Editing Mystic Records

{{Short description|American record label and music company}}
'''Mystic Records''' is an American [[record label]] and music production company specializing in [[hardcore punk]], [[crossover thrash]], [[underground music]], vintage and cult records. It is owned and operated by Doug Moody. The label was first established in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], [[California]], and subsequently moved its operations to [[Oceanside, California]]. Mystic Records is an independent label and is a member of the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA).

==History==
===Background===
Mystic Records is closely associated with the personality of its founder, Doug Moody, regarded as a pioneer of the independent [[rock and roll]] industry.<ref>John Broven, ''Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock 'n' Roll Pioneers.'' Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2009; pg. 363.</ref> Moody's father, Walter Moody, was himself an influential figure in the music industry, running EMI Studios ([[Abbey Road Studios]]) in [[London]] during the 1930s.<ref name=Flip42>Al Kowalewski et al., "Mystic Records, Doug Moody," ''Flipside,'' whole no. 42 (Summer 1984), pp. 42–43.</ref> In 1953 the family moved to the United States.<ref name=Flip42 />

Moody decided to himself become involved in the music business, first working in the [[Artists and repertoire|A&R department]] of [[Silvertone Records (1916)|Silvertone Records]] in [[New Jersey]].<ref name=Flip42 /> A series of music industry jobs followed throughout the decades of the 1960s and 1970s, including stints in various capacities at [[Kama Sutra Records]], [[20th Century Fox]], and [[A&M Records]].<ref name=Flip42 />

===Studio and label===
Seeking another place in the music industry outside of the major record labels, Moody opened a [[recording studio]] in [[Hollywood, California]], at the location of the old Mustang Studios, made famous as a facility used by the [[Bobby Fuller Four]].<ref name=Flip42 /> Moody changed out the studio's superannuated 2 track [[monaural|mono]] recording gear and replaced it with state of the art 8-track [[Stereophonic sound|stereo]] gear, leaving the recording rooms otherwise largely unaltered.<ref name=Flip42 />

In tandem with the studio was launched the Mystic Records label. During the label's peak period of activity, from 1982 through 1990, Mystic released over 200 [[gramophone record|records]], many of which were multi-band compilations, involving the work of several hundred artists.<ref name="About">{{Cite web |url=http://www.mysticrecordshq.com/mysticnardcorehistory.html |title=History of Mystic Records |access-date=2020-07-07 |archive-date=2019-09-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915151749/http://www.mysticrecordshq.com/mysticnardcorehistory.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Emerging as a prominent force in the Southern California [[punk rock]] music scene, Mystic put out an array of alternative bands, with an emphasis on the [[hardcore punk]], [[crossover thrash]], and [[speed metal]] styles in vogue during this period.<ref name=About />

Moody claimed to have invested $70,000 in the label in 1983 alone, but taking into account recording costs and sales figures averaging about 2,000 copies per record, found the operation with about $40,000 left to recover at the end of that year.<ref name=Flip42 /> Bands would purchase studio time, with Mystic recouping its investment against royalties due, which in 1984 Moody claimed was approximately 40 cents per record.<ref name=Flip42 />

In conjunction with the label, Moody and Mystic established its own wholesale record distribution branch, MD Distributing.<ref name=Flip42 /> This distributorship handled not only Mystic releases but those of other labels as well.<ref name=Flip42 />

===Bands===
Some of the best known artists on Mystic Records include [[NOFX]], [[RKL]], [[Battalion of Saints]], [[Ill Repute]], [[Agression (band)|Agression]], and [[the Mentors]]. Mystic Records has also released vinyl compilations featuring [[Suicidal Tendencies]], Love Canal, [[New Regime (American band)|New Regime]], [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]], [[False Alarm (band)|False Alarm]], Duct Tape Hostage, [[SIN 34]], [[Government Issue]], [[Minutemen (band)|the Minutemen]], [[Burning Image]], Habeas Corpus, and [[Bad Religion]].

===Importance===
Mystic Records has been credited with several innovations in the independent record industry of the 1980s. It introduced Super Sevens (7-inch 33rpm extended play records featuring seven songs) and helped popularize the manufacture of limited edition records on colored vinyl.<ref name=About /> One of the most interesting releases was from a band named the Sharks (later [[Shark Island (band)|Shark Island]]): a custom shaped single that had three outer edge "shark fins", which when inserted into the sleeve appeared to cut through the water. The label was also influential through its release of multi-band compilation albums, such as its "The Sound of Hollywood" series, and promotional label samplers making use of album tracks, typified by its "Mystic Sampler" series.<ref name=About />

Additionally, Moody worked to define new genres of music such as "METALCORE," which he described in a 1984 press release as "a mixture of hardcore, fast paced thrash music with double drumming & Heavy Metal screaming guitars."<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Wilkins |first=Mark |date=1984 |title=Mystic Record Group Press Release |pages=5 |work=Mystic Record Group News |url=https://archive.org/details/MysticRecordGroupNewsHollywoodCA/page/n4/mode/1up |quote=Mystic's latest venture is into 'METALCORE'...}}</ref>

Moody's key collaborators on the Mystic Records project included producer and engineer Phillip "Philco" Raves, sales and distribution Randy Boyd of Cobraside Distribution, promotion director Mark Wilkins,<ref name=":0" /> and Candace D'Andrea who is Chief Operating Officer.<ref name=About />

==Selected artists==
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* [[Agression (band)|Agression]]
* America's Hardcore
* [[Battalion of Saints]]
* [[BLEED]]
* Bleach Party, USA
* The Conservatives
* Crankshaft
* [[Doggy Style (Band)|Doggy Style]]
* [[Dr. Know (band)|Dr. Know]]
* Duct Tape Hostage
* Fatal Error
* Fornicators
* First Offense
* The Grim
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* [[Ill Repute]]
* Insolent
* Killroy
* [[The Offspring|Manic Subsidiary]]
* Manifest Destiny
* Meatwagon
* [[The Mentors]]
* [[New Regime (American band)|New Regime]]
* [[NOFX]]
*  The P.T.L. Klub
* Rabid Fetus
* [[Rich Kids on LSD]]
* [[RUNOFF]]
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* Sado-Nation
* [[Scared Straight (band)|Scared Straight]]
* Screaming Bloody Marys 
* [[SIN 34]]
* Slaughterhouse 5
* Social Spit
* Stäläg 13
* Standard Issue
* [[Suicidal Tendencies]]
* Teacherz
* The Shades
* Stukas Over Bedrock
* Undercity Kings
* Zoo
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==See also==
* [[List of record labels]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.mysticrecordshq.com Mystic Records Official Website]
* [https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/doug-moody Doug Moody Interview] at [[NAMM Oral History Program|NAMM Oral History Collection]] (May 2, 2008)
* [https://archive.org/details/MysticRecordGroupNewsHollywoodCA/page/n0 Mystic Records newsletter, 1984]

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[[Category:American record labels]]
[[Category:Alternative rock record labels]]
[[Category:Punk record labels]]
[[Category:Oceanside, California]]