DIY / Outsider

Recordings made by non-professionals, usually on their own dime. Also know as “real people music” this stuff can range from charming & naive, to downright twisted.

  • Edna Mae Henning Edna Mae Henning

    Welcome to the magical world of Edna Mae Henning. A very special country singer from rural Pennsylvania. She is in many ways what I had always dreamed of in an older woman singing good ol’ fashioned country music. She has a way of capturing the soul of what is truly wonderful about […]

  • Busting Barriers with Music Busting Barriers with Music

    This compilation came together in Canton, Michigan in 1986. The idea was to “heighten awareness of the ‘abilities’ of seniors and handicappers” (yes “abilities” was written in quotes) by pairing up senior citizens and disabled people with (washed up at this point) Michigan musicians. Highlights include a guitar-heavy version of “The Little Drummer […]

  • Deborah E. Lillygren - Someday Deborah E. Lillygren - Someday

    Where do I start? OK, I paid $1.99 for this. I don’t know if it was the gold flourishes, the old-timey lettering…maybe it was the Corporate Seal of Approval from T.D.A. Incorporated Missouri… What is important is that I bought it, and now I am sharing it with you. The inside of the gate-fold, which […]

  • Kevin and April Ryan – Living in the Light – Acorn 1983 Kevin and April Ryan – Living in the Light – Acorn 1983

    Husband and wife duo’s always intrigue me when I come across them in the stacks of records I come across. This particular Lp caught my eye a year or so ago, first based on the strength of the cover and secondly when I realized that it was a husband/wife group that had a penchant for […]

  • Anenzephalia - Lyse Anenzephalia - Lyse

    First I’ll start off with a disclaimer: I borrowed this record from my girlfriend who used to be a big industrial fan. I am really not that knowledgable on industrial stuff at all, hell I don’t really like it even, but this one seemed too weird not to be shared. Thanks to […]

  • Clem Hutchins - White Cloud Clem Hutchins - White Cloud

    Fantastic outsider country dig from Louisiana or Texas. I can’t remember. Clem sounds like a combination between Old Man Death and an ancient Indian Shaman. He has Moondog-like percussion rumbling under a strumming guitar as he belts out a weird ode to the afterlife all in mystical metaphors. Unearthly wild stuff. […]

  • Kids of Widney High Kids of Widney High

    Apparently this was a private cassette only release before Rounder re-issued this late 80’s effort made by L.A. area disabled high schoolers. All original material by the kids which is cool, but unfortunately it sounds like they got some shredding at the local guitar center dude to back them musically. I suppose some would find […]

  • Rojays: Tommy Ran Rojays: Tommy Ran

    The rediscovery of the Rojays began modestly 4 years ago when I stumbled upon a well loved copy that was anxiously waiting to be spun at the bottom of an endless sea of Coniff and Como. From the first needle drop of this Lp, I knew that what I was hearing was going to […]

  • Don Bellezzo -- Concert Hall Univ. of New Mexico 1972 Don Bellezzo — Concert Hall Univ. of New Mexico 1972

    So I suppose I purchased this sometime in some place but have no recollection of having done so. I found this in the files last year. Easy to miss as it’s merely a blank sleeve.
    This is a quietly strange record that was pressed up after Don Bellezzo’s concert at University of mexico in […]

  • Mill Run Band -- Pilot Meets Stars Mill Run Band — Pilot Meets Stars

    This album reminds me of the time in college when the whole crew and I gathered some 40s, some blunts and headed to Lizard’s Rock to watch the meteor shower. I believe a few of us even brought little hand drums. I was a bit too neurotic to not approach this whole […]

  • Rudy Rosa: Computer Synthesized Organized Rudy Rosa: Computer Synthesized Organized

    Awesome basement wild-west-meets-Napoleon wannabe gets JJ Perrey style funky on a great version of “Baby Elephant Waltz”. But mostly this is all about the cover photo. File under: I will never be as cool as this guy ever and it makes me kinda sad. Thanks, Sean!

  • Richard Powell - Memories Of GlenIvy Richard Powell - Memories Of GlenIvy

    Here’s a great unrestrained real-people hotel-lounge/AOR banger that has probably remained unknown on account of its misleading cover (or I just have terrible taste, which I’m not going to rule out). Richard Powell pens side one himself and leaves side two for covers (Stevie Wonder, Feelings, Get Down Tonight, etc). Side One is the obvious […]

  • Skip Bessonette: Live @ Ship Ashore Skip Bessonette: Live @ Ship Ashore

    Burly dude rocks a seafood restaurant with an almost unsettling zeal. To think that people sat and ate lobster while this man ripped through “Barefootin’” (is that a kazoo I hear?), and a totally harrowing 11+ minute Neil Diamond medly is not something I can sleep at night believing. I haven’t even played the 2nd […]

  • Willy Wall Trio: the Traveling Sounds Willy Wall Trio: the Traveling Sounds

    Private organ trio lounge lp that has been much bandied about as of late. Off-kilter in a very subtle way; this is exactly what you always want out of a record like this, but what none of them ever actually deliver. It really manages to transport one to happy hour in a time and place […]

  • Konrad: Evil Konrad: Evil

    It is very hard to know where to begin trying to explain Konrad, so I’ll start from the very beginning. He was pointing at me as I opened a package of records I received via a Waxidermy holiday swap about two days before this last Christmas. I recall thinking at first glance that this looked […]

  • The Merry Meds Of '69 The Merry Meds Of ‘69

    The University of Alberta is known for it’s rambunctious Medical students. Up until it was banned recently, the Med students put on an annual show of absurdy and offense known as “The Med Show”. This usually consisted of offensive drama acts, hilarious live music, and pranks. It is rumoured that one year they stole a […]

  • The Other Side Of Sugar And Spice The Other Side Of Sugar And Spice

    The funny thing is that while buying the big stack of lesbian records that this came with I can recall lamenting to my girlfriend that, while I continue to buy any homemade lesbian record I encounter, I’ve yet to find one of any actual musical merit… nor did I really believe I ever would. And […]

  • $27 Snap On Face $27 Snap On Face

    Fairly well known local Sebastopol, CA private issue rock lp that I (well, my girlfriend actually) found the weekend I moved north of the bay area. I’d heard of this lp previously, and the elaborate packaging and blue vinyl seem exciting enough at first, but this is a pretty disappointing record. First off, these guys […]

  • Thundertones: Cloudburst Thundertones: Cloudburst

    For some reason I keep putting off finishing and posting this review. I guess it might be that I’m sorta kinda bummed that I didn’t end up keeping this one - but, now that it has a loving new owner, I should probably let the healing begin or whatever. Anyhow, medium length story short, we […]

  • A. Paul Ortega: Two Worlds A. Paul Ortega: Two Worlds

    Native American folkie A. Paul Ortega is definitely one of the most unique things I’ve heard recently… or ever for that matter. So much so that I find I have little frame of reference right now while writing about this lp. Ortega’s songs (or renditions of traditional songs) sound ancient, completely futuristic, and totally hypnotic […]

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