Isota Records (who is this Joe Finlaw character?)

As I mentioned in a post below, Grass-Fed Records is partnering with Isota Records.  Isota is run by a truly great man named Joe Finlaw.  Most call him Joe.  I believe his family simply calls him Joey. Some call him Joseph.  Others call him Li’l Joey.   Occasionally, when the moon is full and the mood hits me, I like to call him Steve (but that’s just me).  Here is a great shot of him that is currently hanging on the bulletin board outside of the lunchroom at work celebrating his recent promotion:

He looks pretty stoked to be alive.  Anyway, Joe started Isota years ago.  Here is a quote from the Nail Distribution website:  

“This eclectic Bay Area label has risen from inauspicious beginnings as a 7” subscribers club to one of the most dependable independent labels around today. Modeled after such luminaries as Creation, Matador and Fierce Panda, Isota is not distinguished by a sound but rather a commitment to quality and consistency, with albums by Will Oldham, The Black Keys, The Telescopes, acclaimed author Rick Moody and more.” 

Joe and I met through our current jobs and became good friends when we discovered our mutual love for Kid Loco, the famed French DJ / Songwriter.  One day, Joe mentioned to me that the bass playing on the vinyl version (the proper version) of Kill Your Darlings was superb.  I then mentioned that the bassist on said LP, is Alex Bonnie, producer of the Absinthe Glow’s second record as well as the bassist of the notorious French avant-garde rock group, Cornu and for Julie B. Bonnie (his sister (hence the identical last names) who was also in Cornu).  

One day, I mentioned that we were looking at starting a label to release Absinthe Glow, as well as other records by some other folks that I’ll be mentioning officially soon.   Right around this time, Joe had started another label called American Dust with 3 other dudes.  Thus far, they have released some great records thus far.  Definitely check out Port O’Brien and the Department of Eagles this second…. Actually, do it after you finish reading this post about Li’l Joey.     

Partially because of this new venture, and partially because he was tired of doing Isota alone, the label was kind of put on the back burner recently, which was tragic.  However, when Sr. Finlaw heard about all of our plans with Grass-Fed, the stars all seemed to line-up and thus we decided that a joint venture was necessary and Isota would live on and on and on (forever) with Grass-Fed records by it’s side.   Also, I got to call Joe “Steve” for the day, so that was good.   See children?  Dreams really do come true. 

Keep checking back with us as we have some AMAZING releases planned.

Tags: Department of Eagles, Grass Fed Records, Isota Records