You Say You Wanna Play Country But You’re in a Punk Rock Band: 20 Years of Bloodshot

I recently had the good fortune of being present for a small, intimate performance and interview with former X frontman John Doe. Amongst the many great questions put to him by a local radio DJ was one that I myself have wanted to ask a good number of former punk musicians, turned Americana elders: Why country? Doe’s response: “Punk rock is simple. So is country. It’s about getting drunk and fucking shit up.” 

If there’s two people that know a thing or two about the intersection of drinking, country, and punk it’s Nan Warshaw and Rob Miller. Co-founders of Bloodshot Records, they have been celebrating all year a day they never could have seen coming way back in the early 1990s: a 20^th anniversary. Born from a single homemade compilation CD hawked around Chicago in 1994, this year has marked Bloodshot Records’ second decade as one of the most defiant, fun, irreverent independent record labels left in the country.

Twenty years ago, all Warshaw and Miller wanted to hear was more of the music they loved. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem if your favorite bands, particularly in a time of shoegazing and grunge, didn’t involve spit and tattoos, but the slide of a pedal steel. The raw energy of a punk show, but the pluck of a medicine show. In 1994, alt-country was in its earliest days. Wilco was only one year from releasing their debut album and bands like The Knitters, The Blasters, and Uncle Tupelo had been releasing albums since the late ’80s and early ’90s. Music lovers were rediscovering the combination of rock and roll and country, but Warshaw and Miller felt their particular brand was different. Too punk to be country and too alt to be alt-country, they even developed a term for it: insurgent. It was a moniker that stuck and landed on the cover of Bloodshot’s first release, For A Life of Sin: A Compilation of Insurgent Chicago Country. Featuring bands that would become the label’s first signed artists, such as Robbie Fulks and and the Old 97’s, the compilation was a completely out-of-pocket expense for Warshaw and Miller simply because this was the music they wanted to promote outside of the small clubs they frequented to hear it. Insurgent country as a term would come to define the future label as a unique melding of punk, country, rock, and bluegrass. After recouping the expenses of the original compilation, the duo put out a second, this time featuring national acts. A few multi-act shows and an expanding fanbase later, Bloodshot Records, to the surprise of even Warshaw and Miller, was born.

On their website, Bloodshot defines themselves as “champions of the music that lurks between genres … the good stuff nestled in the dark nebulous cracks where punk, country, soul, pop, bluegrass, blues, and rock mix, mingle and mutate.” Bloodshot currently hosts an average of 60 artists on their roster at any given time and, over the years, have given many unique artists straddling the line between Americana and punk their start. The Old 97’s, The Bottle Rockets, Alejandro Escovedo, Bobby Bare Jr., Justin Townes Earle, The Sadies, and Andre Williams are just a few of the artists who have benefitted from Bloodshot’s dedication to exploring the sweet spots between genres that so often create great records. In addition, the compilations that started it all have become a unique staple of the label. This year’s anniversary compilation, While No One Was Looking: Toasting 20 Years of Bloodshot Records, is a double-disc homage to Bloodshot originals covered by an expansive list of acts.

In honor of a label that’s defied labels for 20 years, I’ve decided to do a different kind of year-end post. Below you will find, in no particular order, my top ten Bloodshot artists, and what I consider to be their best releases from the label. For those of you familiar with Bloodshot, I hope it will be a walk down sonic memory lane. For those of you who haven’t experienced the pure joy of hearing your first Sadies track or seeing Luke Winslow-King on a small stage … you’re welcome. 

Alejandro Escovedo

For a long time, Escovedo was one of those artists that I always heard about but never took the time to explore. That all changed when I saw his Austin City Limits performance four years ago. I was floored. Escovedo is a seamless performer, transitioning flawlessly through copious amounts of influences and genres and somehow making them all sound like they belong together. Rock, country, folk, punk, full on orchestras, nothing escapes Escovedo’s deft hand. And although I’m years behind the game when it comes to his material, it’s been great going back and discovering the diversity and wealth of his releases.

Listen: while drinking a Pabst at your favorite basement bar.
Best Bloodshot Release: Bourbonitis Blues (1998)

Maggie Bjorklund

Haunting and ethereal, Maggie Bjorklund makes me feel as if I’m on another planet with slight, smoke-like rememberances of Earth. Hailing from Copenhagen, Bjorklund’s Nordic background is palpable on her records. You can almost feel the cold and snow in the dream like state that her tracks produce. Behind it all, Bjorklund is also a masterful pedal steel player, lending her otherworldliness a distinct American roots sound as well. Her work is mostly instrumental although she often features a stellar lineup of guest voices such as Mark Lanegan and Rachel Flotard.

Listen: at sunset by the side of a frozen lake.
Best Bloodshot Release: Shaken (2014)

The Sadies

I’m pretty sure all I could manage to say when I first heard The Sadies was, “holy shit.” It was as if my ears couldn’t listen to them fast enough. Garage rock psychedelia? They’ve got that. Surf rock with banjos? Yep. A Sergio Leone soundtrack if it came to life and stayed up all night on coke listening to Jon Spencer? You betcha. All of this sounds like a mess but somehow, with The Sadies, it’s just not. Throw in the fact that they are unbelievably technically proficient, and you’ve got one of the best backing bands in the Americana world to boot.

