Riot House Records

Photo: Marissa Mortati

Grand Tarantula - Slime Times (9/7/2014) PREORDER

10. Corona Especial-My least favorite Mexican beer. That doesn't mean I don't love them though! I will drink these all summer if I have to.

9. Dos Equis- I only enjoy this beer on tap when there is no other Mexican lager. It's way better than Corona but it's not great. I think all the hype and stupid advertisements mite be part of it.

8. Negra Modelo- I love this beer! A little different from the rest but it's nice to spice things up a little. I'll usually switch back to a Tecate or Pacifico after a couple of these.

7. Pacifico- Solid Mexican beer. I can drink a lot of these on a hot summer day!

6. Modelo Especial- If there's no way to get a tecate in a can my second runner up is Modelo. More Mexican beers should be in a can!

5. Corona Familiar- I always pick these guys up when I see them. They usually only come in a 32oz bottle. Which is great!

4. Bohemia- My drummer, Michael Shannon loves these! I soon found why...they're a very solid, refreshing Mexican lager.

3. Victoria- Very tasty beer. A little more $$ than the first 2 so I save these for a special occasion!

2. Sol- I like my beer cheap and easy to drink. Sol has both these qualities so it makes for a close second.

This month we asked Riot House owner and Black Jet Radio guitarist Brian Jenkins for his top ten favorite independent record labels. Yeah, we get it, the “indie” title has grown to be a bit ambiguous but here it is:

10. Three One G – There’s a couple of San Diego labels that are going to pop upon this list…of course! Run by Justin Pearson (The Locust), the roster and sound doesn’t stray an inch from the principles it was founded on – and THAT is something to applaud in this current age of music.

Favorite Record: Head Wound City - Self Titled

9. Joyful Noise – Based out of Indianapolis, my old home state!

Favorite Record: David Yow - Tonight You Look Like A Spider

8. Sacred Bones – So I have to admit that this label made my list solely due to the David Lynch releases. They also released a 7” a while back from His Electro Blue Voice who are now on Sub Pop (I highly recommend the latest full length!)

Favorite Record: David Lynch – The Air Is on Fire (RSD 2014)

7. Volar Records – The next SD label on my list. It’s run by my friend Craig Oliver, Volar specializes in fuzzy pop and punk rock (I hope he doesn’t cringe at my attempt to genre-fy his catalog…)

Favorite Record: Digital Leather – Infinite Sun

6. Swami Records – Owned and operated by SD music man John Reis (Rocket From the Crypt, Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu, Night Marchers). I’m crossing my fingers for a future Riot House and John Reis/Swami collaboration.

Favorite Record: Hot Snakes – Automatic Midnight

5. Forge Again Records – Solid noisy evil rock and roll from Chicago, IL.

Favorite Record: Child Bite / We Are Hex Split 12”

4. Sympathy for the Record Industry – This was the first indie label that turned me on to underground music. Probably most famous for releasing the first White Stripes records, Sympathy released over 700 records in a pretty short time. Though many are hit and miss, I still can’t help myself in the record store when I come across a random Sympathy 7”. I’ve heard the label’s for sale?

Favorite Record: Red Kross – Neurotica

3. Frontier Records – Owned by former Bomp! employee Lisa Fancher, Frontier was founded in 1980. They released the first Circle Jerks record - Group Sex - as well as releases from the Adolescents, TSOL, China White and Suicidal Tendencies.

Favorite Record: Christian Death – Only Theatre of Pain

2. Ipecac Recordings – I’ve kind of got a theme going of musician run labels. Anything Mike Patton is cool by me.

Favorite Record: Tomahawk – Self Titled

1.Third Man Records – Eh, I know. Third Man’s gotten a bit kitschy lately. I’m not much of a fan of the new Jack White record and some of this “vinyl innovation” is lame but I still have to tip my hat. I love the aesthetic though and the integrity – nothing cheap coming out of Third Man. I’m a Vault member and a lot of the early releases were pivotal and influential in starting Riot House.

