Joseph Childress’ Rebirths is reborn and we are re-stoked!

Joseph Childress - The Rebirths Front Cover

This is the debut full-length by Joseph Childress. The ten songs on this record, dubbed “The Rebirths” by fans, were penned on the road during nearly two years of “hard traveling” – hopping freight trains, hitchhiking, and eventually living out of a car. All this came to a halt shortly after finding trouble in New Orleans, prompting Joseph to find his way back to his childhood home in the Colorado Rockies. Once there, he locked himself in the bathroom with his road-worn guitar – its neck cracked while jumping from a train – and recorded this album. Filled with young wisdom, heartbreak, and spirited jubilee, this self-recording of Joseph Childress is a stirring introduction to a young songwriter with a soul-piercing voice and an undeniable gift of song.

A low-fi snapshot of his experiences, The Rebirths captures a moment of euphoria as Joseph’s personal stories unfold into timeless songs. Peppered with thumps, creaks, improvised percussion, the weather outside the bathroom window… these recordings serve as a raw document of the time and space in which these tracks were laid. Joseph’s emotionally charged voice is powerful as it tackles tragedy and triumph over guitar that ranges from intricate finger-style to furious strumming. Fans of haunted troubadours Jason Molina, Jackson C. Frank, Townes Van Zandt and early lo-fi pioneers will find many similarities in Joseph’s music, but even more striking will be Joseph’s refreshingly original command of song.

Joseph Childress – Dance With Me from Empty Cellar on Vimeo.

In print due to relentless demand, this presentation of The Rebirths – available worldwide on bright white vinyl and digital – is newly mixed by our pal The American Opry and mastered for the first time by Paul Oldham. Limited to a single pressing of 500 copies get yours HERE

“‘The Rebirths’ provides the perfect soundtrack to daydreams of a nomadic life” — American Songwriter

“If Childress’ captivating live performances are any indication, the album will pull as much energy as possible from a single voice and guitar” –The Bay Bridged

“‘The Rebirths’ wears its humble, bathroom recorded origins on its sleeve, feeling like an intimate performance for an audience of one, but thanks to a proper remastering by Paul Oldham the album’s quiet solitude now envelops the listener like wood smoke in autumn.” — Raven Sings The Blues

“The first thing that’s clear when listening to Joseph Childress is that the man can play guitar—he’s on some Tallest Man on Earth level six string prowess. But then, just around the corner is his whispery croon, warmer and more filled out than Kristian Matsson’s, and that’s where the Vernon comparisons come into play.” -– Pigeons and Planes

“It seems Joseph Childress is that classic fast disappearing vagabond American storyteller. He can pull off this heart-wrenching confessional songwriting style, like the greats of the genre.” — 7 Inches



New Additions to the Endless Nest Family!

We are proud to announce two recent additions to the Empty Cellar roster:

Pillars and Tongues
and
The Cairo gang.

Pillars and Tongues will be releasing a full length LP, Lay of Pilgrim Park, and The Cairo Gang will be releasing a 7″ e.p., Holy Clover, this winter on Empy Cellar Records (Holy Clover is released in collaboration with Tin Angel Records). It will be the first – long overdue – vinyl release by either of these artists. Paul Oldham recently finished mastering both records, which will be at the pressing plant next week, and available sometime in January. Until then, you can watch the lo-fi gem above by The American Opry of The Cairo Gang performing “Holy Clover” in New Mexico.

Both bands hail, at least in part, from Chicago and have played with each other across the country. Their music is some of the most thoughtful material we have heard in a long time… so, we are genuinely stoked! Coincidentally, they are both featured on Joan of Arc’s forthcoming release Don’t Mind Control.



The Sandwitches are in the Garden Chamber today & on tour next week!

The Sandwitches at Bleakhaus, San Francisco

Our favorite twisted old-timey garage trio, The Sandwitches, is committing a three song E.P. to tape today in our very own Garden Chamber Studios. They are in good hands with Wymond “Creature Man” Miles of the Fresh & Only’s at the controls. The E.P. will be available on a 7″ from Empty Cellar Records in late October, just in time to haunt your Halloween. In the mean time, you can see them live on the record release tour for their Debut LP, How To Make Ambient Sadcake, on Turn Up! records, & watch these great videos shot by The American Opry (below):

The Sandwitches Tour Dates with Jonesin’:


The Sandwitches at Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco


The Sandwitches at Amnesia, San Francisco



The Water Tower 7″ is finally available!

After a very long delay… the Split (Water Tower) 7″ (Empty Cellar’s founding release) featuring a track each from Joseph Childress and The White White Quilt is finally available (check out the rad video by the American Opry above). There was a mistake with the pressing – the labels were pasted to the wrong sides of the record – and then the records disappeared into some sort of vortex.  They are safe now, thoroughly soaked with natural water-tower-induced reverb, and ready to spin on turntables world-wide. The labels are still pasted on the wrong side, though.  It will be distributed by Revolver and is currently only available from the Endless Nest store.

This is what we have to say about it:
Recorded by the American Opry while trespassing inside an abandoned three-story water tower, this record pairs haunted songs from Bay Area folk favorites – Joseph Childress and The White White Quilt.  Saturated in natural reverb, these are single-take, battery-powered field recordings at their finest.  Joseph Childress’s spirited performance of “Leaving the Barren Ground” is captivating and raw. The arrangement, improvised on the spot, features members of the Quilt throwing themselves against the walls of the water tower to create the cavernous sound of over-sized drums. Joseph’s sorrowful wails imbue his track with an uneasy beauty that will be familiar to fans of Jackson C. Frank, Roy Harper, and Bill Fay. The White White Quilt respond with “Papa”, a sedated slab of soulful folk reminiscent of early Cat Power records, where each quiet verse unfolds with an easy calm similar to that found on J.J. Cale and Devendra Banhart albums. Together, these acoustic tracks create a well-engineered snapshot of an unlikely venue. Recommended for fans of Will Oldam, Brightblack Morning Light, Vetiver, and Jason Molina, this 7” is pressed on clear vinyl and limited to 500 copies. Keeping with the times, each purchase comes with a download of the record plus an unreleased bonus song from the tower sessions by the White White Quilt.

Also, check out these videos of the White White Quilt & Joseph Childress by The American Opry:

The White White Quilt at the Hotel Utah, San Francisco


Joseph Childress at Mississippi Studios, Portland