will be our very first full length 12inch vinyl... Luz de Vida: A Compilation to Benefit the Victims of the Tucson Tragedy.

Just yesterday, as our group Music Against Violence were walking into the offices of the Rialto Theatre to begin planning for our promotional launch, the world was celebrating Gabby Giffords' return to Congress in Washington DC to vote on the debt ceiling. The six of us, along with Joey Burns of Calexico and Charlie Levy from Stateside Presents, stopped in our tracks and cheered at the C-SPAN web stream that we had raced to display on Ryan's large design-friendly monitor. It could not have been better timing, as Gabby's determination to vote yesterday was a great motivator for our team to continue pushing more ideas to make Luz de Vida bigger and more impactful than any of us had ever imagined.

Luz de Vida will be released on 12inch yellow vinyl featuring 12 Tucson artists, as well as a digital release made up of 37 artists, including John Vanderslice, Rachel Flotard & Jon Rauhouse, Chuck Prophet, Robyn Hitchcock, Ozomatli, Meat Puppets, Jimmy Eat World, Spoon, Neko Case, and DeVotchKa. The 12inch vinyl will be available regionally in stores that carry other Fort Lowell Records releases, plus directly here on our website and through out distributor, StickFigure. The digital download of 37 tracks will be included inside the vinyl record, and also available through all major online music outlets such as iTunes, Amazon, and eMusic (basically anywhere IODA makes available). We will also have download cards for sale at all local events promoting Luz de Vida, such as our record release party at the Rialto Theatre on Saturday, October 15th.

You can read much more about this record and the track listings for both the vinyl and digital versions on the Music Against Violence website.

Luz de Vida is brought to you 100% by businesses that have sponsored this project by donating money and/or services to make this Luz de Vida possible. Because of their sponsorship, we are able to guarantee that all proceeds generated from Luz de Vida will go to the Tucson Together Fund, the only officially sanctioned fund established to assist victims, families, and witnesses of the January 8th tragedy.

As of today, the jackets are being printed, we have approved the liner notes, which are now off to print The vinyl test pressing has arrived and sounds absolutely great! All in all, Luz de Vida is coming along nicely. Promotional work will begin in September, so if you are in radio or with the press... stay tuned! You will be hearing from us shortly with more information (and music to listen to).

Okay, that's all we have for now...
but stay tuned for more information to come!

Enjoy!
Fort Lowell Records & Music Against Violence

SO TRUE (AND HILARIOUS)!

2011-07-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

I can not take any credit for writing this. In fact, I think it is one of those spam-story-telling emails that your Aunt Judith sends to your work email addy. But this one was sent to me from my buddy Skid, and it is so-damn-freakin'-hilarious, I couldn't resist... Read on!

IF PETS WROTE DIARIES

Excerpts from a Dog's Diary......

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk Bones! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

Excerpts from a Cat's Daily Diary...

Day 983 of my captivity...

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets.

Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.

The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.

Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am.

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means and how to use it to my advantage...

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously clueless.

The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now.................

WET & RECKLESS HIT THE ROAD

2011-07-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

The fabulous four femme fatales, otherwise known as Wet & Reckless, are hitting the East Coast once again, this time with their latest 7inch release from Fort Lowell Records featuring their smash hit "New Guy!" Check it:

July 16, Cyclops, Baltimore, MD
July 17, the Galaxy Hut, Arlington, VA
July 18, The Velvet Lounge, Washington D.C.
July 19, Pianos, NY, NY
July 20, the Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY
July 22, Girl’s Rock Camp, Boston, MA (during the day)
July 22, O’Brien’s, Allston, MA (at night)
July 23, Nectar’s, Martha’s Vineyard

SUCCESS?

2011-06-06T06:54:00.000-07:00

When we started this record label thingy, we said to ourselves "Wouldn't it be cool if one of our 7inches ended up on eBay selling for more money than it was really worth?" Well, that day has come...

Howe Gelb - 'Sno Angel + Melted Wires - $29.89

Just in case you were interested... look to your right.
You can order the same record directly from us for $5.00.

Happy shopping!
Team FLR

WHAT'S NEXT FOR FORT LOWELL RECORDS?

2011-05-30T10:47:00.001-07:00

Twelve inches of Tucson AZ!

FREE DEATH KIT CD!

2011-05-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

Order Death Kit's Devadasi 7inch from us directly and receive a free copy of their CD/EP titled 'Deathworks,' featuring five tracks: "Boy," "Catholic Kitsch," "We Were Young and Needed the Money," "Acid Kids," and "Morning Comes."

I DON'T HAVE A RECORD PLAYER

2011-05-22T10:27:00.001-07:00

So, you've been dying to pick up our Record Store Day 7inch for Howe Gelb, but you sold your record player at the yard sale the PTA hosted for the kids to go on a field trip to the science museum last year. No sweat, the Howe Gelb 'Sno Angel + Melted Wires 7inch is available all over the world wide web to purchase as MP3 audio files! Here are three of the more popular sites you may like to download the songs from:

Amazon
eMusic
iTunes

Enjoy!
FLR

F' IT! WE'RE SELLING PROMOS!

2011-05-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

So we might have sold out of the 750 numbered Howe Gelb 7inches... but we've got un-numbered promo copies available, and we're puttin'em up for sale on the ol' world wide web! The 'Add To Cart' has been made available on our website on the right side of the page for your purchasing pleasure.

GO!

SUNDAYS IN THE PHOENIX METRO AREA CAN BE FUN

2011-05-16T00:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day spent at The Nile Theater Record Fair in Mesa AZ! This was the second event they have hosted like this, and something we hope they keep doing. We continue to meet people that have never heard of Fort Lowell Records, and truly appreciate the opportunity to make new fans.

It was great to be set up next to our favorite record store in the Phoenix Metro Area, Stinkweeds. Good times were had hanging out with our friend (their Manager), Lindsay Cates... admiring the awesomeness of her credit card machine (SEE BELOW). We even managed to pick up a few records ourselves from Stinkweeds: The Black Angels' B-Side EP, The Amazing, The Black Ryder, a Deerhunter 7inch, a Trouble In Mind 7inch sampler, and two great great great records from the record label The Numero Group (#17 and #35 1/2) that we are very excited to listen to soon.

We met a lot of nice people throughout the day that were really excited to hear new music. The listening station proved to be helpful once again. This time we brought in two sets of headphones, so family and friends could join in the fun.

We also met Ryan from Perfectly Round Records and James from Gilgongo Records, two awesome awesome record labels from the Phoenix Metro Area. We highly recommend you check out both labels and the various bands they are releasing. We picked up The Tri City Thundercats 7inch, our only missing 7inch from the Perfectly Round Records catalog; excited to complete that set now. We also got a number of new vinyl from James at Gilgongo Records: two full lengths from French Quarter, one from ZS, Little Women, and James' own release, as well as 7inches by Woods, Married In Berdichev, and Vegetable. It's nice to finally meet both of those guys. They are both working really hard to bring you some great tunes, so definitely check them out.

Stinkweeds and Fort Lowell Records toughed it out until the very end, making sure every last possible customer was met and no one left behind. We celebrated a successful day of hard work at a local wine bar call Il Vinaio. Definitely recommend stopping by there if you are ever in the neighborhood. Pretty cool spot with a great selection of wine and beers, including an awesome Hemp Ale (that they allowed Tracy Shedd to take home in a growler she just happens to carry around with her at all times just in case she find a beer on tap she wants to take home in a growler... #realtalk).

Good times! Good times! We look forward to the next time The Nile Theater hosts a record fair, or to any other time we have a reason to head north and hang with our peeps in Phoenix.

Word.
FLR

THE GIFT OF THE NILE

2011-05-15T06:40:00.000-07:00

Today we are headed up to Mesa AZ to The Nile Record Fair II, hosted by The Nile Theater. If you are in the area, stop by and say 'Hello!' We will have our new Fort Lowell Record "Music Sounds Better 7inches At A Time" TShirts, as well as all of our colorful 7inch records (including promotional copies of Howe Gelb's sold out 7inch)! We are now able to accept Credit Cards, so don't sweat stopping by the ATM machine. See ya'll at the show! ~ FLR

MUSIC VIDEO KILLS THE PODCAST!

2011-05-14T06:46:00.000-07:00

Just in case you missed to awesome live performance ...music video? gave on KXCI 91.3FM Radio a few weeks ago, you can download or stream the podcast right here:
http://kxci.org/localsonly/podcast/podcast-05022011.mp3

Photos by Andrew Brown:

Enjoy!
FLR

GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE, GONE!

2011-05-13T20:35:00.005-07:00

That's right folks, Howe Gelb's 7inch is gone! All 750 numbered copies have been sent out to record stores across the world. Stop by your local record store to see if they have it in stock. If not, they may still be able to order it in through our distributors: EDGE, AES, Super D, or StickFigure.

For those of you in Tucson AZ, you may still be able to find a copy at one of these local retail stores: Bohemia, Bookmans Grant, Bookmans Ina, Bookmans Speedway, Mast, Preen, Toxic Ranch, Zia Records Oracle, or Zia Records Speedway.

We personally only have a few un-numbered promotional copies available that we may use to sell at shows or use to restock local retailers, if not use them for promotional reasons. We are going to bring a couple of these with us this coming Sunday at the Nile Theater Record Fair in Mesa AZ, so stop by our table if you need one.

As you can see... Kickflip does not seem to mind selling out of this record. She is enjoying the extra shelf space to lounge around in.

For those of you that were able to secure a copy of Howe Gelb's 7inch, we hope you have been enjoying the record!

Thanks for the support!
Team FLR

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, MOM!

2011-05-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take a moment to share with everyone out there in cyberworld how rad the El Patron De Mamá (AKA: my Mom) is. She's a lil' Italian lady with the brightest damn red hair you've ever seen (close to Miki Berenyi from Lush). For most of her life, she was a school teacher, and an amazing one at that. The stereotypes you would expect about an Italian mother are all true, just like Vinnie's mother from The Jersey Shore: she's a supergreat cook and loves having big groups of family and friends around for dinner, and she definitely has a soft spot in her stern heart for her lil' bambino (me).

Mom was never mean to us kids, but she definitely had her rules we had to follow. She taught us the value of working hard at an early age. At age six I had a solid list of house chores which included doing laundry for everyone (Mom, Dad, sister, brother, and myself) in the household. She rewarded us for our hard work each week with an allowance, but made us responsible for buying our own 'luxuries in life,' which for me at the time were skateboards. Then, when I was sixteen, old enough to have a 'real job,' she made me responsible not only for buying my skateboards and whatnot, but also for many of the 'necessities in life,' such as clothes and transportation.

Mom knows how to have fun too, though. She was not all about work-work-work. Mom was very supportive of developing a creative mind. When any of us had a wacky idea to do something that most parents would not normally approve of, she was always there encouraging us to explore our ideas, but yet holding us accountable and making us responsible for our actions. She was always there to guide us along the way to learn something new about ourselves or life. My sister and I both ventured into the world of Interior Design with our own bedrooms; mine being tremendously more psychedelic than my sister's angular modernism. Most parents would hardly let their kids put a poster on the wall, let alone paint swirly checkerboards with flames coming out the edges and wrapping around a six-foot happy face (don't ask me what I was thinking).

Don't get me wrong, Mom was not a push-over. She would not just let us kids run wild and do whatever the heck we wanted. She said "no," a lot. But what is more important is that she knew when to say "yes." Mom knew what was best for us to explore, and (more importantly) what would teach us the greatest lessons to become the people we are today.

My Mom is the reason why Fort Lowell Records is Fort Lowell Records. She not only taught me to explore ideas, but to follow through on ideas, as well as to value the rewards of hard work. Today, as we celebrate Mother's Day, Fort Lowell Records is also celebrating the success of selling all copies of one of our records for the first time: the Howe Gelb 'Sno Angel + Melted Wires 7inch we released for Record Store Day 2011 (just three weeks ago). After one year of releasing 7inches records, we have finally succeed with getting all copies of a release out to the public, a common goal (if not the main goal) for any record label.

This achievement is not being taken for granted. We know it is a result of all of the hard work and many sacrifices everyone has made in our inaugural year. When I was growing up with my Mom, I would give up my time on weekends to work around the house so I could earn money to buy new skateboards. Now we give up our time on weekends (and holidays and weeknights and an hour before going to work each day) to run this record label... a record label that only after one year has so much to be proud of.

...and for that, we have my Mom to thank.

Thank you Mom for being my Mom. I really appreciate all you ever taught me in life. I may not show it in ways others would expect, but I want you to know that I am proud to say that my own successes are due to being your son. With each achievement in my life, I can pinpoint the moment in my childhood you showed me whatever life-lesson it may have been that led to that accomplishment. Your wisdom and direction have given me the greatest life one could ask for. Thank you, again.

Happy Mother's Day!
I love you, Mom!
~ Son

ROCK LOTTERY ROCKED TUCSON

2011-05-08T09:07:00.005-07:00

Last night's Rock Lottery was simply awesome! What a great display of how beautiful the Tucson music community is! 25 talented musicians came together and in one day put together 5 bands that all kicked butt! Our favorite was The Sweet Spots, featuring our very own Tracy Shedd and one of our favorite guitarist in Tucson, Dana Fehr from the band Juarez. They started the night with their ass-kicking-take-no-prisoners power pop (file between Husker Du and Velocity Girl), that included an amazing cover of The Cars' "Just What I Needed."

Kudos to Mike Sanger and Johnnie Munger from Dead Western Plains, Dr. Dan from KXCI's Locals Only radio program, Maebelle Reed and everyone at Plush, and to the people of Tucson AZ, ...all for an awesome night!

Lastly... Thanks to The General! You can't have a great night out on 4th Avenue without stopping by to see The General at his hot dog cart across from Che's. He is simply the coolest vegetarian you will meet selling the raddest hot dogs while playing the sweetest jams! I swear, if he could sell beer, I would just hang out with The General all night.

RockRock!
FLR

HOT DAMN! IT'S THE TUCSON ROCK LOTTERY! [TONIGHT]

2011-05-07T08:39:00.000-07:00

The Rock Lottery began in Denton, TX in 1997 (and in Seattle in 2006 and Brooklyn 2010). This will be Tucson's inaugural Rock Lottery. The premise is simple, but effective...

Twenty-five hand picked musicians meet in the morning at Plush. These volunteers organize into five groups through a lottery-based chance selection. The five separate groups are then released to practice at different locations. The musicians have 12 hours to create a band name and three to five songs (with a one cover limit). The groups will then perform what they have created that evening in front of a waiting audience.

