Og Music
Encyclopedia
Og Music was a small but influential independent record label
based in Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
.
The label was established in 1983 by the band members of Deja Voodoo
, Gerard van Herk
and Tony Dewald. It ceased operations in 1990.
. In addition to releasing material from Deja Voodoo, the label was notable for giving early exposure to groups that would later go on to more mainstream success, such as Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet
and Cowboy Junkies
.
Their best selling albums were the It Came from Canada
compilations, which featured tracks from many Canadian indie artists of the time — in all, five such compilations were released. None of the album releases made it to mainstream airplay, but regularly charted at various campus radio
stations in Canada.
The label was retired when the band members of Deja Voodoo turned 30 and left the music business to pursue other careers.
The record label was named after a fictional caveman character called Og.
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
based in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The label was established in 1983 by the band members of Deja Voodoo
Deja Voodoo (Canadian band)
Déjà Voodoo was formed by Gerard van Herk and his friend Tony Dewald . Combining 1950s horror imagery with rockabilly and country musical influences they created a sound which gained them a unique standing amongst Canadian artists...
, Gerard van Herk
Gerard van Herk
Gerard van Herk, originally from the Montreal suburb of Chambly, was the singer and guitarist for the Montreal band Deja Voodoo in the 1980s. In 1983 he co-founded Og Music with Tony Dewald, a record label also based out of Montreal that was notable for providing early exposure to groups that would...
and Tony Dewald. It ceased operations in 1990.
History
The label started by putting out cassette-only releases, and soon began to release full vinyl LPs. As of 2007 none of these releases has ever been re-released on CDCompact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
. In addition to releasing material from Deja Voodoo, the label was notable for giving early exposure to groups that would later go on to more mainstream success, such as Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet were a Juno Award-winning Canadian instrumental rock band, formed in 1984. They remain best-known for the track "Having an Average Weekend," which was used as the theme to the Canadian sketch comedy TV show The Kids in the Hall...
and Cowboy Junkies
Cowboy Junkies
Cowboy Junkies are a Canadian alternative country/blues/folk rock band. The group was formed in Toronto in 1985 by Margo Timmins , Michael Timmins , Peter Timmins and Alan Anton ....
.
Their best selling albums were the It Came from Canada
It Came from Canada
It Came from Canada was a series of compilation albums, released on Og Music in the 1980s, which featured music by independent, alternative and punk bands from Canada....
compilations, which featured tracks from many Canadian indie artists of the time — in all, five such compilations were released. None of the album releases made it to mainstream airplay, but regularly charted at various campus radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
stations in Canada.
The label was retired when the band members of Deja Voodoo turned 30 and left the music business to pursue other careers.
The record label was named after a fictional caveman character called Og.
Og Music Discography
- OG 1 - Deja VoodooDeja Voodoo (Canadian band)Déjà Voodoo was formed by Gerard van Herk and his friend Tony Dewald . Combining 1950s horror imagery with rockabilly and country musical influences they created a sound which gained them a unique standing amongst Canadian artists...
, Gumbo (Cassette - 1983) - OG 2 - Condition, Dirty Business (Cassette - 1983)
- OG 3 - Various Artists, From Montreal (7" single - 1983)
- OG 4 - Deja Voodoo, CemeteryCemetery (Album)Cemetery was the first LP release by the Montreal-based Canadian garage-rock band Deja Voodoo. The album was recorded in Studio Secret, save for the title track, which was recorded "in Bob's basement".-Track listing:#"Things with You"...
(LP - 1984) - OG 5 - The AsexualsAsexuals (band)The Asexuals is a hardcore punk band from Beaconsfield that was a mainstay of the Montreal punk scene in the '80s before evolving into an alternative band following the departure of singer John Kastner, who went to form the Doughboys and, later, All Systems Go!.-History:The Asexuals formed in 1983...
, Featuring the Asexuals (7" single - 1984) - OG 6 - Terminal Sunglasses, Wrap Around Cool (LP - 1985)
- OG 7 - Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm OrchestraJerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm OrchestraJerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra is a Canadian alternative rock band whose musical style blends elements of surf music, gospel music, rockabilly, garage, and punk. The band also experimented with jazz on their third album Don't Mind If I Do....
, Road Gore: The Band That Drank Too Much (LP - 1985) - OG 8 - Various Artists, It Came from Canada, Vol. 1It Came from Canada, Vol. 1It Came from Canada, Vol. 1 was the first album in the It Came from Canada series of compilation albums, released in 1985 on Og Music.-Track listing:# Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra, "Radical Look/Bad Idea"...
(LP - 1985) - OG 9 - Various Artists, It Came from Canada, Vol. 2It Came from Canada, Vol. 2It Came from Canada, Vol. 2 was the second album in the It Came from Canada series of compilation albums, released in 1986 on Og Music.-Track listing:# Ray Condo & His Hard Rock Goners, "High Voltage"# Condition, "Ghost Train"...
(LP - 1986) - OG 10 - The GruesomesThe GruesomesThe Gruesomes are a Canadian Garage Punk band formed in 1985 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-History:Bobby Beaton , Gerry Alvarez , John Davis and his brother Eric Davis were all between the ages of 16 and 19 and had absolutely no previous musical experience...
