Drag City is a Chicago based independent label that began in 1989 with their first releases by such indie rock luminaries as Pavement and Royal Trux. DC is a broad-reaching, dynamic label that works eight days a week to promote and look after their roster. Truly, Rian Murphy and the rest of the DC crew lavish their artists with a work ethic and a sincere conviction for letting the bands have as much control over their careers as possible that is quite rare even in the independent record industry, which prides itself on exactly these attributes. Though, who wouldn’t with such a stellar field of artists like Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Dave Pajo, Silver Jews, Smog, Six Organs of Admittance, Ghost, Royal Trux, Gastr Del Sol. With the sheer volume of outstanding players under one roof it’s easy to imagine why Drag City is one of the best labels going today.
Another aspect worth mentioning is the Drag City sister expedition “The Minus Times”. A solid, unslightly absurdist, bi-yearly literary magazine that all the hipster’s checkout. With regular contributions from poet/performer David Berman, Will Oldham, Chan Marshall and a host of others boundary testing scribes it’s a magazine worth looking into.
Some Bands of Drag City: Edith Frost, Weird War, Michael Hagerty, Chestnut Station, fawn fables, loose fur, Joanna Newsome, Sterolab, U.S. maple, Jim O’rouke