The twenty-five musicians included in the experiment are selected in an attempt to represent a wide variety of musical styles. This event intends to bring together many facets of the Tucson music community that may seem incompatible as well as musicians whose interests may conflict. The challenge for these musicians is to try and go beyond their personal and musical differences and work together to create a unified group project that still contains personal styles of each of the participants.

All door proceeds go to CysticLife.org, a social network for the cystic fibrosis community. This positive, uplifting web site is the central location for the CF community to share tips, questions, ideas, experiences and encouragement to those families dealing with cystic fibrosis.

Musician participants include:
Mik Garrison, Winston Watson, Dante Rosano, Vikki Brown, Dana Fehr, Dave Mertz, Gabe Sullivan, Brian Lopez, Keli Carpenter, Joshua Butcher, Tracy Shedd (Fort Lowell Records), Ben DeGain, Fen Ilkner, Mike Mihina, Kaia Chesney, Lana Rebel, Steven Yanez Romo, J Lugo Miller (...music video? / Fort Lowell Records), Brian Green, Nick Letson, Vikas Pawa, David Clark, Ryan Janac, Geoff Hidalgo, and Will King.

More information:
- Facebook Event Page
- Plush Calendar

Press Coverage:
- Arizona Daily Star
- Arizona Daily Wildcat
- KXCI
- Tucson Lifestyle Magazine
- Tucson Metromix
- Tucson Weekly
- Zocalo Magazine

Congratulations Mike Sanger (Dead Western Plains / Fort Lowell Records) on a job well done putting this together! It is going to be an awesome night for sure! See you all at the show!

OUR RECORDS ARE NOW SQUARE

2011-05-05T22:13:00.001-07:00

We are superexcited about our new lil' Square! It's going to allow us to take credit cards at our merch tables from now on! Sweet! Thanks again Johnnie for the heads up on this! If anyone has any feedback to share on these lil' Squares, please let us know what's the 411.

Word.
Team FLR

MUSIC VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO (OR IS GOING TO)

2011-05-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight, ...music video? will be playing live and interviewed on KXCI 91.3 FM here in Tucson AZ! If you live in Tucson, tune in! If you don't, go to KXCI's website http://www.kxci.org and click "listen now" on the left side to stream the broadcast. ...music video? will be on the Locals Only program which airs between 8:00-10:00pm (Pacific Time Zone). We are sure ...music video? is gonna' kill it!

Enjoy!
FLR

I KNOW A DRUMMER

2011-04-25T16:00:00.002-07:00

For anyone in Tucson AZ that wants to start a band or become a DJ, we've got some news for you. Over at St. Vincent's thrift store on Stone, they have this great old Numark DJ mixer with wood panels on the sides for $55. You should pick it up so you can mix between Fort Lowell Records 7inchers while you are spinning for your friends. Or, if you've always wanted to start a band so you could become the next Fort Lowell Records artist, the Goodwill on 4th Avenue has this great Casiotone CT-6000 for $30. It has a rad drum machine built in and a sweet pitch wheel. You could totally be a one-man-band with that keyboard.

The Goodwill also had a great Imperial suitcase record player, but there was no needle. If it had one, that would have been ours.

Anyhoo, enjoy.
FLR

YESTERDAY WAS AN EPIC DAY! (AND DAMN-IT, WE'VE GOT THE PHOTOS TO PROVE IT)

2011-04-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who made Friday, April 22nd, the most special day in our one year existence! It truly was an epic day, beginning with a quick visit with Jason Repko at the KXCI 91.3 studio. Dan Sheffer from local television station Tucson-12 stop by as well to see what was going on. Tucson-12 will be putting together a feature on Fort Lowell Records to air at a later date.

As the afternoon rolled into the evening, Allie Baron (AKA: The Vinyl Baron) kicked off the party at Hotel Congress on the patio, while inside Dead Western Plains was getting set up to blow our minds (once again).

Zach Toporek was first on stage outside on the patio, starting the night with a solo set, and then joined by his band Young Mothers.

Our host, Zachary Elias Clark from KAMP Student Radio, welcomed the ladies from Los Angeles CA, Wet & Reckless, to the stage following Young Mothers. Again, Dan Sheffer from Tucson-12 was on hand to capture the greatness happening at Hotel Congress.

Inside Club Congress, our favorite DJ from KXCI 91.3, Jaime J, was getting the crowd warmed up with his sweet jams, followed by a mind-blowing performance by Dead Western Plains (AKA: The Men in White). Notice: even Dead Western Plains' drums were dressed in white!

Tracy Shedd kept the music flowin' outside on the patio immediately following Dead Western Plains; playing a few guitar gems, followed by her lovely work on piano. Did anyone else catch her cover on The Magnetic Fields' "Candy," or her rockin' poppin' cover of our own Death Kit's "I Can Make You Love Me?" No? Your loss man, they were both rad!

Speaking of Death Kit... holy jeeze! They killed it inside Club Congress! Believe it or not, we had never actually seen Death Kit live before, so we were just as curious as anyone else. But seriously, Death Kit was amazing! We are so happy both Death Kit and Wet & Reckless were able to drive out from Los Angeles CA to join us for this special event.

If you did catch Death Kit's performance inside Club Congress, you just might have missed a very special guest that just happened to stop by Hotel Congress for the celebrations... Howe Gelb! Due to Howe's busy touring schedule, we were not 100% sure he would be able to make it out, but very happy to have received a text from him at about 10:30pm saying "Just pulled up." For those of you that did catch Howe Gelb's performance, I am sure you will agree that it was quite a treat!

Jaime J delivered a very special performance as well inside Club Congress just before ...music video? wrapped the night up (as well as before Death Kit earlier in the night). He is not only an amazing DJ with an excellent taste in music, but he's a great performer who knows how to get the party started! ...music video? followed with another amazing set showing us that electronic music does have a heart and soul, and can be a lot of fun to watch being performed live. Our favorite is when they perform "I'm Afraid of Everything," their song from their Fort Lowell Records 7inch. (Sorry, we totally forgot to take a photo of ...music video? from the show last night, so Paul sent us this one from their CD Release Party at Plush from a few weeks ago.)

Lastly, we've have to take a moment to say "Thank You" to all of the great folks at Hotel Congress and Club Congress: David Slutes, Dan Hernandez, Dana Fehr, Zack (sound engineer for the patio), Elizabeth (the manager who took care of us all night), and Larry and the roller derby lady (the bartenders that kept the drink flowin' all night)! You all rock, and we love you all!

Thank you Tucson!
Thank you everyone!
~ Fort Lowell Records

TONIGHT IS GOING TO BE... (HOW DO THE KIDS SAY IT THESE DAYS?) "EPIC!"

2011-04-22T08:21:00.001-07:00

We hope you are all able to make it out to Hotel Congress in Tucson AZ for our Fort Lowell Records Showcase tonight! It is going to be an awesome party! All of the bands from our first year of records are coming together to say 'Thanks' to all of you for the support you have shown this past year! Tonight's show is a FREE event for you, so come on out and have some fun! You did not hear this here, but there may even be a surprise guest!

OUTSIDE STAGE (Patio):
6:00p - DJ Set w/ The Vinyl Baron + Dan Shapiro
8:00p - YOUNG MOTHERS
8:45p - DJ Set w/ The Vinyl Baron + Dan Shapiro
9:15p - WET & RECKLESS
10:00p - DJ Set w/ The Vinyl Baron + Dan Shapiro
10:45p - TRACY SHEDD
11:15p - DJ Set w/ The Vinyl Baron + Dan Shapiro

INDOOR STAGE:
9:00p - DJ Set w/ Jaime J
10:00p - DEAD WESTERN PLAINS
10:45p - DJ Set w/ Jaime J + Live Performance
11:15p - DEATH KIT
12:00a - DJ Set w/ Jaime J + Live Performance
12:30a - ...MUSIC VIDEO?

[Click here for the Facebook Event Page]

In addition to all of the great music and celebration, we are extremely excited to debut the very first Fort Lowell Records TShirt! We will have them on sale for $20.00 each in boys and girls sizes, printed on Alternative Apparel shirts!

Thank you again for all the support during our first year! Tonight is going to be a lot of fun, and we are looking forward to celebrating with you! Stop by Hotel Congress any time during the night to see your favorite band, or just come hang out and listen to the amazing DJs! Don't forget to order one of our favorite drinks from the bar... either the "Dead Western Plain" or a "Seven & Seven!"

See you tonight!
~ Fort Lowell Records

HAPPY RECORD STORE DAY!

2011-04-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

We've been waiting for this day for the past year. It was exactly this day last year, Record Store Day 2010, that we celebrated our official first release for Young Mothers with a showcase at Zia Records Speedway in Tucson AZ; including Young Mothers, ...music video?, and Tracy Shedd. Today is Record Store Day 2011, and we will be back at Zia Records celebrating our sixth release, this time for Howe Gelb. Tracy Shedd will be joining Howe Gelb at Zia Records Speedway to ring in Record Store Day 2011. Howe Gelb's 7inch is an official sponsored release with Record Store Day, which means it is also available across the world for everyone to enjoy.

If your local record store did not receive Howe Gelb's 7inch for Record Store Day, don't fret... have them contact the Record Store Day distributors, Alliance and Super-D, and they should be able to get a copy for you even after Record Store Day. And within the coming weeks, we will also put up a link to purchase Howe Gelb's 7inch direct from us.

If you at Coachella this weekend and unable to make it to a record store to celebrate Record Store Day, we've got you covered there as well... Zia Records is hosting a pop-up record store tent in the desert at the festival and they have all Fort Lowell Records 7inches, including Howe Gelb's Record Store Day release. In addition to that, all Zia Records have signed copies of Howe Gelb's 7inch record... only Zia Records.

We look forward to seeing you today at Zia Records Speedway!
Thank you for all of the support!

~ Fort Lowell Records

ALL OF A SUDDEN, KICKFLIP IS NOW SCARED OF THE SOCKS!

2011-03-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

If you have not noticed, we are über-duber excited about our sixth release, which is to be release very soon... Howe Gelb - 'Sno Angel + Melted Wires 7inch, an official Record Store Day release for 2011! To help celebrate this release, The Vinyl District and Zia Records are both hosting two separate contests online for you to enter to win a signed copy of Howe Gelb's 7inch! Here is the skinny for both contests...

THE VINYL DISTRICT
The contest that The Vinyl District is about to end, so sorry for the late post of this, but it is definitely well worth the effort to jump on this one as soon as possible. The Vinyl District is offering a signed copy of a test press record; signed by Howe Gelb and John Convertino. They have actually signed the label on the vinyl itself, and Howe has drawn a wonderful lil' picture for you on the other side.

The first thing to understand is the significance of the test press record. When we are in the process of making a record, the manufacturer sends us four copies of the record called "test pressings." These test pressings are used by our Executive Team to make sure that the record is good to go for mass production. In this case, Howe Gelb's test pressings were perfect, so we approved the test pressings and continued forward with manufacturing the final product for all of you. One special thing about the test pressings is that they are always on black vinyl. Being that all of our releases come on colored vinyl, our test pressings are the only copies available on black vinyl, making them über-rare. One copy is kept in the Fort Lowell Records Vault, manned by a personal security guard twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Two copies of the test pressing are given to the artist. Finally, the forth copy is typically given away for promotion purposes, such as this contest.

The Vinyl District has made it very easy for you to enter their contest... you simply need to post a comment on their page about the contest HERE. Just tell them why you feel you deserve to own the signed test pressing from Howe Gelb. They are going to post the winner very soon, so act now. Again, we apologize for the late notice on this one. Good luck!

ZIA RECORDS
To start, we just have to say "Thank You" to Zia Records. They have been very supportive of our label for the first year of our existence, and we really appreciate everything they do. So, speaking of what they do... Zia Records has a contest going to win a signed copy of Howe Gelb's record as well. Their signed copy is not for the test pressing, but for the actual release on blue vinyl. For Zia, the record has been signed on the cover by Howe Gelb. The advantage, we've actually got a few copies of these available for Zia Records. I believe they are going to be giving them out by the regions in which they cover: Tucson, Phoenix, and Las Vegas.

To enter Zia Records' contest, you simply need to send them an EMAIL with all of your contact information: Name, Address, and Phone Number... and be sure to put "GELB ZIA" in the title of your email. Their contest ends April 11th, so don't wait too too long to send your EMAIL in to Zia Records.

Now, the cool thing about Zia Records is that not only are they offering you an opportunity to win a signed copy of Howe Gelb's 7inch for free... but for those of you that don't "win" a "free" copy, Zia Records will also have signed copies of Howe Gelb's 7inch available for sale on Record Store Day, April 16th, at all locations! Yup! So... send an EMAIL to Zia Records first to try and get a copy for free. Then, if unfortunately if you don't win, just stop by your local Zia Records on April 16th, Record Store Day, to pick up a copy of Howe Gelb's 7inch!

As far as Kickflip is concerned... she used to be a freak with socks! She loved playing with them; jumping into mounds of them and tearing them apart. But for some reason, now she is freaked out by them. We had a pile of them lingering around our corporate offices (don't ask), so we dump them on top of her and she jumped nearly three feet in the air backwards and now won't go near them. What gives?

Good luck with the contests!
- Fort Lowell Records

CONCERT POSTERS FOR UPCOMING SHOWS!

2011-03-15T01:23:00.000-07:00

WIN A SIGNED HOWE GELB 7INCH!

2011-03-08T07:46:00.001-07:00

TRACY SHEDD LIVE PHOTOGRAPHS

2011-02-20T21:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks to our dear friend Lisa MacInnes Healey from GroovyStylie! for these wonderful photographs of Tracy Shedd & Co. performing live at Club Congress in Tucson AZ!

PHOENIX, WE'RE COMIN' YOUR WAY!

2011-02-17T12:32:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, Feb 20th, Fort Lowell Records will be exhibiting at the Nile Record Fair in Mesa, AZ, from 12p-6p! We will have all five of our beautiful 7inch records available for you to purchase, including the new Death Kit 7inch that comes out next week! Stop by to support your local Arizona music scene and get some new sweet tunes for the family!

'DEM WET & RECKLESS GIRLZ GOT BALLZ!

2011-02-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

Our fab four female friends from Los Angeles CA, Wet & Reckless, stopped by the DTLA Live studios to bring you their latest single "Latered." Check it out here... the song freakin' RAWKZ! Go ladies! Go ladies! Don't forget to order their 7inch record direct from our site... "to the right, to the right!"

