Matt Lunsford | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 5, 1976 Danville, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Co-founder of Polyvinyl Record Co. |
| Years active | 1996-present |
| Spouse | Darcie Lunsford |
Matt Lunsford is the founder and co-owner of Polyvinyl Record Co., [1] an American independent record label headquartered in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.
In 1994, while attending high school in Danville, Illinois, Lunsford and his then-girlfriend (now wife) Darcie published a fanzine called Polyvinyl Press. [1] After releasing a pair of 7"s and Direction, a 20-track compilation album documenting the Midwestern D.I.Y. scene, Polyvinyl Press officially transitioned into Polyvinyl Record Co. in 1996. [1] At this point, Lunsford decided to drop out of college (where he had been pursuing an engineering degree) to focus on the label full-time. [2]
As recounted in the book Post: A Look at the Influence of Post-Hardcore 1985-2007, Lunsford's relationship with Polyvinyl's first break-out band, Braid, formed during time spent skateboarding with a couple of the group's members. Lunsford says the DIY ethos of skateboarding "defined my personality." [3]
As of 2015 Polyvinyl had released over 300 albums from over 100 artists under Lunsford's watch. [4]
In 1998 Lunsford became friends with the members of American Football and encouraged the band to record an album. [5] In 1999, Lunsford decided to release their debut full-length even though the band broke up. [6] American Football has gone on to garner considerable acclaim in the time since its release, including a #6 ranking on Rolling Stone's list of the 40 Greatest Emo Albums of All Time. [7]
Lunsford has been credited as a producer on two Braid releases - Movie Music Vol. 1 and Movie Music, Vol. 2 - as well as an art director on the 2008 of Montreal album Skeletal Lamping , [8] which was part of the groundbreaking Skeletal Lamping Collection. [9]
In 2009, Lunsford was interviewed for a New York Times article about Kickstarter because Polyvinyl was considered one of the site's "earliest success stories." [10] According to Kickstarter, Polyvinyl's project was the platform's most-funded project for a 57-day period. [11]
In 2014, Lunsford received an executive producer credit for his work on the of Montreal feature-length documentary The Past Is a Grotesque Animal, which was released via Oscilloscope Laboratories. [12]
In 2018, Polyvinyl entered into a partnership with Brooklyn-based label Double Double Whammy. [13] DDW co-founder/owner Mike Caridi has been enthusiastic about the pairing, telling Pitchfork "I’ve learned a ton from them. I talk to them pretty much every day—they’re kind of like mentors in a way." [14]
The Get Up Kids are an American rock band from Kansas City. Formed in 1995, the band was a major act in the mid-1990s Midwest emo scene, otherwise known as the "second wave" of emo music. Their second album Something to Write Home About remains their most widely acclaimed album, and is considered to be one of the quintessential albums of the second-wave emo movement. They are considered forefathers of the emo genre, and have been widely credited as being an influence, both by contemporaries Saves the Day and later bands such as Fall Out Boy, Taking Back Sunday and the Wonder Years.
Of Montreal is an American indie pop band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontperson 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.
Braid is an American emo band from Champaign, Illinois, formed in 1993.
Hey Mercedes was an alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois, United States, formed after the dissolution of Braid by its former members Bob Nanna, Todd Bell, and Damon Atkinson.
Frame & Canvas is the third studio album by American rock band Braid. It was released on April 7, 1998, through Polyvinyl Record Co. After the release of the band's second studio album, The Age of Octeen (1996), drummer Damon Atkinson replaced Roy Ewing due to him being unable to commit to touring. Recording sessions took place at Inner Ear Studios in December 1997, with J. Robbins helping with production during the sessions. The album is an emo and post-hardcore release, for which the lyrics were co-written by vocalist/guitarists Chris Broach and Bob Nanna, or solely wrote by Nanna.
Christopher Robert Broach is one of the guitarists/vocalists in the 1990s emo band Braid. Broach joined Braid in 1994, recording his guitar parts on the band's first 7-inch release a week later.
American Football is an American indie band from Urbana, Illinois, originally active from 1997 until 2000. They reformed in 2014.
Polyvinyl Record Co. is an American independent record label headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. The label also has satellite offices in New York, Austin, and the Bay Area. Polyvinyl has put out over 400 releases to date.
Everynight Fire Works is the debut studio album by American rock band Hey Mercedes. Following the demise of Braid, most of the members formed Hey Mercedes, with guitarist Mark Dawursk joining in early 2000. The band released a self-titled EP through Polyvinyl Record Co., before signing to Vagrant Records at the end of the year. They recorded their debut with Burning Airlines member J. Robbins at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota in April 2001. Everynight Fire Works is an alternative rock, emo, indie rock and pop punk record that drew comparisons to Burning Airlines, Jets to Brazil, and Shudder to Think.
Skeletal Lamping is the ninth studio album by Athens, Georgia-based band of Montreal.
Post-Nothing is the debut studio album by Canadian rock duo Japandroids.
American Football, also known retrospectively as LP1, is the debut studio album by American Midwest emo band of the same name, released on September 14, 1999, through Polyvinyl. It was recorded shortly after the band released their debut self-titled EP through Polyvinyl in October 1998. The group, consisting of vocalist/guitarist Mike Kinsella, guitarist Steve Holmes, and drummer Steve Lamos, recorded their debut album at Private Studios in Urbana, Illinois, with production from Brendan Gamble.
The discography of Canadian rock band Japandroids consists of three studio albums, one compilation album, two extended plays, ten singles, and two music videos.
Into It. Over It. is an indie rock band founded in 2007 as the solo project of Chicago, Illinois-based musician Evan Thomas Weiss. It is considered a leading act of the early-2010s emo revival scene.
Aureate Gloom is the thirteenth studio album by indie rock band of Montreal. It was released in the UK on March 2, 2015, and in the US on March 3. On February 18, the album was made available for instant download on the Polyvinyl Record Co. website, two weeks before its retail release date.
Melina Mae Cortez Duterte, better known by her stage name Jay Som, is an American, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and mixing engineer. Her debut record Everybody Works was released on Double Denim Records & Polyvinyl Records in March 2017, which was preceded by Turn Into, a collection of songs that first gained her attention as a singer-songwriter. The follow-up to Everybody Works and Jay Som's second home studio album, Anak Ko, was released on August 23, 2019 via Polyvinyl, Lucky Number, and Inertia.
Florist is an American indie folk band from Brooklyn, New York.
Kicker is an EP by American rock band The Get Up Kids. It was the first release from the band in seven years, and their first release on a record label other than Vagrant Records in 19 years. It was hailed as a return to form after the band's more experimental self-released reunion album There Are Rules (2011).
Double Double Whammy is an independent record label founded by Dave Benton and Mike Caridi in October 2011 whilst studying at SUNY Purchase, a liberal arts college in New York state.
The discography of the American rock and emo band American Football consists of three studio albums, two extended plays (EP), four singles and eight music videos. Because all three albums are eponymous, they are known as LP1, LP2, and LP3. The band was formed in 1997 in Urbana, Illinois, by Mike Kinsella, Steve Lamos, and Steve Holmes while they were students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A year later, they released a self-titled EP, followed by their debut studio album, American Football (LP1), in 1999. Shortly after, the band graduated from college, and not expecting the album to receive any attention, broke up.