In late July, Bloodshot turned 18!! In that hazy, crazy summer of '94, we put out a little compilation to alleviate our boredom (Angry Birds hadn't been invented yet...I know...it was like the Stone Age) and try and get into to shows for free. It features the first widely available recordings of Bottle Rockets, Robbie Fulks, The Handsome Family, and provided Jon Langford with more opportunities to make music...
And now we're old enough to do things like vote, buy pornography and Lotto tickets, get a Sam's Club membership, get a home loan (and allow banks to screw us), sue somebody (like a bank), get sued, be convicted as adults, buy tobacco, buy Nicorette gum, enter the Publishers Clearinghouse Sweepstakes....ah the world is our oyster.....
Some of you may have been in diapers when we started, and some of you who were with us on day one may now be in need of diapers (the Depends variety), but either way, we're highlighting albums with a connection to that first album in this month's sale.
Oh, and come join us for our birthday party. It'll be memorable, just like my real 18th b'day when I sat alone in a room wondering why the world didn't like me. Hmm, not unlike my last birthday, come to think of it. But I digress...
Now, where's that Alice Cooper album...? Cuz we're EIGHTEEN...we get confused everyday...EIGHTEEN...we just don't know what to say...
VARIOUS ARTISTS
FOR A LIFE OF SIN You never forget your first...and here it is, our first album. A collection of Chi-town artists who helped get the ball rolling. On sale for $6.95
JON LANGFORD
Jon contributed "Over the Cliff" to For a Life of Sin under the moniker Jon Langford's Hillbilly Lovechild. Since then, it's been, Waco Brothers, Pine Valley Cosmonauts and his latest: Skull Orchard. OLD DEVILS LP on sale for $9.95 CD on sale for $8.95
OLD 97S
The 97s, covered "Over The Cliff" on their BS debut Wreck Your Life. On sale for $8.95
ROBBIE FULKS
We had little idea that this guy was a genius, then he gave us "Cigarette State" for the album. The first in a long line of gems. Get the classic South Mouth on sale for $6.95
SUNDOWNERS
The grandaddies of Chicago Country music, their smokin' 45 version of "Rockin' Spot" from the 50's gave For a Life of Sin a grounding in history. Get the collection Chicago Country Legends on sale for only $5!!
BOTTLE ROCKETS
The Rockets gave For a Life of Sin a track off their hard to find (and now long out of print) debut LP. Get their latest Not So Loud on sale for $8.95
FREAKWATER
Likewise, Freakwater gave us a track off their Thrill Jockey album. They gave us more tracks over the years including the killer version of a Louvin Brothers song found on the Slaughter Rule soundtrack (a movie featuring a VERY young Ryan Gosling). On sale for $6
JANE BAXTER MILLER
One of the hidden gems on For A Life of Sin is "That Truck" by then Chicago faves The Texas Rubies. Since then, singer JBM has given us several compilation tracks and released her own album Harm Among The Willows, on sale for $8.95
HANDSOME FAMILY
Brett Sparks gave me the tape for "Moving Furniture Around" at Phyllis' Musical Inn on Division St. Then we got drunk. They've given us many compilation tracks over the years, including the chilling "Barbara Allen" off Straight Outta Boone County," featuring Whiskeytown, Slobberbone, Robbie Fulks, Waco Brothers and more. On Sale for $7.50
MOONSHINE WILLY
The first song on the first album by the first band to sign a "contract" with us. Get their debut album Pecadores on sale for only $5!