DEATH KIT DONE ACOUSTIC!

2011-01-30T15:18:00.001-07:00

Back in August 2010, Death Kit hooked up with Gorillacoustic for an acoustic performance of "Devadasi," the song they just released with our lil' ol' label on creamy 7inch vinyl! Check it out, and read their interview below! Then pre-order their 7inch directly with us--->>>

DEATH KIT "DEVADASI" from Gorillacoustic.com on Vimeo.

INTERVIEW FROM GORILLACOUSTIC w/ DEATH KIT:

Most people assume that since I run a site that focuses on acoustic performances, that I must be a fan of acoustic music. And I am… to a certain extent. But it’s not what why I started this site. See, my theory has always been that a good musician is a good musician no matter what the musical delivery method. This focus on acoustic performances is just a fun way to test that theory... A test to see if when you strip all the technology away, the emperor still has his clothes, so to speak. This week’s featured artist, Death Kit, passed the test with flying colors.

To be honest, when I initially approached Death Kit, it was with a wee bit apprehension. While I quite enjoyed their music, it was seeped in electronica which could be rather difficult to translate if they happened to rely too heavily on it create their sound. So I was more than pleasantly surprised when we hit the location and they effortlessly turned out this wholly acoustic number… and so was everyone else heading home that particular evening.

Watching the video, you can definitely tell there was a bit of skepticism and nervous laughter when we first boarded. Just watch the woman in the corner between singer August Brown and bassist Cove Gelt… You can see her actually cover her face, bracing for the worst. But as soon as August opens his mouth, everyone’s focus immediately shifts to the band. And, by the 1:25 mark, that woman in the corner is completely into it too, bobbing her head along to the music.

GORILLACOUSTIC: What does the world need to know about Death Kit?

AUGUST BROWN: That we love you terribly and promise to call more.

GA: Your output is fairly electronic in nature, yet you easily broke out this acoustic number for the shoot. Does your writing process generally start more acoustically or does it just depend on what you have at hand when inspiration strikes?

AB: Death Kit started as a wholly laptop-based project that I wasn’t even producing for – a friend helmed most of the programming on an early e.p. that we did in our bedrooms with barely any organic instrumentation. But I’ve always been hugely bored with most live electronica, and really wanted a band to build out performances and give people something to watch. I like the idea of not really revealing what sound is coming from where onstage while still being really physical and tactile as a live act. So once I took over production duties, I made a point of writing loops and melodies and structures and kind of stopping halfway through the arrangement process, to let Terry and Cove and Chad finish the songs off. They’re all such impossibly creative and fantastic players, and now that the lineup is settled it’s getting way more egalitarian in writing arrangements and we’re switching instruments more often, so we’re feeling more familiar with the “songs” instead of just “parts” and can translate that to different settings as needed.

GA: Why did you choose to perform on a train?

AB: Chad thought of it, but it was apropos. I’m kind of riveted by public transit; that grand Metro route schematic for LA county that you see at bus stops can hypnotize me for hours. This is such a stoner musing, but absorbing the sheer scope of all the different places you can go from any given point on that grid just kind of amazes me. And most of the techno I’m listening to now, like Basic Channel and Gas, is kind of made for night bus rides coming down from a long night out. There’s something so sweet and kind of celestial about being surrounded by mute strangers in terrible fluorescent light. I ride the Gold Line recreationally, it still has a bit of the ghost of the Red Cars about it, and I can’t help but pine for what Los Angeles could have been if those weren’t torn out.

In a different life where I could perform simple math or draw a straight line to save my life, I’d love to be a city planner. I kind of look at writing music as solving a similar structural problem -- there’s an end goal of creating a particular emotional world, and you try to make as many right decisions as you can to get close to that ideal.

GA: What’s in your death kit?

AB: Scotch.

GA: What other local artists (besides yourselves of course) should people be checking out?

AB: Well, Wet & Reckless and Emperor X are just movements unto themselves, and it would behoove all of you to go shovel money at them and cook elaborate vegan meals in alms to their artistic benevolence.

Gorillacousticers probably don’t need me to tell them this, but Health is the best band in L.A., it’s not even a contest anymore. But beyond that, Infinite Body is composing some crushing, heartbreaking ambient pieces, and the Franks are just pure pop whiplash. Our friend Ferraby Lionheart has a really winsome new record too.

GA: If you could do another gorillacoustic performance anywhere else in the world, where would you do it?

AB: Probably inside the wooden stilt house on an island off the west coast of Thailand where I had the loveliest week of my life. In all likelihood it washed away in the tsunami, but I have to believe it’s still there.

GA: Better straight to SyFy "on a Train" movie: "Snakes on a Train", "Zombies on a Train" or "Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus on a Train"?

AB: I don’t know, you can’t really top “Under Seige 2:Dark Territory” for riveting train-centric cinema.

www.deathkitmusic.com
www.myspace.com/deathkit
www.facebook.com/deathkit

HOWE GELB 7INCH RELEASE FOR RECORD STORE DAY!

2011-01-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

We are extremely excited to annouce that our next 7inch record to be released will be with Howe Gelb [FLR006]! We are going to feature two of his projects: 'Sno Angel on Side-A and Melted Wires on Side-B! "Spiral" will be the 'Sno Angel song, which is a live version with the Voices Of Praise Gospel Choir. "Cordoba in Slow Motion" will be the Melted Wires song, which is a collaboration between Giant Sand and Calexico, and has not been release yet. Frankly, we feel "Cordoba in Slow Motion" is the best track from the Melted Wires session, and can't wait for you all to hear it!

Howe Gelb's 7inch record is also going to be an official release with Record Store Day, Saturday, April 16th! Stay tuned for more information! This is an very special record and is sure to sell out fast!

FREE DEATH KIT POSTER!

2011-01-28T07:36:00.000-07:00

The first 20 pre-orders for Death Kit's new 7inch record receive this limited edition poster for free! Pre-order today directly from us by clicking "Add to Cart" on the right column--->

INDIE-POP QUEEN TRACY SHEDD ROCKS THE CAKE WORLD

2011-01-22T18:40:00.001-07:00

Dry River Company features these beautiful tasty delights made by our very own Tracy Shedd! Not only is she rockin' the indie-pop world with her latest single "Tear It Up" released on her split 7inch single with Wet & Reckless, but now she's rockin' the cake world here in Tucson AZ! The coffee / pizza house, Dry River Company, on the east side of town that has been generating quite the buzz is now featuring Tracy Shedd's decadent cakes! Stop by to taste for yourself... 800 North Kolb Road.

ONE OF THE BEST SONGS EVER WRITTEN: LOW "SHAME"

2011-01-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

HOWE GELB - "SPIRAL"

2011-01-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

This one is for you, Tucson.

ANDREW COLLBERG SAVED MY LIFE

2011-01-12T01:02:00.000-07:00

Monday, January 10, 2011 will always be remembered as 'The Day My Dual Died.' My pops, Jim Tritten (yep, I'm a Junior, people!) had given me his Dual turntable from the 1970's (model 1257 for all of you techies out there) a few years back (possibly the greatest gift of a lifetime). Unfortunately, this past Monday, that Dual 1257 stopped working. She provided an amazing listening experience, one that was well suited for approving all test pressings for Fort Lowell Records. We appreciate all the Dual did for us during our inaugural year, and will miss her dearly as Fort Lowell Records grows forward. Rest in peace, Dual 1257.

The passing on of our Dual 1257 this week was especially hard for us because we are expecting to receive Death Kit's 7inch records in the mail, and in the coming weeks we should be working toward our test pressing for FLR006... both very important events for our lil' ol' label, that would require support of a turntable (and a good one at that) to enjoy. Fortunately for us, Tucson's own Andrew Collberg (an great musician / songwriter that you should become familiar with) came to the rescue! He just so happened to have a Dual turntable, that his own father had passed on to him, available for us to borrow until we are able to replace our turntable. The timing could not be more perfect! Below is a photograph of Andrew's Dual, spinning his own 12inch On The Wreath [Le Pop Music].

While we save our pennies to purchase a Pro-Ject turntable, what will become the official listening station for all future Fort Lowell Records test pressings (and what has been a dream turntable for us for a number of years; since like 1992), we will proudly (and thankfully) enjoying testing our vinyl with Mr. Collberg's Dual turntable, and enjoying his record On The Wreath as well!

Thank you Andrew!
- James Tritten, Fort Lowell Records

RESPECT FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE

2011-01-10T09:31:00.001-07:00

I would like to personally thank Jimmy Cracovaner of Fire City Music for sharing a moment of silence with me this morning at 9:00am, to pay respect to the victims from the tragic events of this past weekend. We were in the middle of a business meeting discussing the amazing community of Tucson, AZ and all of it's wonderful musicians, and how our companies could partner together to foster more growth and opportunities for Tucson musicians. This is an awesome city full of beautiful people! We love you Tucson!

- James Tritten, Fort Lowell Records

OUR HEARTS GO OUT TO THE VICTIMS AND THEIR FAMILIES FROM TODAY'S TRAGIC EVENTS

2011-01-08T15:30:00.001-07:00

Young Mothers with Congresswoman Giffords, Saturday, April 17, 2010, Earth Day

THANKS ZOCALO MAGAZINE FOR THE GREAT ARTICLE!

2011-01-08T06:28:00.001-07:00

We love the analog (print) version of this article!

FREE FRIDAY SHINDIG featuring: TRACY SHEDD, AMY RUDE, and SILVER THREAD TRIO!

2011-01-05T08:06:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU ZIA RECORDS!

2011-01-02T20:58:00.000-07:00

Continuing to make customers happy, one at a time.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

2010-12-25T14:43:00.001-07:00

Thank you for an amazing first year!

AL PERRY SPEAKS THE TRUTH!

2010-12-20T22:02:00.000-07:00

KXCI DJs ARE COOL!

2010-12-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

Thank you to KXCI Community Radio and DJs Laura Adams and Jason Repko for inviting us to be a part of Laura's Guest DJ Project she will be debuting in 2011. Laura is looking to connect the city of Tucson with various people in the community by asking them about what music inspired them. She requested that we bring in 4-5 songs that have a significant meaning to us and our journey through life, that tell a story. Here is a list of what we brought in to play:

Echo & the Bunnymen - "Crocodiles" (Shine So Hard)
fIREHOSE - "Brave Captain" (Ragin', Full-On)
Mudhoney - "In 'N' Out of Grace" (Superfuzz Bigmuff).
My Bloody Valentine - "Feed Me With Your Kiss" (Isn't Anything)
Unrest - "Make Out Club" (Perfect Teeth)

You will have to wait to listen to the live broadcast from Laura in 2011 to hear how we wrap all of these great songs into one story. And in addition, we gave Laura an advanced copy of Death Kit's new 7inch record, due out February 22, 2011, for her to debut with the radio broadcast. We will be sure to let you know when to tune in.

Again, thank you KXCI for all of the great support!
- Fort Lowell Records

DEAD WESTERN PLAINS STAY ON TOP!

2010-12-15T15:42:00.000-07:00

Dead Western Plains continue to stay on the Top Ten in Music chart, rated by Toxic Ranch Record Store for the Tucson Weekly publication. Congratulations boys, and keep up the great work!

TEST PRESS RECORDS, THE BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER!

2010-12-14T17:04:00.001-07:00

The test press records for Death Kit's 7inch have arrived, and they sound sweeter than a candy cane dipped in sugar! The official release date is February 22, 2011. Stay tuned for pre-orders coming in the new year! Ask Santa for some new dancing shoes, 'cause you're gonna need them with this wax!

- Fort Lowell Records

DEAD WESTERN PLAINS vs R. KELLY - FREE DOWNLOAD

2010-12-01T02:21:00.000-07:00

Care of Paul Jenkins and our very own ...music video? (FLR002), please enjoy this oh-so-sweet-jam-of-a-remixxx of Dead Western Plains' psychedelic tune "Alta," laid in ever-so-sexy ...wid' a lil' bit'a o' sum R. Kelly (up 'een heeah)! ...GO!

http://www.sendspace.com/file/hout14

Enjoy!

DEAD WESTERN PLAINS SURFS THE RADIO WAVES

2010-12-01T01:31:00.000-07:00

When the decision was made to release a 7inch record for the (at the time of decision) less-than-a-year-old Dead Western Plains, we knew that it would only be a matter of time for the world to take to Dead Western Plains the way that the boys and girls in Tucson were doing at that time. Well, their 7inch record has officially been out for only one week now, and there has been an overwhelming amount of interest and support already! 3WK.com, one of our favorite internet radio stations from St. Louis, MO, has already charted the boys from Arizona at #27 in their first week of airplay! In addition to that, they have received support from WESN in Normal, IL, on the show The Quaker Goes Deaf, along with our very own Tracy Shedd! And we cannot forget about all of the support Tucson's KXCI has been giving Dead Western Plains since we leaked their 7inch to them a few months ago! (Did I just type that? Woah!) ...not bad for a band that just celebrated their first year birthday a few months back! Congratulations Dead Western Plains! Kickflip says, "Rock out with your paw out!"

- Fort Lowell Records

DEAD WESTERN PLAINS LIVE VIDEO: RECORD RELEASE PARTY

2010-12-01T00:52:00.000-07:00

Dead Western Plains celebrated the release of their highly acclaimed 7inch record on the evening of November 19, 2010, in Tucson, AZ, at Plush. This video footage was taken by from the audience perspective, and has been posted on the world wide web for your enjoyment. We really enjoyed the second track that comes in about 2:12! Dead Western Plains performs their hit single "Alta" around the 12:45 marker, and a great new tune with a very entertaining video to accompany the live performance at the 23:40 marker. If you were either not able to join us for the celebration or you just simply have to re-live the experience over again, we hope you enjoy this video footage and Dead Western Plains amazing music!

- Fort Lowell Records

GIRLS > BIRDS > ANALOG PHOTOGS > DEATH KIT

2010-11-27T11:56:00.001-07:00

Fort Lowell Records is about to celebrate it's first birthday. We were not sure if this project would even make it this far, but it has, and we are very excited to already be working on releases for 2011. To commemorate each year, we've decided to feature a different theme year to year with the artwork for the records released. We will also partner with a new photographer for each year; establishing continuity between the artwork, but yet diversity between the themes.

