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Tickets are now on sale through the Hollywood Theater and Star Theater websites for the After The End Of The World Festival! We hope you can join us for shows with The Sun Ra Arkestra, Lonnie Holley and (all the way from Zambia) WITCH. There will also be free shows in the park on June 18th and 19th with Michael Hurley, Brown Calculus, Drekig, Dragging An Ox Through Water, Cruise Control, and Lox....as well as some special surprise guests. TO BUY TICKETS PLEASE SEE THE LINKS AT THE END OF THE NEWSLETTER
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As a preamble to the Arkestra coming in June, we are showing the beautiful 1980 documentary about Ra and the band. There will also be a special surprise short film before the doc.
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Hello all,
It's the nineteenth anniversary of Mississippi Records today! To celebrate, I'm indulging in talking at length about my two favorite bands.
When you enter Mississippi Records one thing you can't help but notice is the large amount of Sun Ra and Dead Moon related totems placed strategically throughout the shop. These power objects are there to constantly remind us of our two biggest guiding lights.
On the surface, there are many differences between our two role models.
- The Sun Ra Arkestra rehearsed four to twelve hours a day, whether there was an upcoming show or not. Dead Moon refused to practice at all, considering local performances before a tour the only rehearsals they needed.
- Sun Ra wrote the most spread out complex compositions of all time. Dead Moon produced the most elemental and economical songs of all time
- Dead Moon's music speaks of the internal and personal. Sun Ra's music speaks of the cosmic and transcendent.
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While musically/aesthetically pretty opposite, in many ways Sun Ra and Dead Moon are eerily similar. Both ran their own labels, distribution and home studios. Both modernized their musical styles from decade to decade while still keeping true to the core of their authentic identity. Both followed their own codes filled with rituals, regulations, symbology and attention to numerology. Both were disciplined and hardworking, never considering themselves artists above menial tasks like packing boxes, stuffing records in sleeves, designing their own quick and dirty record covers, or working the counter at their shops. Both played the long game.
In short, Mississippi Records has aspired to be like the Sun Ra Arkestra and Dead Moon, not through aping their asthetics and arcane beliefs but through cribbing their work ethics. On the eve of our nineteen year anniversary we can't claim our artistic output is anywhere near as powerful as Dead Moon or Sun Ra, but we can boast that just as our heros did, we've worked hard. We've also come close to sticking by our code consistently (with some minor regrettable deviations).
Yesterday I was working the counter at the record shop while trying to write this. My first stab at an anniversary rant was a sad bitter old man complainathon about how much I hate spotify and shrinkwrap. As I typed with a furrowed brow, musician Barry Walker came to the counter with a stack of Sun Ra records to purchase. It was a slow moment at the shop, so I told him a story I rarely tell. Revisiting it felt nice and reminded me of all the magic and tragic moments that made the shop and label possible.
I decided retelling it here seems much wiser than pushing a bunch of angry opinions about the algorithm and wasteful record packaging at you. You are hereby spared the grumpy old man rant.
Back in the mid 1990's I was living in a van, zipping all over the USA, trying to figure out what was what. Whenever I'd hit a new town I'd map out all the record stores and bookstores then explore the city using those as my vector points. When in Phoenix, Arizona, I found myself in a truly terrible record shop. The place was filled with overpriced Elvis and Beatles collectibles mixed with other crap expensive stock. I zeroed in on a cardboard box under one of the racks with thirty unpriced records, all with weird handmade covers. One cover was made of a cut up shower curtain with a photograph of a man in futuristic sunglasses glued to it. Another had xeroxed drawings of pyramids and the Egyptian deity Horus, hand painted with thick acrylic paint. The next had the words "A Fireside Chat With Lucifer" and a bunch of squiggly lines scrawled all over it with a magic marker. |
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Upon close investigation, I figured out all thirty of these records were by Sun Ra And The Arkestra. I had heard of Sun Ra before. I remembered Peter Buck mentioning him in Rolling Stone magazine and reading that Funkadelic were influenced by him. That's about it. I felt drawn to these records even though I was clueless as to what they would sound like. The guy at the counter was a parody of a record store clerk - a middle aged dude in a Doors shirt with a ponytail and a froze look on his face that said, "fuck you kid. I saw Hendrix play once therefore I'm the epitome of culture and you are an idiot." I shyly asked him what Sun Ra sounded like. He said, "Aw, he's horrible. It's all just noise and scronking and then they start singing really goofy stuff about outerspace." This sounded very appealing to me so I asked how much these records cost. The clerk disdainfully offered me the whole batch of thirty records for $100. Even though I was broke and had no idea if that was a good deal or not, I bought them all. I brought them to my sister's house and learned from her fiance that they were in fact worth a pretty penny, maybe $100 - $200 apiece. My soon to be brother in law gave me golden advice. He told me not to sell them right away, but to spend time listening to them and, since I did not have any savings, consider keeping them as a sort of bank account. He then pulled out a VHS copy of "Space Is The Place", the blacksploitation / Sci Fi film starring Ra and the band. We watched it and the weird mix of jankiness of the production coupled with the profundity of the music and Ra's words affected me deeply.
