![\"record_company\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/record_company.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOn the group’s 2016 debut album Give It Back to You<\/i>, The Record Company<\/b> displays its modern-day take on musical forebears like Jimmy Reed<\/b>, Muddy Waters<\/b> and Howlin’ Wolf<\/b>. But guitarist-vocalist Chris Vos<\/b> isn’t comfortable with being labeled a blues band. \u201cTake the Rolling Stones<\/b> and Yardbirds<\/b>; they were influenced by blues. But they’re rock ‘n’ roll music. We’re definitely influenced by blues, early rock ‘n’ roll, punk, rockabilly \u2026 all that stuff. If I have to call it something, I call it rock ‘n’ roll.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reinforcing that assertion, Vos raves about the decidedly un-bluesy punk pioneers the Stooges<\/b>. \u201cI just love the authentic chaos that they created; they just let it rip. They weren’t afraid to be who they were.\u201d He describes what he sees as part of the punk ethos: \u201cKeep things moving, keep things happening. Keep the energy up, and have fun. All those things you see in early punk bands; that’s where we get the influence from the Cramps<\/b>, the Ramones<\/b>, the Stooges and the Clash<\/b>. We love bands like those as much as we love Muddy and Wolf.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Record Company (Vos plus bassist Alex Stiff<\/b> and drummer Marc Cazorla<\/b>) paid their dues in the fertile music scene of eastern Los Angeles. Vos has nothing but good things to say about that scene. Unlike nearby Hollywood \u2013 home of the pay-to-play scheme in which bands pay the club a fee, and then hope they’ll make it back on cover charges \u2013 the Echo Park and Silver Lake scene features \u201ca really nice community of artists,\u201d Vos says. \u201cWe never had any of that pay-to-play stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes we’d play for free,\u201d he says, but even that worked out well for the band. \u201cWe’d have a Monday night residency at The Satellite [in Silver Lake], with no cover charge. People might think, ‘Monday night? Oh my god: that must be terrible!’ But in L.A., it’s not. It’s a great night to play for locals. Because a lot of people in L.A. are in the entertainment business, and on Monday night, a lot of people are out.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Vos explains that free gigs at The Satellite and other area clubs \u2013 ”The Echo, and Harvard & Stone, which was one of the first places that let us play\u201d \u2013 helped build The Record Company a fan base and fostered a sense of community. \u201cThe scene out there is really healthy and positive,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n