Interview: The Record Company Bring Their West Coast Blues to The Sinclair
Coming out of Los Angeles, The Record Company have been one of a few bands bringing the classic sound of electric blues into the 2020s. Vocalist and guitarist Chris Vos sings with a soulful range while playing groovy riffs as bassist Alex Stiff and drummer Marc Cazorla form tightly knit rhythms. This approach creates a sound that exudes an energy that’s bound to take over the listener’s inhibitions, and it’s evident in their latest release The 4th Album that came out back on September 15 via Round Hill Records. This sound also makes for a spectacular live performance, and that’s exactly what’s going to be happening at The Sinclair on 52 Church Street in Cambridge on January 31. The Record Company will also be joined by local rock & roll troubadour Jesse Ahern who will be kicking the night off at 8pm.
Vos and I had a talk ahead of the show about the band’s latest album, growing up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, how he first got into blues music and touring until the wheels fall off.
The 4th Album is viewed as a rite of renewal for The Record Company after being dropped from your previous label Concord Music Group in December of 2022. Did you guys feel a bit of a chip on your shoulder during the recording sessions because of the situation? What was the experience like making this record?
Chip on our shoulder? Why would we ever have a chip on our shoulder after getting dropped right before Christmas? (laughs) Of course there was a little bit of a chip, but I don’t think you can use that as your sole motivation. That’s a very hollow and empty thing, but I always felt since I grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, doing what we’re doing now was a pretty distant dream as a kid. We had three successful records, COVID happened, we came out of it, management changed at the label, the new dude wasn’t feeling it and it was fine.
I respect that he had to make a decision even though I didn’t agree with it. We went back into the studio to make this record, we climbed back up the charts to number four and we’ve been packing venues so all’s well that ends well as far as I’m concerned. As far as the record itself, it was us going back to our roots. We made our first record in a living room with Alex [Stiff] producing it and we went and did that on this record, it’s our fourth record, you feel all the miles that we put in between then and now and it was awesome. If you’re a carpenter, you’re out on a job building a house and you get to go back to your little space that you built.
You work on a project and it’s got your fingerprints all over it so for better or for worse you can look at something and say “This is me right now in this artistic work.” That’s what it is, music is just sticks, strings, melodies and rock & roll. It’s simple, direct and with pretty friendly guys. We like meeting people and we like playing for people so it’s a gift to be out here and it’s nice to have four albums under our belt at this point while aiming for a fifth.
It’s great that you view your career in that light. When it comes to the approach to songwriting, what makes The 4th Album stand out from The Record Company’s previous releases?
It’s weird because there’s two different perspectives that are both equally valuable, there’s mine and there’s the listener’s. A band is only going to be hyped on what they’re doing right now, they think it’s great and they might even think that it’s the best thing they’ve ever done. I have a billion friends who have played music and every one of them when they put out a record they think it’s the best thing they’ve ever done. Then six months later, they know whether or not they feel that way because they get to take some distance from it. They get some age in it and they get to say whether they still feel that way or not.
This record doesn’t stand out from the others, it stands with them. It stands as a testament to where we are right now, which is freakin’ awesome because we went back, we went underdog, we did it ourselves and we did it for pennies on the dollar. I think we spent $5,000 or $6,000 making this record, which believe me when I say, for records to get on the radio it usually is between $9,000-$10,000 for a rock & roll band and I’m proud of that. I’m proud of where I come from, I’m proud that I was born on a farm in Wisconsin that’s still going and I’m proud that I moved to the West Coast and found my way in L.A. I followed a woman out there who I’m married to now and I made the best of it.
I also love the East Coast, Marc and Alex are each from Philadelphia and Upstate New York so I get that vibe as well. It’s all good.
While growing up on your father’s dairy farm in Wisconsin, was that when you started listening to a lot of blues music? I know it’s big part of The Record Company’s sound.
Muddy Waters and all of the Chicago stuff, I’m obsessed with it. I think the first time I heard anything that I would consider to be guitar-based blues was through this buddy I had. I was going to a Catholic grade school with four kids in my class, some kid came in from the class below me and his dad had Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Texas Flood record. I don’t remember how young I was when that happened, but when I heard it for the first time it made the hairs on my arm stand up. I didn’t really get into the old school blues until I was in seventh or eighth grade and I heard this name Muddy Waters, I don’t even remember how, and I said to my mom “Hey, if you’re ever in town, could you see if there are any CDs by a guy named Muddy Waters?”.
She came back with his album Hard Again that had this dobro slide guitar on it. At that point, I was listening to Metallica and stuff that you listen to when you’re starting to feel it as a kid, stuff like Led Zeppelin. All of a sudden, I heard this guy and I lost my mind. I was like “What in the hell is this?” and then when I found out that the dude was not only dead, but that recording I had heard he was around the age of 70 when he made it. I thought it was crazy that somebody could be that good when they’re my grandpa’s age at the time and the authenticity of it just caught me.
I feel the same way about Johnny Cash, early punk rock, early heavy metal and early hip hop. Anything that’s from those early stages has this cutting directness to it that really appeals to my soul and that’s why our music has warts all over it. We keep it raw, it’s not meant to be raw, it’s just who we are. I love The Kinks, I could listen to that riff from “You Really Got Me” for the rest of my life every hour on the hour.
It’s awesome that you have such an enthusiasm. You have this show coming up at The Sinclair in the Boston metro area, so what are your thoughts on the upcoming performance? I know you’ve played around Massachusetts over the past few years, so what do you think of playing music in this part of the country?
I love it, man. I love it. Here’s a nice story for the local Boston people and it’s going to sound however it’s going to sound. If it comes off as me spinning a yarn, then my apologies but I’m sure the people there will enjoy it. One time, we opened for John Mayer at TD Garden where the Celtics play and we were in the visiting team’s locker room. I thought it was so frickin’ rad, right when we walked out the door there’s this huge picture of Larry Bird sinking a shot.
They make no question about where you are and I love that kind of stuff. Boston is tight, I always gotta go down to Neptune Oyster and it’s a great place. It’s interesting in Cambridge because you’ll see a 21-year-old standing next to a 71-year-old and that’s totally fine by me.
After the show at The Sinclair, what are The Record Company’s plans for the first half of 2024?
We’re going to tour until the wheels fall off the truck, until the plane runs out of gas or the van, the bus or wherever they put us. I’ve been sitting and pacing around like a tiger in a cage for four years while getting ready to go back on stage. I love to play, I love to perform and I love being on the road. This is where I want to be and this is what I’ve always dreamed of doing so we’re going to keep playing. I’m stoked that there are people who are fired up to come see us.
I don’t even know what day it is anymore, I’m lucky if I know when I’m in San Antonio (laughs), but it’s what I’m doing with my life and I’m fine with it. I can’t wait to get back up North and play some shows.
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