Papa Mali - Do Your Thing  
 
Etienne de Rocher  
 
Etienne de Rocher  
 
California Way  
 
Lochloosa  
 
Blackwater  
 
Moneyshot  
 
Thunder Chicken  
 
Mysteryfunk  
 
All Kooked Out!

Fog City Records is celebrating our 18th anniversary as a San Francisco based independent record label.

Our recordings are diverse, but share a common thread: thick tones, good times and deep roots in regional American culture -- New Orleans, southern California, Austin Texas, North Florida, Oakland...

Our artists are great performers -- that's how we can cut our records live in the studio, and that's why you should witness them on tour.

Our goal is to provide great musicians with a forum for music of substance, and to encourage you to explore the possibilities outside our increasingly monochromatic pop culture.

Our method is to capture the spirit that can only come from real human beings playing actual three-dimensional instruments in a live atmosphere. An obvious thing to some people, but it does bear repeating in this age of over-reliance on samplers and sequencers. And, we do like making recording studio owners say, "no one records like this any more!"

Producer/engineer Dan Prothero oversees every aspect of the label, from A&R to recording, concept to finished product. If you see or hear anything you don't like, it's probably his fault.

We are very proud to say that our first artist, Galactic, has become an internationally touring act with major label releases. And this was no fluke... we followed up with debut records from Stanton Moore, Garage A Trois, Papa Mali and Robert Walter's 20th Congress. More recently, MOFRO was featured on MTV, National Public Radio and (ahem) the Discovery Channel after we released their first record, and a score of their compositions was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in Music -- the sort of acclaim usually reserved for major label acts. However, we remain independent in the best sense of the word. Word!


FOG CITY T-SHIRTS LINKED TO SCANDAL

tshirt Well, maybe not a scandal exactly... ok, so there's no scandal. That was just what we in the bizness refer to as a CPG (Cheap Publicity Gag). But seriously, the baby doll tees we're now making do usually get noticed because they're so cute and because men and women alike appreciate a nice baby doll tee. Of course, guys don't usually wear a baby doll tee. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But they sure do appreciate how they fit. On women. While they rock their own men's cut t-shirt. Is that clear enough? And did I mention they all glow in the dark? Bananas! Anyway if you're still reading this you should really just click here and order one (for yourself or for your girl).

MOFRO TOURS WITH HOMETOWN FRIENDS THE DEREK TRUCKS BAND

MOFRO returned to the North East this November with hometown music mates the Derek Trucks Band. The two Jacksonville, FL bands played historic and beautiful listening rooms like Town Hall in New York City and the Keswick Theater in Philadelphia. These shows were filled with Southern soul, funk, and rock in some of the most epic venues in the country. Click here for more details and future tour dates.

CRITICAL RAVES FOR NEW TIM BLUHM CD

cd cover Tim Bluhm, known around the West Coast as front man for the legendary Mother Hips, has recorded his debut solo acoustic record for Fog City. To those of you who thought we were just about the funk, this may be a surprise... but we see this unusually "unplugged" release as a continuation of our interest in finding and exposing great artists with strong regional flavor... in this case, a California soul that we think you'll find as charming as we do.

TapeOp Magazine put it this way: "the spare acoustic recording is witness to the fact that Tim Bluhm is one of the best (and most underrated) songwriters of his generation."

Learn more about Tim and this record and buy it.

DON'T ACCEPT THOSE PREMATURE AUTOPSIES

We are tremendously saddened by the devastation of one of America's greatest treasures in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Our hearts go out to the victims of the storms.

All our musical friends who call New Orleans home, including Galactic, Stanton Moore, and members of Garage A Trois, Stanton Moore, MOFRO, and Robert Walter's 20th Congress, are all safe.

If you would like to help those who are not so lucky, we encourage you to to contribute to organizations like the American Red Cross (800-HELP-NOW), Operation Blessing (800-436-6348), America's Second Harvest (800-344-8070), or to volunteer in the relief effort by contacting your local branch of the American Red Cross (who are organizing accelerated training programs for relief workers).

Our musical work has always stood on the shoulders of giants, and in particular the unequaled musical heritage and rich culture of New Orleans. It's our hope that this beautiful community will rise again and carry forward its traditions. You may find these words inspiring in that regard.

