Back in the late 80s/early 90s I edited a punk & comix 'zine with a bunch of other crazies in San JoHaze , Cali. We tracked down outré musick or were tracked down by weirdo bands & musicians. Through some twist of events, we came into communication with Woody Dumas of C'est la Mort. Some years later I had the pleasure to spend some time with M. Dumas after he had moved to Oregon. Cottage Grove is right on Interstate 5 just south of Eugene. Through some other twist of events, we were heading to Eugene, had a few days to kill, had found out Woody was living in Oregon & got his address from a friend of a friend of a friend kinda thing. I have to say we had a great time, listened to & talked about some great music. Woody Dumas was a fine, friendly, intelligent human being who is surely missed.
C'est la Mort Records was a small but influential independent record label that operated from the home of Woodrow Huntley Dumas in Baker, Louisiana. C'est la Mort specialized in ethereal, ambient, dream pop, & darkwave bands. ClM operated from 1984 until 1994.
According to liner notes included in the Dr. Death Vol. I LP compilation record, Woody Dumas began his Dr. Death radio show on KLSU in December of 1983.
KLSU 91.1 FM is the student-run college radio station for Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The radio station is part of the university's Student Media Program. KLSU utilizes students as DJs & management staff. Thus began Woody's sojourn into radio.
The radio show led to a mail order business known as Deadly Records. That eventually led to the C'est la Mort label itself. In addition to albums released for individual acts, there were six Dr. Death compilation albums released.
Modeled after UKs 4AD, C'est la Mort released a number of albums influential to the Gothic & dream pop genres. Associated bands included: East Ash & Room Nine, who only appeared on ClM; bands such as Beautiful Pea Green Boat, Heavenly Bodies, The Arms of Someone New, & Area that went on to record for Third Mind & have seen re-release by Projekt on their Archive series; & probably the most well known, Controlled Bleeding who have appeared on such labels as Soleilmoon, Dark Vinyl, Sub Rosa, Third Mind, even Wax Trax! & who already had a string of releases on heavy hitters Inner-X-Musick, Dossier, & others when Woody landed them in 1989.
Born August 27, 1950, Dumas died on September 18, 2012 in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Little Woody, as he was known to friends & family, graduated from Baker High School in 1968. He attended Atlanta College of Art. He was a gifted stained glass artist who has works currently displayed in the OLOL Chapel & in several EBRP governmental buildings. As well as an artist, music lover, radio show host & producer, Woody also had his private pilot's license & was an avid stargazer. After leaving Louisiana, he resided in Cottage Grove, Oregon. There he ran a successful internet radio station, iPop Café.
Here are some of the treasures from Little Woody, starting with the very first, from Dr. Death hisself…
Side 1 –
Faulter – Rash of Stabbings
Fish (different version than 4AD) – Throwing Muses
All My Eye & Betty Martin – Breathless
Family – The Kite
Afraid – Pat on the Back
Side 2 –
Angels Sing – Room Nine
Survival – Circle Confusion
Rain – M-1 Alternative
Find the Time – Lung Overcoat
Save – End Over End
Side 1 –
Circus Floor
Revolving Door
Don't Look Back
Red Dog
Side 2 –
1000 Years
The Thorn
Mirage
Seas Without a Shore
White Summer
Side 1 –
Thundershowers
Caught in the Act
Lord Unleashed
Prisoner to Dersire
Side 2 –
The Saint Became a Lush
Black Panther
Taking Chances
Unveiling the Secret
Side 1A -
25
With Louise
I'll Gather Flowers
Surrender to the Wheel
Sympathy
Side 1B –
Why Should I Worry
Vigilant
Thread
Tunnel
As Thick as Thieves
Jaqueline
No City Fun
Hollywood
Pirouette
Blue Rain
Stars End
Here Comes Everything
Souvenir
Beacon
Another Heaven
Every Seventh Wave
"Collage"
The Sense of an Evening
Everything at Once
The Powerhouse
Hammers of Islam
Too Much
When Dreams Moved In
The Vase
Among the Ruins
Paper House
Danielle
Mirrors of Souls
The Screw
Nostalgia
And She Laughed Too
Side 1 –
Realm of the Senses
William the Scotsman
Hollywood Land
Sinister Daze
Eleven Boy
Windows
Side 2 –
Juju Digby Juju
Noël
Ciao Manhattan
Broadcast of Love
WMT
Side 1 –
Rains on Me (extended mix)
Side 2 –
Rains on Me (short version)
Pure & Simple
This One
Head Above Water
Sweet Revenge
Michael Writes His Parents
One Desire
Transmitter
Resistance
Long Faces
After the End
Crystal
plus –
Higher than Heaven
Sincerely Charlotte
Parachute
Side 1 –
Every Seventh Wave (intermix)
Every Seventh Wave (album mix)
Side 2 –
The Sense of an Ending
Everything at Once
Side 1 –
Dreams
Australian Beaches
Doesn't Know
Faceless
Wonderful Life
Side 2 –
A Flood
Funerals
Milk & Honey
The Disease
Side 1 –
Ami Gans Cette Vie
Who'll Stop the Rain
Bang Bang My Baby Shot Me Down
Lonely Street
Big Town
Side 2 –
Sing or Die
Ophelia
Wild River
Down by the Salley Gardens
The Night Closes In
Terroir I
When Comes Day Light
Gabrielle
A Miracle
Scream Cry or Fall
Face to Face
Terroir II
Land of the Damned
The Marvels of Insect Life Theme – M-1 Alternative
Dark Hour – Johanna’s House of Glamour
Two Clouds – Mumbles
Cut – Double Happiness
Vacation – Critical Mass
If God Is – Flower Sermon
Slumming – M-1 Alternative
Alone – Talisker Tale
Greeks & Romans – Psychic Surgery
Green Light – Area
Translator – Blackgirls
Athea – Leigh Gregory
Ragman – Halycon Daze
Delicate Balance – The Millions
Crowd of Drifters – The Magnetic Fields
Salty Sea – Future Neighbors
Whale’s Belly – And Siamese Urbain
Now, Then, & Forever – Handful of Snowdrops
Losing Ground
Now
Pretty Promises
Cosmic Dancer
Another Page
Fell into You
Blue Noon
River of Change
Half Light
Do You Hear Me When I Dream?
Blue U
When I Loved You
Next December
Farewell Street
Eyes of the Night
Puzzle Boy
The One Year
Express
Green Light
All Souls
Larger than Life
About Time
At Arms Length
Subway
Dead Feather Years
Lifeline
All Souls (acoustic)
Express (extended)
Northpole Butterfly
The Alone Song
Breal Your Back
Epic Sex Bombing
Funk Opera
Strangers on a Train (Part 1)
Green Chevy
Nobody
Virgil Who?
No. 1 Man
Push
Strangers on a Train (Part 2)
Such is Death,
NØ
