 |
DB Records (stylized as DB RECS) was a record label owned by Danny Beard, active from 1978 to 1997. [1] The label was operated out of the Wax'n'Facts record store in the Atlanta, Georgia neighborhood of Little Five Points. [2] Through the 1980s, the label became known as a source of southern regional music. [3]
In 1978, Beard helped some friends in The B-52's by recording and releasing their first single, "Rock Lobster", produced by Kevin Dunn. The record sold nearly 20,000 copies. [4] [2]
"It was a great record and a great group," Beard told reporter Jim McConnell, "and it fooled me into thinking that having a record label was easy." [4]
Beard also recorded and helped other local and regional musicians. DB's roster went on to include The Coolies, Fetchin Bones, Guadalcanal Diary, The Jody Grind, Love Tractor, Oh-OK, Pylon, Chris Stamey, The Swimming Pool Q's, Uncle Green, and Zeitgeist (later known as The Reivers), among others. [5] [4] Beard also financed and recorded Pylon's groundbreaking first single, "Cool"/"Dub", which was released on the Athens-based Caution Records label in 1979. [6]
Many of the bands on the label also performed live at Atlanta's 688 Club, a popular venue for alternative bands.
Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about 70 miles (110 km) northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an R1 research institution, is in Athens and contributed to its initial growth. In 1991, after a vote the preceding year, the original City of Athens abandoned its charter to form a unified government with Clarke County, referred to jointly as Athens–Clarke County where it is the county seat.
Stiff Little Fingers are a Northern Irish punk rock band from Belfast. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star, doing rock covers, until they discovered punk. They were the first punk band in Belfast to release a record – the "Suspect Device" single came out on their own independent label, Rigid Digits. Their album Inflammable Material, released in partnership with Rough Trade, became the first independent LP to enter the UK top 20.
Love Tractor is a band from Athens, Georgia, founded in spring 1980 by guitarists Mark Cline and Mike Richmond, and bassist Armistead Wellford, students at the University of Georgia. Like The B-52's, Pylon and R.E.M., Love Tractor has been lauded by critics and music historians as one of the founders of the Athens, Georgia, alternative rock scene. Love Tractor toured extensively and recorded six critically acclaimed albums, consistently topping the college and alternative charts. Love Tractor was particularly known for their instrumental rock.
Magnapop is an American rock band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 1989, the band has consistently included songwriting duo Linda Hopper as vocalist and Ruthie Morris on guitar. Magnapop first achieved recognition in the Benelux countries of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg through the festival circuit and have remained popular in Europe throughout their career. After modest success in the United States in the mid-1990s with the singles "Slowly, Slowly" and "Open the Door" and a series of albums produced by Michael Stipe, Bob Mould, and Geza X, the band went on an extended hiatus due to the dissolution of their record label. They returned with a new rhythm section in 2005 on the Daemon Records release Mouthfeel. The band has continued to perform and record since this reunion and have self-released two more albums. Magnapop's musical style is noted for blending the pop vocals and melodies of Hopper with the aggressive, punk-influenced guitar-playing of Morris and her back-up vocal harmonies.
Guadalcanal Diary was an American alternative jangle pop rock group who originated in Marietta, Georgia. The band formed in 1981, released four major label albums and disbanded in 1989. They reformed in 1997, releasing a live album, but never again recorded new material. After going on hiatus in 2000, Guadalcanal Diary temporarily reunited for a second time in 2011 for Athfest, where they celebrated their 30th anniversary.
Pylon was an American new wave/post-punk band from Athens, Georgia, United States. The band's danceable sound, a blend of new wave, post-punk, jangle pop, alternative rock and funk rock, influenced the Athens music scene and the 1980s American pop underground. AllMusic wrote that Pylon's "role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock explosion is unassailable".
The music of Athens, Georgia includes a wide variety of popular music and was an important part of the early evolution of alternative rock and new wave. The city is well known as the home of chart-topping bands like R.E.M., Widespread Panic, The B-52's, and several long-time indie rock groups. Athens hosts the Athens Symphony Orchestra and other music institutions, as well as prominent local music media, such as the college radio station WUOG. Much of the modern Athens music scene relies on students from the large University of Georgia campus in the city. The University sponsors Western classical performances and groups specializing in other styles.
Athens, GA: Inside/Out is a 1986 documentary film about the mid-1980s music scene in Athens, Georgia. The film has been described as "the definitive portrait of the city's world-renowned music scene."
