Green Monkey Records
Green Monkey Records is an underground record label started in Seattle, Washington, US.[1] It was established by local musician Tom Dyer and was active from 1983 to 1991 and from 2009 to present, with sporadic releases in the interim. It is currently headquartered in Olympia, Washington, US.
History
Green Monkey Records was established in 1983 by local musician Tom Dyer. "After [his band,] the Colorplates[,] folded in 1981 Dyer spent $1200 to record a solo project [at Seattle's Triangle Studios] which convinced him to build his own four-track studio."[2] The building later became the home of Hall of Justice. Using a "Teac four-track reel-to-reel and a Tapco 6200B mixer bought from a guy in a parking garage downtown,"[3][self-published source?] Dyer began recording and mixing music in his apartment in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood. Early clients included Mr. Epp and the Calculations, featuring Mark Arm (later of Mudhoney fame). After Dyer's landlord found out, the operation was quickly moved to the basement of a rented house on the north side of Seattle's Queen Anne Hill.[4] "[The studio]...expanded to an eight-track as his experience and clientele [grew] steadily Dyer eventually assembled enough good material from the bands passing through his studio to compile Local Product a 15 song tape in 1983. The first Green Monkey release..."[5] which featured tracks by The Fastbacks, Al Bloch, The Queen Annes, Mr. Epp and the Calculations and, of course, Tom Dyer. The burning question about all of this is, is there really a green monkey? The answer is yes. "The label name was inspired by a small, stuffed green monkey familiar to his family members, which can be seen featured as cover art on 'It Crawled from the Basement'”[6]...which is a compilation of the highlights from GMR (Green Monkey Records) mach 1 (1983 - 1991) released in 2009.
Between 1983 and 1991, Green Monkey Records released 44 albums by a diverse bunch of Pacific Northwest artists such as: The Life, Slam Suzzanne, Prudence Dredge, The Fall-outs, Jon Strongbow, The Purdins, Capping Day, The Hitmen and more.[7] The label's biggest brush with commercial success came from the Green Pajamas' album "Book of Hours," a followup to the single "Kim the Waitress" [8] that was two years in the making. Licensing deals were struck with European labels in Greece and Germany for Book of Hours. Even Australia managed to get in on the action.[9] The label had reached its heyday by 1987, and by 1988, changing priorities (including the birth of Dyer's first child) and new responsibilities [teaching at the Art Institute of Seattle][10] had begun to impact the label. In 1991, Dyer sold the majority of his recording equipment and closed the studio, although he did occasionally release new material, such as the Green Pajamas' Caroler's Song EP.
Revival
In 2009, Green Monkey Records released a 2 CD compilation album, titled "It Crawled from the Basement: the green monkey records anthology."[11] The album featured 47 tracks by 32 artists. To celebrate, Dyer orchestrated a release party at the SoDo Showbox featuring nine bands: The Green Pajamas, The Icons, The Purdins, Capping Day, The Queen Annes, Prudence Dredge, Liquid Generation, The Elements and Slam Suzzanne. Inspired by positive press, Dyer began releasing more material, including several reissues, but notably new material and new artists as well. As of December 2016, the label has released 52 more albums, with a significant number of contributions by Dyer or Jeff Kelly and the Green Pajamas.[12]
Since 2010, the label has released an annual Christmas compilation to benefit the charity MusiCares. Contributors include Green Monkey veterans such as The Green Pajamas, The Queen Annes, and Eric Padget (of Sigourney Reverb), as well as other artists from around the country, and of course, Dyer himself. Critical reception of the albums has been favorable, with Stubby's House of Christmas declaring that "somehow, every GD year, Green Monkey puts out one of the best Christmas albums of the year."[This quote needs a citation]
In 2016, Dyer moved the label to the Washington State capitol, Olympia, with some of that city's artists being added to the label's primarily Seattle mix. [From 2022] "'I moved back to Olympia six years ago,' he said, 'and I am very appreciative to be here.'"[13] Artists added since the move are a young indie folk duo, Dante and Eros Faulk, riot grrrl rock duo, GRRRizzly, the psychedelic folk sextet, The Hinges, an incredibly literate and witty songwriter with a ravishing sense of melody, Maggie Teachout and more.