JAZZFEST 2005

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2005... another year absolutely packed with Fog City artists, past and present... more concerts during a single JazzFest than any other label, maybe ever... and we were blissfully ignorant of the flooding that would take place a few months later. Now, in the aftermath of the hurricanes, we look forward to JazzFest 2006 and encourage you to support New Orleans by planning to be there in this next, critical year of recovery. Please bring your enthusiasm, high spirits, and some tourist dollars, and participate in what could be remembered as a major turning point for the city.

HARVEST FEST

At the Florida Music Harvest Festival, festival organizers were so excited about Fog City artists MOFRO and PAPA MALI's sets that they set up an impromptu "songwriters summit" with PAPA MALI, JJ, guitar legend David Bromberg, and lap steel wizard Curtis Burch. The guys traded songs and stories, singing or supporting each other in a moving set.

FOG CITY RECORDS CARAVAN TOUR

MOFRO's grand finale to their Blackwater support tour was FOG CITY RECORDS CARAVAN WEEK. MOFRO - and - PAPA MALI, sharing the stage for the first time! Especially significant to us, since Papa Mali's Thunder Chicken record was a big reason MOFRO wanted to work with us in the first place.

FOG CITY ALL STAR SHOW - NEW YEARS WEEKEND, SAN FRANCISCO!

FOG CITY RECORDS' first major showcase, BIG NIGHT OUT #1... an all-star soul summit featured, on stage at the same time, together for the first time: Stanton Moore, Robert Walter, Skerik, Charlie Hunter and Chris Stillwell. Plus, a special opening set with Fog City recording artists MOFRO. The show was recorded for possible release on Fog City. An Honest Tune called it "on fire from the first note"

REQUIRED LISTENING: STANTON MOORE'S FIRST SOLO ALBUM

All Kooked Out! cover If you've seen a Galactic show, you've definitely heard Stanton Moore - the kind of funk drummer that only New Orleans can produce. For All Kooked Out!, his first solo project, he hooked up with some superbad out-of-towners (guitarist Charlie Hunter and Seattle-based saxophonics wizard Skerik) as well as a few friends from the local scene (including Galactic tenor saxophonist Ben Ellman and ex-Sun Ra trumpeter Michael Ray). The result is, as you might expect, super funky - taking New Orleans funk into the future and way, way out! Now a classic release, still one of our most popular items, and a launchpad for an incredible artist's career. And, worth noting, a document of the very first meeting of Skerik and Charlie Hunter!

If you'd like to be kept informed on this and other new releases, join the Fog City mailing list.

OUR FIRST BABY IS ALL GROWED UP NOW

Coolin' Off cover Fog City Records was proud to feature New Orleans funk band Galactic on its first release. Using what was (back in 1996) cutting edge mastering technology, we packed about an hour of the New Orleans funk grooves (for your regular CD player) AND a full-blown multimedia experience (for your computer's CD-ROM drive) onto a single disc. This made us one of the very first record labels to release an Enhanced CD... and more important, we've seen Galactic develop to one of the most successful New Orleans bands of all time. Capricorn (now BMG/Volcano Records) has reissued Coolin Off and released Galactic's second album Crazyhorse Mongoose (which Fog City's Dan Prothero also produced). Not too shabby for our first release!



Some kindly quotes from our supporters. Thanks for chiming in!

"Fog City puts out sole music that refuses to follow in anyone else's footprints." (SF Weekly)

"Fog City's consistency in putting out the highest quality recordings - and I use that term in an all encompassing way to include talent, sound, the enhanced CD extras, etc. etc. etc. - is amazing and probably unmatchable." (fan mail from Garrett)

"Fog City is an eminently cool record label with its penchant for expanded-media CDs and utterly cool taste in artists." (Lafayette Daily Advertiser)

"you really have a great knack for finding and shepherding unique creators of quality handcrafted uncompromising music... for this I salute you! In the age of sound alike bands with little talent FC provides a ray of hope for the future of music... great job..." (fan mail from Zachary)

"yet another reason San Francisco's Bay Area will stay on the musical map forever." (pauserecord.com)

"I absolutely love each Fog City release, and look forward to continued success on your part. This is grass roots style, and your imprint is stamped heavily on each disc (superb graphics). IMO, that's a great thing, and something we in the scene should appreciate." (fan mail from Patrick in D.C.)

"I've really learned to trust Fog City and the music they put out - you can pretty much depend on their artists' putting on a great show." (fan mail from Kyle in Chicago)