Drag City is an American independent record label based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois. Established in the city in 1990 by Dan Koretzky and Dan Osborn, its first release was a

Royal Trux Royal Trux was an American alternative rock band active from 1987 to 2001, reuniting in 2015 but disbanded once again in 2019. It was founded by Neil Hagerty (vocals, guitar) and Jennifer Herrema (vocals). History While still a teenager, Hagert ...

single ("Hero Zero" - DC1).Howland, Don (1993)
Drag Kings: Chicago's Drag City is America's Best Record Label
, '' SPIN'', November 1993, p. 101-2, 152-3, retrieved 2010-12-05 It specializes in

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extre ...

psychedelic folk Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelic music, psychedelia that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of contemporary folk music, folk, but adds musical el ...

, alternative country, and experimental music. The label has featured numerous critically acclaimed artists, including Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Bill Callahan, Joanna Newsom, and

Silver Jews Silver Jews were an American indie rock band from New York City, formed in 1989 by David Berman alongside Pavement members Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich. Berman was the only constant band member. During the last few albums, Cassie Berman ...

History

The label released the US version of Scott Walker's ''

Tilt Tilt may refer to: Music * Tilt (American band), a punk rock group, formed in 1992 * Tilt (British band), an electronic music group, formed in 1993 * Tilt (Polish band), a rock band, formed in 1979 Albums * ''Tilt'' (Cozy Powell album), 1981 * ...

'' in 1997, after the label approached him wishing to give the album a US release.Morris, Chris (1997)
Drag City Goes Full 'Tilt' on Walker
, '' Billboard'', August 23, 1997, p. 53-4, retrieved 2010-12-05 Walker described releasing the album on the indie label as "an experiment". Several members of Drag City's staff have played in bands; press-chief Gene Booth played keyboards and guitar in USA, and Booth, head of sales Rian Murphy, and founder Dan Koretzky all played in Mantis.Morris, Chris (1998)
Declarations of Independents: Flag Waving
, '' Billboard'', June 13, 1998, p. 77; retrieved 2010-12-05 Booth was also a member of Chestnut Station. In recent years, they have expanded their catalog to include alternative comedy releases, with recent outputs from

Fred Armisen Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series '' Portlandia''. ...

Neil Hamburger Neil Hamburger is a fictional standup comedian and singer created by Australian-American entertainer Gregg Turkington. Distinguished for his misanthropic jokes and anti-comedy style, Turkington has released a number of albums as Hamburger and ...

, and

Andy Kaufman Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman ( ; January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer and performance artist. While often called a "comedian", Kaufman preferred to describe himself instead as a "song and dance man". He has sometimes b ...

among others, and reissues, notably by Gary Higgins and

Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

. In 1997, Drag City began publishing printed works such as the literary magazine ''The Minus Times'' and

Neil Hagerty Neil Michael Hagerty (born 1965) is an American guitarist, songwriter and producer. He is best known for his work in Royal Trux which he formed with his partner Jennifer Herrema, who he lived with in Washington, Virginia. Hagerty released sev ...

's novel ''Victory Chimp''. The label distributed the 2013 documentary ''

The Source Family ''The Source Family'' is a 2012 feature documentary film directed by Jodi Wille and Maria Demopoulos which recounts the story of Father Yod, Ya Ho Wa 13 and the Source Family. Much material was gleaned from Isis Aquarian's archives of photos, diary ...

''. After years of refusing to release its artists' music on streaming platforms, the label finally made its music available for streaming via Apple Music in July 2017.

Roster

* AZITA *

Bachelorette ''Bachelorette'' (/ˌbætʃələˈrɛt/) is a term used in American English for a single, unmarried woman. The term is derived from the word '' bachelor'', and is often used by journalists, editors of popular magazines, and some individuals ...

Baby Dee Baby Dee (born 1953) is an American performance artist, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter from Cleveland, Ohio. Early career In the 1970s, Baby Dee began her musical career as a street performer, but soon decided to take work as an ...

William Basinski William Basinski (born June 25, 1958) is an American avant-garde composer based in Los Angeles, California. He is also a clarinetist, saxophonist, sound artist, and video artist. Basinski is best known for his four-volume album '' The Disintegra ...

* Richard Bishop * Blues Control * Bill Callahan *

Cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

Cynthia Dall Cynthia Dall (born Cynthia Meggin Loya) (March 12, 1971 – April 5, 2012), sometimes known as "Cindy Dall", was an American lo-fi musician and photographer. Dall also gained notoriety in the fanzine world of the 1990s for her frequent trans ...

Chris Darrow Christopher Lloyd Darrow (July 30, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was an American multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. He was considered to be a pioneer of country rock music in the late-1960s and performed and recorded with numerous groups, ...

* Circuit Des Yeux *

Dope Body Dope Body is an American rock band from Baltimore, Maryland, United States. They formed in 2008 by vocalist Andrew Laumann, guitarist/bassist Zachary Utz, and drummer David Jacober. They released four albums in addition to a cassette tape and t ...

* Espers * Faun Fables *

Flying Saucer Attack Flying Saucer Attack is an English space rock band formed in Bristol in 1992, led by songwriter David Pearce. Rachel Brook (now Rachel Coe) of Movietone was a member during the band's early incarnation; other musicians contributing to the gro ...

