Howard Klein (born February 20, 1948) is an American writer, political activist, media personality, and former record label executive, DJ, and producer. He was the President of Reprise Records from 1989 to 2001. He appears occasionally as himself in music and political related film documentaries and has received accolades for his stance against censorship and for his advocacy of free speech protection.
Howie Klein was born in Brooklyn on February 20, 1948. He attended Stony Brook University in New York graduating in 1969, [1] where he first worked in the music industry by writing about bands and booking them for local performances, with the Stony Brook Students Activities Board. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Notable acts he successfully promoted during those years included Big Brother, Byrds, Jackson Browne, Tim Buckley, Sandy Bull, Country Joe McDonald, The Doors, The Fugs, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, John Hammond, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Pink Floyd, Otis Redding, The Who, and the Yardbirds. [7] [8]
He then spent several years exploring Afghanistan, India, Nepal, and Amsterdam. [8] [9]
Klein moved to San Francisco, and from 1976 to 1978 hosted the first regular punk radio show The Outcastes on KSAN with co-hosts Norman Davis, and Chris Knab, then-owner of Aquarius Records on Castro Street. [10] [11] [12] The radio show allowed Klein to interview bands such as the Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop, Devo, The Cramps, The Dead Boys, The Nuns, and Roky Erickson. [13] [14] [15] While Klein lived in San Francisco, he also hosted, with Ian Kallen & Ron Quintana, Rampage Radio, a 6-hour Heavy Metal radio show, from 1982 to 2011 on KUSF, later, at Radio Valencia. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]
In 1978, he and Knab, with Bruce Bridges, co-founded the San Francisco new wave record label, 415 Records. [11] [24] [25] Klein discovered and signed The Units, Romeo Void, Translator and Wire Train among others.
Howie Klein joined Sire Records in 1987 [26] and was President of Reprise/Warner Bros. Records between 1989 and 2001. [27] [28] During his tenure at Reprise, he attracted artists to the upscale label such as Lou Reed, with whom he had worked while at Sire. [29] There, he oversaw the career development of recording artists such as Depeche Mode, Talking Heads, Joni Mitchell, The Ramones, The Pretenders, Neil Young, Alanis Morissette, Barenaked Ladies, Eric Clapton, Green Day, Enya, Fleetwood Mac, The Smiths, Ice-T, and dozens of other major acts. [30] Following the Time Warner merger with AOL, [31] on June 29, 2001, Klein resigned; [32] [33] accepting a buyout. [34] David Kahne, who had worked for Klein as 415 Records' A&R manager until 1982, now temporarily controlled Reprise as executive vice president of A&R for its parent company, Warner Bros. The same day Klein resigned, Kahne rejected Wilco's newly recorded album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot , leading to the termination of Wilco's multi-album contract with Reprise. [33] The Washington Post noted that the change marked a "seismic shift" from the label's former "artist-friendly" reputation. [35]
During and after his work with Sire and Reprise, Klein distinguished himself as a stalwart opponent of censorship and a dedicated advocate of free speech. Reprise Records was started by Frank Sinatra in 1960, securing what he saw as artistic freedom from his former record label, Capitol Records. Klein carried Sinatra's tradition further, clearly articulating his even broader vision that creative freedom was not limited only to choosing one's business and music partners, but also encompassed the freedom to write, even about controversial topics, as one saw fit. [36]
The 1992 United States presidential election saw Bill Clinton choose Senator Al Gore as his vice presidential running mate. This decision disturbed many Democrats and music industry professionals, including Klein, because Gore's wife, Tipper Gore, with Susan Baker, had co-founded the Parents Music Resource Center. The PMRC had initiated Senate hearings in 1985 on "potentially harmful lyrics", spearheading a five-year effort that by 1990 had successfully forced the recording industry to implement a voluntary identification and labeling system to warn parents about music containing explicit lyrics. Tipper Gore's vocal and instrumental role in the PMRC was perceived by some as a campaign of outright censorship against musicians and the music industry itself. Klein took an active role in publicizing these concerns through speaking engagements and by becoming one of the most influential supporters of a very effective, multimillion-dollar, industry-wide campaign to register and educate young music-loving voters, called Rock the Vote. [37]
His anti-censorship efforts earned him one of two Spirit of Liberty Awards bestowed in 1999 by People for the American Way; co-honored that year was filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner. Klein created a CD for the awards ceremony, demonstrating his unflinching support for protection of the artistic freedom to convey important social and political ideas in ways that might scare the establishment. Fuck Censorship was a compilation of censored and off-color songs celebrating everything from cannabis to cross-dressing; the liner notes of which contained a pointed message from Klein, "Sometimes protecting freedom of speech isn't pretty." [36] In 2000, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California honored him with its "Bill of Rights Award" for his activism in the protection of free speech. [38] He currently serves on the board of directors for People for the American Way. [9] [39]
Klein has appeared (as himself) in three music documentary films: Lifestyles of the Ramones (2001), a George Seminara film about The Ramones; [40] I Am Trying to Break Your Heart (2002), a Sam Jones film about Wilco; [41] and Fix (2011), a Doug Freel film about Ministry. [42]