As you may have already noticed, 2010 featured the theme of girls. All of the photographs used for our artwork this past year were taken by Alaina Brownell, a local Tucson photographer. Alaina, along with Loreto Echevarria, fashion stylist and owner of Lolo Chic, helped shaped the look for what will now be known as "The Year of the Girl" for Fort Lowell Records. If you have not collected all of these records, be sure you do so soon, before they are all out of print. For 2011, we will be working with Julia DeConcini, co-owner of the Tucson Community Darkroom, featuring birds as the theme, making next year "The Year of the Bird." Julia will also carry on the tradition set forth by Alaina of exclusively using photographs taken on film (analog photography). In addition, the partnership between Fort Lowell Records and Julia's Tucson Community Darkroom will bring more awareness to the analog arts, such as vinyl records and film photography, for years to come.

For our fifth release, first for next year and first to feature our new bird theme, we did not have to look too far from our already existing family of bands. In September 2010, we introduced you to Jessica Gelt, a Tucson native that is now living in Los Angeles, CA, playing bass in a band called Wet & Reckless. Jessica also plays in another band, along with fellow Wet & Reckless'er Whitney Blank, that is led by August Brown, who used to play guitar with Tracy Shedd when they both lived in Jacksonville, FL. Their band is called Death Kit. We were introduced to Death Kit back when we first heard Wet & Reckless, and knew that we had to do a record with them as well.

To make things extra special for Death Kit's 7inch, ...music video? will be featured on the B-Side, doing a remix of Death Kit's hit "I Can Make You Love Me." Both bands have been fans of each others work are excited about the collaboration for this record. And of course, we are just thrilled to bring more work from the boys with ...music video? to you. This record is sure to get you moving on the dance floor. Here is the video for Death Kit's song "I Can Make You Love Me," featuring the original version. You will have to buy the 7inch record from us to hear what ...music video? does to it.

As always, thank you for the support!
"Here, here!" to another great year to come!
- Fort Lowell Records

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

2010-11-20T16:40:00.000-07:00

Thursday, November 18, 2010, will always been known to us as the day Tucson showed the greatest amount of media support we could have ever wished for: both local weekly publications, The Caliente and the Tucson Weekly, featured stories on Fort Lowell Records. We have included all of the articles below on our blog for your reading enjoyment!

THE CALIENTE:
Tucson puts a new spin on vinyl
by Dan Sorenson

James Tritten is not a typical record company executive. For one thing, when his Tucson label "drops" a new record, it's actually a 7-inch vinyl record, not a CD or a digital download.

Tritten is the owner (and just about everything else) of Fort Lowell Records, a tiny label he runs out of the Midtown home he shares with his wife, Tracy Shedd.

There's no promise of a gold record coming out on Fort Lowell Records, either. Not unless it just happens to be colored gold. Tritten says Fort Lowell will press only 500 discs for each of its artists' releases.

And with the exception of a single by Shedd, an established artist, none of the label's artists has released a recording before this. The breathy-voiced Shedd has released several albums and EPs, but she's the exception.

Being previously unrecorded, at least unreleased, is virtually a requirement for a release on Fort Lowell Records, Tritten says. He wants to bring new music to the public, on vinyl.

So far, the Fort Lowell stable has been made up strictly of indie pop groups - Young Mothers, Dead Western Plains and ...Music Video? - but Tritten says he's open to other genres, though "it's got to be good music."

What he offers isn't a traditional record deal. Tritten doesn't sign the bands whose music he has released on vinyl so far. He takes recordings they make and releases them at his expense.

Tritten isn't looking to Fort Lowell to make it rich and quit his day gig as a banquet manager at Marriott.

In fact, he isn't trying to make any money at all from Fort Lowell Records. It's a nonprofit by design, Tritten says.

"I love my career with Marriott," Tritten says. "I don't own a TV. This is what I do when I go home. I run it as somebody might be buying a piece of art, just the same way I collect paintings at my house. It's a living, breathing piece of art," Tritten says of the colored vinyl discs. It's a different color for every release - red, green, white, clear - that he's done so far.

The bands are responsible for their recording costs. Fort Lowell picks up the cost of the art and design - most of it done by Tritten - and has the colored vinyl discs pressed at a plant in California. Then they are distributed for sale at a few local retailers and at Fort Lowell's website, fortlowell.blogspot.com
Tritten says he and Shedd put about $4,500 total into the first three Fort Lowell releases, pressing 500 copies of each - selling 400 and using roughly 100 for promotion.

"It takes 400 records to pay off what it cost to press," Tritten says of self-sustaining system.
They've used the income from those sales to fund each successive release.

Tritten says he won't do a second pressing, regardless of sales.

"I like the idea of a limited release. We talk about it with the bands" beforehand, says Tritten, who'd love to see a Fort Lowell disc so popular and in demand that it would sell on eBay for $500.

And it's not like the pressing limit restricts the bands' release of their music. He says most of the bands also offer digital downloads or sell CDs of the music on their vinyl releases. Tritten says he has even helped the label's bands with digital releases.

Shedd says continuing to put money into Fort Lowell's releases for new bands is OK with her.
"It's all right. We had friends that did it for us. This is just giving back," Shedd says of backing the releases by new bands.

She and Tritten met in high school in Jacksonville, Fla., playing in bands together long before getting romantically involved. While living in Boston, she met Mark Robinson of indie label TeenBeat Records, who recorded and released some of Shedd's songs. She went on to have songs placed on popular TV shows: "One Tree Hill" and "Dawson's Creek."

Tritten said music hasn't been a complete bed of roses. There was a year when he swore off music and even sold his guitars. "In 2004, I came home after the U.S. tour we did for Tracy's album. It was a six-week tour," and Tritten said they weren't getting radio play and nothing seemed to be going right. "I was devastated. I swore it off."

But Tritten said he soon realized music was an important part of his life, whether he was playing in his own group, supporting Shedd's career, working as a booking agent or putting out new music on vinyl. He says it all enriches his life, and he doesn't regret spending money on this latest phase.

"People ask me: 'Are you crazy?' But I didn't have a concern," Tritten insists. "Our first release, Young Mothers (a Tucson band), we're down to 100 copies in less than a year. Young Mothers are kids, people nobody knew."

Zach Toporek, Young Mothers' guitarist and singer, said most of the sales of that April release were through local retailers and online, not through the band's efforts at gigs. He said the band didn't have to do anything other than give Tritten the tapes, and they've even made a little money off the sales.

"It's interactive; you have to do something to make music. And it holds a kind of magic. On top of that, you're always looking for ways to stand out. And I don't know many Tucson groups outside of the Fort Lowell group" releasing vinyl records, Toporek said.

"The seven-inch (vinyl record) paired with a download is the running plan from here on out," Toporek said.

Keyboard player and singer Johnnie Munger of Dead Western Plains said vinyl is more than a gimmick.

"Our band's got a really unique sound, and I think it's a fit for analog type of releases," Munger said. "I think even the size of the release, the 7-inch (one song on each side), is perfect for our band. We like to write in little spurts. Release it and move on.

"I definitely wouldn't be as excited about a CD. They're collectors' items as well."

Dead Western Plains is doing a release show for its new Fort Lowell release, "Alta," on Friday at Plush with Sleep Driver and Holy Rolling Empire.

Tritten says he has always considered the label, the record company issuing a recording, when buying new albums. He said record companies are sometimes "filters," signing only a certain type and quality of act. He says if he buys something from a certain label, he knows he stands a good chance of liking it.

"I wanted to be that for the world with what's happening in Tucson. To say to the world, 'This is music that you ought to be listening to.' 'There are more, a lot more - great bands like Calexico and Howe Gelb in Tucson - worth taking to the world."

WHY VINYL?

Asked what his vinyl obsession is about, James Tritten says he's not part of some retro movement worshipping old things, though he says there is a coolness about vinyl, new or vintage. And it's not strictly an audiophile thing, although, like many audiophiles, he thinks that vinyl does sound "warmer" than digital media versions of the same recording.

"For me, it's more about putting out music," says the 35-year-old, who is also a musician, a guitarist and a former booking agent.

Tritten says it's worthwhile to put music on vinyl because listeners will value the music more if they have to make an effort to hear it.

"There is much more engagement with the music," Tritten says of vinyl, as opposed to the digital format. "The idea of the digital version of music somewhat depressing. I shouldn't say 'depressing'; I have an iPod at work. It's convenient."

If vinyl records motivate people to listen to Fort Lowell artists because they like the color of the disc, love the sound or are into the retro nature of old-technology discs, that's OK with Tritten. They're making an effort, and the music is getting out. Besides, he says, there's something more tangible about a vinyl record than a download, or even a jewel boxed CD.

"We're both obsessed with vinyl," says Shedd, who had her first vinyl record with a 7-inch Christmas release in 1998, a "split" with Tritten's old band, Audio Explorations.

"I love the way music sounds on vinyl. It's warmer," Shedd says. She said what cinched it for her was hearing some tracks she had cut for a EP.

"I was testing out my last EP," listening to the MP3 files of the recording session. But, she says, "as soon as it came out on vinyl," it was love.

THE CALIENTE:
Artists big and tiny are going back to black
by Dan Sorenson

Howe Gelb is doing it. Elvis Presley did it. Elvis Costello and Fred Eaglesmith are still doing it.
Black (or colored) vinyl is in.

Releasing records on vinyl, in some cases only on vinyl (though usually with a free download of a digital version), is increasingly popular.

English singer-songwriter Costello released his 2006 album, "Momofuku," only on vinyl, with an access code that allowed buyers to download a digital version.

Fred Eaglesmith, a Canadian singer-songwriter who has been burning up the pavement in a Ford van for 20 years, released a limited pressing of his 2008 double vinyl LP (that's "long playing" for you novices) "Tinderbox."

And almost everyone between Costello and Eaglesmith is giving vinyl at least an occasional try.
Tucson rocker Gelb's new release, "Howe Gelb and a Band of Gypsies," with a group Spanish musicians, is coming out on vinyl.

In April, Tucson vinyl-only label Fort Lowell Records issued its first release, a green 7-inch disc by the local Young Mothers. Next came another Tucson indie band - ...Music Video? - on a clear disc.

Its third release (on red vinyl) is the only shared release (known as a "split") and the only one with an artist with a previous release - Tracy Shedd with a Los Angeles-based act, Wet & Reckless, on one side. Tritten said a key figure in Wet & Reckless, Jessica Gelt, is now a Los Angeles Times reporter. Gelt used to live in Tucson and still has connections here.

Fort Lowell's latest release, a two-song disc by Tucson's Dead Western Plains, is set for Tuesday

All photos above by Ron Medvescek for Arizona Daily Star

TUCSON WEEKLY:
Soundbites
by Stephen Seigel

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more enthusiastic cheerleader for local music than James Tritten. The guitarist for (and husband to) local artist Tracy Shedd, Tritten decided last year to put his money where his mouth is and start a (mostly) locals-only, 7-inch-vinyl-singles-only record label, with the goal of releasing four singles in 2010. It's been a trial by fire, and this week, Tritten meets his goal. After putting out singles by Young Mothers, ... music video? and a split with Los Angeles' Wet and Reckless and Tracy Shedd, his Fort Lowell Records is releasing a white-vinyl 7-inch by Dead Western Plains.

The A-side, "Alta," is a shape-shifting 5 1/2 minutes that begins with an Animal Collective-like tangle of harmonies and whistling (or is that a theremin?) before it all recedes to the background in favor of a jaunty vocal melody that carries the song throughout a series of pleasant interruptions—a complimentary countermelody here, a well-placed breakdown there, before concluding: "Sometimes we fail / If the heavens won't hold you tight / the ground surely will." Cue the lovely, nearly two-minute outro.

The B-side, "Gift Horse in the Mouth," is darker and slightly less complicated, relying on a skittery drumbeat, some nifty interaction between keyboard and guitar, and a sung/spoken-word break. It's only slightly less enjoyable than the much-different "Alta."

As usual, each record comes with a code to download the songs onto your computer or portable device. And when you get to the download page, follow the gray dotted line, and scroll down. Click on the box that cryptically reads "treats are for the curious." It'll give you access to three remixes of "Alta" by Jacob Safari, ... music video? and Kurt Snell.

YOUNG MOTHERS FEATURED ON TUCSON 12 TELEVISION!

2010-11-18T10:21:00.001-07:00

Tucson 12 is an awesome television station here in Tucson, AZ, that is über supportive to our community, in particular, the arts. So much, that they were a major inspiration to us for starting Fort Lowell Records (seriously, read our post from January 10, 2010, here). Earlier this month, Tucson 12 invited our very own Young Mothers into their studio for a live recording and interview, as part of their D-Town Program.

CLICK LINK:
Watch D-Town featuring Young Mothers' performance and interview here!
(Their feature comes in at the 10min mark)

In addition to their television appearance, Tucson 12 has posted a 2nd song by Young Mothers from the same live studio recording session on their YouTube channel:

You can order Young Mothers' 7inch record, which happens to be our very first release, direct from our website, here (to your right-->). There are still a few copies left, but it is nearly out of print, so don't delay! Young Mothers will also be releasing a new full length CD called Have Some Fun on their own label, December 10th.

As always, thank you for the support!
Enjoy the music!
- Fort Lowell Records

DEAD WESTERN PLAINS IS NOT DEAD.

2010-11-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

We can't begin to tell you how excited we are to present to you the debut release for one of Tucson's newest and most innovative bands, Dead Western Plains. Their very first show can still easily be found on their Facebook page, dated August 22, 2009. It wasn't shortly after that, we began hearing a buzz around Tucson about Dead Western Plains. Upon first listen, we heard the call of duty that record labels are faced with everyday; the responsibility of bringing new music to people of the world, and we knew Dead Western Plains was a band that needed to be heard by everyone. Dead Western Plains is simply amazing, and now that their 7inch is available to order directly from us here on our site, we could not be happier! We know that the minute you hear those first "Ooo-Waa-Ooo's" on the crisp white vinyl, you are going to be sold for life as a Dead Western Plains junky. It won't surprise us to hear that you will have listened to your 7inch record so many times that flipping the 7inches of vinyl over, back and forth, measured out to be the distance from here to the moon.

