Chicken Ranch Records owner Mike Dickinson told Chronicle writer Greg Beets in a 2007 profile he preferred “eclectic music.”
“I like bands that aren’t afraid to do their own thing,” admitted the affable record man.
That’s certainly what he had in mind when he moved the label with him to Austin in 1996, two years after its start in his native Ruston, La. Back then, he merely envisioned putting out wax by the punk band he drummed for, the Habitual Sex Offenders.
“We basically just wanted to put out a record with our name on it,” he said. “Then it became a real label.”
Austin’s self-proclaimed “sixth most popular indie label” kept busy since, issuing all manner of solid senders. Recent releases include the superb live Townes Van Zandt sampler, Somebody Had to Write It; contemporary country troubadour Chris Canterbury, including his exceptional 2017 LP Refinery Town; the debut “Voice of Memphis” 45 from tragedy-stricken Afropunk colossus Negro Terror; a live LP cut at Sun Studios by hillbilly punk terrorists the Legendary Shack Shakers; and several releases apiece from twin signature acts: Japanese cartoon punks Peelander-Z and cabaret rockers Mr. Lewis & the Funeral 5. – Tim Stegall
RUNNERS-UP: Holodeck, Insect, Modern Outsider, Spaceflight
This article appears in March 5 • 2021.