WGNS Recordings releases music recorded by WGNS Studios.

History

WGNS was initially started by

Gray Matter Grey matter, or gray matter in American English, is a major component of the central nervous system, consisting of neuronal cell bodies, neuropil (dendrites and unmyelinated axons), glial cells (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes), synapses, and ...

's Geoff Turner in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

in the early 1980s as a cassette label. WGNS stood for "We Gots No Station." Initial recordings were mastered to a cassette and then dubbed from the master to cassettes which were numbered and sold. The releases typically included a

ziploc Ziploc is an American brand of reusable, re-sealable sliding channel storage bags and containers originally developed and test marketed by Dow Chemical Company in 1968 and now produced by S. C. Johnson & Son. The plastic bags and containers c ...

bag containing artwork and lyric sheets. As time went on, Turner built WGNS Studios as a basement recording studio for local musicians. The studio moved many times, with locations in Maryland,

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. In 1984 the first

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

release, the Bloody Mannequin Orchestra's ''Roadmap to Revolution'' LP, a 12" 33⅓ rpm record was released. WGNS was responsible for the rise of great artists such as Ennui and

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...

. In the summer of 1991, Scream drummer Grohl went into WGNS Studios and recorded four songs, playing all the instruments himself. A tape of the songs, given by Grohl to

Simple Machines Simple Machines was an American independent record label in Arlington, Virginia. The label was founded by Derek Denckla and Jenny Toomey and Brad Sigal while both were living in the Positive Force House in north Arlington, but Sigal and even ...

co-founder

Jenny Toomey Jennifer Gillen Toomey (born 1968) is an American indie rock musician and arts activist. Career Toomey was a member of the bands Geek, Tsunami (Virginia band), Tsunami, Liquorice, Grenadine (band), Grenadine, So Low and Choke, among others, a ...

, became a candidate for the label's ''Tool Cassette Series''. Simple Machines released the songs on the

Pocketwatch (album) ''Pocketwatch'' is a cassette album by Dave Grohl, under the pseudonym Late!, released in 1992, on the now-defunct indie label Simple Machines as part of their Tool Cassette Series. Background In the summer of 1991, Dave Grohl went into WGN ...

using Grohl's pseudonym Late! in summer 1992. In May 1992, Ennui recorded at the WGNS studio located in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

. Grohl recorded again at WGNS Studios in December 1996, when it was back in Washington, DC.

References

Releases

*''Simply Suberbe'' *''Gots No Station Compilation'' *''Streetlights in the Dark'' *''The Candy's Not Poisoned'' *''Roadmap to Revolution'' *''WGNS/Metrozine Compilation'' *''The Halloween Cassette''

History

References

Releases

See also