We have been blessed by all of the immediate attention that has been given to Dead Western Plains' debut 7inch. Here are just a few of the bloggers out there and what they have to say about the boys from Tucson AZ:

Here Come The Flood - The Netherlands
No Modest Bear - Sweden
I'm Into Indie
The Fox & The Chicken
Something Civil
Das Klienicum - Germany
Magiska
Deck Fight

Pre-order their 7inch record before the official release date of November 23rd, and you will receive a free download link for additional remix tracks of their song "Alta." This first 25 people to pre-order will also receive a signed copy of the cover art by all five members of Dead Western Plains. This is one record you will not want to miss! The link to order is to your right --->

Thank you for the continuous support!
- Fort Lowell Records

VINYL VLOG: EPISODE #20

2010-10-15T03:46:00.000-07:00

Matt and Josh, hosts of Vinyl Vlog (a video web blog that reviews vinyl records via YouTube), take a moment to share with you their first impressions about Fort Lowell Records and the 7inch records we have released; Young Mothers, ...music video?, and our Wet & Reckless + Tracy Shedd split.

TESTING TESTING, 1, 2, 3... DEAD WESTERN PLAINS NEVER SOUNDED SO SWEET BEFORE!

2010-09-23T08:46:00.001-07:00

The test pressing has arrived for Dead Western Plains! Mastered by JJ Golden and pressed by Rainbo Records, once again... we've got another great record on our hands that we can't wait to get into yours! "Alta" b/w "Gift Horse In The Mouth" is a spectacular 7inch from these Tucsonans, who will soon become your new favorite band! November 23rd is our release date for this gem on White Vinyl. Stay tuned for more information about the pre-orders, and plan to see Dead Western Plains in action on Saturday, September 25, with the Fort Lowell Records Showcase in Tucson, AZ, at Sky Bar... or on Saturday, October 2, with our Showcase in Phoenix, AZ, at The Compound!

WET & RECKLESS GO ON TOUR!

2010-09-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

Thursday, September 23 - Los Angeles CA - Origami Vinyl
Friday, September 24 - Las Vegas NV - Double Down Saloon
Saturday, September 25 - Tucson AZ - Sky Bar
Sunday, September 26 - Phoenix AZ - The Rogue Bar
Tuesday, September 28 - San Francisco CA - El Rio

Detailed information about each show is available on Wet & Reckless' MySpace page.

7INCHES OF MUSIC VIDEOS

2010-09-21T04:49:00.001-07:00

Nicolás Prados, from Spain, has been making custom videos since 2008 for bands that release their music on 7inch records. He posts his videos on YouTube and Tumblr, and has worked with artists in the past such as Washed Out, The Smith Westerns, Best Coast, and Neon Indian. Our team here at Fort Lowell Records have been blessed with Nicolás' talent, and are very proud to present to you his latest work... for our very own Wet & Reckless (Non-Official Video)! Enjoy!

AN INTERVIEW WITH FORT LOWELL RECORDS BY METROMIX, MIXED LOCALLY BY TUCSON CITIZEN

2010-09-18T05:39:00.004-07:00

Fort Lowell Records showcase
A Q&A with the founder of the vinyl-only Tucson label in advance of its Sept. 25 party
By Billups Allen
Originally posted by Metromix on September 17, 2010

As good records have found their way almost completely out of thrift stores and onto eBay, there seems to be a newfound interest in vinyl collecting.

While some die-hard record labels weathered the vinyl slump, there is a need for a new generation of labels. Fort Lowell Records is a new label in Tucson dedicated to releasing singles. Label patron James Tritten is taking on the old-style method of running a label by arranging shows, self-distributing product and promoting the bands. It is an uphill climb, but with Fort Lowell’s third release—a split 7-inch with local Tracy Shedd and L.A.'s Wet & Reckless—being celebrated on Sept. 25 Sky Bar, there is hope that music can still be hustled off the computer screen.

Many of your releases are bands are from Tucson. Is it part of your mission to document music from the area?
Fort Lowell Records was started with a mission to release music by bands that have roots with Tucson. So far, all of the bands, with the exception of Wet & Reckless, currently live in Tucson. Wet & Reckless live in Los Angeles, but have ties back to Tucson. This town generates some of the best music I have heard in a long time, and from many different genres. I want to try and document as much of it as possible and share with the world. People need to know what is happening here.

Do you feel like you are going to focus on documenting a certain genre?
My personal interests lie mostly with indie pop/rock, but that does not mean I am not open to ideas. I collect a lot of music from hip-hop to classical to country. As long as it is something I would have bought in the store, then I would consider putting it out on Fort Lowell Records.

I have explained this to many bands before... deciding what bands I want to release is really no different then buying music in a record shop. The money is extremely limited with Fort Lowell Records, so I honestly can’t release everything I would want to. Imagine if you had $20 to buy new music, but there were over 200 different records you want to purchase. That is the feeling I have with trying to decide what record will come out next.

Fort Lowell Records is run as a non-profit. I personally invested the money to start the project, and I don’t ever intend to take money out. All of the money made from the sales of the 7-inches simply goes back into Fort Lowell Records to continue putting out more and more music. There are a lot of bands from a lot of genres that have asked to work with me that want to release a 7-inch record. It is very simple... the more support we can receive from the community with purchasing our records, the more support Fort Lowell Records will give back to supporting more and more bands. I would love to see this project grow to be able to support different genres of music outside of indie pop/rock.

What inspired you to start an all-vinyl record label?
I personally only buy music on vinyl, so I honestly can’t imagine releasing music via any other format. We do make all Fort Lowell Records music available through digital distribution, reaching outlets like iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, etc. I understand that there are listeners who prefer collecting music on a digital format, and because there is no cost to us to make this possible for them, we’ve made that available. In addition to the vinyl records, each 7-inch comes with a digital download of the music, so you can listen to your -7inch at home and take the MP3s of the music with you on the go.

For me, vinyl is music and music is vinyl. I’ve been collecting vinyl records since 1994, when I purchased Stereolab’s single “Ping Pong” on 7-inch. I owned the same recording on CD, and when I first heard it on vinyl, it became an entirely new experience. I had owned plenty on vinyl records before that, but never had been able to A/B compare the same song. There was much more of an honest presentation to the music. It was warm, alive, and able to breath on it’s own. I’ve been listening to music on vinyl ever since.

As a musician, I felt my own music deserved the respect that a vinyl record lends to the music.

It’s nice to see your records are getting into stores all over town. Are you doing a lot of hands on distribution?
When I began Fort Lowell Records, I agonized over getting distribution. This is the main advantage for a band to work with a record label. Because Fort Lowell Records is focused on a single community, Tucson, I felt the only way to handle the distribution within the city was in person.

Building relationships with each vendor is extremely important to me. I want them to feel a part of what we are doing. I love going into Bookman’s on Grant and seeing how excited Scott (Landrum) gets I come in, or watching Tasha (Sabatino) at Mast proudly place the new 7-inch on their record player for their customers to enjoy, or reading the weekly report from Bill (Sassenberger) at Toxic Ranch showing what ranking our records are in his Top 10 Best Sellers report. We’ve extended the love to our neighbors to the north in Phoenix, and they are equally as engaged in what we are doing here in Tucson.

I notice on your website that you seem to be taking on a lot of extra responsibility in the form of putting on shows and doing grass roots promotion for your bands, whereas a lot of labels don’t seem to be doing that sort of thing. Are you using any labels you are a fan of as a model for this dynamic?
Teenbeat (Records). In 1999, my wife, Tracy Shedd, and I met Mark Robinson, owner of Teenbeat. He became a fan of her music immediately, and asked to release her music on his label. From that point forward, Mark gave a lot of support to Tracy with her music career, more than simply making her music available to the public. I learned a lot with how to run a record label from her time spent with Teenbeat, and have great admiration for what Mark has done with his label in the past 25 years.

I look to create opportunities for the bands and the record label to simply have fun and share experiences together. At the end of the day, that is why I am doing what I am doing ... to have fun. I certainly don’t want to put all of this effort into Fort Lowell Records just to create work for myself; I want to have fun. I love doing the DJ nights with The Vinyl Baron, where the bands themselves join her at Hotel Congress to DJ their own favorite music the week of their 7-inch release. I am also looking forward to the showcase at Sky Bar on Sept. 25 in Tucson, as well as the one at The Compound on Oct. 2 in Phoenix, where all of our bands will be playing together on the same night.

Mast in Tucson has the new Wet & Reckless + Tracy Shedd 7inch!

2010-09-14T16:07:00.001-07:00

...and the record is not even released yet! Stop on by Mast's store at 299 South Park Avenue and support local music in Tucson! They've got a GREAT selection of vinyl from Tucson musicians!

TRUTH.

2010-09-13T22:08:00.001-07:00

"Much of the beauty that arises in art comes from the struggle an artist wages with his limited medium." ~ Henri Matisse

LADIES & GENTLEMEN... FLR004 [Artwork for Dead Western Plains]

2010-09-05T08:02:00.004-07:00

COME ON DOWN!

2010-09-04T10:14:00.001-07:00

We are all set up down here at Hotel Congress (www.hotelcongress.com)! Come on down and support Tucson. We've got all three of our 7inch records for sale... Young Mothers, ...music video?, and yes... that means that we've got our brand new split 7inch for Wet & Reckless + Tracy Shedd that is not even released yet! Come down now to pick up a copy before anyone else! We've also got The Rad Bag, hand made by Petite Bonfire (www.petitebonfire.com) specifically for our 7inch records! See you soon!

PRE-ORDER FLR003 NOW!

2010-09-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

Pre-order our Wet & Reckless + Tracy Shedd 7inch now on our WEBSITE + MYSPACE!
All pre-orders will receive a free CD of Tracy Shedd's last full length album, Cigarettes & Smoke Machines, which was released on Teenbeat in 2008! The candy-red vinyl is so delicious, you are going to want to eat it when it arrives at your doorstep! Don't forget, all Fort Lowell Records 7inches come with digital downloads so you can take your music with you on the go!

FUN FACT #1: Emily Wilder, singer / guitarist from Wet & Reckless, is the cover star on Tracy Shedd's album, Cigarettes & Smoke Machines!

FUN FACT #2: Wet & Reckless have a production company called Echo Productions Productions. They made this video for Tracy Shedd's song "City At Night," from her last release, EP88, put out by our dear friends at Eskimo Kiss Records earlier this year!

TEST PRESSING GIVEAWAY! ...SIGNED!

2010-09-01T13:58:00.000-07:00

We are excited to let you know that we will be giving away a signed test pressing from each of our first three releases this coming Saturday!

For those of you that don't understand the significance of this... test pressings are the very first run of vinyl pressed from the manufacturer. They are mailed to us to listen to before going into production, to be sure everything is correct with the pressing. For Fort Lowell Records, test pressing are even more significant because they are the only copies of our records that are pressed on black vinyl, making them extremely rare; there are only four copies like these in existence... but only one copy that was been signed by the band, making them uber-rare!

Fort Lowell Records is going to take part in the 4th Annual Vinyl Revival Record Fair on Saturday, September 4th, at Hotel Congress (http://www.hotelcongress.com) in Tucson, AZ. There will be raffle prizes given away during the event, that will include three signed test pressings from Fort Lowell Records... FLR001: Young Mothers, FLR002: ...music video?, and our newest release FLR003: Wet & Reckless + Tracy Shedd!

In addition to the giveaways, we will also have copies of our Wet & Reckless + Tracy Shedd Split 7inch (FLR003) for sale, along with Young Mothers and ...music video?! The release date for FLR003 is not until September 28th, so come on down and pick up a copy before the bands get theirs! Once you see the candy red vinyl in person, you won't be able to resist! All Fort Lowell Records 7inches will be on sale for $5.00 each! See you at the show!

EMBRACING THE BLOG

2010-08-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, we've been back and forth between Blogspot, Facebook, and Twitter, trying to figure out what the best site is for us to use to drive our updates. Our goal is to be able to drive everything via a BlackBerry mobile device, and not have to be stuck behind a computer all of the time... allowing us more time for turning over the 7inch records in our Corporate Offices. So here we go... this is our official test; typing our original post here on Blogspot, then using TwitterFeed to re-post this same note to Twitter and Facebook. Let's see how it works.

TUCSON AZ SHOWCASE - SEPTEMBER 25

2010-08-29T16:52:00.000-07:00

FORT LOWELL RECORDS SHOWCASE

Saturday, September 25, 2010
Sky Bar, 536 N. 4^th Ave., Tucson, AZ
8 p.m.
Free.

See all five bands from Fort Lowell Records’ four 7inch releases in one place and pick up an early copy of FLR003 before it’s officially released!

7inch-only Fort Lowell Records is throwing a party to celebrate the release of their third 7inch record, a split single featuring Tucson band Tracy Shedd and LA’s Wet & Reckless. Copies of FLR003 will be available for purchase, even though the official release date is September 28.

It’s not just any party--- at the show will be all of the bands who have released music through Fort Lowell Records, including LA’s Wet & Reckless, and Tucson’s Dead Western Plains, who will be on Fort Lowell Records’ fourth 7inch release, due to come out November 23. DJ The Vinyl Baron will be spinning records before the show and between sets.

Admission is free.

LINEUP:
8:00pm: The Vinyl Baron spins records
9:00pm: ...music video?
9:45pm: Dead Western Plains
10:30pm: Young Mothers
11:15pm: Wet & Reckless (from Los Angeles CA)
12:00am: Tracy Shedd

ATTENTION PRESS + RADIO

2010-08-29T16:12:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in receiving promotional copies of our 7inch records to use for reviews in magazines, newspapers, internet, etc... or for playback on a radio station or podcast, please contact us directly (fortlowell AT gmail DOT com) to request to be added to our physical mailing list. Because our 7inch records are pressed in limited quantities, we have to reserve this list for those of you that have an interest in what we are doing. If you are interested in Fort Lowell Records, but like working with digital media... no worries, we have a digital mail list as well. Just let us know what your preference is.

We are about to begin our campaign for our third release, a split 7inch for Wet & Reckless and Tracy Shedd, so contact us as early as possible! We look forward to hearing from you soon!

INTRODUCING... THE RAD BAG!

2010-08-28T23:56:00.012-07:00

Holy crap, this bag is cool! We are so excited to show you The Rad Bag - our very own bag, custom made by Petite Bonfire just for our 7inch records! These are photographs of the final prototype that has been approved by our Executive Team. Petite Bonfire is going to begin production for The Rad Bag this week. We are hoping to have a few available for the 4th Annual Vinyl Revival Record Fair at Hotel Congress (Tucson AZ) on Saturday, September 4th. In addition, we are going to make The Rad Bag available on our website as part of a package including all of our 7inch records, as well as at other future events for Fort Lowell Records. Seriously, people... this bag is the raddest thing going! It's even got a pocket under the hood for your phone! Be the first one on your block to own The Rad Bag! Stay tuned to our sites for more information on how to get one!

