Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by
Slim Moon and based in Olympia, Washington, United States, though it will be moving some of its
operations to New York City and Portland, Oregon
in 2007. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, making it difficult to pigeonhole as having any one
artistic mission. Overall, though, the political sensibilities of the label can be said to be
leftist, feminist, and anti-war, and the label has consistently shown a commitment towards underground punk bands and to representing artists in the Olympia, Washington
area.
Moon initially started the label with the intention of releasing spoken word
7" single records. KRS-101 (the label's first release) was in fact a split 7"
spoken-word record with Kathleen Hanna and Slim Moon; other "Wordcore" releases followed.
The first major release was a compilation of Olympia-area bands simply titled Kill Rock
Stars (Stars Kill Rock and Rock Stars
Kill would follow in the same compilation series) and featured Bikini Kill,
Bratmobile, Unwound, Nirvana and The Melvins. In fact, Moon has said that the label began
releasing music because Bikini Kill, Bratmobile and
Unwound were too exciting to remain unsigned.
Although the label's music has never reflected just a single genre or underground music movement, it is arguably most notable
for releasing the work of various riot grrrl bands during the mid-'90s, some of which,
especially the aforementioned Bikini Kill, generated a good deal of press attention. Other KRS releases in this genre includes
albums by Bratmobile, Huggy Bear, Heavens to Betsy
and Excuse 17. The label continued its tradition of spoken word by releasing their first
full-length spoken word LP Big Broad by Juliana Lueking
in 1995. This was also the year that Elliott Smith released his self-titled solo LP on the
label. Another milestone was the 1997 release of Sleater-Kinney's third LP (and first on
KRS) Dig Me Out, which garnered national press attention in Spin and Rolling Stone magazines.
The new KRS logo by Sarah Utter on a KRS sweatshirt.
In 1997/98, the 5RC label was formed as a sister label to Kill Rock Stars; it
released generally harsher-sounding and more challenging indie rock than KRS. The 5RC roster includes Xiu Xiu, Deerhoof, Need New Body,
The Mae Shi and Metalux among others. 1998 also marked the
first-ever Mailorder Freak Singles Club and featured Quasi, Small
Stars and Rock-A-Teens among others. Another popular band on KRS was The Decemberists, who left the label in 2005 after signing to Capitol
Records.
Some have argued that the label has shown a marked trend in becoming more commercial[citation needed]. Critics[citation needed] point to L.A.-based major label
artist and producer Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes
reissuing her solo album on KRS in 2005, a move which called into question the label's past strictly indie ethos and history of
skirting outright major recording industry affiliations. Other notable releases by KRS include: albums by bands such as
The Paper Chase, Jeff Hanson, Unwound, The
Gossip, Mecca Normal, Two Ton Boa and
Comet Gain; spoken word albums by Kathy Acker and
Miranda July; and reissues of work by earlier punk/post-punk bands such as Kleenex/Liliput, Essential Logic, and Delta 5. Also, KRS has moved distributors from Mordam Records to Alternative Distribution Alliance, beginning
with Deerhoof's "Reveille"
In October of 2006 Slim Moon, the owner, announced he would be departing Kill Rock Stars to work as an A&R representative
at Nonesuch Records, a Warner Music Group subsidiary. Slim's wife Portia Sabin will be
taking over management of Kill Rock Stars from their new home in New York City. 5RC is
to be ended.
See also
References
External links
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