Archive for the ‘Charles ‘Packy’ Axton’ Category

Light In The Attic’s 10 Year Anniversary | Seattle & Los Angeles Concerts | Limited Edition 7″ Series

Tuesday, August 7th, 2012

Hard to believe ten years have passed since Matt Sullivan and Josh Wright founded Light In The Attic, a label responsible for some of the sharpest looking and sounding reissues and new albums of recent years. To celebrate the tenth anniversary, Light In The Attic has put together some very special events and a series of exclusive singles.

In the ten years since its inception, Light In The Attic has launched The Black Angels to the world and released rare treasures from funk-rock maverick Betty Davis, proto-punk band The Monks, folk singers Karen Dalton, Jim Sullivan, and Michael Chapman, larger-than-life troubadours Serge Gainsbourg and Lee Hazlewood, Korean rock hero Shin Joong Hyun, and Memphis soul heavyweights Wendy Rene and Charles “Packy” Axton.

Over the years, we also delved deep in to the history of our home town with vintage Seattle soul via the series Wheedle’s Groove, reissued classics from country stalwarts Kris Kristofferson and the Louvin Brothers, brought rock-n-roll farmers Donnie & Joe Emerson to the public, expanded minds with the deeply vibrant Jamaica to Toronto series, and played a key role in the rediscovery of legendary singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, recently celebrated in the Sony Pictures Classics critical smash film, Searching For Sugar Man. The list is long.

It’s only right, then, that we’re not letting an anniversary like this pass unmarked. Headlining two celebratory concerts is Rodriguez, a man for whom rediscovery via Light In The Attic has taken him from obscurity to long-deserved fame. Line-ups for the two shows – to be held in Los Angeles and Seattle – will include the third ever U.S. performance by South Korea’s 75-year old ‘Godfather of Rock’ Shin Joong Hyun, veteran Yorkshire finger-picking wizard Michael Chapman, and a very rare performance from rediscovered darlings of private press, Donnie & Joe Emerson.

In addition to the shows, we will be releasing a series of very special singles as colored vinyl 7”s and digital downloads. The series features contemporary artists covering a track reissued by Light In The Attic on the A-side, plus the original version on the B-side. The series begins with Iggy Pop & Zig Zags covering Betty Davis, and the standard remains equally high.

Sullivan conceived Light In The Attic having worked as an intern for Seattle’s Sub Pop and Loosegroove labels in the ‘90s. Spending a summer in Spain working for reissue label Munster Records, he hit on the idea of launching his own. In the decade in which the world went digital, Light In The Attic bucked the trend, focusing on creating beautiful, covetable, desirable discs. “That’s what gets us up in the morning – finding records, finding new ways to shed light on them and get them the respect they deserve,” says Matt. “The packaging, the album, it all has to be one inspiring experience.”

Light In The Attic 10 Year Anniversary Concert (Los Angeles):
Friday, September 28, El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles
The first 200 people through the door at both shows get a free 45 single, and the merch stall will be a Light In The Attic record store – heaven for label completists. 

RODRIGUEZ (Detroit)
SHIN JOONG HYUN (South Korea)
MICHAEL CHAPMAN (U.K.)
STEPHEN JOHN KALINICH (Los Angeles)
DJ SIPREANO (Vancouver)

Tickets available via this link.

Light In The Attic 10 Year Anniversary Concert (Seattle):
Friday, October 12, The Showbox at The Market, Seattle
The first 200 people through the door at both shows get a free 45 single, and the merch stall will be a Light In The Attic record store – heaven for label completists. 

RODRIGUEZ (Detroit)
MICHAEL CHAPMAN (U.K.)
DONNIE & JOE EMERSON (Fruitland, WA – first Seattle appearance)
DJ SUSPENCE (Seattle)

Tickets available via this link.

Light In The Attic Anniversary 7″ Series:
We’re only at liberty to unveil the first few, which are as follows…

Iggy Pop & Zig Zags – Pre-Order at this link.
“If I’m In Luck I Might Get Picked Up” (2012) b/w Betty Davis, “If I’m In Luck I Might Get Picked Up” (1973)

Sweet Tea featuring Alex Maas (The Black Angels) & Erika Wennerstrom (Heartless Bastards)
“After Laughter (Comes Tears)” (2012) b/w Wendy Rene, “After Laughter (Comes Tears)” (1964)

Charles Bradley & the Menahan Street Band
“I’ll Slip Away” (2012) b/w Rodriguez “I’ll Slip Away (1967)

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Posted in Around the Attic, Betty Davis, Charles 'Packy' Axton, Donnie and Joe Emerson, Drew Christie, Facebook, Good Stuff, Jamaica to Toronto, Jane Birkin, Jennifer Maas, Jim Sullivan, KEXP, Lee Hazlewood, LITA-LTD, Live events, Los Angeles, Matt Sullivan Recommends, MIchael Chapman, monks, New Releases, news, RODRIGUEZ, Serge, Shin Joong Hyun, Sipreano, The Black Angels | 8 Comments »

Charles “Packy” Axton – “Late Late Party 1965-67″ – What’s Inside???

Friday, August 26th, 2011

Here’s a little treat for all of you who are asking…man, that “Packy” Axton release looks sick but what’s inside? Well, here you go:

Charles “Packy” Axton – Late Late Party 1965-67 (LITA 067 – CD | LP | DIGITAL) OUT NOW!

