Back in 1993, when Eric Friedl decided to start the Goner Records label — putting out a limited vinyl release from Japanese noise-rockers Guitar Wolf — he did it for one very good reason.

"Their music was so wild that I didn’t think there was a label that would dare release anything by them,” Friedl says.

Back then, Friedl couldn't have expected that Goner would be going — bigger and better than ever — 25 years on. But in 2019, Goner is its own little empire: one that includes a still-flourishing label (now with more than 100 releases to its credit), a thriving Cooper-Young-based retail store, and the annual Gonerfest concert extravaganza, which draws bands and fans from all over the world to town each September.

To mark Goner’s silver anniversary, the company — now led by Friedl and longtime partner Zac Ives — is throwing a party this weekend. Goner25 is a three-day bash that will include a performance by founding artists Guitar Wolf and other longtime label acts and supporters like The 5.6.7.8’s, Royal Pendletons, Jack Oblivian and Bloodshot Bill, plus film screenings and other fun.

“It’s a little mind blowing honestly,” Ives says of the silver anniversary. “We’ve somehow managed to keep this thing going against all odds. I don’t know of many shops or labels or festivals that have lasted this long. So it’s even more improbable and incredible that we’ve been able to pull off all three.”

The roots of Goner actually date back some 30 years. Originally from Hawaii, Friedl moved to Memphis in 1989 to help Sherman Willmott — the two had met at Pomona College in California — with his record store startup, Shangri-La Records (which remains the other iconic Midtown music retailer).

While working in the store, Friedl met Greg Cartwright and Jack Yarber, who were pounding away in their first band together, the Compulsive Gamblers. After that band dissolved, Friedl began writing music with Yarber. When Cartwright returned to Memphis after a short stint in New York, the three musicians formed the Oblivians, who would go on to become a garage rock institution (the band reunited a decade ago and continues to record and perform together).

Friedl was performing at a garage rock fest in Washington when he first saw Guitar Wolf play.

“They weren’t even on the bill — they just flew in from Japan and showed up with (fellow Japanese band) The 5.6.7.8’s," Friedl recalls. "The guy at the festival let them play before the first band. I thought they were great, and I loved their gonzo attitude. They came to Memphis later and we bonded — despite them not speaking English and me not speaking Japanese. That’s when I decided to start the label and put out the Guitar Wolf record, which was Goner catalog number 001.”

Throughout the ‘90s, the Goner label continued to put out as many releases as Friedl could find the time and money for while he worked day jobs and toured with the Oblivians. The first wave of Goner titles included records from the Royal Pendletons, Johnny Vomit & the Dry Heaves (Jack Yarber and future Squirrel Nut Zipper Jimbo Mathus' high school band) and Impala, and the debut single by the Reatards, led by the late Jay Reatard.

In the early ‘00s, Friedl took the next step in Goner’s evolution in partnership with Ives, a fellow musician from Oklahoma who’d gone to college in Memphis. Friedl and Ives decided to turn Goner Records into a brick-and-mortar store. They moved into a location in Cooper-Young — previously occupied by Cartwright’s Legba Records — in early 2004. “Once we opened the shop,” says Friedl, “that’s when things got a little more serious.”

Says Ives: “We wanted to stock the store with records that we could recommend to people. I found out about music that way: guys in record shops recommending things, and then finding new stuff through those explorations. The idea of being able to do that, both through the shop and, in a more magnified way, with the Goner label, meant everything. That’s still the focus of what we do.”

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Another key moment came in early 2005, when Friedl and Ives were planning a record release for one of their artists, King Khan & BBQ Show. They intended to book a small show at the Buccaneer Lounge, but so many people asked to play on the bill, the one-night concert grew into four days of music featuring more than a dozen bands. They dubbed this accidental festival “Gonerfest.”

Fourteen years later, Gonerfest is going strong. The September party has become a signature Memphis event that draws hundreds of fans from around the world. Musically, the fest has grown and morphed over the years, expanding beyond its trash and garage rock roots. It’s also gained the support and sponsorship of companies ranging from FedEx to Apple Music, while retaining its singular artistic spirit and communal vibe.

“It really is about that community and a celebration of music the way we like to see it: in small sweaty places,” Ives says. “The idea of Gonerfest is that you can be watching some incredible musician on stage … and then he hops down after his set and stands next to you and cheers on the next band. That’s the way it is with Gonerfest. It’s part international music festival and part annual reunion, with a bunch of fans and musicians, — and fans who are musicians — getting together to celebrate something we all love.”

While planning is underway for Gonerfest 16 (a lineup announcement is expected in June), this weekend’s Goner25 will be another opportunity for Goner fans, friends and artists to toast a remarkable milestone.

“We never thought it would keep going and going and going,” Friedl says. “But, somehow, it has.”

Goner25: A Goner Records 25th anniversary celebration

Wristbands providing entry to all events (plus a limited-edition Goner koozie) are $50. Individual show prices below.

FRIDAY

Jack Oblivian, Jeffrey Evans & Ross Johnson with Richard James

9 p.m. at B-Side, inside Minglewood Hall, 1555 Madison Ave.

Cover: $10

SATURDAY

The 5.6.7.8’s, Bloodshot Bill, Flamin A’s

9 p.m. at the Hi-Tone Cafe, 412 N. Cleveland

Tickets: $22

SUNDAY

Day show

Black Lodge, 405 N. Cleveland

Cover: $12

2 p.m. “Sore Losers” film screening

4 p.m. Guitar Wolf

5 p.m. Royal Pendletons

6 p.m. “Wild Zero” film screening

Evening show

10 p.m. Bar DKDC, 964 S. Cooper

The Let’s Go’s with special guests

Cover: $10