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For the next seven years I listened to the records a lot, though I have to admit I didn't quite "get" it all. I grew increasingly fascinated with Sun Ra, especially after I got a job at a record store in Oakland called Saturn Records. He became a major obsession of mine and I collected every record and scrap of information about him I could find.
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I quit the job in Oakland and came up to Portland. When I decided to start Mississippi Records, I had very little capital. My "business plan" was to sell every book and record I owned in the shop, have some fun hanging out watching my stuff go, then close six months after opening. I had no interest in owning a business long term. I started the store because I just did not know what else to do with my life. Believe it or not, starting a business seemed like the path of least resistance.
Indeed, when the shop opened every record and book I owned was for sale on the shelves, except for the box of Ra self released records. My plan was to trickle out one of these special homemade records at a time, displaying them on the shop wall with a fat $100 price tag. I was hoping Mississippi Records would become known as "that crazy shop where they always have at least one rare Sun Ra record on the wall." The day I opened I ceremoniously put the Ra LP "Cosmic Tones For Mental Therapy" on display.
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The vibes were good and the store was humming for its first three weeks. Then suddenly a tragedy occured that nearly closed our doors permanently. I'd started Mississippi with a stand up guy named Orion - him handling repairs and selling stereo and music equipment and me handling the records. We only got to enjoy the partnership for three weeks before a drunk driver speeding at 70 MPH hit him and two other friends of mine. Orion and Angela passed away right there. Caroline survived and fully recovered.
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ORION IN FOREGROUND WITH HIS GOOD PAL LARRY YES IN THE BACKGROUND |
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ORION, CAROLINE AND JASON IN THE SPOOKY DANCE BAND Orion was as close to a universally loved saint as I've met. His death at a young age rocked our whole community to its core.
I was a wreck and stopped showing up to open the shop. Luckily, friends of mine would show up everyday and work for free without me even knowing they were doing it. I really wanted to shut the store down for good, but Orion's family and friends agreed that would be tragic and the farthest thing from what Orion would want. So we kept on. Orion was such a positive person and nineteen years later I still consider him the inspiration for a lot of what we do.
I finally started to show up to the shop again, only to find the place bleak. Orion's death was well publicized. Instead of being known as "that record store that always has at least one rare Sun Ra record on the wall" we were known as "that record store where the owner was killed by a drunk driver." People stopped by to offer condolences,but never bought anything, thinking that would appear tacky somehow. Many days passed where the til total at the end of the day was $6 - $30. I sunk every cent I had into the shop when it opened, had no cash reserved and had no credit history to get a loan with. I was running out of money fast and rent was coming due. |
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ME PUTTING RECORDS ON THE WALL ON OUR FIRST DAY OPEN |
The box of thirty Sun Ra records was still intact, with "Cosmic Tones For Mental Therapy'' still hanging out on the store's wall. I remembered a Sun Ra collector in the Bay Area who I once showed the box of records to and he offered me $5,000 for it. I called him up and he was still down to buy them all. I decided to drive down from Portland and deliver them in person.
My plan was to go to the bay area, get my $5,000 for the Ra's, and then use it to go on a record buying spree. Back then I had amazing connections in the Bay Area and knew how to find insane records the likes of which Portland rarely saw. I thought I'd give the store one more shot - fill it with prime records at cheap prices, making it so damn good that folks could not help but buy shit. I was on a mission to make Mississippi Records stock monumental.
Weirdly, the plan worked. I had incredible luck finding records in the bay. I stumbled onto a garage sale filled with small press Jazz and Avant Garde records for sale at a buck a pop. I bought up a couple friends' major collections. Friends record stores in the Bay Area knew my predicament and sold me insanely good wholesale stock from their back rooms. The Down Home Music shop even sold me five Sun Ra self released records and insisted I pay just $5 for them all.
I came home with a van full of the best stuff imaginable and priced it all out rapidly, filling the store's shelves. Word rang through Portland that we had the goods and people started showing up to buy.
The box of Sun Ra records I had saved for seven years had been transformed into cash, then hundreds of records, and finally into the salvation of Mississippi Records. Sun Ra saved Mississippi Records. Without that box of Ra records, I doubt I would have kept the shop open after its first couple months.
So, if you ever wonder why we have a gold statue of Sun Ra behind the counter, or why Sun Ra's typed personal copy of the lyrics to our favorite song of his is on the wall, or why we always have at least seventy five Sun Ra records in stock, or why we host the band everytime they are in town as if they are kings and queens, now ya know. |
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Dead Moon is equally important to our history, but that's a story for another time.....
Thanks for supporting our store and label for all these years. It's been a blast and we are incredibly grateful to still be here in the ring doing that same old thing.