In early 2005, he was appointed to the board of directors of JamBase.com, a San Francisco-based internet search engine company focused on concert and tour date information, whose founder and CEO Andy Gadiel cited Klein's reputation as "a true artist's advocate". [7]
On August 25, 2011, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum archived a gift from Klein, the Howie Klein Collection, consisting of research materials evidencing a broad cross-section of musical acts that appeared on Sire, Reprise, and Warner Brothers labels and spanning his tenure as a record company executive between 1983 and 2001. The collection comprises several videocassettes of electronic press kits, tubed posters, artist itineraries, and a three-ring binder containing the Warner/Chappell "Mighty Three Music Catalog". It also contains a certificate for 1000 shares of 415 Records, Ltd. While copyright interests in the collection were not transferred, its contents are open for research. Housed in the collection are materials related to all three record companies and to bands and musical artists including B-52's, Babes in Toyland, Barenaked Ladies, BoDeans, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Kasey Chambers, Eric Clapton, The Cult, Depeche Mode, Tanya Donelly, Erasure, Faith No More, Filter, Fleetwood Mac, Chris Isaak, Rikki Lee Jones, Chaka Khan, Living End, Joni Mitchell, Modey Lemon, Nu Flavor, Orgy, Recoil, Lou Reed, The Replacements, Snake River Conspiracy, Steely Dan, Temple of Hiphop, Videodrone, Neil Young, and Zwan. [43]
Klein now lives in Los Angeles, where he writes the progressive political blog, DownWithTyranny! and regularly guest blogs on Crooks and Liars.com's Late Night Music Club feature and on Firedoglake.com. [44] He is the Founder and Treasurer of Blue America PAC, [45] serves on the board of directors for the Progressive Congress Action Fund, [46] and is a member of the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy's Netroots Advisory Council. [47] He is also an adjunct professor of music at McGill University in Montreal, where he sometimes lectures. [30]
In his song "Talking Christmas Goodwill Blues," John Wesley Harding mentions a meeting with Klein and Seymour Stein who ask him to record a Christmas song. [48]
Wilco is an American rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its first decade, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt remaining from the original incarnation. Since early 2004 the lineup has been unchanged, consisting of Tweedy, Stirratt, guitarist Nels Cline, multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone, keyboard player Mikael Jorgensen, and drummer Glenn Kotche. Wilco has released thirteen studio albums, a live double album, and four collaborations: three with Billy Bragg and one with the Minus 5.
Ramones is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones, released on April 23, 1976, by Sire Records. After Hit Parader editor Lisa Robinson saw the band at a gig in New York City, she wrote several articles about the group and asked Danny Fields to be their manager. Fields agreed and convinced Craig Leon to produce Ramones, and the band recorded a demo for prospective record labels. Leon persuaded Sire president Seymour Stein to listen to the band perform, and he later offered the band a recording contract. The Ramones began recording in January 1976, needing only seven days and $6,400 to record the album.
Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville Records, before signing with Sire Records and expanding to a five-piece. Shortly after the release of the band's major label debut album Anodyne, Farrar announced his decision to leave the band due to a soured relationship with his co-songwriter Tweedy. Uncle Tupelo split on May 1, 1994, after completing a farewell tour. Following the breakup, Farrar formed Son Volt with Heidorn, while the remaining members continued as Wilco.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Wilco, released on April 23, 2002. Recording sessions for the album began in late 2000. These sessions, which were documented for the film I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, were marred by conflicts including a switch in drummers and disagreements among the band members and engineers about songs. Despite this, the album would be mostly completed in early 2001. The album showcased a more atmospheric and experimental sound than the band's previous work, and has been described as art rock and indie rock by music critics. It was the band's first album with drummer Glenn Kotche, and last with multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Jay Bennett.
Sire Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records.
415 Records was a San Francisco record label created in 1978. The label focused its efforts on local punk rock and new wave music acts of the late 1970s through the late 1980s, including The Offs, The Nuns, The Units, Romeo Void, and Wire Train. Its name, pronounced four-one-five, was a play on both the telephone area code for the San Francisco area and the California penal code section for disturbing the peace. The label had a productive partnership with Columbia Records from 1981 until shortly before it was sold in 1989 to Sandy Pearlman, who retitled the label Popular Metaphysics.
Jeffrey Scot Tweedy is an American musician, singer songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, began his music career in high school with his band The Plebes along with Jay Farrar, also in the band. It became the alternative country band Uncle Tupelo.
Poster Children is an American indie rock band formed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1987. They have issued nine studio albums and two EPs. Known for their strong DIY ethic, the band members continue to drive their own tour bus, create their own artwork and T-shirt designs, and operate their own record label. Poster Children were also pioneers in several forms of electronic technology relating to performance art, including enhanced CDs, webcasts, and blogs.