* Mark Fosson *

Edith Frost Edith Frost (born August 18, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter who describes her music as "pensive countrified psychedelia". Born in San Antonio, Texas, Frost moved to Brooklyn in 1990 where she played in the country bands ''The Holler Sis ...

The Fucking Champs The Fucking Champs are a three-piece rock band from San Francisco, California. They are known for their heavy metal sound, based largely around shifting time signatures, guitar harmonies, and plentiful rhythm. Most songs are instrumental. They ...

Loose Fur Loose Fur was an American rock supergroup comprising Wilco members Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche, along with Wilco collaborator and Sonic Youth's multi-instrumentalist Jim O'Rourke. The trio first convened in May 2000 in preparation for a Tweedy ...

* Ghost *

David Grubbs David Grubbs (born September 21, 1967) is an American composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. He was a founding member of Squirrel Bait, Bastro, and Gastr del Sol. He has also played in Codeine, The Red Krayola, Bitch Magnet and The Wingd ...

Neil Michael Hagerty Neil Michael Hagerty (born 1965) is an American guitarist, songwriter and producer. He is best known for his work in Royal Trux which he formed with his partner Jennifer Herrema, who he lived with in Washington, Virginia. Hagerty released sever ...

The Howling Hex The Howling Hex is an American rock (music), rock band founded by guitarist Neil Hagerty. Discography Albums *''Introducing the Howling Hex'' LP, 2003 *''Section 2 (album), Section 2'' LP, 2004 *''The Return of the Third Tower'' LP, 2004 *''All- ...

John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch ''John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch'' is a children's musical comedy special created by John Mulaney that debuted on Netflix on December 24, 2019. The show, directed by Rhys Thomas, was written by Mulaney and Marika Sawyer and inspired by cla ...

* Liimanarina *

Magik Markers The Magik Markers are an American noise rock band from Hartford, Connecticut, United States. The members, Elisa Ambrogio, Pete Nolan and Leah Quimby started the band in their basement in 2001. The band gained wider recognition after opening for S ...

Monotonix Monotonix were a garage rock band from Tel Aviv, Israel. The group—singer Ami Shalev, guitarist Yonatan Gat, and drummer Ran Shimoni (later replaced by Haggai Fershtman)—released their debut EP in 2008 and toured mostly in the United States ...

* Movietone *

Mickey Newbury Milton Sims "Mickey" Newbury Jr. (May 19, 1940 – September 29, 2002) was an American songwriter, recording artist, and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Early life and career Newbury was born in Houston, Texas, on May 19, ...

* Joanna Newsom *

Scout Niblett Emma Louise Niblett (born 29 September 1973), better known by the stage name Scout Niblett, is an English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Niblett debuted in 2001 with her first full-length studio album '' Sweet Heart Fever'', and ...

* Nig-Heist *

Will Oldham Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...

(Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Palace Music, etc.) * Jim O'Rourke *

The High Llamas The High Llamas are an Anglo-Irish avant-pop band formed in London circa 1991. They were founded by singer-songwriter Sean O'Hagan, formerly of Microdisney, with drummer Rob Allum and ex-Microdisney bassist Jon Fell. O'Hagan has led the group s ...

Papa M David Pajo (born June 25, 1968) is an American alternative rock musician. He has played a wide variety of music, loosely fitting into several other genres such as hardcore punk, math rock, post-rock, electronica, folk rock and indie pop. Though ...

* Pavement * Pearls and Brass *

Pearls Before Swine A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living animal shell, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pea ...

* Jessica Pratt *

Purple Mountains Purple Mountains was an American indie rock project formed by musician and poet David Berman. The project debuted in May 2019, over a decade after the dissolution of Berman's previous group Silver Jews. An eponymous album was released in July ...

The Red Krayola The Red Krayola (originally Red Crayola) is an American avant rock band from Houston, Texas formed in 1966 by the trio of singer/guitarist Mayo Thompson, drummer Frederick Barthelme, and bassist Steve Cunningham. The group were part of the 1960 ...

* The Renderers * Alasdair Roberts *

* RTX *

Lætitia Sadier Lætitia Sadier (born 6 May 1968, sometimes known as Seaya Sadier) is a French musician, best known as a founding member of the London-based avant-pop band Stereolab. In 1996, while Stereolab was still active, she formed the side project Monade. ...

Ty Segall Ty (stylized as ty) is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It was founded by Ty Warner in 1986. It designs, develops and sells products, most notably Beanie Babies, exclusively to speci ...

Sic Alps Sic Alps were an American garage rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 2004 by Mike Donovan and Adam Stonehouse, they released music on Siltbreeze, Drag City, Woodsist and several other independent record labels. After signing ...

Six Organs of Admittance Six Organs of Admittance is the primary musical project of American guitarist Ben Chasny. Chasny's music is largely guitar-based and is often considered new folk; however, it includes obvious influences, marked by the use of drones, chimes, and ...

Stereolab Stereolab are an Anglo- French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repeti ...

* Sun Araw * U.S. Maple * Scott Walker *

Wand A wand is a thin, light-weight rod that is held with one hand, and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made of other materials, such as metal or plastic. Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, which ...

* Weird War *

White Magic White magic has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for selfless purposes. Practitioners of white magic have been given titles such as wise men or women, healers Alternative medicine is any practice that aims t ...

* Michael Yonkers

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control American independent record labels Record labels established in 1990 Indie rock record labels Experimental music record labels Companies based in Chicago 1990 establishments in Illinois

History

Roster

See also

References

External links