The Record Company was born out of a late-night hang in 2011, when Chris Vos (vocals, guitar), Alex Stiff (bass, backing vocals), and Marc Cazorla (drums, backing vocals) spun classic blues records like John Lee Hooker’s Hooker ’N Heat and swapped stories of their favorite concerts (Iggy Pop & The Stooges, among them). Energized by the evening, the three musicians reconvened the next day for a jam session at Stiff’s Los Feliz home. Before long, his living room would become the band’s epicenter as they wrote songs, performed for friends, and, eventually, recorded and mixed their debut album, Give It Back to You.
Blending the soul of Delta blues with the power of classic rock and roll, the trio recorded much of the album live, giving songs like “Off the Ground,” “Rita Mae Young,” and “On the Move” a raw, immediate feel. They also incorporated slide guitar, pedal steel, piano, and harmonica, showcasing both their range and reverence for tradition while infusing it with modern energy.
Released in February 2016, Give It Back to You spent 42 weeks on both the Billboard Top New Artist Heatseekers chart (where it peaked at #5). Fueling its success was the lead single “Off the Ground,” which rose to #1 on Billboard’s AAA radio chart and cracked the Mainstream Rock Top 30, while its follow-up, “Rita Mae Young,” landed at #12 on the AAA chart.
In the years following Give It Back to You, The Record Company has released three more albums—including their best-selling 2018 follow-up, All of This Life (featuring the hit “Life to Fix”). Their broad appeal has led them to share stages with an eclectic mix of artists—B.B. King, Social Distortion, Grace Potter, and Trombone Shorty among them—while their music has appeared in an array of films (including the 2016 blockbuster Bad Moms), hit series (Suits, Nashville, Shameless), and video games (MLB The Show 22). In 2023, they returned with their broadly acclaimed fourth album, aptly titled The 4th Album.
