Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records

Last updated
Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records
Founded1999 (1999)
FounderMike Turner
GenrePop/Rock/Hip-hop
Country of originU.S.
Location Athens, Georgia
Official website http://hhbtm.com

Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records is an American independent record label based in Athens, Georgia. Its catalogue features indie rock, indie pop and hip-hop music, with several of its artists associated with or influenced by The Elephant 6 Recording Company.

An independent record label is a record label that operates without the funding of major record labels; they are a type of small to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented by trade associations in their country or region, which in turn are represented by the international trade body, the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN).

Athens, Georgia Consolidated city–county in Georgia, United States

Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city–county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about 70 mi (113 km) northeast of downtown Atlanta, a global city. 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. As of 2017, the U.S. Census Bureau's estimated population of the consolidated city-county was 125,691; the entire county including Winterville and Bogart had a population of 127,064. Athens is the sixth-largest city in Georgia, and the principal city of the Athens metropolitan area, which had a 2017 estimated population of 209,271, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Metropolitan Athens is a component of the larger Atlanta–Athens–Clarke County–Sandy Springs Combined Statistical Area, a trading area.The city is dominated by a pervasive student culture and music scene centered on downtown Athens, next to the University of Georgia's North Campus. Major music acts associated with Athens include numerous alternative rock bands such as R.E.M., the B-52's, Widespread Panic, and Neutral Milk Hotel. The city is also known as a recording site for such groups as the Atlanta-based Indigo Girls.

Indie rock is a genre of rock music that originated in the United States and United Kingdom in the 1970s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock. As grunge and punk revival bands in the US and Britpop bands in the UK broke into the mainstream in the 1990s, it came to be used to identify those acts that retained an outsider and underground perspective. In the 2000s, as a result of changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the Internet, some indie rock acts began to enjoy commercial success, leading to questions about its meaningfulness as a term.

Contents

History

The label began as a compilation album, Happy Happy Birthday To Me Volume 1, before it expanded into a 7" singles club, which released records by Of Montreal, Marshmallow Coast, The Essex Green, Great Lakes, and Masters of the Hemisphere, while also releasing several tape and CD compilations. The singles club was noted for its individuality, with each individual record by an artist often being different. For example, each copy of The Essex Green's single came with a different original photograph on the sleeve, while Marshmallow Coast's were hand-drawn by school children. The label then began to release full-length CDs for the first time, the first of these being Birddog's A Sweet and Bitter Fancy. The label also continued to release 7"s, compilations and T-shirts, as well as a video compilation DVD, and a further singles club featuring Bunnygrunt, Casper and the Cookies, and Andy From Denver. There are currently over nearly 200 releases on the label, and an even larger catalog of distributed titles. Today, its catalog has expanded to span several genres.

of Montreal American indie pop band

of Montreal is an American indie pop band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontman Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance between Barnes and a woman "of Montreal." The band is identified as part of the Elephant 6 collective. Throughout its existence, of Montreal's musical style has evolved considerably and drawn inspiration from 1960s psychedelic pop acts.

Marshmallow Coast is an indie pop band associated with the Elephant Six Collective.

The Essex Green is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, United States, that has released four albums to date. The band is primarily composed of songwriters Jeff Baron, Sasha Bell and Chris Ziter, and specializes in a classic sound inspired by 1960s–1970s pop and folk in the tradition of bands like The Left Banke and Fairport Convention.

Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records founder Mike Turner also founded the annual Athens Popfest, which routinely featured many of the bands on the label's roster, as well as many Elephant 6 artists, other Athens luminaries, and national artists. 2005's Popfest was headlined by bands including Pylon, Circulatory System and of Montreal. The 2006 Popfest featured headliners Deerhoof, The Apples in Stereo, The Mountain Goats and Circulatory System. The 2007 Popfest lineup included Daniel Johnston (backed by Athens band Casper and the Cookies) and Ted Leo. Athens Popfest 2007 is most remembered as the breakout performance for Jacksonville band Black Kids, [1] resulting in a storm of blogs, interviews, and international magazine write-ups. Popfest 2008 was headlined by Roky Erickson, Elf Power and, in a rare and much-anticipated performance, The Music Tapes. 2010 included Mission of Burma, The Wedding Present, and Apples in Stereo. 2011 featured Throwing Muses, Bob Mould, Oh OK, Olivia Tremor Control, Man or Astro-Man?, and the Dead Milkmen. The festival's return in 2016 featured Deerhoof, Love Tractor, Ought, Shopping, and Elf Power. Popfest 2017 was headlined by The Apples in stereo, ESG, Laetitia Sadier, and Superchunk. The 2018 event was headlined by The Mummies, Man or Astro-man?, Ex Hex, Dean Wareham, His Name Is Alive, and Guided By Voices. [2]

Pylon (band) US rock band

Pylon was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. 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".

Deerhoof American band

Deerhoof is an American independent music group formed in San Francisco in 1994. It currently consists of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Initially performing improvised noise punk, Deerhoof became widely renowned and influential in the 2000s through self-produced creative output combining "noise, sugary [pop] melodies, and an experimental spirit into utterly distinctive music". They have released 14 studio albums since 1997; their latest album Mountain Moves was released in September 2017.

