Thrill Jockey Celebrates 10 Years Of Fab Sounds

Mouse on Mars' manager Peter Stahlhofen knows what makes Thrill Jockey, the Chicago-based indie label that's currently celebrating its 10th year, unique. "They are genre-busting," Stahlhofen said. "No style borders, no trend hysterics."

Founded and run by Bettina Richards, Thrill Jockey has released 115 recordings to date from such artists as Tortoise, Trans Am, the Sea and Cake, Freakwater, Mouse on Mars, Nobukazu Takemura, Oval and Giant Sand leader Howe Gelb. They cover a wide range of musical styles, including so-called "post-rock," pop, electronic, country-rock, Appalachian-style old-time country and even '70s-style classic rock.

"Bettina is striving to release music that stimulates her, rather than what stimulates the bank balance," said All Tomorrow's Parties (ATP) director Barry Hogan, who hired Thrill Jockey's signature band, Tortoise, to curate his 2000 festival, and who has helped run Thrill Jockey's UK office.

To mark the label's anniversary, three nights of concerts featuring Thrill Jockey artists took place in New York in early September; a European is taking place during the rest of the month, with dates in London, Lisbon, Barcelona, Rome, Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen and Berlin. Thrill Jockey is also producing a film, set for November release on DVD, that delves into what drives independent musicians and their support networks. Directed by Braden King, "Looking for a Thrill" will include interviews with most Thrill Jockey artists, plus members of Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, Mike Watt, the Mekons' Jon Langford and Sally Timms, Dischord Records founder/Fugazi member Ian Mackaye, Jon Spencer, members of Mudhoney, Björk, The Butchies, and others.

Richards is excited about the interviews. "Some people talked about the moment that kept them in music when things were especially tough," she said. "Some people talked about a musician whose whole entire life has inspired them. As a collection, I think the stories well illustrate one of the sources of creative inspiration, one of the fuels that keep people working that isn't commercially motivated, that isn't quantifiable."

A Clear Idea

Bettina Richards had very clear ideas about what her indie label would be about when she started it in New York in 1992. Thrill Jockey was born of a desire to work with — and treat respectfully — artists who made music she cared about. Prior to founding Thrill Jockey, Richards had worked in the A&R departments of the Atlantic and London labels and saw for herself how the music divisions of large corporations often could not meet the needs of the artists they signed. "My greatest dissatisfaction involved the way musicians were treated as commodities," she told Andrea Juno during an interview that appeared in the book "Angry Women in Rock, Volume One." "They were no longer artists, they were 'product.' The system was completely inflexible; if something didn't 'fit,' it was chucked. Fine — except that what was being shoved through the system was people."

In starting Thrill Jockey, Richards wanted an egalitarian relationship with the artists she worked with, including a 50/50 profit split — which was definitely not the norm at most indies in the early '90s, and remains unheard-of at the majors.

She pulled the label's name from a trailer for an exploitation film in the style of "The Wild One." "I used to intern for this guy Todd [Abramson] who books Maxwell's [an influential club in Hoboken, N.J.] and he had his own record label," she recalled. "He was also a collector of juvenile-delinquent movies. One of them was called 'Speed Crazy.' He showed me the trailer for it, and it was about these delinquents who were terrorizing Mercerville, who were calling themselves 'thrill jockeys.' It just seemed to me sort of goofy, and about the way I feel about being a fan [of music]. I didn't think about saying it 10 times a day at that point."

'I Got This New Band Tortoise...'

The first album Richards released was H.P. Zinker's Perseverance. Journalist Mike McGonigal (Yeti, Chemical Imbalance) describes H.P. Zinker as "an Austrian band that sounded like Elmer Fudd fronting Led Zeppelin — I mean that in the best sense...."

Soon after she'd launched Thrill Jockey, Richards got the opportunity to work with Tortoise, who have become the label's most popular group. "There were a number of people that I was friends with that I thought that I would love to [put out albums for]," she recalled. "And then as soon as I told some of my friends that I was doing it, [bassist] Doug McCombs [formerly of Eleventh Dream Day] said 'I got this new band Tortoise. You want to put out a seven-inch?' And things like that started coming to me, through people I knew, that I was very excited about."

Thrill Jockey put out one of two Tortoise seven-inches in 1993. A year later, the label put out their self-titled debut longplayer. The band has remained on Thrill Jockey ever since.

Soon, through no fault of Richards, Tortoise, and by association, Thrill Jockey, began to be seen by some as the "post-rock" label. According to Richards, writer Simon Reynolds coined the term "post-rock" to describe artists drawing from non-traditional sources for inspiration to make music that isn't like traditional "rock." These were primarily artists who happened to be signed to Thrill Jockey, including Tortoise. The term was first used in an article Reynolds wrote in the early '90s for the Village Voice, and, said Richards, "I think for that article it certainly worked. He [Reynolds] was trying to say that these were a number of musicians that really were trained mostly in the rock community, and now their music was being sourced from musical sources inspired by music that was definitely not of their own personal origins, outside of rock." In other words, Reynolds was not attempting to describe the sound of a music genre, but of a trend among a new wave of musicians formerly known as rockers.

