Estrus Records is an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

from

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the county seat of Whatcom County, Washington, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It lies south of the Canada–United States border, U.S.–Canada border, between Vancouver, British Columbia, ...

that makes surf, garage and trash rock music. They have released such bands as

Mono Men The Mono Men were an American garage punk band, based in Bellingham, Washington. Their sound contained elements of grunge (distortion-heavy guitars, sneering vocals), but the Mono Men filtered these through a mimicry of 1960s Washington proto- ...

, The Drags, The Mummies, Supercharger, Impala, Man or Astro-man?, the Makers, 5.6.7.8's, Gas Huffer, Mooney Suzuki,

Soledad Brothers The Soledad Brothers were three inmates charged with the murder of a prison guard, John Vincent Mills, at California's Soledad State Prison on January 16, 1970. George Jackson, Fleeta Drumgo, and John Clutchette were alleged to have murdered M ...

, DMBQ, The Cherry Valence, Midnight Evils,

Federation X Federation X or "FED X" is an American rock band, originally formed in Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the county seat of Whatcom County, Washington, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It lies sou ...

, The Trashwomen, Satan's Pilgrims, The Von Zippers, Tricky Woo, Untamed Youth, Immortal Lee County Killers, The Dexateens, Marble Orchard, The Mortals and

Southern Culture on the Skids Southern Culture on the Skids, also sometimes known as SCOTS, is an American rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The band released their debut EP ''Voodoo Beach Party'' in 1984, followed by their self-titled debut album the following ...

. For many years Estrus hosted an annual festival, '' Garage Shock'', at The 3B Tavern in Bellingham. Garage Shock featured bands from the labels roster, as well as others from around the world. The last Garage Shock, in 2001, was held at

Emo's Emo's is a music and event venue located in Austin, Texas. Emo's got its start as a Houston punk club in 1989, with the Austin location opening in 1992. The Houston location closed its doors in September 2001. The nightclub is an official ...

, in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. In January 1997, their entire mail-order inventory, private record collection, and some band gear were destroyed in a warehouse fire. At the start of 2020 work began on a giant book about Estrus Records to be published by Korero Press, titled ''Estrus: Shovelin’ the Shit Since ’87''. A monthly podcast dedicated to Estrus Records called PodShock started to be broadcast in anticipation of the release of the book in April 2020. Episode one featured Eric Friedl of The Oblivians and Goner Records along with members of The Fells. Episode two featured Mort of The

and Dave Holmes of The Fall-Outs.

Suggested listening

* ''26 Excellennt Estrus Sizzlers'' (Estrus Records) (1999) - sampler * ''Estrus 100% Apeshit Rock Sampler (Vol. 2)'' (Estrus Records) (2000) * ''Estrus Double Dynomite Sampler Vol. 3'' (Estrus Records) (2002)

References

External links

Official sitePodShock – The Estrus Records Podcast
American independent record labels Garage rock record labels Record labels established in 1990 Companies based in Bellingham, Washington Alternative rock record labels {{US-independent-record-label-stub

Suggested listening

See also

References

External links