4th ANNUAL VINYL REVIVAL RECORD FAIR

2010-08-28T19:26:00.001-07:00

Saturday, September 4

Hotel Congress presents...

9am-3pm - Vinyl Revival Record Fair
11am-3pm - Fort Lowell Records Showcase
- Live performances by Tracy Shedd + Young Mothers
- DJ sets by The Vinyl Baron + Fort Lowell Records Executive DJs

It’s that time of year again! Vinyl Revival invites you to join us at Hotel Congress for Tucson’s most exciting record sale! This year’s fair will coincide with Club Congress’ 25th Anniversary Party, Labor Day Weekend. A three day music festival featuring some of the best Tucson bands from the past 25 years, who will rock the stage each night. In it’s fourth year, Vinyl Revival will help us revive some of Tucson’s best music. Vinyl Revival will provide an atmosphere where the serious record collector or novice can have exposure and access to all things vinyl! Come on down and take part in Arizona’s largest independent record fair. We’re sure you’ll find something you love!

Fort Lowell Records, Tucson's latest record label releasing 7inch records for Tucson artists, will have their records from Young Mothers and ...music video? for sale. In addition, this will be a one-time-only chance to purchase their latest release, a split 7inch featuring Wet & Reckless + Tracy Shedd, that is not available to anyone else until September 28th!!! Come down to the Vinyl Revival to get your copy of FLR003 first! Tracy Shedd will be on hand to play a few live tracks for everyone, along with Young Mothers! Then, resident Fort Lowell Records' DJ, The Vinyl Baron, will be spinning some sweet, sweet vinyl all afternoon long!

To top if off... Fort Lowell Records will have a SIGNED Test Pressing for each of their records (Young Mothers, ...music video?, and the Wet & Reckless + Tracy Shedd Split 7inch) to give away as door prizes! You won't want to miss it!

SPINNING AROUND WITH ...MUSIC VIDEO?

2010-08-28T15:02:00.004-07:00

We love this end-cap that Zia Records on Speedway (Tucson AZ) designed for ...music video?'s 7inch Record!

RELEASE DATES... MOVIN' ON UP TO THE EAST SIDE

2010-08-28T11:03:00.002-07:00

We are so excited about these next two records coming out for 2010, we decided to move the release dates up so we can get them in your hands sooner!

- WET & RECKLESS + TRACY SHEDD Split 7inch: September 28, 2010
- DEAD WESTERN PLAINS Alta 7inch: November 23, 2010

Consider this an early Holiday Gift from the Executive Team at Fort Lowell Records!
Preorder announcements coming soon!
Enjoy!

INTRODUCING... "THE $7 HOLLER!"

2010-07-12T19:32:00.002-07:00

Fort Lowell Records has partnered up with The Vinyl Baron to celebrate the release of each FLR 7inch record. Band members from the 7inch that is being celebrated join The Vinyl Baron at Hotel Congress, in downtown Tucson, AZ, to spin some of their favorite music on vinyl! This always takes place on the Friday night that follows the release date for their 7inch record. This tradition began with Young Mothers, back on April 23, 2010, and will carry on again this coming Friday, July 16th, with ...music video?. J Lugo Miller, from ...music video? will be spinning some soul records, as well as some of the beats he used in various ...music video? recordings, including beats from "I'm Afraid Of Everything," ...music video?'s song featured on their FLR 7inch.

To help celebrate the night, Fort Lowell Records is offering a drink special in honor of 7inch records, called The $7 Holler! For just $7 you can get a FLR 7inch record and a 7-N-7 Mixed Drink (Seagram's 7 Whiskey with 7-Up)! And, if you don't particularly like 7-N-7's, then the fine people at Hotel Congress will be happy to serve you up another type of well drink or beer of the same value. We won't let you go thirsty! Just don't drink and drop (the vinyl)! Stop by the merchandise table to purchase your FLR 7inch and receive a drink ticket you can take to the bar. Otherwise, 7inch records are $5.

Remember, every Friday Night following our release dates, plan to join us with The Vinyl Baron at Hotel Congress! You will get to hang out with the band members and hear them spin some of their favorite vinyl records!

HELP, PLEASE... SOMEONE!

2010-06-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

"SHANE, COME BACK SHANE!" or FORT LOWELL RECORDS DOES LOS ANGELES

2010-05-05T19:48:00.003-07:00

When the decision was made for Tracy Shedd and Wet & Reckless to do a split 7inch together, everyone involved in the project pretty much agreed that Tracy could take the lead on deciding what the artwork imagery should look like. "Mudhoney's record (ep) Superfuzz Bigmuff," Tracy said to explain what she had in mind. She met with Alaina Brownell, Fort Lowell Records' resident photographer, and decided to stage an environment of girls dancing and host a party for a photo shoot for Alaina to capture. Being that Wet & Reckless is an all girl band, and the Fort Lowell Records Executive Team is (or seems to be shaping up to be) also made up of girls, a plan was set in place for the the executives from Tucson (Tracy; Alaina; Design Consultant. Loreto Echevarria; and El Patron, James Tritten) to take a road trip out to Los Angeles to meet up with Wet & Reckless for such an event to take place.

Friday, April 30th - James Tritten's sister, Kim Tauch's, birthday
Everyone was extremely anxious to get on the road to Los Angeles. From Tucson, Los Angeles is about an 8-hour ride, with not a great amount of scenery to keep one's level of alertness in check. However, with two of the three girls equipped with iPhones, there would be plenty of excitement generated from online Madlibs and eBay shopping. The plan was for everyone to get off work a little earlier than BEER:30 so we could be on the road in time to arrive by midnight in Los Angeles (Do the math... 4:00 pm).

Successfully, Team Tucson gathered everything together and was on their way across town. While stopping for gas, Loreto asked James if he could take a "mechanic's look" at the tires on her truck before they got on the road. "Everything seems normal, except your back left tire looks like it could be a little low," James said. Loreto stated she wanted to get on the road and perhaps at the next fill up they would add a bit of air. Happy-go-lucky and with snacks in hand, the crew made their way onto to the ol' I-10 corridor and headed west.

No sooner than passing the town of Marana about 20 minutes north of Tucson, Loreto reported her truck to be pulling a bit to the left. Everyone agreed it must be the road and asked Loreto to change lanes to see if it would be more level. Just as she pulled over to the right, getting into the middle lane... "POW!" goes one of the tires! Now, take a good guess at which one you think it was. Loreto screamed for her life, "The breaks aren't working! The breaks aren't working!" As if she had flown MiG fighter-jets shot down in Nam and successfully survived crash landings multiple times, Loreto steered her Volvo SUV (yep, that's how we roll) two more lanes to the right, then to the shoulder of the highway, all while her back left tire disintegrated away. She was able to coast the Volvo to a safe stopping point.

The tread of the tire was completed separated from the side walls and wheel. Alaina pointed out, "Look at all the liquid on the ground from the tire melting away!" Unfortunately, that was not "liquid tire"; it was brake fluid. When the tire broke apart, it crossed the brake line and snapped it completely off the caliper. Fortunately, James grew up with two fathers that instilled a great amount of respect for the importance to "be prepared." Like any good Boy Scout, James had brought his entire tool box from home, packed with nuts and bolts and washers and "manly accessories." Within minutes the spare tire was on the axle and the brake line had been MacGyver'ed tight with manly accessories to stop the bleeding.

Team Fort Lowell knew they had to turn around and head back to Tucson. The spare tire and hose clamp were not going to hold up for the 48 hour adventure that these cadets were about to embark on. In fact, it was questionable whether or not the journey would (or should) continue from this point. They were able to drive to the closest PepBoys to discuss matters further with Hippe (pronounced HIP-pee), a fine young mechanic that was hanging on to every moment he could spend with the young, professional, executive ladies. Hippe wanted to help in any way possible, but was simply unequipped. He did approve of the craftsmanship that James applied to the broken brake line, so the team decide to move the Volvo across town to a repair shop closer to Loreto's home.

Loreto's husband, Captain Kane-Man (aka Mr. Flint), came to the rescue, meeting the ladies and gent on the Westside to escort them across town to the Eastside PepBoys, ensuring their safe arrival. Kane, the true hero in this story, decided to offer his own vehicle to the project for the weekend so that everyone could get back on the road and see to it that these photographs would be taken. It was an extremely noble gesture and greatly appreciated. The team left the Volvo with the new mechanic, made a pit stop by Casa de Echevarria for additional accessories, then delivered Kane to his own temporary replacement vehicle for the weekend (Captain Kane-Man's gotta have wheels to get around town and rescue others, you know).

Loreto (from here forward referred to Lolo) was beat. She had been driving the Volvo up until this point and was simply exhausted from all of the excitement. James had taken the wheel of their new Jeep, and they were now headed west, crossing back through Tucson (hopefully) one last time. The positive energy for the team was being revived. Kane's dedication and support made everyone believe in the purpose of the trip again and find the motivation to carry on.

Driving on Ina Road, past Oracle, there seemed to be a construction zone on the road approaching. Casually following the neon glow of the the directional signs, all of a sudden the Jeep had been re-routed north onto a dark, twisting road that was jammed with traffic due to the 25-mph speed limit and incompetent drivers. The drive had already seemed endless, and none of the West-side cross roads looked familiar to the East-Tucson posse. It was as if Tucson was crying out, "Fort Lowell! Come back, Fort Lowell!" Tucson simply did not want this group to leave.

Pressing on, the Jeep was eventually able to make it past the point the Volvo did not. Excitement was shared between Tracy, Lolo, Alaina, and James in their new 48-hour-home, followed by a moment of silence that was fueled from the shear exhaustion from the past 5 hours. Then, Alaina began to laugh... hysterically, and uncontrollably. She had taken a look at the clock and it read "10:00pm." The young executives had just left Tucson for the second time, and the reality of their departure had just hit Alaina. It became infectious. The entire group began laughing out loud, and subconsciously crying on the inside without tears showing on their faces. Everyone knew that it was a crazy idea, but everyone remained optimistic and felt the sacrifice of sanity for the love of art would be worth it in the end. This is the dedication the executives of Fort Lowell Records give to each project and each other. This is what rock-n-roll is all about.

Saturday, May 1st - "May Day, May Day, May Day!"
For the past 15 years, James had been on many tours around the country, driving many late-night-after-concert-shifts lasting from 6 hours to 14 hours, so the idea of an 8 hour overnight drive from Tucson to Los Angeles seemed very realistic and possibly fun in some ways. Lolo's role with Fort Lowell Records has been to be a supportive energy in any way needed for any projects, and this was clearly demonstrated with this overnight drive. She stayed up the entire time keeping everyone's optimism in check, and James' alertness to the road focused, ...with the assistance of a healthy dose of Cool Ranch Doritos and two Starbucks Double Shots (standard issues for James and overnight driving). The team did have to pass up the Massage Parlor at the one stop they made for gas, and pressed on to arrive in Los Angeles a little after 5:00 am.

Emily and Deanna from Wet & Reckless, and Gimpy and Puppy, Deanna's cute dogs, greeted everyone upon arrival. Whitney, newly appointed lead guitarist for Wet & Reckless, remained asleep on the coach. Team Tucson did everything to be as quiet as possible, but sleeping on the hardwood floors did not seem as inviting as sleeping on blow-up mattresses, despite the Boeing engine-like noise they would make to inflate. Lolo and Alaina did their best to settle in the living room, while James and Tracy attempted to make their mattress inflate between the kitchen sink, oven, refrigerator and garbage cans. No one cared about the arrangement at this point. They simply wanted that bird outside singing beautifully to his mate to die, and the sun to take a detour north, east, or south... any direction but west.

With a few hours of trying to sleep, everyone began to rise around 11:00am. Discussions about taking a walk to get coffee were underway. The idea of starting this day, regardless of the lack of proper rest, just seemed like the right idea (but perhaps should have been re-analyzed). Deanna's house sits on top of one of the steepest streets in the world, Baxter Street in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Driving in at 5:00 am provided a beautiful view of their city. However, not considering this at 11:00am for the walk to go get coffee proved to be an work-out that Team Tucson (a city where most of the residential area resides in the flat area between mountains and hills) was not prepared for.

The local coffee was great, and the company was even better. Everyone took time getting to know each other and take in the beautiful neighborhood of Echo Park. Emily and Whitney headed out to the studio for the day for Wet & Reckless to begin recording what will become their track for the Fort Lowell Records Split 7inch with Tracy Shedd. Deanna took James down to Origami Vinyl in Echo Park to meet with Sean (co-owner) and drop off some records to carry in the store. Lolo unfortunately had to learn a bit more about the damage to her Volvo, something that ended up being not just a simple drop-off-at-the-mechanic-for-the-morning kind of repair. Everyone else embraced the clean water of Los Angeles and took l o n g e r - t h a n - n o r m a l showers to try and re-start their day off on a better (or at least more clean) note.

Team Tucson decided to head out to Santa Monica Pier and stick their dry desert skin in the frigid Pacific Coast water. With the recently discovered Hipstamatic iPhone App and Alaina's truly impressive professional cameras, the kids from Tucson enjoyed an afternoon taking photographs of each other, drinking beer with olive juice (trust us, try it!), and already beginning to miss their loved ones they had just left behind nearly 24 hours ago. The original plan, if they had arrived in Los Angeles on time, was for Lolo and Alaina to drop off Tracy and James at Deanna's house and go visit with Kelly Flint, Lolo's sister in-law/Kane's sister. They would have been able to spend some time with Lolo's family on Saturday and then meet up with everyone else later in the day. The trip to the Santa Monica Pier was simply something to make the best of the time now allotted to the project due to the situation, and it proved to be a fun, relaxing afternoon, soaking in the California sun--- possibly the highlight of the trip.

Everyone met back up at Casa de Wet & Reckless around 9:00pm. Team Los Angeles began cleaning the house and getting ready to get their groove on, while Team Tucson, who had never really gotten over the stresses of the Volvo experience, and who were malnourished and exhausted from a lack of sleep, did their best to pull themselves together to try and make something work. Lolo opted to take a nap in the Jeep to try and recharge her batteries. As the party slowly began to get started Alaina looked for any opportunity to document imagery for possible usage, but all creative juices were left behind on the road with the tire tread from the Volvo the night before.

More and more friends began to arrive as the night went on, and everyone did their best to pull together what may still become the cover art to FLR003, the third release for Fort Lowell Records. No one will truly know the outcome until Alaina is able to develop the film from this adventure. There were a few magical moments of group splits on the wood floor and Fred-Astaire-and-Ginger-Rogers-like dancing moves that very well could work out to be what everyone was hoping for.

