What_Are_Records?

What Are Records?

What Are Records?

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What Are Records? (or W.A.R.?) is an independent record label located in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in New York City in 1991 by owner Rob Gordon, former director of A&R at EMI,[1] the company moved to Boulder in 1994.

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W.A.R.? has released over 100 records by Frank Black (of The Pixies), Bill Burr, Stephen Lynch, The Samples, Maceo Parker, Melissa Ferrick, and Whitest Kids U' Know.[2]

History

What Are Records? was founded in Gordon's New York City loft in 1991. From the beginning, it fostered a direct-to-stores and direct-to-consumers distribution strategy[3] Friend of Gordon and The Samples then-manager,[4] Ted Guggenheim, urged W.A.R.? to sign The Samples and they soon were among the first signings to the label.[5] Other early acts included comedian Stephen Lynch,[6] funk saxophone legend Maceo Parker (known for having played in James Brown’s band), former Squeeze frontman Glen Tilbrook, Grammy and Tony-nominated composer and piano man David Yazbek, singer-songwriter David Wilcox, and singer-songwriter Melissa Ferrick.

Gordon relocated the company to Boulder in 1991[7] and has been operating out of the offices designed by architect Charles Haertling ever since.[8]

Current artists

Catalog artists

References

  1. [1]
    Grossweiner, Bob; Cohen, Jane (February 1, 2002). "Industry Profile: Rob Gordon". Celebrity Access. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  2. [2]
    "The History of What Are Records?". What Are Records?. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  3. [3]
    Owsinski, Bobby (2014). Music 4.0: A Survival Guide for Making Music in the Internet Age. Hal Leonard Corporation.
  4. [4]
    Sprague, David (July 2, 1995). "While Hollywood And W.A.R.? Negotiated, The Samples Had Time To Sample MCA". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  5. [5]
    Roberts, Michael (September 1, 1998). "GOING TO WAR?". Westword. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  6. [6]
    Wenzel, John (August 3, 2013). "Why comedians Bill Burr, Stephen Lynch and Ben Roy work for Colorado music labels". The Denver Post. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  7. [7]
    Bell, Carrie (September 1, 1998). "Samples Return To Indie Roots". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  8. [8]
    The Denver Eye (March 2, 2011). "Boulder Eye Clinic". The Denver Eye. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
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