Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly was founded in 2005 by Levi Fuller with the idea of shedding light on and creating a document of some of the wonderful music that was being made all around him, much of which without any fanfare, press, or radio play. The hope was that this series of compilation CDs and the release events associated with each would be a way to build community among musicians, whether local to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest or from across the United States and the world, while hopefully bringing their music to an audience that might not otherwise have stumbled upon it.
Every three months from June 2005-June 2022 a new volume was released, featuring new music from Seattle and beyond, much of which is unreleased elsewhere. Each volume’s release is celebrated with a public performance, where the CD is available for free with the price of admission; following that, each volume is made available for purchase at a ridiculously cheap price.
We are now (Winter 2023) in the midst of a re-imagining. New volumes may not come out four times a year, but they will always be engaging and community-minded and collaborative, and each will be accompanied by a live celebration. Please reach out if you want to be part of the fun, as a musician, curator, advisor, writer, cheerleader, or anything else.
Blog of Wax is an ongoing extension of this mission of bringing underexposed music to light. We will harness the power of the blog platform to bring more perspectives to the Ball of Wax experience and bring you more great music you’ve never heard of than you can handle.
Submissions:
Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly thrives on your submissions, which are encouraged from anyone (including previous contributors). We are always accepting submissions.
Submissions of any nature are encouraged, as there will be both themed and unthemed installments of Ball of Wax in the future. The next volume of Ball of Wax (#70, TBD), curated by Mia Rose Malone, will focus on music by trans/non-binary musicians of Washington State.
Please send audio files via via e-mail/the internet to lmf@denimclature.com. For large files, send via dropbox, wetransfer, or a similar service. MP3s may be emailed as attachments.
You may also send CDs (unmastered, and as high-quality as you can muster):
Levi Fuller/Ball of Wax
c/o Jack Straw Cultural Center
Seattle, WA 98105
Please let us know when you send your music if you would like to perform at the release celebration. Previously unreleased materials are preferred, and covers are more than we can deal with (unless it’s either a traditional song or a song by someone you know, and you have that person’s permission).
Blog of Wax is also always on the lookout for new stuff to listen to and write about. Feel free to contact Levi or any of our individual writers with your music. Please note, though, that we are not here to regurgitate your press releases. A personal note goes a long way, and you should absolutely feel free to send us stuff whenever it tickles your fancy (“Hey, I just recorded this yesterday.”), not just because you’re “dropping a new album next Friday!” or what have you.