The natural result of this move can be also be seen with the True Olympians' ambitious "Olympia: A True Story”, a 3-CD box set about the history of what Tom considers his hometown.[14] "During the height of the pandemic, while his fellow Olympians were binge-watching TV shows and baking sourdough bread, Tom Dyer was setting down a history of Olympia. The twist: He was writing not a book but an album, a three-CD, 40-song collection called 'Olympia: A True Story,' released in October [2022] on his own Green Monkey Records and recorded with his band, the True Olympians. Packed with the three discs is an 80-page book with lyrics, background information, photos and even lists of source material..."[15]
Sound and cultural impact
Although Green Monkey Records has never enjoyed significant commercial success, the label does have a cult following. The label's sound has been categorized as "post-punk/pre-grunge Seattle" and "indy pop music—good honest, ballsy, delicate, garage-y, punky, folky, mildly trippy pop music".[16][self-published source?] The label has received positive press from local "listener-powered" indie radio station KEXP[17] as well as a number of indie music bloggers.[18][self-published source?]
In 1994, "Material Issue's version of 'Kim The Waitress' sounded terrific on the radio, a brooding, simmering cautionary tale, teeming with sadness and regret, delivered with a peerless pop panache. I would later learn that it was a cover of a song written by Jeff Kelly, originally recorded by Kelly's group The Green Pajamas"[19][self-published source?] in the 1980s.
References
- ↑ Wilson, William (2011). Gobbledygook: A Dictionary That's 2/3 Accurate, 1/3 Nonsense - And 100% Up to You to Decide. Adams Media. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-440-52924-5. Search this book on
- ↑ Allen, Robert (April 1, 1986). "The Rocket 1 April 1986 — Washington Digital Newspapers". washingtondigitalnewspapers.org. p. 9. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ↑ Dyer, Tom (2009). "It Crawled From The Basement: the green monkey records anthology CD liner notes". Green Monkey Records. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-15. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Wilson, Kathleen (Apr 25, 2002). "Meet the Producers - Built to Last Phil Ek's Enduring Production Skills". The Stranger. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
- ↑ Allen, Robert (April 1, 1986). "The Rocket 1 April 1986 — Washington Digital Newspapers". washingtondigitalnewspapers.org. p. 9. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
- ↑ Sanchez, Rebecca (2022-09-02). "Tom Dyer: Musician, Owner of Green Monkey Records and a True Olympian". ThurstonTalk. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
- ↑ "Green Monkey Records Discography". Discogs. 2025-06-26. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
- ↑ Humphrey 1995, p.106. 'Tom Dyer's Green Monkey label released ... the group that became Dyer's principal interest, Green Pajamas....Led by the delightful acid-pop vocals and lyrics of Jeff Kelly (with bassist/co-songwriter Joe Ross (later in 64 Spiders), Steve Lawrence, Bruce Haedt and Karl Wilhelm), the Pajamas first made the self-released tape Summer of Lust, the hooked up with Dyer and scored a regional hit in 1984 with the dreamy love-ode "Kim The Waitress", clocking in at over six minutes of ethereal innocence. (Dyer mixed a shorter version for airplay on KJET, whose automation equipment couldn't play tapes longer than five minutes.)'
- ↑ "Green Pajamas - Book of Hours - master". Discogs. 2025-06-26. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ↑ Wilson, Kathleen (April 25, 2002). "Meet the Producers - Built to Last Phil Ek's Enduring Production Skills". The Stranger. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
- ↑ "Various – It Crawled From the Basement: The Green Monkey Records Anthology - Green Monkey Records". greenmonkeyrecords.com. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
- ↑ "Green Monkey Records Label | Releases | Discogs". Discogs.
- ↑ Gilmore, Molly (November 3, 2022). "Epic album 'Olympia: A True Story' is a COVID lockdown-induced valentine to writer's home". The Olympian. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
- ↑ king5evening (2022-12-19). Olympia man releases epic concept album about his hometown. Retrieved 2025-06-24 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Gilmore, Molly (November 3, 2022). "Epic album 'Olympia: A True Story' is a COVID lockdown-induced valentine to writer's home". The Olympian. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
- ↑ "It Crawled From The Basement - The Green Monkey Records Anthology". The Ripple Effect. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
- ↑ Fuller, Levi. "Review Revue: Green Monkey Party!". KEXP.org. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-15. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Gutch Jr, Frank (3 June 2014). "Green Monkey Records: When a Label's a Label..." Segarini: Don't Believe a Word I Say. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
- ↑ Cafarelli, Carl (2018-08-01). "Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do): THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE: "Kim The Waitress"". Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do). Retrieved 2025-06-21.
External links
- official website
- [1] Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
- [2]
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