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.Jesse Saunders and Vince Lawrence, and
recorded some of the earliest house music
with them. Eventually, Larry Sherman,
who had a vinyl pressing plant on the South
Side, became the designated adult. We
were able to make test pressings. That’s
what brought it all together.
The house movement also thrives on
collaboration. Why?
When I was doing all-ages parties at
The Space Place — which were pretty
much punk — Ministry rehearsed there.
Die Warzau was there. That was right
around the corner from The Warehouse.
Chicago was divided racially, which it
still can be, but house music brought
us together. It wasn’t only a youth
revolution — it crossed all neighborhoods.
You had rich kids from private schools
collaborating with kids from Englewood.
You never heard about violence.
[The Orchard COO] Colleen Theis is a
great Trax supporter, and one of the first
things we talked about was house’s spiritual
quality — how you get lost in the music. The
first time I walked into The Warehouse,
the first time I walked into The Music Box,
it was like that. I kind of think of house
people as modern-day hippies.
Was it a response to disco?
The reaction toward disco made the city
ripe for something stripped down. The
punk and industrial scenes lent themselves
in many ways to what became house. When
we did the record “Fantasy” — myself,
Vince and Jesse — and it went on rotation
in Chicago on regular radio, I remember
people said that it was like Blondie on a
beatbox budget.
When did Trax and the house
movement spread beyond Chicago?
I remember when the U.K. magazine
The Face sent over journalists. Spin did a
1986 cover story called “Burning Down
the House.” Once the journalists started
coming to town and covering Trax and
D.J. International — the two labels that
really represented the movement — that’s
when it went international. I lived in New
York for a number of years, and I remember
when I brought “Fun With Bad Boys” to
Little Louie Vega. Those guys — Louie Vega,
Jellybean, Kenny Dope — they were playing
Latin freestyle. House wasn’t on their radar,
and then suddenly, they became house
heads and claimed it as their own. There’s
a bit of truth there because nightlife fixture
Robert Williams — the man behind clubs
like The Music Box and The Warehouse —
brought Ron Hardy over from Los Angeles
and Frankie Knuckles over from New York,
but the sound they played was born in
Chicago. Its roots are here.
With your reacquisition and revival
of Trax, what have you gained and
rediscovered?
I have dedicated my life to fighting for
this music and to keeping it relevant and
the originators credited. I interned for
[Sugar Hill Records founder/CEO] Sylvia
Robinson and was there at the very end.
Once she sold the label, I knew that people
like Melle Mel and Doug E. Fresh were
never really going to have their day —
because at the same time Russell Simmons
had pretty much taken over hip-hop. I
promised myself that I would always try to
have the people who made the music be
remembered as the pioneers: the Marshall
Jeffersons, the Mr. Fingerses, the Joe
Smooths. That’s why it’s important for us
to stay small and independent — it keeps a
lot of heart in the label.
How do you feel about top dance acts
citing house as an influence?
Since EDM has become homogenized,
those artists are going back to their
roots in house because it’s real.
D.J. International isn’t around
anymore, but I remember when I had a
conversation with then-president Rocky
[Jones], who said, “Rachael, we’re all
going to be forgotten now. It’s going to
be EDM and the European DJs who will
be remembered.” And I said, “Rocky,
you’re 100% wrong. No one will forget
what we did.”
Why has the subgenre endured?
I can’t explain why a young kid thinks
house is new music. I can’t explain why an
old house head — who might be 60 — is
still out there shaking to it and bringing his
grandkids. What can I say? You’ll find them
all in the same place. Everyone’s welcome.
Everyone’s accepted in our house.
THAT HOUSE MUSIC SOUND
Cain looks back at six seminal records that dovet ailed with Tra x ’s own rise
Cain and Jones at
Producers Club in
New York in July.
Cain (as Screamin Rachael) at
Wanderlust in Paris in 2017.
“That barrelhouse
bluesy piano and
Curtis McClain’s
slightly off vocal —
the first time I heard
what is now known
as the house anthem,
I told Marshall he
had written his ‘Rock
Around the Clock.’
I was right.”
“Acid is a huge part
of the Trax legacy,
and this was the very
first acid house cut.
Sleezy released only
one record during his
lifetime. The urgency
he projects over the
rolling beat takes
you over the top — as
acid should.”
“One of the unique
masterpieces
of the genre, my
favorite Knuckles
cut is haunting
and hypnotic
with existential
overtones, like
an out-of-body
experience that
starts in your ears.”
“The original
instrumental touches
your soul. It’s both
simple and epic at once.
Chuck Roberts’ speech
is house’s credo: ‘You
may be black, you may
be white, it don’t make
a difference in
our house.’ ”
“An homage to one
of the greatest DJs
that ever lived,
this simple, kicking
cut exemplifies
the Trax sound
while capturing the
raw emotion
of Hardy’s Music
Box dancefloor.”
“Joe said, ‘Get in
the booth, capture
that house lifestyle.’
Some things I spoke
about were real,
and some became
real: ‘All the famous
designers know
about us and play
our cuts.’ ”
ARMITAGE
“THIS GOES OUT
TO RON HARDY ”
2017
JOE SMOOTH
“I AM HOUSE”
(FEAT. SCREAMIN RACHAEL)
2018
Knuckles at
Turnmills in
London in 2007.
70 BILLBOARD | AUGUST 10 , 2 019
BACKSTAGE PASS / Trax Records 35th Anniversary
FRANKIE KNUCKLES
“YOUR LOVE”
1987
MR. FINGERS
“CAN YOU FEEL IT”
(FEAT. CHUCK ROBERTS)
1988
MARSHALL JEFFERSON
“MOVE YOUR BODY”
1986
SLEEZY D
“I’VE LOST CONTROL”
1986