121. Isaac Slusarenko Discusses Bubble Puppy, A Gathering of Promises

Send us Fan MailYMAAA has never been visited by the head of a record label or proprietor of a record store, but this week’s guest, Isaac Slusarenko, is both! Isaac runs the Jackpot Records label and store, and on this week’s episode, he introduces Al to Texas-based psychedelic rock band Bubble Puppy and their lone album, 1969’s A Gathering of Promises. Isaac talks about how he learned about this band and this album and how it changed the way that he sought out new music to listen to. Isaac also explains how he wound up opening the Jackpot Records store more than 25 years ago and which new releases we can expect from the label,.Follow Isaac and Jackpot Records on Twitter and Instagram at @jackpotrecords!Also be sure to visit the store’s website at jackpotrecords.com.Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB, and this show has accounts on Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow @youmealbum to find out in advance about upcoming guests and featured albums for this podcast.Subscribe for free to You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter and participate in weekly chats about this podcast’s featured albums! https://youmealbum.substack.com/If you are interested in supporting this podcast, please check out the show’s Patreon site, https://www.patreon.com/youmealbum. Your contributions are greatly appreciated and keep this show going.1:09 Isaac joins the show1:52 Isaac talks about why he opened Jackpot Records3:32 Al remembers learning about Djangos5:38 Isaac explains why A Gathering of Promises is a special album for him12:17 Isaac talks about other small label discoveries he made, emboldened by his discovery of Bubble Puppy15:59 Isaac discusses Bubble Puppy’s second iteration called Demian17:08 Bubble Puppy inspired Isaac to make a pilgrimage to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame18:03 There is a Bubble Puppy-Funkadelic connection19:44 How was “Hot Smoke and Sassafras” a top 20 hit??21:41 Bubble Puppy reminded Al of a lot of other bands24:30 Bubble Puppy apparently had a following in England26:13 Mike Mills is a fan of the album26:52 Al doesn’t know if this is an album he’ll go back to often28:19 Isaac talks about the importance of an album’s artwork30:17 Isaac doesn’t find it easy to single out favorite tracks33:33 Isaac reveals some of his other finds37:51 Isaac discusses the origins of the Jackpot Records label40:00 Isaac talks about how he determines what gets published on his label44:21 Isaac reports on Jackpot Records’ upcoming releasesSupport the show