Long Gone John: Sympathy For The Record Industry
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Long Gone John is best known for his record label Sympathy for the Record Industry (the name is based on the Rolling Stones song Sympathy For The Devil) and his vinyl toy company Necessaries Toy Foundation. An record industry independent, eccentric toy collector, rebel and outsider artist. Long Gone John helped launch the careers of bands such as The White Stripes and Courtney Love's band Hole. He started Sympathy for the Record Industry in 1988, after releasing a live album for band he was friends with, The Lazy Cowgirls. His Necessaries Toy Foundation manufactures limited edition vinyl dolls, for collectors of rare and unusual toys. Long Gone John also publishes books through Sympathetic Press, a publishing company that specialises in rock music books. As a music anti-mogul since starting Sympathy for the Record Industry, Long Gone John has released over 750 records, all pretty much single handedly and without any signed contract with the artists he works with. Maintaining his outsider status, he has managed to become a key player in the promotion and distribution of some of the best in garage punk music.
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Long Gone John came up with his unusual moniker after seeing an article in a porn magazine about porn legend John Holmes, entitled Long Dong John. The name struck a cord with John, and later that night he came up with Long Gone John. He has a reputation for literally doing everything himself with his label Sympathy for the Record Industry. From putting the records in the sleeves himself to sending them off to record shops. Running the label as a one-man-band out of his home, the label often appeared much bigger than it actually was. Eccentric and self-driven, he is uncompromising in his attitude to independence of his label and his artists freedom of expression. A hands-on kind of guy, that collaborates with his artists at all stages of production, creating some outrageous and quirky pieces of collectible pop culture like nothing that has been seen or heard of before.
Sympathy For The Record IndustryWith a punk ethos and an irreverent attitude Sympathy for the Record Industry has danced on the edges of the mainstream, while never falling into the trap of being part of the corporate machine, and remaining wholly independent. A label that was started as doing a "favor to the band" The Lazy Cowgirls, it has continued to gain artists and followers who want credible music born out of a punk DIY belief in the artists and their freedom of expression. Among the label's alumni are early releases by globally renowned bands like The White Stripes, Hole, The Gun Club, Roky Erikson and Rocket From the Crypt. Taking on artists many other labels wouldn't touch like GG Allin and the Murder Junkies. The label also gave recording opportunities to artists from the UK Holly Golightly and Wreckless Eric. (Although Wreckless Eric in an interview with www.punk77.co.uk said, "I wish I never had anything to do with Sympathy For the Record Industry" for taking so long to sell the 1000 pressings that were made of his 1993 album Donovan Of Trash.)
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One of the logos that Sympathy for the Record Industry used was an image of the Little Miss No Name doll. The doll is shown in rags, and seeming to beg, with big doe-eyes akin to the work of artist Margaret Keane. Long Gone John is an avid collector of vinyl toys, and has a number of Little Miss No Names among his vast collection. His home is piled high with toys staring back at you from shelves, tables and mantle-pieces. Alongside a monumental record collection stretching into the tens if not hundreds of thousands. The image of the doe-eyed beggar perfectly represented the irreverent and humourous nature of the man and his label.
Having worked with over 550 artists over the years, Long Gone John and his label have had stretched to the very limits what one man can do alone. For someone who started the whole thing by mistake, the label remains one of the most successful independent record labels in the United States. Not only releasing music by bands that may not otherwise get a chance in the mainstream, but also commissioning low-brow, punk and unusual outsider artists, many of which have become pop culture icons in their own right, to design cover artwork for the record releases of the label. Long Gone John admits himself that things haven't always gone smoothly, and some artists have expected more than he alone could deliver. But on the whole the archives of Sympathy for the Record Industry hold a wonderfully eclectic snap-shot of music that might not of otherwise seen to light of day.
Having worked with over 550 artists over the years, Long Gone John and his label have had stretched to the very limits what one man can do alone. For someone who started the whole thing by mistake, the label remains one of the most successful independent record labels in the United States. Not only releasing music by bands that may not otherwise get a chance in the mainstream, but also commissioning low-brow, punk and unusual outsider artists, many of which have become pop culture icons in their own right, to design cover artwork for the record releases of the label. Long Gone John admits himself that things haven't always gone smoothly, and some artists have expected more than he alone could deliver. But on the whole the archives of Sympathy for the Record Industry hold a wonderfully eclectic snap-shot of music that might not of otherwise seen to light of day.
The Treasures Of Long Gone John Documentary (2006)In 2006 a documentary was released chronicling the life and work of Long Gone John. The documentary goes beyond the weird world of the self proclaimed anti-mogul, looking at the artists he engaged to design cover artwork, his expansion into vinyl toy collecting and making, and the connection with the Lowbrow Art and Juxtapoz Magazine. An engaging blend of pop culture, music and art that stands outside the mainstream of mass manufactured culture. With a hard rocking soundtrack provided by artists who have released material through Sympathy for the Record Industry over the many years.
The whole documentary can be viewed on YouTube here. |
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