Listen: On vinyl while dancing your ass off. And I never dance.
Best Bloodshot Release: Pure Diamond Gold (1999)

Luke Winslow-King

I first saw Luke Winslow-King perform at Bliss Fest a couple of years ago. For those of you who aren’t from Michigan (King himself hails from Cadillac, MI), Bliss Fest is a small roots music festival with a devoted following that happens every summer on the Northwest side of the state. If you can stomach the jam bands and white guys with dreads playing various mash-ups of world music long enough, Bliss Fest manages to have at least two to three acts every year that leave you thinking, “This guy/gal should be on a much bigger stage.” A couple of years ago, Luke Winslow-King won this prize in my eyes. Often performing alongside his equally talented wife Esther Rose, King’s distinct mix of New Orleans/Missouri ragtime and jazz is quirky without being cheesy and vintage without being dated. Add in the fact that the two seem so genuinely happy to be on stage and you’ve got a sweet and energetic live show.

Listen: with Julep in hand on a warm summer porch.
Best Bloodshot Release: The Coming Tide (2013)

Lydia Loveless

Lydia Loveless is Tammy Wynette with a punk rock soul — a force to be reckoned with. She may look small, but her voice is huge, her lyrics are saucy, and she comes from a true country background. Loveless can bring you to tears as easily as put a boot up your ass; her sound is a fearless back and forth between classic honky tonk and spunky pop/punk. Both Rolling Stone and Spin magazine deemed her a New Artist To Know in 2014, which I can only hope means we will see even more of Loveless in the new year.

Listen: when you start to clean the house and give up ten minutes in to put your feet up and have a beer. Because I have in fact done so.
Best Bloodshot Release: Indestructible Machine (2011)

Bobby Bare Jr.

I first saw Bobby Bare Jr. three years ago, opening for Justin Townes Earle. I was an instant fan and Bare had some great stories to tell about his days as Justin’s landlord. Stories are what make Bare standout. But, while his genetic makeup may predispose him to storytelling (as the son of Nashville legend Bobby Bare), he is no folk heir resting on inherited laurels. His songs are uniquely his own: sharp witted, dark, lyrical, and ambitious, as he weaves a multitude of influences from punk to country to folk to rock. He never makes the same song or album twice and he’s one of those artists that I love turning friends onto.

Listen: when you invite the man himself to put on living room show for you and your friends. Because he most likely will. He’s so great live, it is essential to see him in action.
Best Bloodshot Release: Young Criminals’ Starvation League (2002)

Cordero

Cordero is simply amazing. Imagine your favorite garage rock infused with the sorrow and joy that marks traditional Latin music and you’ve got Cordero’s unique sound. According to the Bloodshot website, after the band contributed to their 11^th anniversary compilation, the label practically begged to produce their next record. Frontwoman Ani Cordero’s melding of timeless Latin influences with the rock n roll we all grew up on creates a one of a kind sound and her voice has a hypnotic beauty that will leave you stunned.

Listen: on the first night of a long vacation.
Best Bloodshot Release: En Este Momento (2006)

Old 97’s

Recently, in need of a midday laugh, I was perusing an article entitled “30 Harshest Musician On Musician Insults.” My favorite came from Nick Cave, directed towards the Red Hot Chili Peppers: “It seems I’m forever near a stereo saying, ‘What the fuck is this garbage?’ And the answer is always, ‘the Red Hot Chili Peppers.’” My experience with the Old 97’s is similar only in my case, whenever I’m near a stereo and find myself saying “What is this? It’s great!” the answer always seems to be “the Old 97’s.” If there’s one band that exemplifies the spirit of Bloodshot Records, it’s these guys. Rhett Miller’s punk vocals, mixed with a driving Texas rythym, dance-inspiring surf rock guitars, and just the right amount of honky-tonk twang is the formula that makes the 97’s undeniably catchy and an institution within the history of the label. If you haven’t discovered them yet, set apart a few days and binge listen. Pure punk country energy and abandon.

Listen: on a card night with friends and lots of beer.
Best Bloodshot Release: Wreck Your Life (1995)

The Detroit Cobras

One of the best things about a label in Chicago is it’s proximity to Detroit and a Michigan gal would be very amiss to not include a couple of hometown acts on this list. Not that it’s hard when you have an act like The Detroit Cobras to talk about. In a city that was dying practically right after it was born, you have to use what you’ve got, and sometimes that means nothing but some soul, the ghosts of legends and a garage. Enter: The Detroit Cobras. They may be a cover band but Rachel Nagy and Mary Ramirez know not to mess with a good thing. In deference to the sounds that built a city, they give R&B, soul, Motown, and garage rock a cigarette, and dress it in a leather jacket. What they lack in original material, the Cobras more than make up for on the stage, proving that women can sweat, strip it down, and play it loud with the best of the boys.

Listen: at PJ’s Lager House in downtown Detroit, where the the motto is: Live Life Loud.
Best Bloodshot Release: Baby (2005)

Andre Williams

Speaking of Detroit, there’s no one that epitomizes the city quite like Andre Williams. Although Bloodshot claims him as one of their own, listing his hometown as Chicago, Williams got his start in the early ’50s at Fortune Records, a small Detroit label run from the back of a barbershop. A perfect mixture of dirty blues, Detroit soul, and heavy rock, since 1999 Andre has been one of Bloodshot’s most intriguing and prolific artists. Between EPs and full-length albums, he’s had seven releases on the label. While his personal struggles have at times kept him from his career, Williams always seems to come back out of nowhere to push the envelope, whether it’s a bluesy ode to female anatomy or a double-take-inducing collaborations with country/rock acts like The Sadies or The Goldstars. If you’re a person that can take a grain or two of salt, Williams has a hustling R&B style, and just plain love of music that transcends acts half his age. Because he helped to create it.

Listen: anywhere but with your mother.
Best Bloodshot Release: Hoods and Shades (2012)

                                                                                Happy Birthday, Bloodshot!!