, Tyrants of Teen Trash (LP - 1986) - OG 11 - Deja Voodoo, Swamp of LoveSwamp of Love (album)Swamp of Love was the third LP release by the Montreal-based Canadian garage-rock band Deja Voodoo.-Track listing:#"Blast Off!"#"Endless Sleep"#"New Kind of Mambo"#"Pig Fat Papa"#"Place I Live"#"White Sugar"#"Wasn't That a Fish"#"Love Me Now"...
(LP - 1986) - OG 12 - Deja Voodoo, Too Cool to Live, Too Smart to DieToo Cool to Live, Too Smart to Die (album)Too Cool to Live, Too Smart to Die was a mini-LP release by the Montreal-based Canadian garage-rock band Deja Voodoo.While released under the band's own label Og Music, it was distributed by the American firm Midnight Records.-Personnel:...
(LP - 1988) - OG 13 - Various Artists, It Came from Canada, Vol. 3It Came from Canada, Vol. 3It Came from Canada, Vol. 3 was the third album in the It Came from Canada series of compilation albums, released in 1987 on Og Music.-Track listing:# The Dik Van Dykes, "Curling"# Ray Condo & His Hard Rock Goners, "Jumps, Giggles and Shouts"...
(LP - 1987) - OG 14 - Deja Voodoo, The Worst of...The Worst of Deja VoodooThe Worst of Deja Voodoo was a collection of singles, outtakes and oddities by the Montreal-based Canadian garage-rock band Deja Voodoo.-Track listing:#Monsters In My Garage#More Songs About Monsters And Food#Feed That Thing...
(LP - 1987) - OG 15 - The Gruesomes, Gruesomania (LP - 1987)
- OG 16 - The Dik Van DykesThe Dik Van DykesThe Dik Van Dykes were a garage punk sextet based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada who first formed in 1985 and folded in 1989.They released two albums, Nobody Likes...The Dik Van Dykes, released 1987, and Waste Mor Vinyl, released 1989, on the Og Records label, preceded by a limited edition indie...
, Nobody Likes the Dik Van Dykes (LP - 1987) - OG 17 - Various Artists, It Came from Canada, Vol. 4It Came from Canada, Vol. 4It Came from Canada, Vol. 4 was the fourth album in the It Came from Canada series of compilation albums, released in 1988 on Og Music.-Track listing:# The Dik Van Dykes, "Beachcombers"# Color Me Psycho, "What's Your Phobia?"...
(LP - 1988) - OG 18 - Deja Voodoo, Big Pile of MudBig Pile of Mud (album)Big Pile of Mud was the fifth LP release by the Montreal-based Canadian garage-rock band Deja Voodoo. This would be their last release recorded in a studio...
(LP - 1988) - OG 19 - (Unknown)
- OG 20 - The Gruesomes, Hey! (LP - 1988)
- OG 21 - Various Artists, Mr. Garager's Neighbourhood (LP - 1989)
- OG 22 - U.I.C.UIC (band)U.I.C., which was first an acronym for Unemployment Insurance Commission but was later changed to Up in Canada were a punk and garage rock band from Exeter, Ontario, formed in June 1982 by guitar player Fred "Slack" Robinson, singer John Lindenfield, drummer Murray "Houndog" Heywood,bassman Mike...
, Live Like 90 (LP - 1989) - OG 23 - Captain Crunch and Let's Do Lunch, More Baroque-Post Industrial Hillbilly Launch Music (LP - 1989)
- OG 24 - The Dik Van Dykes, Waste More Vinyl (LP - 1989)
- OG 25 - Various Artists, It Came from Canada, Vol. 5It Came from Canada, Vol. 5It Came from Canada, Vol. 5 was the fifth and final album in the It Came from Canada series of compilation albums, released in 1989 on Og Music.-Track listing:# The Dik Van Dykes, "Chain Letter Massacre"# Gordie Gordo & the G-Men, "Catch a Cow"...
(LP - 1988) - OG 26 - Supreme Bagg Team, Supreme Bagg Team (LP - 1989)
- OG 27 - RipcordzRipcordzRipcordz are a Canadian punk band, formed in Montreal in 1980. They have released 10 full-length albums and continue to tour extensively as a three-piece band. The band re-released their first album, Are Go!, in 2004. Ripcordz have played over 2000 shows since their formation and have never played...
, Ripcordz Are GoRipcordz Are GoThis is an album originally released in 1988 by Ripcordz, a Canadian punk band from Montreal, Quebec. The album was re-released by Mayday Records in 2004, and again in 2006 as half of the Double Your Punk, Double Your Fun 2 CD set.-Track listing:...
(LP - 1989) - OG 28 - Deja Voodoo, Live at the Backstage Club, Helsinki Finland (LP - 1990)
- OG 29 - VindicatorsVindicatorsVindicators is a one or two player video game released in the United States for multiple home console platforms by Tengen and for arcade by Atari Games in 1988. As with most Tengen NES games, Vindicators was unlicensed by Nintendo and used an alternate chip to defeat the 10NES lockout system...
, Vindicators (Mini-LP - 1989)