Being There is the second studio album by the American rock band Wilco, released on October 29, 1996, by Reprise Records. Despite its release as a double album, Being There was sold at a single album price as a result of a deal between lead singer Jeff Tweedy and the band's label Reprise Records. Compared to their debut album A.M. (1995), the album was an improvement for the band in both sales and critical reception. Taking its name from the 1979 film of the same name, the self-produced album featured more surrealistic and introspective writing than on A.M. This was due in part to several significant changes in Tweedy's life, including the birth of his first child. Musically, it juxtaposed the alternative country styles songs reminiscent of Uncle Tupelo with psychedelic, surreal songs. It was the only Wilco album with steel guitarist Bob Egan, their first with multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett and their last with multi-instrumentalist Max Johnston.
Seymour Steinbigle, known professionally as Seymour Stein, was an American entrepreneur and music executive. He co-founded Sire Records and was vice president of Warner Bros. Records. With Sire, Stein signed bands that became central to the new wave era of the 1970s and 1980s, including Talking Heads and The Pretenders; he signed Madonna as well. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
A.M. is the debut studio album by the American rock band Wilco, released on March 28, 1995, by Sire Records and Reprise Records. The album was released only months after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo, an alternative country band that was the predecessor of Wilco. Prior to its release, there was debate about whether the album would be better than the debut album of Son Volt, the new band of former Uncle Tupelo lead singer Jay Farrar.
KUSF is an online-only radio station owned by the University of San Francisco and operated by its students. From 1963 until 2011, the station was a non-commercial radio station licensed to San Francisco, California, broadcast at 90.3 FM MHz.
David Kahne is an American record producer, musician, composer, and former record company executive.
The Mutants are an American band, notable in the history of San Francisco punk rock and new wave music. They are known for their theatrical performances which often include elaborate props, projections, and comical antics. They are credited with being one of the first "Art-punk" bands in San Francisco, and were one of the most popular bands of the San Francisco punk scene during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The Ramones were an American punk rock band from New York City. Their discography consists of fourteen studio albums, ten live albums, sixteen compilation albums, seventy-one singles, thirty-two music videos and ten films. The band formed in early 1974, and upon signing with Seymour Stein of Sire Records, the Ramones released their self-titled debut album on April 23, 1976. Despite the recording process only taking a week and being on a budget of $6,400, the album has since become their most accoladed and iconic release. 1977's Leave Home was the band's follow up album, released less than a year later, also through Sire. While it was the first album to chart in the United Kingdom, it did not chart as well in the United States as Ramones, nor their third record, Rocket to Russia, which was released in late 1977. Road to Ruin was the band's fourth studio album and their first to feature a change in the band member line-up, with drummer Marky Ramone replacing Tommy Ramone.
The Uptones are an American ska band, based in Northern California. Formed in 1981 by a group of high school students in Berkeley, California, The Uptones were influenced by the English 2 Tone sound, as well as the British mod scene, punk rock, and the original Jamaica ska sound. The Uptones were one of the first U.S. bands devoted to playing ska and were an influence on the burgeoning West Coast punk/ska scene. The band reformed with core founding members in the early 2000s and continued to play live shows throughout the Bay Area until 2018.
Aquarius Records was an independent record store in San Francisco, California, established in 1970. Aquarius was known for carrying an obscure selection of psychedelia, metal, and world music, and had an extensive mail order catalog. The store's selection was relatively small and was chosen and annotated by the staff of music aficionados. They claimed to have coined the modern alias dronology for the drone music genre. It is the subject of the documentary "It Came From Aquarius Records" that premiered as part of the 2022 San Francisco Documentary Festival.
Translator is an American rock band from San Francisco that had success during the 1980s, which continues into the present day. The group created a sound that spanned updated British Merseybeat and stripped-down punk-like rock to psychedelia. Inspired by the Beatles, Cream and 1960s California folk rock bands such as the Byrds, their guitar-based music had wide exposure during the early 1980s on non-commercial campus radio and new wave music stations. The group's stripped-down music and sometimes ironic and disturbing existentialist lyrics may have been a precursor to alternative rock.
Popular Metaphysics was a record label created by Sandy Pearlman in Studio C of the Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco in 1989. The label was short lived, but it signed a few solid acts and released their records on the MCA label, including Love Club (1990), Manitoba's Wild Kingdom(1990), and World Entertainment War (1991).
KDFC is a non-commercial radio station in San Francisco, California, that broadcasts classical music 24 hours daily. It is owned by the University of Southern California. KDFC is the radio home of the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Opera. The station's live stream is available on the Internet and through the station's mobile app.
His musical omnivore qualities led Klein to host a program on KSAN-FM. "It started out as just a one-time thing," he says. But The Outcastes — the first punk radio show in the country — quickly found an audience. "There wasn't really enough music coming out of New York and London at the time," Klein explains. "We would play songs twice in one show!" To fill up the time, Klein started playing music from Bay Area bands.
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