Sympathy for the Record Industry (also known as Sympathy Records or Sympathy 4 the R.I.) is a mainly

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

and

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

label formed in 1988 by

Long Gone John John Edward Mermis (born November 13, 1951), best known by the pseudonym Long Gone John, is an American entrepreneur who is best known for his record label, Sympathy for the Record Industry, and his vinyl toy company, Necessaries Toy Foundation ...

. The first Sympathy release was the Lazy Cowgirls' ''Radio Cowgirl'' LP, which Long Gone John said he released as a "favor to the band." Sympathy has a catalog of more than 750 releases and is based in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...

. The label's name is a play on the song "

Sympathy for the Devil "Sympathy for the Devil" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones and the opening track from the band's 1968 album ''Beggars Banquet''. The song is a product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership. It is consi ...

" by

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

. Notable artists who started on Sympathy and went on to gain mainstream success include

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums with ...

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

, and The Electrocutes (the first Donnas incarnation). Long Gone John is the owner and CEO. He is an avid record collector with more than 10,100 records in his collection. He also owns Necessaries Toy Foundation, a company that creates 18-24 inch figures. Long Gone John also operates Sympathetic Press, a book publishing company that prints books with rock and roll themes. The roster has included

Jack Off Jill Jack Off Jill was an American gothic rock band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, founded in 1992 by vocalist Jessicka, drummer Tenni Ah-Cha-Cha, bassist/keyboardist Agent Moulder, and guitarist Michelle Inhell. Though these four women were the init ...

Scarling Scarling. was an American noise pop band formed in Los Angeles in 2001. The band consisted of lead vocalist Jessicka Addams and guitarist Christian Hejnal. Name The band's name comes from a fictional word created by singer/fine artist Jessicka ...

Miss Derringer Miss Derringer is an American, Los Angeles based pop/underground rock band, fronted by singer Elizabeth McGrath and her husband/songwriter Morgan Slade. Rounding out the band's current lineup are Sylvain de Muizon (bass), Cody James (drums) and B ...

The Muffs The Muffs were an American pop punk band based in Southern California, formed in 1991. Led by singer and guitarist Kim Shattuck, the band released four full-length studio albums in the 1990s, as well as numerous singles including "Lucky Guy" and ...

Mumps MUMPS ("Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System"), or M, is an imperative, high-level programming language with an integrated transaction processing key–value database. It was originally developed at Massachusetts Gener ...

The (International) Noise Conspiracy The (International) Noise Conspiracy (abbreviated T(I)NC) were a Swedish rock band formed in Sweden in the late months of 1998. The line-up consists of Dennis Lyxzén (vocals), Inge Johansson (bass), Lars Strömberg (guitar), and Ludwig Dahlbe ...

The Von Bondies The Von Bondies are an American alternative rock band formed in 1997. The original line-up formed at the 1997 Cramps/ Guitar Wolf show by Jason Stollsteimer and Marcie Bolen. They went through a variety of member changes and band names, incl ...

, Rocket from the Crypt, Billy Childish,

Turbonegro Turbonegro (Turboneger in Norway) is a Norwegian rock band, active from 1989 to 1998 and from 2002 to the present. The band combines glam rock, punk rock, and hard rock into a self-described "deathpunk" musical style. History Early years (1 ...

April March April March (born Elinor Blake; April 20, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter who sings in English and French. She is known for the song "Chick Habit#English language version, Chick Habit", which was featured in the films ''But I'm a Cheerle ...

, The Splatterheads,

The Dwarves The Dwarves are an American punk rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois and based in San Francisco, California as of 2009.Gentile, John (2009)Interview: Blag Dahlia of the Dwarves, ''The A.V. Club'', April 13, 2009, retrieved February 7, 2010 ...

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

The Gun Club The Gun Club were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which existed from 1979 to 1996. It was formed and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce. History Early days (1979–1980) The Gun Club w ...

Inger Lorre Inger Lorre (born Lori Ann Wening) is an American singer who is best known for her band Nymphs. Music career Nymphs Nymphs spent the mid-to-late '80s honing their craft in New Jersey, but they soon decided to try to make it big in California. T ...

and Motel Shootout,

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 Red Planet Rocketts, Kim Salmon, Bored!, The Waldos, The Mystreated, and

Redd Kross Redd Kross is an American rock band from Hawthorne, California, who had their roots in 1978 in a punk rock band called the Tourists, which was started by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald while Steve was still in middle school. With the additio ...

. On July 20, 2007, Long Gone John announced via his Myspace Blog that he was selling the label for "$625,000.00 or $700,000.00 if I don't like you." In September 2011, John decided to start releasing records once again. He signed a distribution deal with Independent Label Distribution, then immediately put out a full-length LP as well as three 7-inches by The Ettes. The company now distributes new records as well as many older ones from John's catalog. As of August 2019, the label is dormant or has been shut down.

Discography

References

External links

* Tupica, Ric
Long Gone John Interview
* Grunnen Rock

Johnny Pontiac
{{Authority control American independent record labels Record labels established in 1988 Garage rock record labels Punk record labels Indie rock record labels Noise music record labels Alternative rock record labels

Discography

See also

References

External links