Yellow Tail Records

Yellow Tail Records is an American independent record label associated with Seattle-area songwriter Andrew Ratshin. Available reference material describes the label as Ratshin's own imprint rather than as a subsidiary of a major music company or a large commercial label group. Its documented catalogue is closely connected with Ratshin's work as a solo performer under the name Electric Bonsai Band, as well as with the contemporary folk trio Uncle Bonsai and the ensemble Mel Cooleys. The label's releases reflect Ratshin's activity across several overlapping musical projects. The catalogue includes Electric Bonsai Band recordings such as I Am Joe's Eyes and But I'm Happy Now, alongside releases connected with Uncle Bonsai, including later albums such as The Grim Parade and The Family Feast: The Study of the Human Condition, First World Problems, and the Lasting Physiological and Psychological Effects of Eating Our Young. The available discography also includes live and archival material, including Doug, a recording made at an August 1998 performance and credited to Electric Bonsai Band and Mel Cooleys. Yellow Tail Records appears to function primarily as a creator-controlled outlet for issuing and preserving Ratshin's recordings. Its documented catalogue spans original studio work, live material, archival releases, and a CD single. The label's profile is therefore best understood through the artistic history of its associated performers rather than through mass-market distribution, retail scale, or corporate expansion. No reliable information in the supplied material establishes a formal founding year, current operating status, distribution arrangements, financial performance, or a separate headquarters. The label's strongest documented connection is with Uncle Bonsai, an American contemporary folk trio formed in Seattle in 1981 by Andrew Ratshin, Arni Adler, and Ashley O'Keeffe. Uncle Bonsai became known for satirical and observational songwriting, college-radio exposure, and performances across North America. Ratshin also recorded independently as the Electric Bonsai Band, humorously characterized as a solo acoustic project, and participated in the Mel Cooleys. Yellow Tail Records provided an outlet for this interconnected body of work. Because the available references contain little corporate information beyond the label's association with Ratshin, details such as incorporation, staff, ownership structure beyond Ratshin's personal association, and present-day activity remain unverified.

Yellow Tail Records is documented as Andrew Ratshin's own independent record label. Ratshin is a songwriter and performer associated with the Seattle contemporary folk trio Uncle Bonsai, the solo project Electric Bonsai Band, and the sextet Mel Cooleys. The label's identity is consequently tied to a network of artist-led projects rather than to a conventional corporate recording operation. Ratshin was an original member of Uncle Bonsai, alongside Arni Adler and Ashley O'Keeffe. The trio formed in 1981 and developed a repertoire combining contemporary folk performance with satirical and often provocative observations. Its early songs included character-driven and comic material, while later work addressed aging, family, mortality, and everyday life. The group performed at clubs and festivals in North America and appeared on college radio and Dr. Demento. These activities provide the artistic setting in which Yellow Tail Records' catalogue should be understood. The documented discography includes releases dating from the 1980s through the 2010s. A Lonely Grain of Corn was originally issued in 1984 and re-released in 2001. Other early and archival entries include Boys Want Sex in the Morning, The Inessential Uncle Bonsai, and Myn Ynd Wymyn. Ratshin's Electric Bonsai Band work is represented by I Am Joe's Eyes and But I'm Happy Now. Plain Brown Wrapper and Sponge Boy followed in 1999, while Doug captured a live performance from August 4, 1998 and carried credits involving Electric Bonsai Band and Mel Cooleys. The catalogue also documents the continuing life of the associated folk projects. Apology appeared in 2001, The Grim Parade in 2010, and The Family Feast: The Study of the Human Condition, First World Problems, and the Lasting Physiological and Psychological Effects of Eating Our Young in 2017. These releases suggest that the label served both as a vehicle for new work and as a means of maintaining access to earlier or otherwise specialized recordings. The supplied references do not establish the label's formal launch date, legal structure, distribution partners, physical location, staffing, or present operating status. They also do not document major commercial campaigns, acquisitions, litigation, scandals, or financial results. Yellow Tail Records is therefore most accurately described as a small American artist-associated imprint whose known significance lies in documenting and distributing Ratshin's interconnected musical output.

• 2017

  The Family Feast

  [1]Uncle Bonsaien.wikipedia.org

  The Family Feast: The Study of the Human Condition, First World Problems, and the Lasting Physiological and Psychological Effects of Eating Our Young was added to the documented catalogue.

• 2010

  The Grim Parade

  [1]Uncle Bonsaien.wikipedia.org

  The Grim Parade was released as a later Uncle Bonsai-related album.

• 2001

  Archival and subsequent releases

  [1]Uncle Bonsaien.wikipedia.org

  A Lonely Grain of Corn was re-released, and Apology was issued as another documented catalogue entry.

• 1999

  Plain Brown Wrapper and Sponge Boy

  [1]Uncle Bonsaien.wikipedia.org

  The catalogue records Plain Brown Wrapper and the Sponge Boy CD single during the late-1990s period.

• 1984

  Release of A Lonely Grain of Corn

  [1]Uncle Bonsaien.wikipedia.org

  A Lonely Grain of Corn is listed as an early release associated with the label's catalogue; it was later re-released in 2001.

A creator-controlled independent imprint for folk, satirical songwriting, solo projects, ensemble recordings, and archival releases associated chiefly with Andrew Ratshin.

• Album · 1984

  A Lonely Grain of Corn

  An early catalogue album originally issued in 1984 and later re-released in 2001.

• Album · 1986

  Boys Want Sex in the Morning

  A documented Uncle Bonsai-related album from the label's early catalogue.

• Album · 1990

  I Am Joe's Eyes

  A 1990 recording credited to Andrew Ratshin's Electric Bonsai Band project.

• Archival album · 1992

  The Inessential Uncle Bonsai

  An archival release issued in 1992 containing material recorded between 1985 and 1989.

• Album · 1992

  Myn Ynd Wymyn

  A documented 1992 release whose recording period is identified as 1987.

• Album · 1993

  But I'm Happy Now

  A 1993 release credited to the Electric Bonsai Band.

• Album · 1999

  Plain Brown Wrapper

  A late-1990s catalogue album released in 1999.

• CD single · 1999

  Sponge Boy

  A CD single listed among the label's 1999 releases.

• Live album · 2000

  Doug

  A live recording made on August 4, 1998 and credited to Electric Bonsai Band and Mel Cooleys.

• Album · 2001

  Apology

  A catalogue release issued in 2001.

• Album · 2010

  The Grim Parade

  A 2010 Uncle Bonsai-related album reflecting the group's later period.

• Album · 2017

  The Family Feast: The Study of the Human Condition, First World Problems, and the Lasting Physiological and Psychological Effects of Eating Our Young

  A 2017 release with an extended title that presents the associated project's satirical and observational perspective on family, society, and everyday life.

1. 1Uncle Bonsaien.wikipedia.org