Photo: Buildings

Yeah, you read it right. Check out the top ten romantic comedies from the Buildings stick man.

Stream and purchase the latest release from Buildings: It Doesn't Matter (10 Inch)

10. High Fidelity – I’ve always felt my life was similar to Rob Gordon’s, whether it be weird relationships, having moronic friends, elitist music tastes or being a critic of everything but I feel everybody is. His girlfriend Laura is so damn funny. I’ve always wanted to own a record store too.

  9. Romancing the Stone – This is more a romantic adventure story, who doesn’t love adventures. Michael Douglas is a bad ass and Kathleen Turner is a mega babe that go on a treasure hunt. Funny and sexy, I’ll say.

  8. Garden State – Typical favorite. It has everything, cheesy accidental love, dark comedy, some family tragedy that pulls at my hear strings *tear* and of course Natalie Portman as the nerdy weird babe. Zach Braff isn’t a total douche, so that’s something.

  7. Clueless – I love snobby rich high school bitches, especially from the 90’s. Seeing this in 6th grade I remember having a major wood for Alicia Silverstone. R.I.P Tai.

  6. Hitch – Dating is possibly the one thing I hate the most. The plot is a really genius idea. If I were to pay someone to get someone to fall in love with me, I’d totally want Will Smith to do it.

  5. Shallow Hal – Fat jokes are mean but I love them. Most people when dating judge by first impression or appearances, which is in fact shallow. This movie tells you to look deeper and find the inner beauty, or some shit.

  4. 10 Things I Hate About You – Chasing a crush in high school, being awkward, the awfulness of figuring out who you are, are all things everybody goes through. Funny shit.

Save Ferris and Letters to Cleo are awesome as well.

  3. Roxanne – I love everything about Steven Martin, he rocks the insecure long nose. I first watched his movie with my mom when I was a kid. It’s a pretty goofy flick.

  2. About a Boy – I swear this movie was made about my life. No man is an island is the message to this movie. I give this film some credit for motivating me to get out of my parents basement and start living my life.

photo: Britt Shorter

Rough Francis - Maximum Soul Power (LP/CD) out March 11, 2014.

10. The Jackson 5 - Can You Feel It

One of my favorite Jackson Five tracks, and one of the best music videos ever made in my opinion. I've been a lifelong MJ fan and this joint gets me pumped!

9. Slick Rick - Indian Girl

Great adventures of Slick Rick is one of my top hiphop albums. Great album to skate to all the way through.

8. The Cancer Conspiracy - II

Really awesome local band I got to see growing up. Great atmospheric jams to bomb some hills, and coast to. The guitar player did sound at the local punk/hardcore venue 242, and mixed a slew of bands I was in as a kid.

7. Bad brains - I

This song makes me want to bomb hills at Mach ten speeds. Bad brains are an essential part of any of my skate lists.

6. Appolonia 6 - Sex Shooter

This track is hot!  There's nothing like groovin on a skateboard to cheesy prince synth lines.

5. Black Sabbath - Lord of this World 

I don't really need to say much.... It's Black Sabbath.

4. The Stooges - Shake Appeal 

Raw, dirty, and groovy. I've always been inspired by The Stooges. Great summer time cruising jam. 

3. MC5 - Gotta Keep Movin

Detroit's finest. When I'm in a time crunch for work and have my cruiser board around, this is the first thing I put on.

2. The Cardigans - Carnival

The Cardigans were introduced to me by my brother Bobby a while back and it stuck with me. I love this band. They also love Black Sabbath, so they had instant brownie points from the get go . 

