Prude Boys “The Outlaw” b/w “Plague My Dreams”

Pretty Ghouls “Teenage Frankenstein” b/w “Creature Feature”

Some of you here may not know that in my free time, as a hobby, I run a record label. It’s only through beautiful fate and incredible luck that I’ve managed to transform my hobby into my job (or dare I even say “career”) at Third Man Records.

I started my label, Cass Records, in 2003 when I was twenty years old. I’m up to 76 releases. I still find joy in helping fresh, young bands getting their music out into the world. Always having a homesickness for Detroit, being able to put out two newish bands from there indirectly makes me feel young again.

I remember hearing whispers about the Prude Boys in Detroit and digging the couple of tunes I’d uncovered online. I made the trip up to Detroit for the Audio Social Dissent tour stop at the Marble Bar and remember seeing Quennton and Caroline from the band walking around together. While it may sound simple (or god forbid, shallow) I thought to myself “they just look like they’re in a badass band.” And at that same show, seeing some of the Pretty Ghouls knocking around, aware they’d already self-released a handful of hip singles and having a ton of respect for that while also thinking they could possibly benefit from a little label help. That’s it. I reached out to both groups and they were into it (Ghouls wanted to co-release with their own Creepy Records label which I was fine with).

What does it sound like? For the label copy I described “The Outlaw” as light surf highlighted by the sandy vocals of Caroline Myrick while Quennton Thornbury’s reverb-laced guitar lines are powerful yet measured. This song has popped into my head on a handful of occasions over the past six months and that is becoming a more and more rare occurrence for songs I’m involved in releasing, so that’s saying something.

And the Pretty Ghouls? Rah-rah trashy garage singalong of an a-side that is wonderfully paired with the slow burn fuzz drenched b-side which dissolves into a volcanic freakout, recommended if you like the Cramps, skeletons or upbeat goth vibes.

Honestly, I’m just excited that in my advanced age there’s still young bands playing rock and roll with guitars and that I get an opportunity to be involved and release it. I’ve been doing this for 14 years now. I will happily do it for the rest of my life if the powers that be continue to let me. I hope someone, just ONE person, 100 years from now, gets interested in Cass as a label and tries to dissect it all. The different address on every release. The releases I never publicized. The CDs. Every record I play on or release feels like a time capsule message-in-a-bottle that maybe will find a willing combatant in the distant future. And the mere prospect of that keeps me happy and going.