The party carried on in the neighborhood of Echo Park, as the night progressed. Lolo and Alaina decided they were not going to be able to pull another all-nighter, so they decided to take a trip down to Long Beach, CA, to meet up with Kelly and try to get a decent night's rest before having to make the drive back to Tucson the next day. Kelly was able to give directions to Lolo just before her phone battery died. Unfortunately, James had all of the electronic gadgets with him back at Deanna's house that could have allowed for Lolo to re-charge her phone if needed. The girls followed Kelly's directions to a T, not knowing that her instruction to exit the 710 on Cherry Street was not a possible direction to take.

They circled around the Los Angeles area, trying to figure out how Cherry Street intersected with the 710. Meanwhile, Kelly had been trying to contact Lolo to let her know about her mistake, but was unable to do so because of the dead phone. As minutes turned to hours, the night became an endless whirlwind that seemed to have no end. Lolo and Alaina found themselves in South Central Los Angeles, and every convenience store seemed to know that Cherry Street was in Long Beach but had no clue how to direct them where they needed to go.

Finally, a clerk at one of the stores offered to look up directions for them online. In order for Lolo to give the clerk Kelly's address to look up, she had to get the information off of her phone. Lolo found a power outlet on the outside of the convenience store. As any iPhone owner could tell you, you can't just plug in a dead iPhone and expect to use it immediately; you've got to wait a good couple of minutes for it to breath again before it is able to come back to life. So Lolo stood there, bent over due to the low height of the outlet and short length of the power cable, for a number of minutes before her lil' co-pilot came back to life.

Once Lolo was able to connect, they gave the address to the clerk immediately to pull up directions while Lolo reached out to Kelly to let her know what had been going on. Everything seemed to finally be coming together. As Lolo was about to stand up and step back to ease her body from being cramped over, Alaina shouted, "Don't move!" It was dark this time of the morning, and where the power outlet was located on the building, no illumination was provided. Apparently Lolo had been squatting in a fresh puddle of someone's puke, and was about to take a step back into more of it.

Breaking loose of all possible emotions, the two girls grabbed the directions from the clerk, cleaned themselves off as best as possible, and arrived at Kelly's faster than an ol' 78-rpm record would shatter on a concrete floor. Kelly and her fiance Ron were waiting for Lolo and Alaina with open arms, shots of Vodka, and a nice comfy bed to put an end to their day. Lolo reached out to James to let him know that they were not going to be meeting up for brunch in the morning, and instead they would simply call them in the afternoon when they were ready to wake up and head back to Tucson. The two Tucsonans had had their share of fun in Los Angeles and were more than ready to head back to the desert.

Meanwhile, back at Casa de Wet & Reckless... the party and photo shoot continued on. Everyone had been having so much fun posing for Alaina's camera earlier, other cameras made their way out of pockets and flashes kept going off throughout the party. Everyone danced until the wee hours of the morning, and Lolo and Alaina were certainly missed by all. The favorite pose of the night seemed to be the group "splits," in honor of the "split 7inch" release for Wet & Reckless and Tracy Shedd. A highlight from the night was when Felix, manager for ...music video? (the second band to release a 7inch with Fort Lowell Records), decided to play a track from ...music video?'s new album coming out later this year, and everyone in the party began asking with excitement, "Who is this?!" Felix turned to James as said, "See! This is what happens every time I play ...music video?!" It was a beautiful gathering for friends of old and new, and something that will always be remembered when the split 7inch is released later in 2010.

Sunday, May 2nd - "Where am I?"

Lolo and Alaina in Long Beach and Tracy and James in Echo Park both managed to get to bed around 5:00am. However, Tracy and James had already made plans to meet up with long time friend Mendy Pound and her fiance, Gabriel Vidauri, at 11:00am for brunch. This left them with only about 5 hours of sleep to re-coup from the previous 36 hours of fun in the California sun. Emily had given Tracy and James her own bed to sleep in so they did not have to try and squeeze their blow-up mattress in the kitchen again. As James began to wake up this Sunday morning, he though to himself, "Ahhhh... it feels so nice to sleep in my own bed!" For a brief moment, he honestly had thought that everything up to this point had been a dream and that he was still in Tucson, AZ.

The morning plans carried out as expected. It was a sad good-bye for such a short trip with Wet & Reckless. Brunch with Mendy and Gabriel was extremely pleasant and a nice way to conclude the adventure in Los Angeles for Tracy and James. Lolo and Alaina had their own enjoyable experience with Lolo's family. They were able to sleep in to gain enough energy to make the hike back to Tucson, and share some quality time catching up with Kelly and her fiance Ron. In the early afternoon, the four executives from Fort Lowell Records met back up and set their compasses for Tucson.

Fortunately, the drive home would prove to be not as exciting as the drive to Los Angeles. Lolo knew that James still had yet to have a complete 8 hours of sleep, so she offer to take the lead on driving home, which she ended up managing the entire drive rather than just the first part. The Jeep continued to hold up to its end of the bargain, and had truly become home for these four explorers. There was a great sense of comfort being back in the Jeep, knowing that when it would conclude its journey in 8 hours, it will have taken them home.

There was also a great sense of success, accomplishment, and pride. The team did not lot let anything stand in their way. They had a mission and gave everything that had to try and complete what they had set out to do. Success is not found in the end result of something, rather during the process of doing something; success is the act of doing. The executives will not be successful when they find a photograph to use for the cover art... rather, they are already successful because they had an idea to do something and never gave up. That is what life is all about, as well as what Fort Lowell Records is all about.

It is too often that ideas are simply left on the table, or perhaps never even make it to the table and are left in one's head. Ideas need to be carried through so that life can be lived. This is how you grow. This is why we exist. Our fearless cast of characters learned a lot about themselves and each other from this experience, and grew in more ways than they could have imagined. But what is most important is that Fort Lowell Records continues to grow as a family, and that art, expression, and creativity is given the opportunity to exist.

We truly appreciate all of the time and energy that was given toward this project, and look forward to many more exciting adventures for many more years to come!

- Fort Lowell Records

YOUNG MOTHERS TRIVIA or WE LOVE GIVING THINGS AWAY

2010-04-21T18:45:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was the official release date for Young Mothers' "Come On, The Cross" 7inch record. In honor of its release, we hosted a little trivia game via our Fort Lowell Records email list to give away a signed test press record. Here are the two questions that were sent out to everyone to answer:

Referring to the cover art for the Young Mothers' 7inch Record...
- What flavor ice cream is Patricia eating?
- What is the name of the ice cream shop where Patricia got her ice cream?

Twelve hours later, Jennifer Alzua emailed back with the two correct answers: Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream from Thrifty's! You can almost guess what flavor ice cream she was eating, just by looking at the photo. If you keep up with Fort Lowell Records' Twitter account, you may have caught the one time someone asked about the sign in the photo behind Patricia and we replied, saying it said "Thrifty's." Also, our cover stars are always listed on the inside, so in case you were wondering which girl was Patricia, it is noted in the credits.

The point of this post is... as you all are getting to learn what Fort Lowell Records is all about, one thing you should quickly pick up on is that we like to give stuff away and do fun little things like trivia games. We can also tell you that it is pretty much going to be a standard practice to give away one signed copy of the test pressing for each release. We love test pressings and we want to share them with at least one special person in the world each time we put a record out. So, we would recommend you connect with us in every way possible (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, and our email list via FanBridge). You never know what trivia game we are going to play next.

Speaking of giving things away... something you may not have known or thought about before is, we also gave away a lot of extras with the pre-orders we had for Young Mothers' release. Just ask anyone that ordered the record before the release date. They all received a Young Mothers promotional poster, an extra Fort Lowell Records sticker, a CDR with additional unreleased songs from Young Mothers, and a signed copy of the "Come On, The Cross" artwork by all of Young Mothers band members. This is something to consider when we post up the pre-order link for ...music video? and the Wet & Reckless / Tracy Shedd split 7inch. Anticipate some fun extra freebies for those of you that opt in for the pre-order.

Thanks again for all of the support everyone!
We truly appreciate all of your help!

- Fort Lowell Records

THANK YOU TUCSON... YOU ROCK!

2010-04-19T07:23:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday, April 17th, while the world celebrated Record Store Day, the city of Tucson welcomed in the birth of our record label, Fort Lowell Records. The launch party was held at the Zia Records on Speedway Blvd., and it could not have been a more perfect setting. Tucsonans drove in from all over the city to show their support, while Tracy Shedd, ...music video?, and Young Mothers played their hearts out. It was better than we ever expected, and a memory we will always cherish.

During the development of what has become Fort Lowell Records, there was a long standing debate (with myself) on whether or not to make this a label focused on nationally known bands or on local bands from Tucson. After living here for the past three years, I have fallen in love with the beauty of this city: the support Tucson has for itself. Fort Lowell Records needed to be something to give back to this. It is a community that thrives on the passion for creativity, and a culture than believes in supporting the arts.

Everyone here at Fort Lowell Records is very excited about what is ahead of us for 2010. Young Mothers are an amazing group of musicians, and we are very excited to have them help us launch this record label. ...music video? will be following them shortly after with a sexy release, due out July 13th. Wet & Reckless and Tracy Shedd will be splitting some wax together later in the year, and if all goes as planned... we will be presenting one more release before the end of 2010. In order to do that, we need the support from all of you. All of the money made from our releases goes back into our label to put out more records for more Tucson bands. So, thank you to all of you that have already purchased our first release for Young Mothers, and thank you to those of you about to do so. This label would not exist without you.

Sincerely,
- The Fort Lowell Records Family

THE VINYL BARON + FORT LOWELL RECORDS

2010-04-18T20:13:00.005-07:00

This coming Friday, April 23rd, come join Tucson's favorite DJ, The Vinyl Baron, with Fort Lowell Records and Young Mothers, to celebrate Fort Lowell Records' first release for Young Mothers "Come On, The Cross" 7inch record! Band members from Young Mothers will be spinning their favorite vinyl for the first hour. Then a special guest DJ from Fort Lowell Records' Executive Team will join The Vinyl Baron to keep the turntables spinning through the night. Come listen to Young Mothers' "Come On, The Cross" while you enjoy a beverage of your choice, and then pick up a copy of the 7inch from Fort Lowell Records to take home and spin yourself!

DRINK SPECIAL - $7.00
Includes: Young Mothers 7inch Record + Any Well Drink
(Purchase at Fort Lowell Records merchandise table)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Vinyl Baron presents
Fort Lowell Records + Young Mothers

Friday, April 23rd | 7:00-10:00pm
Hotel Congress Patio | 311 E. Congress Street, Tucson, AZ

7:00-8:00pm - DJ set by Young Mothers
8:00-10:00pm - DJ set by The Vinyl Baron + FLR Executive Team

RECORD STORE DAY + ZIA RECORDS host Fort Lowell Records very first Showcase!

2010-03-28T20:48:00.001-07:00

Fort Lowell Records is proud to announce that on Saturday, April 17th, Young Mothers' 7inch Record will be officially available for the city of Tucson AZ only! To help celebrate our very first release, Zia Records is hosting a special Fort Lowell Records Showcase, in conjunction with Record Store Day at their Speedway location in Tucson AZ. There will be live performances from Young Mothers, ...music video?, and Tracy Shedd; all three artists to be released by Fort Lowell Records in 2010. Young Mothers' 7inch Record for "Come On, The Cross" will be available for the first time to the public at Zia Records on April 17th, and there will lots of other give-aways for those that show up to the Fort Lowell Records Showcase! Please help spread the word for this historical event and invite others via this Facebook Event Page. We look forward to seeing you at Zia Records!

Saturday, April 17th
4:00pm-6:00pm
Free Event | All Ages

4:00pm - 4:30pm: Tracy Shedd
4:45pm - 5:15pm: ...music video?
5:30pm - 6:00pm: Young Mothers

Zia Records | Speedway
3370 E. Speedway Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85716
(520) 327-3340
http://www.ziarecords.com

Record Store Day
http://recordstoreday.com

Fort Lowell Records
http://fortlowell.blogspot.com

Q1.FY10 UPDATE {1st Quarter of the 2010 Fiscal Year Update} - LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO THE FAMILY

2010-03-06T10:27:00.003-07:00

There has certainly been a lot going on since the last update in January. The was right about the time I was getting strapped in on what I knew was going to be the roller-coaster of a ride to starting up a Record Label, and it has been nothing short of that! If you have not been doing so, you can follow along via our Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter pages for day-by-day updates of the steps we are taking to getting our first release out to you! The day has been set... Tuesday, April 20th, 2010! This will be when Young Mothers' 7inch will be available for all to enjoy! We are actually going to make it available for all of the city of Tucson on Saturday, April 17th. This is Record Store Day, and the fine folks at Zia Records are partnering up with us to see that Fort Lowell Records and Young Mothers are able to offer this debut to Tucson on Record Store Day!

Early in the process of developing Fort Lowell Records and what I wanted it to represent, I felt this sense of 'community' (as Zach from Young Mothers put it) being developed. Two months later, after going through all of the creative design work that it takes to put a record together, I am really proud of what Fort Lowell Records has shaped up to be. For some, the idea of putting out a record may be all about the band. They provide the music (obviously), and sometimes may also provide the artwork, the liner notes, they may even design everything, etc., etc. For a full album release, I can understand this. It is literally "as if you gave birth to a kid," as put by Tracy Shedd, so having the band manage all aspects of a full album makes sense. One reason we have chosen to work with 7inch Records only for Fort Lowell Records is how much 'fun' they can be to release. Bands don't have to take things so serious with 7inch Records, and often they don't. Sometimes bands will release music they would not normally want associated with a full album, or they may do silly things with artwork that they normally would not do for an album. So, I decided to use Fort Lowell Records as a way to have a lot of 'fun' with a lot of people... not just the band. I wanted to give other artists an outlet for their work, in addition for the band to have an outlet for their music.

clamdiggin was the first group of artists I reached out to, to partner with me on this project. When we first moved to Tucson AZ, my wife and I stumbled across an Art Exhibit of their work, and fell in love at first sight. This POSTER entitled "Patsy" was what got us hooked. Then, I received this shirt called "Observatory" for Valentine's Day a year or so later. There was tag on the shirt that said, "A portion of the proceeds from this shirt is contributed to the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA)." From that point, we knew that clamdiggin was a great group of people, and represent a good purpose for their work. Through the grape vine, we realized the various connections we had with clamdiggin with close friends, and reached out to them directly. We basically offered clamdiggin complete control over the artwork that would be generated for the B-Side Label on the Vinyl Records themselves. So, the A-Side will have a fixed Fort Lowell Records designed label with all of the necessary information about the music. But then, clamdiggin will present their work on the flip side. For our first release with Young Mothers, they have decided to use the artwork from their "Removal of plant life if prohibited" campaign. I love the way it laid out with the circular format! We all can't wait to see what other beauties clamdiggin present to Fort Lowell Records. The offer was made for clamdiggin to have this outlet for their work on all future releases with Fort Lowell Records, so stay tuned!

