Fire up the Shoesaw* or "What is Rock n' Roll?"

People are always asking me, "Are you only about Rock n' Roll?", or "Do you only work with artists who play Rock n' Roll?".

The answer is emphatically NO...but it's also emphatically YES.

To truly answer it, we must first ask another question: How does one define Rock n' Roll?

Is it Bill Haley rocking around the clock, or Chuck Berry celebrating a teenage wedding? Is it "Crimson and Clover" and Iron Butterfly? Is it Elvis? Is it ZZ Top? Is Rock n' Roll made with a guitar (or two), a bass, and a drumkit? or can it be made with two turntables and a microphone? Is it the cold, clinical precision of Kraftwerk, or the sloppy mishmash of Titus Andronicus? Is Chuck D one of the most Rock n' Roll people to ever spit verses into a mic? Is Richard D. James one of the most Rock n' Roll people to ever make semi-creepy ambient noise? Is it pop music, is it undergound? Does it lift you up or does it drag you to the depths? Uptown, midtown, downtown--old-school, new school, mid-school?

I could go on forever, but I'll stop here to say that the answer to all these questions--for me--is YES. Rock n' Roll is all these things and much much more.

To me, Rock n' Roll is anything made originally, with emotion, by someone who cares deeply about music and about connecting with people. That's it. Pretty simple, right? Well, yes...and, again, no. There are many "rock" artists today that I would consider to be spitting in the face of Rock n' Roll as I know it every single time they step into a recording studio (they shall remain nameless for the purposes of this posting as I respect all of your opinions on the matter and, while I would love to discuss it in person, I don't want to start any internet arguments). Conversely, there are many artists who are doing extremely interesting things with instrumentation that most would never consider to be Rock n' Roll--and I think that that's totally Rock n' Roll (again, names withheld, for my own sake).

Rock n' Roll is messy. It's clean. It's hideously beautiful, and beautifully hideous. It's iconoclastic, it's tried-and-true. It's what you feel in your heart when you get a boot in the head. Late nights, later mornings, PA's, headphones, blown-out car speakers.

I saw a band once called Dead Orchestra. The lead singer summed it up perfectly when he said to a sweaty and half-deaf audience:

"It's all Rock n' Roll to me."

At TRx, it's all Rock n' Roll to us...

TRx
--n

*props to Lionrock (and wherever that sample came from) for the title to this blog

Molehills become Mountains

Every day

...every single day...

on this journey, I get reminded that all things start somewhere.

The Pyramids began with a stone.

The longest journey began with step.

The greatest song began with just a note.

It's humbling, it's difficult...it is so worth it.

--n

TRx

The TRx Family

I was debating what I would call the artists who elected to come with me on this adventure. Record labels have a "stable" of artists...like they were showponies. Certain artistic endeavors take place within or with the assistance of a "collective"...somehow that really doesn't seem to fit. While the idea of community is a huge part of our overall mission, calling our artists a "community" is kind of vague in a way that doesn't capture the essence of what we're about.

Recently, it hit me like a ton of bricks: Family

Tyrannosaurus Records will be a family of artists. All the same in that we want music-lovers to have a place to go to find great local independent music, all different in the ways we choose to express ourselves. We may not always see everything the same way, but we will always have a level of respect for one another, and for what we are all building together, that will supercede any preconceptions of what makes great art, or great music.

Everyone in this family has seen the power of music, the power of art. We all know what it looks like from the summit of that mountain, and we all know what it takes to climb it. We are all here to help each other scale it--we are all here to see the world from above...

...together.

We're a family.

We can't wait for you to join us...

--n

TRx

Pre-Awesome

Right now, it is a simple storefront on a nice little street.

Soon, it will be something more.

***************************************************************************************

One day in the future, they will ask, "What was life like without TRx?"

You will find yourself unable to answer...

It takes more than an elemental force of nature...

...so, yeah. There was a fire in the building that will soon house TRx. It raged into the night of June 11th like a maniac screaming at heaven. It caused untold heartache to more than a few people (residents and business-owners, to all of whom I extend my deepest condolences and heartiest wishes for a speedy recovery).

But it will not stop us.

We have confirmed today that damage to our space is minimal and that we will not have to postpone any plans we had originally set.

Look for us soon, along with some of your new favorite bands.

It'll take more than a measley little inferno to stop us. TRx won't stop; DTR won't stop.

FULL SPEED AHEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"ROOOAAARRRR!!!"

--n

It's coming...

it's finally happening...

Time: Soon

Place: Renton, WA

The South Seattle area will finally have a musical epicenter. We will showcase all the emerging local talent in the Pacific Northwest. We will Rock. We will Roll. We will feel the music.

This is my promise to you, friends.

Are you ready? Will you join us...?

See you soon.

--ns

TRx