Dave Storrs
Louie Records
December 2001

Part 1 | Part 2

"We worship a lot of false idols in my opinion and depend on too many people to tell us what we think. Dinky labels like Louie are an important (crucial) part of the food chain."

Louie Records
Label Profile

Dave Storrs
Another Thing
Review

The Tone Sharks
Chunks of Zen
Review

Rob Blakeslee Quartet
Last Minute Gifts
Review

Rob Blakeslee
Waterloo Ice House
Review

Rich Halley
Coyotes in the City
Review

Boundary Issues
Beginnings and Endings
Review

Whirled Jazz
Mukilteo
Review

Photo Credit
Robin Baker

By Allen Huotari

The avid quest of jazz fans for “new sounds” has been referenced often in All About Jazz.

But at the risk of waxing metaphysical, could it not be speculated that new sounds are equally engaged in an avid quest for jazz fans?

If so, then the music being released by Louie Records is eagerly searching for willing and appreciative listeners.

Founded by percussionist Dave Storrs several years ago, this label has gradually succeeded in establishing a reputation for excellence in both musical quality and sonic fidelity among jazz aficianados. As a result, Louie Records should soon emerge from the “obscure” category to inevitably find the broader audience it deserves.

The interview below is a follow-up to last month’s label profile by AAJ correspondent Laurence Donohue-Green and is part one of a two-part interview.

This interview was conducted via e-mail in November 2001.

ALL ABOUT JAZZ: Would you please give us a brief history of Louie? Please include an explanation as to why or what inspired you to found this label.

DAVE STORRS: I started this label in 1996 with the release of my first album “Report from a Log” (made two previous LPs in the 80’s on the Avocet label – “Ross Island” and “Jumper Cables”). I wanted to control all the elements – cover art, engineering, cost, recording – and be able to do it in my own way. Price of gear made this possible.

AAJ: Are there any underlying and/or unifying aesthetic policies or criteria that define what is or is not fitting for Louie to release? If so, could you please explain these?

DS: I want it to be warm-blooded. Jazz is the primary sensibility, but the music always needs power, passion and vulnerability. Warmth and time feel are important, very much informed by the period I grew up in (60’s). Not into just noise and patterns – swing is a crucial element (however you define swing). Loose, flexible, and fun.

AAJ: Why the name “Louie”?

DS: My dad called me Louie as a kid (that is his drawing on our web page). And then my wife with prior knowledge started calling me Louie. So it had to be that. There's certain serendipity in Louie - my dad for all his dysfunctions has a humorous and light touch and I would like to think Louie reflects some of that…

AAJ: What demands or obligations does Louie place on you personally and professionally?

DS: I love what this label has done for me. It defines things. It is home plate. I get to deal with all these friends/musicians at a different level. All these great aesthetic decisions keep me up late at night.

AAJ: What is your favorite story about life with Louie? What is the most satisfying or rewarding part of your job? What makes all this effort worthwhile? (i.e., WHY do you do this?)

DS: Several (almost all) of these sessions where we go in the little garage and just give it up. Set up the little booths and slap on the phones – no engineer and a cracked concrete floor and sometimes some colored lights. And people just forget themselves – on “Coyotes in the City”, Rich Halley just kept reaching down for percussion instruments. When we finished some of the tunes they were almost 20 minutes and we eventually cut some out, but Rich was way into it at the time and that’s the main thing.

I love playing, mixing, choosing art, writing. And eventually holding these little boxes (turning gas into a solid) and going – “here’s some more music”.

I don’t like selling it. Don’t like having to persuade and convince people that we are ok.

I have to do this.

AAJ: If possible, could you briefly describe the process that a recording might go through from being a "release candidate" to a "finished product"?

DS: Sometimes it takes a year – lots of overdubbing and changing. Some of the smaller jazz sessions took about the time it took to record it. We mix and make a first CD then usually mix again. Then I take it to Dave Trenkel and we master it. Been working with Dave for years and I hardly say anything to him at this point. We keep the whole process as liquid and fun as possible.

AAJ: If you could change one aspect of the recording industry at large, what would it be?

DS: Make it less large. Music (recording) and industry – what a sad pairing of words. We worship a lot of false idols in my opinion and depend on too many people to tell us what we think. Dinky labels like Louie are an important (crucial) part of the food chain.

AAJ: Do you think that digital recording technology has made it easier for independent recording labels to be founded and to continue to operate? Why or why not?

DS: Absolutely. We have had many people tell us how good our stuff sounds and our budgets are about what Janet Jackson would spend on radishes for her project. You can great mics, reverbs, pre-amps and etc. for very little – and I have.

AAJ: Do you feel that the continued growth of the Internet is making it easier for independent recording labels to be founded and to continue to operate? Why or why not?

DS: I don’t know. I know very little about the Internet – but then this is coming out over the Internet so that’s great. Read some great reviews – have not made many sales.

AAJ: What have been the best and worst aspects of the Internet for Louie? Please elaborate.

DS: Again, great reviews – no sales. And so much information that is easy to get lost.

AAJ: How do you anticipate that the availability of economical high speed Internet access is going to change the music industry? Is it evolution or revolution? Or merely big business hype?

DS: I don’t think in the long attention span music that Louie provides that it will make any difference. Like I said – music and industry – what a sad pairing of words.

AAJ: What do you think are the greatest artistic and business challenges (problems and/or opportunities) for Louie as it heads into the year 2002 and beyond?

DS: Get people to notice the great and distinctive music we are producing.

AAJ: Aside from Louie recordings, what would be on your Top 10 Desert Island Discs?

DS:

1. Unity – Larry Young
2. Nefertiti – Miles Davis
3. Mingus Revisited – Charles Mingus
4. New York Now – Daniel Ponce
5. Live at the Village Vanguard – Bill Evans
6. Ravel String Quartet in F
7. Ballads – John Coltrane
8. Music of British East Africa – Columbia Folkways
9. Too Much Sugar for a Dime – Henry Threadgill
10. Sun of Latin Music – Eddie Palmieri