"I think it just took on a life of its own," Richards continued. "And now it's [post-rock] a musical term and as such it doesn't mean anything to me at all. Several of my artists have been described as such and I don't think the Sea and Cake and Trans Am and John Parish and Tortoise sound alike. And sometimes people have thrown even Oval and [Nobukazu] Takemura in there. I don't fault someone for using the term if they're writing about one of my bands, especially if it's favorably, I'm happy about it! But in terms of it meaning something to me, or meaning something to most of the musicians that I work for, I don't think it does."

In 1994 Richards relocated to Chicago, and believes the move contributed to Thrill Jockey's success. "I love New York. It's a great place to live," she said. "It's just a very expensive place to live. I couldn't afford to pay seven people if I had to pay them enough to live in New York City."

Chicago is home to the highest concentration of independent labels in the United States, among them Touch and Go, Bloodshot, Kranky and Drag City. "It's also a great place for a musician," Richards continued. "You can afford to have a big space where you maybe have a home studio or you have a practice space that you don't have to share with several bands. Or, you don't always have to be working to pay your rent. There are factors like that that make it a welcoming environment."

Tending Bar, Reinvesting The Profits

Tending bar for years rather than drawing a salary from label revenue (even while employing a full-time staff) helped Richards purchase the building in which Thrill Jockey is housed. Profits have been reinvested annually. Indeed, self-reliance is a trademark of Richards' scrappy work style. "The less people we rely on the better, is how I look at it," she said. "If I have more money to put back in my company by being more efficient and doing things myself, I'm going to certainly try to [do that]."

Central to the way Richards operates is the belief that understanding the business aspects of being a musician is as essential as practicing and working on craft. "If you're blindly turning over your art to somebody to manage it, all I have to do is give you that book on the Rothko legacy and say, 'Read this.'" ("The Legacy of Mark Rothko," by Lee Seldes, which recounts how the greed of the art world nearly destroyed Rothko's legacy through commercializing it.)

Hence Richards' operating philosophy is "Right information is the greatest currency." When it comes to planning for a release of a particular artist's recording, the artist or band is included in the decision-making process. "By us being able to say, 'Well, we can do this, and this is how much it's going to cost, but we're going to have problems re-ordering it, and if your records are selling the way most of your records do, then we're going to have problems' — they make better decisions for their next record, because they understand the process and the value. So we don't normally end up having a situation where we have someone demanding something that is going to bankrupt their record."

Amidst this atmosphere of positive juju, the artists have license to test ideas and flourish creatively. "As soon as we started working with Thrill Jockey the differences quickly revealed themselves," said Sam Prekop, who records albums solo and as a member of the Sea and Cake. "It immediately felt like a collaborative effort. This dynamic between label and band is ultimately unique, I think. I've never felt there was something that I couldn't do as a musician, and this is crazy and wonderful."

Mouse on Mars' Stahlhofen agreed that the label has helped its artists pursue their creative vision. "It's like growing up a child," he said. "The more supportive and interested you are, the more it comes up with its own ideas and interpretations. If you offer space, things grow better."

Trans Am have been recording for Thrill Jockey since 1996, when their self-titled debut album was released. "They are fairly unobtrusive in terms of what we can do artistically," Trans Am member Nathan Means said. "They've never said anything remotely critical about the music. Or nothing like, 'Why don't you guys go for more of a "Linkin Park thing?,"' or even a 'Tortoise thing.' That's great.

"They also pay us better than some labels that are renowned for their independence and punkness," Means added. "Also, unlike some labels, they aren't afraid to try to sell records. They will pay outside publicists and do some of the other shit that greases the wheels of commerce, but only if a band is interested in doing so. Finally, I trust them entirely to be fair and honest with the money, which is a big relief."

Means recalled signing with the label. "We were back [recording the first album] at Idful [a Chicago studio, with Tortoise's John McEntire producing], putting some finishing touches on what became our first album. Bettina was there. She is really tall and thin and was wearing this all-white pantsuit. She started talking to us about Thrill Jockey putting out our album. We were really intimidated. Making matters worse, I think we were giving our album the 'stoned test,' since smoking pot usually makes us hypercritical of our work. Anyway, none of us really responded to Bettina's interest for a while. Then I finally said something like, 'We have some ideas about artwork?' It had the ring of a question. She said, 'You can do whatever you want.'"

This reputation for treating artists right has attracted performers to Thrill Jockey who were being offered deals by major labels. "Even when Atlantic offered me a deal for Chore of Enchantment, it seemed a healthier notion to decline and slide into a thrilling jockey home plate instead," wrote Howe Gelb in an email. But, "I don't think we are signed, are we??? Therein lies the charm." In fact, Richards doesn't believe in contracts. Deals are done on a handshake, and bands are free to leave. Gelb's friend John Parish recently joined Thrill Jockey, encouraged by Gelb's liberal praise.

'Marking New Musical Ground'

Richards is herself a fan with varied tastes. "Often contrasts are complementary," said Richards, who listens to New York radio station WFMU, famous for it's freeform programming.