1. Built to Spill - Stab

photo: Porcupine

Porcupine - I See Sound EP will be available Record Store Day 2014 // Limited to 500 Colored Vinyl Copies

10-  T. Jauernig 'F-Bomb" I have yet to use this pedal on a recording project, but have played through it enough to know that I like what it does, and I hope to use it on some upcoming projects. It's a very versatile pedal, which can add the "Satisfaction" buzz-fuzz   tone to a basic unique overdrive-rythmn tone depending on how you dial it. 9- Dunlop FF-MZ Germanium Fuzz-Face mini This is another fuzz I've not had the chance to use on a record, but again, I really like what it does sonically. It's a smaller version of the original fuzz-face, and it gives you a very cool, 'Hendrix' type of fuzz, at least to my ears. There are two other versions of this pedal (FF-M1 silicon and FF M-3 Jimi Hendrix) which I've played as well, with this little red devil being my favorite. 8- Dan Armstrong 'Blue Clipper' I used this unique fuzz on a number of recordings with the band 'SpaceBike'. The small box plugs directly into your guitar input jack and is equipped with a toggle on/off switch. We used this on a few occasions. On one track called 'Wind Monkey', the guitar was direct to board over-driving the channel and Dave flipped the Blue Clipper toggle on when the solo came up for added fuzz and harmonic fun.

7- Death By Audio 'Fuzz War' This pedal I have used at home while demoing some songs. I used it not on guitar, but on bass, in which it worked amazingly well. Thick focused fuzz or thin buzz fuzz... whichever you prefer. The man behind this pedal is Oliver Ackermann from the band 'A Place To Bury Strangers'. I think I'll be looking into more Death By Audio pedals for recording and live use in the near future. 6- Z-Vex 'Fuzz Factory' Unfortunately, I do not own this pedal, but have had heard it via my good friend Nicholas Roesler of 'Chicane Theory'. Laying down guitar tracks for the next Porcupine EP, the fuzz from this pedal never fails to provide that certain weird midrange compression that I find appealing, along with a bit of sonic unpredictability which has always seemed to work in our favor. Thanks again, Nick. 5- EarthQuaker Devices 'Hoof Fuzz' I think this is one of the most versatile fuzz pedals around. It offers a great palate of classic overdrive sounds, as well as great fuzz. This one has almost been added to my pedal board many times, and I end up telling myself I don't need it. I'll break down eventually and get it. 4- Electro Harmonix 'Big Muff' This is the grand-daddy of fuzz pedals in my opinion.  I remember using this pedal on many early 1994-95 'SpaceBike' recordings. I know that all the guitars on our first 7-inch record 'Carnival' and 'In a Jar' are all Sovtek 'Big Muff'. Recently, I think Davey might have used a 'Big Muff' fuzz while recording bass on Porcupine's 'The Sensation Of Being Somebody' on the track 'Pushing Your Buttons'. I still like to use this pedal when I need that biting slab of fuzz sound with my Fender Jazzmaster. 3- Dwarftcraft Devices 'Eau Claire Thunder' This is a beast of a fuzz pedal built by the talented Ben Hintz. Davey used this on some of bass tracks for Porcupine's 'The Sensation Of Being Somebody' and it sounded like the speakers were exploding. I used it with my guitar on a track called 'Feels Like I'm Close' with some bendy trem bar and echoplex. This pedal has options like the Trim dial and time-warp toggle switch, which just add to the madness. Love it! 2- Maestro Bass Brassmaster This pedal was another useful tool for early 'SpaceBike' recordings, as well as live shows. I think at some point it just became apparent at that time that the pedal was too fragile and I left it behind. It will produce some crazy octave fuzz sounds as well as quirky decay after the note depending on how it is set. Recently I used it on the soon to be released Porcupine EP 'I See Sound'. You will hear its fuzz ugliness on 'Worst Case Scenario' and on 'I'm Next To You'. I believe there is a new version being made called The Malekko Barker ASSMASTER.

So we’ve been toying with a number of ideas on how to use the Riot House Records Tumblr going forward. We wanted to create something separate and unique to our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

Welcome to the Top 10 on Tumblr, each post will feature one of our artists and/or affiliates delivering a random top ten list of their choice. Get to know some of our folks a little better by tuning into our blog every week. Hope you enjoy!