BIG STIR Records wanted to celebrate Halloween in their own way and with the artists they love. The result was released on October 10 and is called “Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies: The Big Stir Records Halloween Grimoire.” Rather than telling you about it in one of our usual columns, we thought it would be nice to have some of the artists who participated share their Halloween memories! Thank you to those who agreed! Happy Halloween to you all! THE ARTISTS, THEIR MEMORIES, AND THEIR COSTUMES BRANDT HUSEMAN of Splitsville: Matt (Huseman, my twin brother and also of Splitsville) and I, and our friend Eric, went to a Halloween party dressed as dead rock stars Sid Vicious, John Lennon, and Brian Jones. We took pains to make sure the makeup and costumes were consistent with how they died. Not everyone got it but the ones who did were blown away. Brandt Huseman of Splitsville: “Here’s me in my skeleton kigurumi. It’s not just for Halloween you know…” GRAHAM PARKER : No...

BIG STIR Records wanted to celebrate Halloween in their own way and with the artists they love. The result was released on October 10 and is called “Chilling, Thrilling Hooks And Haunted Harmonies: The Big Stir Records Halloween Grimoire.” Rather than telling you about it in one of our usual columns, we thought it would be nice to have some of the artists who participated share their Halloween memories! Thank you to those who agreed! Happy Halloween to you all! THE ARTISTS, THEIR MEMORIES, AND THEIR COSTUMES REX BROOME of The Armoires (and The Pepper’s Ghost Players, and co-producer of “Chilling, Thrilling Hooks and Haunted Harmonies”): I’ll always remember 2025 as “The Year It Was Halloween for 10 Months Straight,” since we (Christina Bulbenko, Michael Simmons and myself) started working on “Chilling, Thrilling Hooks and Haunted Harmonies” in January, and it’s been our focus ever since! But since Halloween has been the focus of many creative projects over my life, from costumes and ...

Here, for your and our pleasure, is the second part of the interview with Rex and Christina. In terms of record sleeves, who takes care of them and how do things work? R&C: We're super serious about letting the artists choose their own direction, unless they want our advice and help (which does happen). We have people on speed-dial who are terrific at graphic design, and they're often also musicians in the bands – Michael Simmons of sparkle*jets u.k., John Lathrop of The Stan Laurels, Rex's daughter Ridley, Spygenius collaborator Champniss, and to some extent Rex himself – but mostly the artists and their own talented friends craft their own visual presentation. We're humbly honored that BSR is known for good design work, but that's mostly because we choose to work with artists who are already known for good artwork, an entire aesthetic package... which we notice, and it does guide our choices when considering a new signing! In terms of reissues, how do you obta...

 One of the most active labels around, not a week goes by without news from them. It's about time we knew a little more about Big Stir Records and the two people behind this excellent label: REX BROOME & CHRISTINA BULBENKO. Let them tell their story. This interview is in two parts, because they had a lot to say! Can you introduce the label? REX BROOME & CHRISTINA BULBENKO OF BIG STIR RECORDS: We're the founders and pretty much the full staff of Big Stir Records – Christina is the official CEO – and we're an indie label out of Burbank, California with an international roster. We specialize in what could be considered “indie pop”, melodic and usually guitar-based music that draws on – but, importantly, pushes forward – the whole history of rock and pop music. All the albums we release go out as CDs as well as digital, and a fair percentage of them get vinyl releases as well. Christina & Rex What about the label's activities? R&C: They're nonstop! We d...

  TONY VALENTINO : " Dirty Water " (Digital -  Big Stir Records - 2022 ) (États-Unis) - rock garage, légende vivante Tony Valentino (guitare et chant), Duane Waider (batterie), Gary Kaluza (basse) Sorti le 20 Mai 2022 Une légende est de retour :Tony Valentino des Standells nous prépare un nouvel album pour 2023. Voici sa nouvelle version de Dirty Water en attendant d'autres surprises ! The Sound Of Now pour Dirty Water 😂 LIENS : Bandcamp L'Archiviste  (Merci d'avance pour vos commentaires !) Tu as un groupe et tu veux qu'on parle de toi ? Rien de plus simple, fais-nous passer des infos sur ce que tu fais, des liens Bandcamp, Facebook, démo et autre et si ça nous plaît, nous te chroniquerons. À bientôt !