Georgia Theatre is a live music venue and event space in Athens, Georgia. National and local acts across all genres have performed at the Theatre, including rock, folk, country, indie, alternative, hip hop and electronic. The venue is on the Athens Music History Walking Tour sponsored by the Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau. Georgia Theatre opened as a music venue in 1978, but spent a few years in the early 1980s operating sporadically as a movie house. It was reopened as a music venue in 1989 and has since hosted many of the major touring acts that come through the state.
Oh-OK was an American musical group from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1981 with singer/lyricist Linda Hopper, bassist/vocalist/lyricist Lynda Stipe, and drummer David Pierce. Other members later included drummer David McNair and guitarist Matthew Sweet. The trio began practicing together at parties in the college community in the spring of 1981. Their first club performance break came when Stipe's brother, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., needed an opening band for a show at the 40 Watt Club.
The 688 Club was a popular alternative music venue in Atlanta, Georgia, located at 688 Spring Street, near the intersection of Spring and 3rd Streets. The 688 Club opened in May 1980 and closed in November 1986. The club was operated by Steve May. The club was co-owned by Tony Evans, John Wicker, and in its final years by Mike Hendry. Cathy Hendrix served as the club's music director. During its brief lifetime, the 688 played host to hundreds of punk rock, new wave and alternative rock bands, many of whom would later become well known.
Vanessa Briscoe Hay is an American singer for the Athens, Georgia bands Pylon, Supercluster and Pylon Reenactment Society.
Michael Scott Lachowski was the bass guitar player for Pylon, a band from Athens, Georgia. He was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and attended the University of Georgia art school. He and his roommate Randy Bewley formed Pylon, recruiting Curtis Crowe as a drummer, and Vanessa Briscoe Hay, a fellow student at the University of Georgia. They recorded the single "Cool/Dub", an album Gyrate, an EP, another album Chomp, and two singles. Pylon toured the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom before breaking up in 1983. They returned to tour again in 1988, and recorded another album, Chain, in 1990, before breaking up again in 1991. Pylon reformed in 2005 and occasionally performed until 2009, when Bewley died. Their first album, Gyrate Plus, was reissued on October 16, 2007, by DFA Records, New York City. In 2009, Chomp More was also reissued by DFA Records.
Curtis Hudgins Crowe is the drummer for the Athens, Georgia rock band Pylon. He is a native of Marietta, Georgia, and is the middle child of five children. Crowe moved to Athens to attend the University of Georgia art school. His sister Rhett Crowe was later the bass player for the band Guadalcanal Diary, a fixture on the college music scene back in the 1980s and 1990s. He has also been involved in several other music projects such as Strictly American and Dodd Ferrelle and the Tinfoil Stars.
Randall Eugene Bewley was the guitarist for the Athens, Georgia-based band Pylon.
Supercluster is a recording project that formed during 2007 in Athens, Georgia. It includes musicians from the Athens, Georgia bands New Sound Of Numbers, Bob Hay & the Jolly Beggars, Casper & the Cookies, Of Montreal, Circulatory System and Pylon, along with Elephant 6 recording artist John Fernandes. Members presently include Hannah M. Jones, Bob Hay, Bill David, Kay Stanton, Bryan Poole, Vanessa Briscoe Hay, Jason NeSmith and John Fernandes. Alumni include Randy Bewley (deceased), Heather McIntosh, Will Cullen Hart and Peter Erchick. Supercluster play what they term "Appalachian Wave." For a brief period they were known as FFFM.
R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style; Stipe's distinctive vocal quality, unique stage presence, and obscure lyrics; Mills's melodic bass lines and backing vocals; and Berry's tight, economical drumming style. In the early 1990s, other alternative rock acts such as Nirvana, Pixies and Pavement viewed R.E.M. as a pioneer of the genre. After Berry left in 1997, the band continued with mixed critical and commercial success. The band broke up amicably in 2011, having sold more than 90 million albums worldwide and becoming one of the world's best-selling music acts.
Kevin Dunn, born 10 October 1951 in Jacksonville, Florida, is a guitarist, producer, and songwriter who first came to public notice in context of the fertile new wave scene that arose in Athens and Atlanta, GA, in the late 1970s.
Linda Elizabeth Hopper is an American singer and the vocalist for the Atlanta, Georgia-based rock group Magnapop. Her pop punk/power pop vocal style helped to define the band's sound and she has co-written their minor hit singles "Slowly, Slowly" and "Open the Door". Prior to the formation of Magnapop, Hopper was a member of the Athens, Georgia music scene in the early 1980s, which included R.E.M., The B-52s, and her own band Oh-OK.
The Swimming Pool Q's are an American new wave/jangle pop band formed in Atlanta, Georgia in 1978. They released five albums: The Deep End, The Swimming Pool Q's, Blue Tomorrow, World War Two Point Five, and Royal Academy of Reality.