At 10:40am on February 2nd, I posted on my personal Twitter Account, "Need help finding a Tucson Photographer to partner with for Cover Art for @FortLowellRecs 7inch Records. Know someone? Have them contact me!" I had an idea that I wanted to find a local Photographer to work with on all of the artwork designs for each release. One of my favorite Record Labels of all time is 4AD. I love the fact that you can pick up a 4AD Record and know it is a 4AD Record simply by the artwork. The same is true for Blue Note, Sarah Records, and Teenbeat; other Record Labels I am very fond of. I think a good part of this is because of the imagery their designers work with. The other major part of it is that they are working with the same Graphic Designers, and that is where I personally come into play with Fort Lowell Records. Other than simply being the guy to get all of these great artists together for a common purpose, my artistic contribution is going to be to manage the Graphic Design of each release, something that I am very passionate about (other than Vinyl Records).

Within minutes of posting my Tweet, a very close friend of ours, Loreto Echevarria, contact me saying, "I've got your Photographer!" Two days later, she arranged a scheduled meeting with local Tucson Photographer, Alaina Brownell. Before even looking at her work, I knew that Alaina was the right Photographer to bring on board. A major factor in developing this 'community' and choosing who we want to work with is the energy that each person brings to the project. This goes for the bands as well. I remember learning this from Mark Robinson with Teenbeat. A Record Label can truly end up becoming a family, which is a beautiful thing, so you have to be aware of this in the beginning, choosing carefully who you partner up with. Being that Alaina was trusted and respected by a friend of ours presented a comfort that she was going to have the right energy we were looking for. Then, when we dove into looking at her photos, I all of sudden felt like I had wasted so much time in the past looking for various images to work with on previous work that I had been doing for so many years. Alaina's photography has exactly what I am always looking for when searching for photos to design posters or album artwork. They are very personal and tell a story. You can see there is a clear connection between her, as the Photographer, and her subjects. On top of all that, she takes her photographs on film... the equivalent of records in the Photography World... they are analog! Alaina gave me one of her World Famous I'm-Gonna-Hit-You-So-Hard-You're-Not-Gonna-Know-What-Hit-Ya'!-High-Fives when we had that discovery! I think that is what sealed the deal! So like clamdiggin, Fort Lowell Records will be featuring the photographic images of Alaina Brownell's work with each release.

During this entire process of finding a Photographer, and beginning to discuss artwork and design with Young Mothers [FLR001] and ...music video? [FLR002], we could not help by recognize the energy that Ms. Loreto Echevarria was also bringing to the table. Loreto is a Fashion Stylist in Tucson AZ and works under the name Lolo Chic. Her and Alaina have been working on a project to promote Lolo Chic, so it was very natural for Loreto to be around during many of our initial meetings. But what was unexpected was Loreto's natural ability to have a positive guidance with groups of creative people. I think it goes without saying: heads can butt together when many creative people are involved on the same project... and that starts with my big melon! HA! There, I said it. That is why I purposely wanted to build this community of artists to come together; to force others (including and mainly myself) to accept and respect the contributions of what others have to offer. Loreto provided a neutral perspective, but yet helped each of us, as artists, understand each other. So, we have decided to include Loreto in the family here at Fort Lowell Records, to assist in connecting the music to the photographs to the design. I am confident in saying that this process would not have been as much fun without her! We look forward to working on more future projects with our newly appointed Design Consultant.

Another major element of a Record Label is having distribution. Why, isn't that the point... to get the music out to listeners across the world? We are ever so happy and excited that we were able to rekindle an old friendship with finding a partner for managing the distribution of Fort Lowell Records. 24 Hour Service Station has been around since 1994, and began as a Record Label out of the Tampa FL area. Their first release was for a great band called Rosewater Elizabeth. Being kids from Jacksonville FL ourselves, we grew up in the Florida Scene with Rosewater Elizabeth and 24 Hour Service Station. We used to work with 24 Hour Service Station quite a bit, booking various shows with their bands and what not. When we started doing research for Distributors for Fort Lowell Records, we learned through our friend Pocket, whom Tracy Shedd sang vocals for on Pocket's contribution to 24 Hour Service Station's New Order tribute CD called Ceremony, that 24 Hour Service Station was now not only a Record Label, but also managing distribution for others now. Going back to that whole 'energy' thing I keep talking about... We knew immediately that we wanted them to manage distribution for Fort Lowell Records. 24 Hour Service Station has always been very professional and yet personal. We have always had a lot of respect for what they have done, and feel very privileged to be able to work with them again. And the best part is... their Distribution Outlets are amazing! Fort Lowell Records will be available for anyone to order in at their local Record Stores. And a great addition... they are able to make each release available to nearly every Online Outlet, such as iTunes, eMusic, Amazon, Lala, etc.

So stay tuned... Fort Lowell Records is comin' at cha'! April 20th is the official launch of our first release for Young Mothers, and we will have two more great records coming in the summer... one from ...music video?, and the other will be a split release for Wet & Reckless and Tracy Shedd! Please try and help us sell these records so we can continue to fund future releases. We've got more exciting and great music from other Tucson bands lined up... but will need your support to get started, so 'Thank You' in advance!

Oh yeah... back to 'energy' and 'family' and all of that great stuff that makes up Fort Lowell Records... Here is a Fun Fact I like to point out: Emily Wilder, the singer / guitarist from Wet & Reckless is actually the Cover Star for Tracy Shedd's last full length album Cigarettes & Smoke Machines [Teenbeat 2008], plus she is the Director (AKA: "Stop Motion Kid") of Tracy Shedd's world famous video for the song "City At Night" from her latest release EP88 [Eskimo Kiss Records 2010]. Deanna DeVries, drummer for Wet & Reckless, is the one who (literally) built the Set Pieces for the same video! These girls rule! We can't wait to here what they have for us here at Fort Lowell Records! More to come on that, when both Wet & Reckless and Tracy Shedd hit the studios soon!

PS: I am sure there are a lot of grammatical errors with my usage of "I" and "we" when talking about Fort Lowell Records. Sure, this project started from me having any idea to start a Record Label and selling my 1976 CJ5 Jeep with 35" Tires and a 4" Lift Kit (I miss you Bumble Bee!), as seen in Tracy Shedd's video for "Whatever It Takes" from Cigarettes & Smoke Machines... but this is very much a "we" effort! There is no way this would all be possible without all of the help and support from my friends, and most importantly... Fort Lowell Records' own Vice President of Corporate Affairs... Mrs. Tritten. "We" appreciate all of the support so far, and can't wait to start populating the world with more Vinyl Records!

Support Local!
Support Vinyl!

~ James

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS 'Fort Lowell Records' I KEEP HEARING ABOUT?

2010-01-10T10:58:00.003-07:00

Okay. I think it is finally time I explain what the hell is going on here. My name is James Tritten. Most of you may know me from my wife, Tracy Shedd, or perhaps some of my previous musical adventures: either of my previous bands, Audio Explorations or Sella, or from when I ran my own Booking Agency called Candy Gram Booking (bands including +/-, The Aluminum Group, Charlene, Crime In Choir, Denison Whitmer, Edison Woods, eE, Electro Group, Fin Fang Foom, Helms, Inspection 12, The Mercury Program, Tiara, Track Star, Tracy Shedd, Trembling Blue Stars, The Trouble With Sweeney, True Love Always, Victory At Sea, and Whippersnapper). Or perhaps you know me simply on a personal level. Either way, if you know me, you know I am extremely passionate about Vinyl Records.

Recently, over a weekend while staying home sick, I dove back into an old love for 7inch Vinyl Records. I reminisced about the early 90's when it seemed that every Indie Rock band started releasing music on 7inch Records; thinking of bands like Common Thread, Poem Rocket, Damnbuilders, Charlene (having by far the best 7inches ever made!), or facinating over specific Record Catalogs like Sarah Records, Decorder Ring Records, Kill Rock Stars, Figurehead, and Omnibus. It immediately became evident to me that there really is not a strong scene for the 7inch Records anymore. With CD's being so easy and inexpensive to produce, new bands these days are simply jumping right into putting out full length albums, and not paying enough respect to 'the song.' 7inch Records are a great way to truly showcase a band's song writing capabilities. I made a decision to start up a Record Label specifically for 7inch Vinyl Records, and focused on bands from Tucson, AZ.

By the end of that weekend, I had already developed the name, logo, and blog site for Fort Lowell Records. I had also begun research on deciding who would be the first band to be released in 2010. And most importantly, I had already posted my 1976 CJ5 Jeep for sale on Craig's List, which would be the investment needed to start Fort Lowell Records.

"Why Fort Lowell?", some may ask. One thing I knew for sure was I wanted this record label to be for Tucson Bands. There are simply too many great bands in this town, and not enough people know about them. Heck, I don't even think the people in Tucson know about all of the great bands in this town. The actual 'Fort Lowell' itself is a very historical landmark for Tucson, and I felt it was a nice way to 'literally' pay respect to the city.

"Why Tucson?" The city owned television station, Tucson 12, and in particular, Dan Sheffer, and the local radio station, KXCI, with some of it's leaders such as Ginger Kahealani Doran, Dan Twelker, Don Jennings, and Duncan Hudson, show a tremendous amount of support to Tucson, unlike anything I have ever seen in any other city. Both of these organizations were instrumental in the decision to be a 'Tucson Label.' I want to help them show the world what greatness we have in this community. I want to give that 15-year-old kid that is sitting in Math Class right now down at Tucson High School a reason to go buy that guitar he has been dreaming about. Being locally focused helps make this a more reachable goal for musicians around town.

"Why Vinyl?", others may ask. Because I personally believe in it. Vinyl Records are a work of art. More and more people in the world are discovering this for the first time, or rekindling an old passion they had years ago with Vinyl. Vinyl Records are historical. They are an experience. Vinyl Records are music.

So here we go! 2010 is the official birth year for Fort Lowell Records. Our first release is going to be for Young Mothers. Led by Zach Toporek, Young Mothers are a great band with a great energy; just the sort of thing I wanted to make that first impression to the world! Just in the short month that I have begun promoting Fort Lowell Records, I have already receive TWO Radio Requests (outside of Tucson) for Young Mothers' 7inch Release! To keep the energy going, we will follow up Young Mothers with ...music video?, who have been working hard in the studio for their highly anticipated third album (self released). Fort Lowell Records is looking to assist ...music video? with their launch by releasing the first single for their album coming out. Last, but certainly not least, Wet & Reckless and Tracy Shedd will be the third release for Fort Lowell. Emily Wilder, from Wet & Reckless, and Tracy Shedd have been best friends since their teenage years. What better way to celebrate this friendship than put out a Split 7inch with both bands. And being that Bass Player for Wet & Reckless, Jessica Gelt, is actually from Tucson, both bands fit the mold that I am looking for.

The beauty of 7inch Records lies in their economics; they are not expensive to produce and it does not cost the bands a lot of money to record music for a 7inch, thus making the cost for the customer between five to six dollars. I am personally working extremely hard to ensure that our records offer a great value to you. All records will be released on a limited run of 500 Hand Numbered Colored Vinyl, and will also include an MP3 Download for those customers that don't have a Record Player. All of the artwork will be a Two Color Offset Print, printed locally in Tucson, and NOT on a Photocopier! And to protect these amazing works of art, they will include the highest quality of protective sleeves on the market. There is even more ideas of value in the works, so you will just have to wait to see what we come up with for the first release. With all of the love, creativity, and amazing music being put into each release, these 7inch Records are going to be hard to resist!

Another point that is very important to me with Fort Lowell Records is... all money made from the label is going to be put right back into the label to help put out more and more releases. I have a job, a career. I am not looking to make a profit from this. I just want more records on my own shelf, and I want more people in the world to know about Tucson, AZ. So when we are ready to start releasing music (coming soon), help spread the word! The faster we can sell through Young Mothers and ...music video?, the fast we will be able to start releasing more Tucson Bands!

I hope this helps, and I hope you enjoy the music! Stay tuned... production on the first two releases is wrapping up soon! Remember, spread the word! Invited your friends to follow Fort Lowell Records on Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter. Support Local! Support Tucson!

Until then...
Enjoy!

- James

NOW, HOW DID WE DO THAT?

2010-01-02T12:47:00.001-07:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

We are very excited about all of the plans to get Fort Lowell Records started in 2010! Our first release with Young Mothers is in the works, and we should be announcing a release date soon. We are not exactly sure how this happened... but we have actually already lined up artist for our 3RD release, not 2nd... but (skip one) the one after that! FLR003 is going to be a Split 7inch with Tracy Shedd (Teenbeat / Eskimo Kiss Records) and Wet And Reckless!

Tracy Shedd is just about to release her 'piano debut' with Eskimo Kiss Records, called EP88. It is scheduled to come out in February, and contains five tracks that Shedd wrote on piano, not guitar! However, Fort Lowell Records is happy to report that Shedd wants back on the guitar for her split with Wet And Reckless! Expect greatness from Camp Shedd for her Fort Lowell debut!

Wet And Reckless is a brand new trio from Los Angeles, CA; currently traveling the US on tour! You may be asking yourself... "I thought Fort Lowell Records was going to focus on bands from Tucson, AZ?" Well, don't fret (pun intended music fans)! Bassist Jessica Gelt is home grown right here in the Old Pueblo! As soon as they return home, these three ladies are going to hit the studio to prepare for their vinyl debut! Fort Lowell Records is honored to be able to help Wet And Reckless out! You can check out their own Websites to listen to some of their first demo recordings.

So, meetings are taking place to discuss FLR002 to follow up Young Mothers immediately. Our overall goal is to get four records out for 2010, so stay tuned to learn about who we will be partnering up with in the near future!

Thank you all for the amazing support we have received without even having a release out!
Soon! We'll we deliver soon!
- FLR

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2009-12-25T07:29:00.001-07:00