Rock for light,
Eric at Mississippi Records
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GET TICKETS FOR THE AFTER THE END OF THE WORLD FESTIVAL HERE!! |
NEW MISSISSIPPI RECORDS & REISSUES: |
LOS GOLDEN BOYS: CUMBIA DE JUVENTUD LP (May 13 release) - heavy guitar-driven 1960s cumbia and porro!! A perfect moment of pulsing Colombian rhythms, teenage rock n roll obsession, smoke in the moonlight and the strange "solovox" instrument entering the scene. A real party album!! |
EMAHOY TSEGE MARIAM GEBRU - SPIELT EIGENE KOMPOSITIONEN LP - The debut of Ethiopian composer Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, self-released in 1963 and finally available again on LP. Instrumental piano compositions that melds traditional Ethiopian modes, European classical, Orthodox Christian liturgy, and deeply emotional introspection. Timeless and beautiful music no soul should be without.
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DEAD MOON: DESTINATION X LP - FINALLY REISSUED!!! The long gone 8th album by the all time greatest DIY rock n roll band DEAD MOON is back in print after more than 20 years. Carefully remastered and featuring new artwork!!!
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VARIOUS - ANXIOUS COLOR LP - long gone psych rock and moody garage no-names from 1966-1968, finally back in stock!! Hit after hit!!!
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VARIOUS - SIX FEET UNDER LP - all time favorite 60s obscure country, rockabilly and rock instrumentals from various dark hollers of America. Hit after hit!!!
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MICHAEL HURLEY - BLUE HILLS LP - truly one of Michael's finest and most tender albums, Blue Hills stretches out over 6 songs for pump organ, wurlitzer and guitar. Some may say it is too true to heartbreak, some may claim it too fragile to bear, some may accept it as a masterpiece.
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COMING SOON ON MISSISSIPPI RECORDS: |
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NDIKHO XABA AND THE NATIVES LP - revolutionary 1971 spiritual jazz album recorded in Oakland by South African musician Ndikho Xaba, a beautiful document of transatlantic Black solidarity.
CELESTINE UKWU AND HIS PHILOSOPHER'S NATIONAL - NO CONDITION IS PERMANENT LP - deep, blossoming, gorgeous and existential highlife from 1970s Nigeria.
JOHN ONDOLO - HYPNOTIC GUITAR OF JOHN ONDOLO LP - beautiful and unique open-tuned guitar & vocal songs from 1950s-1960s Kenya and Tanzania.
MARKOS VAMVAKARIS - DEATH IS BITTER LP - earliest recordings of the underworld's undisputed toughest of the tough, the bouzouki king of Greek rebetiko, Markos.
....and much more.....
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MIssissippi Records Portland Store
We are now open Thursday - Sunday, 12 to 7 PM!
(our stereo repair and retail shop is open Friday - Sunday, 1 to 6 PM).
WE ARE EXCITED TO BUY YOUR RECORD COLLECTIONS! Please drop by anytime to sell stuff. We always have a buyer on duty and you do not need an appointment. Paying out 50 - 60% of our retail price (NOT - dumb internet prices though....Mississippi store prices)
Email [email protected] if you have any questions about the shop.
Mississippi Records Website
Visit the site to get our label's records and tapes direct from us - we are constantly rotating our selection of mixtapes, new records from labels we distribute, and discounted out-of-print records, so be sure to check in often! We ship twice a week, every week.
www.mississippirecords.net
Mississippi Records CSR
Our Community Supported Records program directly supports the label. Get each Mississippi LP at a discount as it's released, no matter how limited, plus special schwag and gifts on occasion. Limited to 300 spots. The CSR contributions help us pay for record pressings and generally stay afloat.
More details here:
https://sites.google.com/site/mississippicsr/
Mississippi Records Special Products Division
Alice Coltrane For President and Mississippi Wreckers T shirts and tote bags! Post cards! Posters! Coozies! Oddities! Check us out weekly for new additions.
www.mississippiwreckers.com
Mississippi Records Bandcamp
There are hours and hours worth of albums available for free listening, and a whole lot of the releases are "pay what you want" if you want to download em. Check it out -
https://mississippirecords.bandcamp.com/Toody Cole / Junkstore Cowboy
Toody Cole has shuttered her Junkstore Cowboy Shop in our basement, but that does not mean you can't get your Dead Moon / Pierced Arrows / Rats / Range Rats / Tombstone schwag and records still from her badass online store.
https://www.deadmoonusa.com/
Humboldt Neighborhood Association
The neighborhood association for the zone the Mississippi shop rests in recently got taken over by some social activists who are working on mutual aid projects, youth programs, anti gentrification / tenants rights activities, and a community child care circle. If you are in the neighborhood and want to get involved, our first general membership meeting takes place on November 23rd. Check in with the website for a link! We got some work to do....
https://humboldtneighborhood.org/
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3231 S Halsted
#197
Chicago
IL
60640
United States of America
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