Inside Blues Funeral Recordings — Jadd Shickler on Running an Independent Heavy Rock Label

For a deeper dive on the interviews: www.thesonicroad.com Jadd Shickler — founder of Blues Funeral Recordings, director of Magnetic Eye Records, and lead vocalist of Albuquerque desert rock band Blue Heron — joins The Sonic Road Podcast to talk about what it takes to run an independent heavy rock label in 2026. Jadd has been part of the heavy underground since the beginning. In 1997 he co-founded MeteorCity Records in Albuquerque, New Mexico with Aaron Emmel — one of the first labels dedicated to stoner rock, and the home of the genre-defining Welcome to MeteorCity compilation. After selling MeteorCity and spending time away from music, he returned to join Magnetic Eye Records in 2016, and launched Blues Funeral Recordings in 2018. Blues Funeral's roster today includes Elder, Acid King, Lowrider, Castle Rat, Dead Meadow, Dozer, ABRAMS, Domkraft, Howling Giant, and more, with Magnetic Eye running alongside it in the same heavy underground world. In this highlight, Jadd gets into what running these labels actually looks like — signing bands, building rosters, the PostWax vinyl subscription series, and the thinking behind curating heavy music for listeners and collectors. He also talks about the difference between a label built out of genuine love for the music and one built around a business model, and why the independent heavy underground is having one of its strongest runs in years. It's a detailed look at the work behind two of the most important independent heavy rock labels going right now, from someone who has helped shape this scene for nearly thirty years. Full episode out now on YouTube, Spotify & Apple Podcasts. 🔔 SUBSCRIBE to The Sonic Road Podcast: thesonicroad.com | linktr.ee/thesonicroad 📲 FOLLOW THE SONIC ROAD PODCAST: