Story of 829 Records

829 Records is the new record label formed by Skafish, (Jim Skafish) in late 2006. The label is named after Skafish’s birthday, August 29th and will currently have the sole mission of releasing Skafish’s punk, new wave, alternative, indie and the experimental portions of his old and new catalogue, yet may consider signing other artists in the future.

The labels first project, What’s This? 1976-1979 will be released April 1, 2008. What’s This? 1976-1979 chronicles the birth of the Chicago punk, new wave, alternative and indie rock scene with what are believed to be the first recordings of these genres by a Chicago artist dating back to August 1976. All of the three master tapes to the 11 recordings included in this project, (9 of which are previously unreleased) were thought to be lost, but found, beginning in April 1997 and concluding in October 2006.

The company was created to fulfill the need for a vehicle to allow Skafish to release the part of his old and new catalogue that was and is groundbreaking and envelope pushing. The seed for the eventual birth of 829 Records was first planted when Skafish turned in his second LP in November 1982 to IRS Records, the label he was signed to at the time. The label was so shocked and offended by the artist’s music and lyrics that they, (one of the most cutting edge record companies of all time) refused to release it. After the label forced Skafish to issue a toned down version of his second album in September 1983, titled Conversation, the momentum of his work was dramatically halted, followed shortly afterwards by IRS Records dropping him from its artist roster.

Skafish, refusing to give up, began releasing independent projects on his own without any record company support: first in 1988 with Limited Series Cassette, followed in 1992 with Best Kept Secrets. In 2005, Skafish formed La Befana Records, created for the purpose of releasing jazz, classical, new age and world music projects, as well as serve as the parent company for future Skafish owned subsidiaries. Its first release was Tidings Of Comforts And Joy: A Jazz Piano Trio Christmas, by Skafish, issued in May 2006.

As a subsidiary of La Befana Records, 829 Record’s mission is to bring into the marketplace the truthful expression of Skafish’s art as it was intended to be by the artist himself. As mentioned above, Skafish has already been a victim of career altering censorship. The creation of 829 Records ends such restrictions once and for all, by providing a platform and vehicle for such work to see the light of day. As the CEO of this company, the buck will always stop singularly and solely with Skafish regarding all current and future releases.