Small Stone Records is an American

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

based in Detroit, MI. It was founded in 1995 by Scott Hamilton and is a self-dubbed "heavy rock" label. The label has released a number of stoner rock compilation albums, as well as releases by Dozer, Los Natas, Halfway To Gone, Solace, and many others in the stoner rock, indie, blues-rock, and psychedelic genres.

History

Small Stone Records was founded in

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Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

by Scott Hamilton in 1995, who remains owner and operator. Hamilton claims he mostly started the label to put out records by friends and his favorite bands such as Big Chief, The Laughing Hyenas, Mule, and Slot. Hamilton started the label with a $5000 loan and named it after the Small Stone effects pedal made by Electro-Harmonix. The label's first release was a single by 36-D, which had members of Big Chief, Born Without a Face, and Slot. The label's first album release was a 1995 compilation titled ''Detroit Rust City,'' which sold 1,000 copies the first week, and featured Kid Rock and Big Chief. Shortly afterward the label released Morsel's sophomore EP. In 1997 the label released an album by Perplexa, a band which included a member from WIG, who later went on to become West Indian Girl. Five Horse Johnson also signed to the label that year. The label initially featured a number of different rock genres but soon began focusing on the

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

and stoner rock genres, and what Hamilton dubs "heavy rock." Besides albums by groups such as Acid King, Dozer, Greenleaf, and Los Natas, the label has released a number of stoner rock compilations. The first, '' Right in the Nuts: A Tribute to Aerosmith'', featured covers of

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

, and was released in 2000. In January 2002, the label released '' Sucking the 70s'', a two disc collection of 1970s songs covered by stoner rock bands. In 2006, the label released the compilation '' Sucking the 70's - Back in the Saddle Again'', which featured covers of various 1970s songs. According to Hamilton, early on the Small Stone bands relied on networking with other bands on the label to organize tours and musical projects. In 2006, Small Stone began issuing the lost recordings of the band Slot, whose founder and guitarist had recently died. Remaining members of the ban
Sue Lott
(bass) and Eddie Alterman (drums) were then joined by Phil Durr of Five Horse Johnson and Scott Hamilton on guitar to play at SXSW in the spring of 2007. The new reformation soon garnered Five Horse Johnson drummer Eric Miller, and formed the ban
Luder
Their first album, ''Sonoluminescence'', was released on Small Stone in November 2009. Reviews dubbed the style "

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

gaze In critical theory, philosophy, sociology, and psychoanalysis, the gaze (French: ''le regard''), in the figurative sense, is an individual's (or a group's) awareness and perception of other individuals, other groups, or oneself. Since the 20th ...

." The label continues to put out approximately 10 to 12 new releases a year. Small Stone's newer bands, such as Lo-Pan, Backwoods Payback, and Freedom Hawk continue to maintain busy touring schedules. Small Stone records is sometimes referred to as the "new home" for Man's Ruin bands. Acts like Acid King, Los Natas, Dozer, Sons Of Otis, Tummler, and Men Of Porn were picked up by Small Stone after the demise of the Man's Ruin record label (Some of those earlier Man's Ruin records have since been reissued by Small Stone, most notably the albums by Dozer, Acid King, and Sons Of Otis). Beginning in February 2014, Small Stone Records entered into a distribution agreement with Alternative Distribution Alliance.

Artists who have signed to Small Stone Records

* Abrahma * Acid King * All Time High * Antler * Asteroid * A Thousand Knives of Fire * Axehandle * Backwoods Payback * Blackwolfgoat * Black Sleep of Kali * Bottom * Brain Police * The Brought Low * Deville * Dixie Witch * Dozer * Dwellers * Erik Larson * Five Horse Johnson * Fireball Ministry * Freedom Hawk * Gozu * Greatdayforup * Giant Brain * Gideon Smith & the Dixie Damned * The Glasspack * Greenleaf * Hackman * Halfway to Gone * Honky * House of Broken Promises * Infernal Overdrive * Iota * Ironweed * Isaak * It's Not Night: It's Space * Jeremy Irons & the Ratgang Malibus * LaChinga * Larman Clamor * Lo-Pan * Lord Fowl * Lord Sterling * Los Natas * Luder * Mangoo * Medusa Cyclone * Mellow Bravo * Mother of God * Milligram * Miss Lava * Mog Stunt Team * Morsel * Mos Generator * Neon Warship * Nightstalker * Novadriver * Obiat * The Men of Porn * Puny Human * Red Giant * Roadsaw * Roundhead * Sasquatch * Shame Club * Slot * Skånska Mord * SNAIL * Solace * Soul Clique * Sun Gods In Exile * Supermachine * Suplecs * The Might Could * The Socks * Throttlerod * Tia Carrera * Tummler * VALIS * Whitey Morgan and the 78's * Wo Fat * ZUN * 36D

References

External links

*
Small Stone Records
on

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Small Stone Records
on Last.fm {{Authority control American record labels Alternative rock record labels Record labels established in 1995

History

Artists who have signed to Small Stone Records

See also

References

External links