The Apples in Stereo American psychedelic pop and indie rock band

The Apples in Stereo, styled as The Apples in stereo, are an American rock band associated with Elephant Six Collective, a group of bands also including Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Of Montreal, and Circulatory System. The band is largely a product of lead vocalist/guitarist/producer Robert Schneider, who writes the majority of the band's music and lyrics. Currently, The Apples in Stereo also includes longstanding members John Hill and Eric Allen (bass), as well as more recent members John Dufilho (drums), John Ferguson (keyboards), and Ben Phelan (keyboards/guitar/trumpet).

Roster

Active

The Flatmates, part of the mid-1980s British indie pop boom, were part of The Subway Organization, a Bristol record label formed by Martin Whitehead, who was also guitarist and main songwriter for the band.

His Name Is Alive

His Name Is Alive is an American experimental rock band/project from Livonia, Michigan, United States. After several self-released cassettes, they debuted on 4AD Records in 1990, starting a long run at the label. Throughout the band's long history, leader Warren Defever has been the only constant member, with a variety of musicians and singers contributing over the years.

Magnapop American pop punk band formed in 1989

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.

Inactive

Keith John Adams is a British singer-songwriter. He makes garage pop music on his own and with a number of revolving collaborators, some from the UK and some from the US.

Baby Calendar is a three- piece indie pop band from Miami, Florida. In 2006, Baby Calendar was signed to Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records based in Athens, Georgia and known for releasing mostly indie pop and twee-pop bands, working with bands such as Of Montreal, Casper & the Cookies, and Bunnygrunt, and hosting the annual Athens Popfest.

Bearsuit

Bearsuit are an art-rock/indie pop band from Norwich, UK, active from 2001.

Discography

See also

Related Research Articles

Charalambides American musical group

Charalambides is an avant garde musical group originally from Houston, Texas, United States and lately of Austin, Texas. Formed in 1991 by Tom Carter, Christina Carter and Kyle Silfer, they have followed in the footsteps of other Texas psychedelic music artists such as the 13th Floor Elevators, and Red Crayola. Later members include Jason Bill and Heather Leigh Murray, but the band has long considered itself primarily a duo between Tom and Christina Carter.

Kingsauce is a "novelty-pop" project headed by Richie Chodes. They are considered to be an extension of The Elephant 6 Recording Company. Combining elements of mid-1960s pop, 1970s AM radio, and a touch of vaudeville, Kingsauce creates tunes with silly, tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Their last full-length CD Cancelled was released in August 2007. Chodes was also a member of Vince Mole and his Calcium Orchestra, headed by former Apples in Stereo guitarist Chris Parfitt.

Fablefactory is a band from Athens, GA.

The Late B.P. Helium

The Late B.P. Helium is the solo recording project and, at times, stage name of Elephant Six musician Bryan Poole, who also goes by Bryan Helium.

Bunnygrunt are an American indie pop band from St. Louis, Missouri composed of guitarist/vocalist Matt Harnish and drummer/vocalist Karen Ried.

Voice of the Seven Woods

Voice of the Seven Woods is a musical project of Bolton based musician Rick Tomlinson. The project is most commonly associated with the Manchester alternative music scene, and is regularly associated with the B-Music collective; a Manchester based DJ, Music and Arts collaboration that includes DJ Andy Votel, Super Furry Animals's frontman Gruff Rhys and various other DJs & artists.

Casper & the Cookies is an American rock and pop band from Athens, Georgia.

James Husband

James Husband is the recording project of James Huggins III, Of Montreal's multi-instrumentalist.

Boyracer was an English indie rock group from Wetherby.

Rupture was a hardcore punk band from Perth, Australia, that formed in the 1980s and were active until around late 2001, when vocalist Gus Chamber died. During this time they released split EP's with many bands including Brutal Truth, Dropdead, Spazz, Extortion and Antiseen as well as individual releases such as Righteous Fuck and Sex Drugs and Rupture. The line up on their 1997 release Hate Makes The World Go Round is listed as Bass - Zombo, Drums - Dick Diamond, Guitar - Stumbles, Vocals - Gus Chamber.

<i>The Superions</i> (EP) 2010 EP by The Superions

The Superions is the first EP by comedy synthpop band The Superions, a side project of Fred Schneider of The B-52s. The EP was released on January 19, 2010 as a digital download in the United States. On February 23, 2010, the EP was released on CD and Limited Edition 12" in the US by Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records.

The Superions are an American comedy synthpop band formed in Orlando, Florida in 2006 as a side project of The B-52s frontman Fred Schneider with Noah Brodie and Dan Marshall.

Carter Family discography

This is a comprehensive discography of Carter Family, often cited as "the most influential group in country music history":

Colour Me Wednesday is an indie pop/pop punk band from West London, UK, built around sisters Jen Doveton and Harriet Doveton. The band are noted for their melodic guitar pop, politicised lyrics and DIY punk method, including producing their own recordings, artwork and promotional videos.

English rock band British Sea Power has released 10 studio albums, 3 soundtrack albums, 6 extended plays, 58 compilation appearances, 27 singles, 12 music videos and 4 miscellaneous

Rat Fancy formed in late 2016 following the dissolution of Barraza’s previous band Sweater Girls. The new band released their debut EP “Suck A Lemon” on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records in 2017. The band has played festivals including SXSW, Athens Popfest, San Francisco Popfest and Oakland Popfest.

References

  1. Hogan, Marc (5 October 2007). "Black Kids Wizard of Ahhhs EP". Pitchfork . Retrieved 5 October 2007.
  2. Pearis, Bill (27 April 2018). "Athens Popfest 2018 lineup: Guided by Voices, Mummies, Ex Hex & more". Brooklyn Vegan . Retrieved 27 April 2018.