Gubbey Records

Gubbey Records
Gubbey Records
	;
Record label information
Founded	1994
Genre(s)	Indie Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Experimental, Punk Rock, Pop, Etc.
Country of Origin	United States
Based in	Louisville, Kentucky
Website	Official Page

Gubbey Records is an independent record label based out of Louisville, Kentucky. Founded in 1994 by Dave Rucinski. The label's main focus is on documenting and preserving obscure, isolated and eclectic Louisville music. The label is also known for not shoehorning to one or two genres but rather being open to just about any style of music in the Louisville scene. The label also served as an outlet for Rucinski's own bands such as Prozax (A gutter punk band), Furlong (an indie/college rock band), Funkus (A tribute to 70s P-Funk), Mr. Samples (A sample-driven electronic project), The Hawk (A parody of 80s glam metal)^[1] and later Baby Bones (A dark indie/stoner rock band).

While the label has an emphasis on bands from Louisville, the label has also released works by various Chicago bands with ties to the Louisville scene such as The Amoeba, Stories For Boys, The Tallest and Mutts. The label had been active in some capacity for nearly thirty years, with dozens of releases.

History[]

Early Years (1994 - 2008)[]

Gubbey Records would be founded in 1994 by Dave Rucinski mainly as a platform for his friends' bands and to showcase bands who weren't getting any attention or notoriety at the time.^[2] Prior to the label forming, Rucinski was playing in a punk rock band at the time known as Prozax with drummer Dane Thorne and bassist Andy Matter. The band had initially released two songs on a compilation known as All The President's Women.^[3] Beyond scarce bits of info little is known of the early days of Gubbey Records, especially the first seven releases. Releases in the early days of Gubbey included Prozax, The Invalids, Sugar Field, Moe & The Christ Punchers and The Conoisseurs among Chicago bands The Amoeba and Stories For Boys.^[4]

Gubbey's earliest known release however would be The Indestructible Gubbey Records Sampler Vol. 1, released on 21 December 2001.^[5] Notably this would feature two tracks by Furlong, which along with Prozax were the flagship bands for the label. Furlong was founded in 1999 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee while Rucinski was in college but would eventually move back to Louisville.^[6] The band recorded more material and was part of a nine-song compilation sequel known as The Indestructible Gubbey Records Sampler Vol. 2: When Gubbey Attacks!, released 1 May 2004.^[7] The label began to garner local press and some growth as Furlong and various bands associated with the label began to play out more.^[8] Furlong had recorded enough material for an album and had intended to release it, initially as an EP known as "Truck Stop Whore" and later "The Strawberry Bitch" before shifting into a proposed album entitled "Pony Up" that was never finished before Furlong disbanded in 2015.

Early 2010s (2010 - 2015)[]

In 2010 the label would have somewhat of a resurgence and in essence, it's prime years. This would begin with a new concept called the Gubbey Split Series. The first volume would feature Furlong alongside bar guitarist Anderson and see release on 25 September 2010, a release party the same day featuring both performers alongside The Sick City Four.^[9] Alongside CDs of various local bands this series would continue with Volume 2 (Furlong & Sick City Four) released on 13 October 2012^[10] and Volume 3 (IAmIs & Tamara Dearing) released on 21 September 2013.^[11]^[12]

The label began to grow and had more behind-the-scenes contributor including longtime friend Andy Matter, graphic designer Cory Fusting (2010 - 2015)^[13] and graphic designer Amy Munson (2014 - 2019).^[14] A new series would be curated in Head Cleaner, starting in 2013. Head Cleaner would be a multi-cassette compilation featuring numerous Louisville bands, with the first collection (Vol. 1 & 2) releasing in late 2013 featuring 46 bands and rare tracks from the likes of Humongous, Black Kaspar, The Glasspack, Bush League, Mimi Von Schnitzl and more.^[15]

The label began signing more acts and followed up with two more editions of Head Cleaner. Vol. 3, 4, 5 & 6 would feature 102 bands over three cassettes and a digital volume in 2014^[16] while Vol. 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11 would feature 188 bands over three cassettes and two digital volumes and see release in late 2015.^[17] The third Head Cleaner got news coverage^[18] but Rucinski noted the difficulties of such a massive project,^[19] while contributor Cory Fusting later expressed regret for participating in the later editions of Head Cleaner.^[20]^[21] Despite trials and tribulations the label signed more acts and made it's own mark on the Louisville scene. While early on the label focused on CDs, since 2010 the label had put out various 7" records and shifted focus to cassettes which proved to be a popular format in the latter half of the decade.^[22]

Recent Activities (2016 - Present)[]

In 2016 Rucinski would form a new band known as Baby Bones with members of Blind Tigers and release The Curse of The Crystal Teeth in 2018.^[23] The label had also hit it's "GUB-50" milestone with a new split 7" featuring Louisville progressive math-rock band Satellite Twin and the Chicago alternative rock band Mutts.^[24] The label also helped to curate the second edition of a compilation entitled River City Rumble in collaboration with Rockerbuilt.^[25]. Gubbey would keep a steady pace with releases until 2020 when CO-VID hit, marking the first year without a Gubbey release since 2009. In 2021 Baby Bones would release a cassingle and Satellite Twin would release a new EP in line with their tenth anniversary.^[26]

Selected Roster, Past and Present[]

Baby Bones
Black Birds of Paradise
Black Kaspar
Satellite Twin
New Bravado
Prozax
Furlong
Funkus
Mr. Samples
Opposable Thumbs
Andy Matter
Anderson
Sick City Four
Rare Treats
IAmIs
Tamara Dearing
Twin Sister Radio
Twenty First Century Fox
The Cut Family Foundation
Dream Eye Color Wheel
Blind Tigers
eremy•JIrvin
Cat Casual
Belushi Speed Ball
The Amoeba
Stories For Boys
The Tallest
Mutts

Head Cleaner Showcases[]

29 November 2013 - Modern Cult (Clifton) feat. Andy Matter, Adventure, New Bravado
29 November 2013 - The New Vintage feat. Whistlin' Rufus, Sandpaper Dolls, Cut Family Foundation, Bus Hus
30 November 2013 - The New Vintage feat. The Bottom Sop, Asm A Tik, D'arkestra, The Decline Effect
5 December 2014 - Modern Cult (Clifton) feat. Bad Star, 1200, Black Birds of Paradise
6 December 2014 - Dreamland feat. Opposable Thumbs, IAmIs, Rude Weirdo
11 December 2015 - Modern Cult (Bardstown) feat. Maiden Radio, Cut Family Foundation, Bus Hus
12 December 2015 - Modern Cult (Bardstown) feat. The Winger Brothers, Satellite Twin, Insect Policy

External Links[]

Official Links[]

Archival Links[]

References[]

[1] Gubbey Records via Wayback Machine

[2] Gubbey Records via Wayback Machine

[3] Discogs

[4] Gubbey Records via Wayback Machine

[5] Discogs

[6] Soundclick

[7] Discogs

[8] Gubbey Records via Wayback Machine

[9] Setlist.fm

[10] Setlist.fm

[11] Setlist.fm

[12] Doodlehound

[13] Doodlehound

[14] Linkedin

[15] Discogs

[16] Discogs

[17] Discogs

[18] WAVE 3

[19] LEO Weekly

[20] Doodlehound

[21] Doodlehound

[22] Rocko Jerome

[23] The Obelisk

[24] Discogs

[25] River City Rumble Bandcamp

[26] Gubbey Records Official

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