Communicating Vessels

Addicted to conjuring something out of nothing Communicating Vessels is an independent record label with in-house studio and storefront nestled in the historic Woodlawn district in Birmingham, Alabama. CommVess officially began in the home of producer, writer, recording artist, and former Remy Zero guitarist Jeffrey Cain, but in a broader, and certainly more emotional and creative sense, CommVess has its origins in the port city of Mobile. It was there during the 1980s that Cain was recording music on a 4-track deck, making cassette-cover art with paper copier, and pasting fake record label names on tapes he distributed to classmates at school. According to Cain, he got addicted to conjuring something out of nothing. You can go farther when you aren’t alone There’s not a mantra for Communicating Vessels, just three words that are invariably associated with every endeavor at the label: support, home, family. The sidewalk outside the Woodlawn store window leads through an industrial area that, in spots, recalls England’s Sheffield or Manchester, yet just inside a laidback, communal vibe resonates throughout. (Blend Factory Records’ bleak location with the creative mood of Laurel Canyon of the early 1970s and you get something approaching Communicating Vessels.) It’s not merely a vibe. The label’s founder, staff, and artists have exhibited a remarkable capacity to maintain what Cain, speaking as an artist and as a producer, refers to as “the purity of the artist’s first creative years.” Each player, writer, singer, and contributing artist can count on support, whether in studio for a session or across the ocean on tour. There’s a family in place that nurtures and shares every experience. In turn, theses artists are safe to push themselves because they begin and end on a firm foundation. As Jeffrey Cain likes to say, “You can go farther when you aren’t alone.” WRAY, Sanders Bohlke, The Green Seed, Isidore, Preston Lovinggood, Shaheed & Dj Supreme...