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Charles “Packy” Axton – “Late Late Party 1965-67″ CD/LP OUT NOW!

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

Today is the day! We’re proud to present the first ever anthology of Charles ‘Packy’ Axton: Late Late Party 1965-67! And for all you Memphis folk, don’t forget about the FREE listening party at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music TODAY, Tuesday August 23rd from 4PM – 6PM. Details HERE!

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, tenor saxophone player and bandleader Charles ‘Packy’ Axton is yet another of the uncelebrated, despite a deep pedigree and funky catalogue of notable grooves. Part of the mighty Stax family through birth—Packy’s mother Estelle Axton and uncle Jim Stewart founded the southern R&B dynasty in the early 1960’s—Packy picked up the sax at a young age, and after linking with future Booker T. & the M.G.’s Steve Cropper and Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn, formed the The Mar-Keys. Almost reaching the top of the R&B and pop charts in 1961 with the classic “Last Night,” friction caused by Packy’s party going ways caused a split. It wasn’t until 1965 that the wild child had another national instrumental hit on his hands, “Hole In The Wall” by the Packers, chronicled by Light In The Attic Records.

Steve Cropper, Charles ‘Packy’ Axton, Wayne Jackson, Don Nix, Terry Johnson, Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn. Photo courtesy of Don Nix.

Despite the loving support of his musically minded mother, Packy was ostracized from Stax proper through a rift with Stewart because of his casual approach and oft-eccentric ways. Packy preferred hanging out and playing music with local black musicians, something that in the racially tense south, was viewed negatively by some. Still, throughout the mid-1960’s, Packy recorded a series of hard, short, and down home R&B stompers at Royal and Ardent Recording Studios by heavyweight producer John Fry (Big Star, Isaac Hayes, Ry Cooder), accompanied by legendary Stax and Hi Records dynamos Steve Cropper, Booker T., and Teenie Hodges (Al Green, Ann Peebles, Syl Johnson). Featuring songs released on labels such as Bar Records, Hollywood,Pure Soul Music, and U.S.A. Records (not to mention several unreleased gems) Late Late Party 1965-67 includes seventeen powerful instrumental and vocal tracks for your listening pleasure. Supplemented by Memphis-writer Andria Lisle’s extensive liner notes, unpublished photographs, and featuring lovingly remastered audio, Late Late Party is shines a light on an overlooked part of the Stax story.

For more info, audio samples and order Charles ‘Packy’ Axton - Late Late Party 1965-67 (LITA 067 -CD | LP+Download Card for Unreleased Track | DIGITAL), click HERE!

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Charles ‘Packy’ Axton “Late Late Party 1965-67″ CD/LP PRE-ORDER!

Monday, August 8th, 2011

In the vast netherworld of soul there are countless characters that reside on the fringe, their significant contributions to American music history long forgotten. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, tenor saxophone player and bandleader Charles ‘Packy’ Axton is yet another of the uncelebrated, despite a deep pedigree and funky catalogue of notable grooves. Part of the mighty Stax family through birth—Packy’s mother Estelle Axton and uncle Jim Stewart founded the southern R&B dynasty in the early 1960’s—Packy picked up the sax at a young age, and after linking with future Booker T. & the M.G.’s Steve Cropper and Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn, formed the The Mar-Keys. Almost reaching the top of the R&B and pop charts in 1961 with the classic “Last Night,” friction caused by Packy’s party going ways caused a split. It wasn’t until 1965 that the wild child had another national instrumental hit on his hands, “Hole In The Wall” by the Packers, chronicled by Light In The Attic Records in the first ever anthology of Axton’s work: Late Late Party 1965-67.

Charles 'Packy' Axton "Late Late Party 1965-67" stacked up!

Despite the loving support of his musically minded mother, Packy was ostracized from Stax proper through a rift with Stewart because of his casual approach and oft-eccentric ways. Packy preferred hanging out and playing music with local black musicians, something that in the racially tense south, was viewed negatively by some. Still, throughout the mid-1960’s, Packy recorded a series of hard, short, and down home R&B stompers at Royal and Ardent Recording Studios by heavyweight producer John Fry (Big Star, Isaac Hayes, Ry Cooder), accompanied by legendary Stax and Hi Records dynamos Steve Cropper, Booker T., and Teenie Hodges (Al Green, Ann Peebles, Syl Johnson). Featuring songs released on labels such as Bar Records, Hollywood, Pure Soul Music, and U.S.A. Records (not to mention several unreleased gems) Late Late Party 1965-67 includes seventeen powerful instrumental and vocal tracks for your listening pleasure. Supplemented by Memphis-writer Andria Lisle’s extensive liner notes, unpublished photographs, and featuring lovingly remastered audio, Late Late Party is shines a light on an overlooked part of the Stax story. Essential listening.

Charles 'Packy' Axton "Late Late Party 1965-67" CD and LP

For more info, audio samples and to pre-order Charles ‘Packy’ Axton Late Late Party 1965-67 (LITA 067 -CD|LP+Download Card for Unreleased Track|DIGITAL), click HERE!

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Posted in Charles 'Packy' Axton, New Releases | 3 Comments »