"I think the label accurately reflects Bettina's tastes as a music fan," said Prekop. "It sort of follows the ideals of refining your record collection, except that you produce your own records, to fill in the gaps."

Unlike most label heads, Richards understands the importance of encouraging artists to take chances, whether or not it makes bottom-line sense. "Having a successful record that is not necessarily popular but is innovative and marking new musical ground is significant, and unfortunately I think people want to be more focused on the records that sell the most," Richards explained. "But being able to release such a diverse collection of music is much more, to me, a measure of success than whether this one or that one sold.

"Certainly the fact that Tortoise is an instrumental band and were able to sell is a big achievement," she continued. "And I think John Parish's marginally instrumental record [How Animals Move will be released Sept. 17] is going to do extremely well. But I think it's more that people seem to buy Freakwater and not even blink an eye, and turn around and buy Oval and Nobukazu Takemura and Radian and Sue Garner. You know, all their records sound very different, and yet people seem to be willing to take a chance on them, and that's much more a measure of success than whether one sold more than the other."

Freakwater's Catherine Irwin noted that "being associated with some of the more smarty-pants-type bands on the label probably helps us in some circles."

Indeed, the respect Thrill Jockey has earned among fans of eclectic, quality experimental music has been good for the bands. "I think the general recognition of Thrill Jockey has definitely increased exposure for our [the Sea and Cake's] work," Prekop said. "It's definitely been a help that a lot of people are interested in whatever it is that comes out on Thrill Jockey. It's the brand-name mentality that works well in this kind of situation. I think 4AD had a similar thing going. The Thrill Jockey aesthetic is more open-ended compared to 4AD, but this, in a sense, has become the signature. The wide range, stylistically, in itself defines the aesthetic."

"When I was discovering stuff in my teens, I'd buy any new single on Creation," journalist McGonigal said. "And I'd get anything on Homestead when Gerard [Cosloy] was running it, any old Rough Trade album, even if I wound up hating it, and any old ESP record I found. My ears opened up to a lot of amazing sounds this way, because these were not subgenre-specific labels. Thrill Jockey's greatest achievement, then, would be to open kids up to new sounds — turn the Freakwater 30-somethings onto out-sound, perhaps, or click-core tweaker kids onto Appalachian-derived strum-folk."

McGonigal added, "What are some great labels? ESP, Sun, Stax/ Volt, Touch & Go, Dischord, Atlantic Records until the early '70s, A-Musik, Mego, Recommended, Trojan, and SST until the late '80s — all great labels, right? Well, definitely add Thrill Jockey to the list. Thrill Jockey is nothing more nor less than a great fucking label."

Richards said she's proud that all the bands who've recorded for her label and haven't broken up are still recording for Thrill Jockey. "That's the highest compliment I could receive — that the artists are happy where they are. If they're happy enough that they want to make another record and everybody thinks it's a good working relationship, that's success, even if they're not at the top of the CMJ charts."

Richards said that working with the right people in the music business has been crucial to her label's success. Touch and Go, founded and run by Corey Rusk, is Thrill Jockey's distributor. "There was a period when Corey Rusk was manufacturing all our records," she said. "That was essential to our growth. And that's a credit to him. He's a very flexible guy, and his willingness to re-evaluate situations is not based on a business model. It's just based on him as a human being — being logical and fair. I don't know too many distributors that operate the way he does."

For most of her label's existence, Richards has worked with the same European and Japanese partners, respectively City Slang and Tokema. "Even in terms of licensing overseas electronica, Thrill Jockey were at least a year ahead of the game, with Oval, Microstoria, Radian, etc.," McGonigal said. "And they got Mouse on Mars right when they started to get great."

Still Excited

Richards remains enthusiastic about Thrill Jockey's releases. "I'm still excited about the records we put out ten years ago, and this fall we've got great records by Radian [rec.extern, released Aug. 20] and John Parish. Sue Garner has made the best record of her 20-year musical career [Shadyside, released Sept. 10]. And Catherine Irwin [made] her first solo record [Cut Yourself a Switch, set for release on Oct. 8] after years of giving me treats in Freakwater. She has this unbelievable way to describe the half-empty glass and tell you it's your fault — it's half-empty because you drank it," Richards laughed. "I'm really excited by the stuff we've got coming."

ATP's Hogan says he's impressed by the staff Richards has put together. "Bettina has achieved so much, and deserves respect for releasing so many great records," said Hogan. "Thrill Jockey have a really amazing team of people that work on all the releases, and I think that's what makes the label tick. Bettina is obviously the driving force, but she has a solid and loyal team behind her."

Characteristically humble, Richards and her staff are now taking a moment to enjoy and appreciate what they've accomplished during the label's first decade. "I think we've put out some really challenging new music and hopefully that's our contribution," she said. "But also, that you can achieve it within your own terms. That there is no handbook. That you don't have to do what everybody does just because everybody does it. That you can achieve success and ultimately more satisfaction by doing it based on your own goals and terms."

For information, visit the Thrill Jockey Web site — Jillian Steinberger [Monday, Sept. 16, 2002]

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