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| Genre | Filk |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1980 United States |
| Founder | Teri Lee Jordin Kare Catherine Cook |
| Defunct | 1988 |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Successor | Firebird Arts and Music |
| Headquarters | United States |
Off Centaur Publications was the first "commercial" filk label. [1] It was founded in 1980 by Teri Lee, Jordin Kare, and Catherine Cook, [2] [3] [4] and was based in El Cerrito, California. [1] The label produced high-quality recordings of some of filk's best performers, and changed the course of filk music. [5] It was dissolved in 1988, [1] and Teri Lee would go on to found Firebird Arts and Music. [6] [7]
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Like some other filk labels the name was a pun upon the idiom "off center" meaning eccentric, odd, or unusual—all of which could be considered legitimate characterizations of filk music. (Other filk labels have included Wail Songs, Unlikely Publications, and Random Factors, [4] [8] illustrating the style of self-deprecating humor common among these publishers.)
Because of the dissolution, releases from this label are very difficult to find. At an Interfilk charity auction at FilKONtario, a copy of Julia Ecklar's Horse-Tamer's Daughter was sold for CA$400.00. Off Centaur tapes are considered "unobtainium" since few have been republished or re-created.
Off Centaur Publications was inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame in 1995. [5] [2] [3] Lee and Kare passed away in 2021 and 2017. [6] [2]
