Estrus Records is an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

from

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (locat ...

that makes surf,

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

and trash rock music. They have released such bands as

Mono Men The Mono Men were an American garage punk band, based in Bellingham, Washington. Their sound contained elements of grunge (distortion-heavy guitars, sneering vocals), but the Mono Men filtered these through a mimicry of 1960s Washington proto-p ...

, The Drags,

The Mummies The Mummies are an American garage punk band formed in San Bruno, California, in 1988. Exhibiting a defiantly raw and lo-fi sound, dubbed "budget rock", the Mummies' rebellious attitude and distinctive performance costumes exerted a major influe ...

, Supercharger,

Impala The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'') is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'' and tribe Aepycerotini, it was first described to European audiences by Germa ...

Man or Astro-man? Man or Astro-man? is an American surf rock group that formed in Auburn, Alabama in the early 1990s and came to prominence over the following decade. Primarily instrumental, Man or Astro-man? blended the surf rock style of the early 1960s like ...

, the Makers, 5.6.7.8's,

Gas Huffer Gas Huffer was an American garage rock band from Washington. They were known for their informal and comical lyrics and their antic-laden stage presence. History Gas Huffer classified themselves loosely in the garage punk genre. The band crea ...

Mooney Suzuki The Mooney Suzuki is an American garage rock band that formed in New York City in 1996. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Sammy James, Jr., guitarist Graham Tyler, bassist John Paul Ribas and drummer Will Rockwell-Scott, the band ha ...

Soledad Brothers The Soledad Brothers were three inmates charged with the murder of a prison guard, John Vincent Mills, at California's Soledad Prison on January 16, 1970. George Jackson, Fleeta Drumgo, and John Clutchette were alleged to have murdered Mills in ...

DMBQ DMBQ is a Japanese rock band from Tokyo, whose name stands for Dynamite Masters Blues Quartet. They are influenced by British and American rock music of the early 1970s, especially bands like The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Deep Purple, and Led ...

, The Cherry Valence, Midnight Evils,

Federation X Federation X or "FED X" is an American rock band, originally formed in Bellingham, Washington, founded by Ben Wildenhaus (guitar), Bill Badgley (guitar, vocals), and Beau Boyd (drums) in 1998. Career In 1999, the band released a self-titled LP o ...

The Trashwomen The Trashwomen were an all-female American garage punk and surf punk trio from the San Francisco Bay Area signed to Estrus Records. History Formed in 1991 by Tina Lucchesi and Dannielle Pimm, and former Bitch Fight & later, Eight Ball Scratch g ...

, Satan's Pilgrims, The Von Zippers,

Tricky Woo Tricky Woo was a Canadian garage punk band, based in Montreal, Quebec. The "classic lineup" of the band consisted of vocalist and guitarist Andrew Dickson, guitarist Adrian Popovich, bass guitarist Eric Larock and drummer Patrick Conan. Tricky ...

Untamed Youth ''Untamed Youth'' is a 1957 American teen film directed by Howard W. Koch, written by John C. Higgins and Stephen Longstreet, and starring Mamie Van Doren and Lori Nelson as two starstruck sisters who are sentenced to farm labor. Plot Sisters ...

, Immortal Lee County Killers,

The Dexateens The Dexateens are a five-piece rock and roll band out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. History 1998-2010 The Dexateens began as a four-piece band in 1998 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with co-lead singer-songwriters and guitarists Elliott McPherson and John ...

, Marble Orchard, The Mortals and

Southern Culture on the Skids Southern Culture on the Skids, also sometimes known as SCOTS, is an American rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Originally a straightforward roots rock band, they became known as a tongue-in-cheek "party band" with an exaggerated "white ...

. For many years Estrus hosted an annual festival, '' Garage Shock'', at The 3B Tavern in Bellingham. Garage Shock featured bands from the labels roster, as well as others from around the world. The last Garage Shock, in 2001, was held at

Emo's Emo's, formerly known as The Back Room, is a music and event venue located in Austin, Texas. Emo's got its start as a Houston punk club in 1989, with the Austin location opening in 1992. The Houston location closed its doors in September 2001 ...

, in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. In January 1997, their entire mail-order inventory, private record collection, and some band gear were destroyed in a warehouse fire. At the start of 2020 work began on a giant book about Estrus Records to be published by

Korero Press Korero Press is a London-based art book publisher. Its list of books mainly includes pop culture, street art, erotica and horror titles. It has published books by contemporary artists Ron English, Patrick J. Jones and Graham Humphreys. Korero Pr ...

, titled ''Estrus: Shovelin’ the Shit Since ’87''. A monthly podcast dedicated to Estrus Records called PodShock started to be broadcast in anticipation of the release of the book in April 2020. Episode one featured Eric Friedl of

The Oblivians The Oblivians are an American garage punk trio that has existed since 1993. In the 1990s, their blues-infused brand of bravado, crudely recorded music made them one of the most popular and prominent bands within the underground garage rock scene ...

and

Goner Records Goner Records is an independent record label and record store co-owned by Eric Friedl of The Oblivians and Zac Ives and based in Memphis, Tennessee. It is known for releasing albums by punk, garage rock, and more recently post-punk and synth-orie ...

along with members of The Fells. Episode two featured Mort of The

and Dave Holmes of The Fall-Outs.

Suggested listening

* ''26 Excellennt Estrus Sizzlers'' (Estrus Records) (1999) - sampler * ''Estrus 100% Apeshit Rock Sampler (Vol. 2)'' (Estrus Records) (2000) * ''Estrus Double Dynomite Sampler Vol. 3'' (Estrus Records) (2002)

References

External links

Official sitePodShock – The Estrus Records Podcast
American independent record labels Garage rock record labels Record labels established in 1990 Companies based in Bellingham, Washington Alternative rock record labels {{US-independent-record-label-stub

Suggested listening

See also

References

External links