Rushmore Records was formerly a subsidiary of Drive-Thru Records. As of September, 2006, Rushmore became an imprint label due to the project being largely unsuccessful.
Rushmore Records was formerly a subsidiary of Drive-Thru Records. As of September, 2006, Rushmore became an imprint label due to the project being largely unsuccessful.
In 2002, two years before the label's official establishment, Rushmore was supposed to be formed as a "new" Drive-Thru Records. The intention was to start the label up during Drive-Thru's distribution agreement with Geffen Records — restricting co-owners Richard and Stefanie Reines from full control over the roster, which is why they were reluctant to sign new talent — and eventually move all of Drive-Thru's bands over to Rushmore. This was meant to be a tactic to avoid Geffen taking over more of the label's roster.
During this time, the first signed artists to be announced were Self Against City and Houston Calls, shortly followed by Day at the Fair and The Track Record a week later. In early 2005, two bands were announced to join the existing four, Madison, and The Cover.
On May 1, 2006, Day at the Fair announced their breakup.
In September 2006, The Track Record parted ways with Rushmore based on the direction of the band. An announcement states: "As of September 1st, we are no longer affiliated with Drive-Thru / Rushmore Records. The split is due to disagreements regarding the direction of the band. While we maintain good terms with the label, there is no more progress to be made in the relationship."
Due to issues with the label's management, Madison decided to break up in September 2006. According to a press release written by the band, the main reason behind why they split was a lack of professionalism and laziness on part of the label. The band claimed, that a month passed before submitted demos were listened to and when questioned about this, the owners responded in an often vulgar and rude manner. In the wake of this, Richard Reines wrote a lengthy response criticising Madison's announcement, mentioning that they took nine months to record said demos, then – at a time when the label had other priorities – impatiently called every couple of days asking if the material had yet been listened to, and ultimately threatened with their breakup if they weren't allowed to start recording an album within two weeks. This came after Madison's original material was rejected as it was produced by Jesse Cannon. Reines stated that he wanted to hear new material because he didn't trust Cannon's ability to produce a full-length record. This was somewhat surprising given the fact that Madison had originally been signed to Rushmore Records after independently producing an EP with Jesse Cannon so all current material which Reine's had heard was produced by the same person. The end result was that over 20 songs were recorded, produced, and mixed over an 18-month period which were never released and never received notes from the label heads.
Also in September 2006, the label dropped The Cover (whose signing was never announced). They rarely showed any activity during their brief time signed to the label.
Presently, Self Against City have finished recording their full-length Telling Secrets to Strangers (released January 9, 2007), while Houston Calls are about to release their second full-length, The End of An Error. (October 14, 2008)
Despite the label's lack of activity, the Rushmore Records logo has been used on various campaigns by owners Richard & Stefanie Reines. This includes a banner advertisement for You, Me, and Everyone We Know's EP, which was distributed by Drive Thru Records.
This is the release list of Rushmore Records in order of release number.
Drive-Thru Records was a California-based independent record label owned by siblings Richard and Stefanie Reines. The label was partially responsible for popularizing the pop-punk/emo sound of the early to mid-2000s. After facing financial obstacles in getting their bands' music into stores, Drive-Thru entered into a distribution deal with MCA/Universal. In 2003 MCA was dissolved and folded into Geffen Records. One of the clauses of that agreement was MCA/Geffen being able to sign any band of their choosing from Drive-Thru's roster.
The Starting Line is an American pop punk band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that formed in 1999.
Fenix TX is an American pop punk band. The band originally formed as Riverfenix in 1995 in Houston, Texas. They released an EP, G.B.O.H., and an album, Riverfenix, on independent record labels, before having to change their name due to a cease and desist order from the estate of actor River Phoenix. Following the change of name, they signed with major label MCA Records in 1999. On MCA, they released two further albums, 1999's Fenix TX and 2001's Lechuza, which collectively sold over 600,000 units, prior to breaking up in 2002 over creative differences.
Let It Enfold You is the debut studio album by American rock band Senses Fail, released on September 7, 2004, through Vagrant Records. After finalizing their line-up, the band released their debut EP, From the Depths of Dreams, in 2002, which attracted the attention of Drive-Thru Records. The label signed Senses Fail; it had a distribution deal with MCA Records, which allowed them to acquire acts from Drive-Thru. Recording for the band's debut occurred at several studios in New Jersey in April 2003 with producer Steve Evetts. Additional recording took place at the end of the year. Described as an emo and screamo record, several of the songs on Let It Enfold You were influenced by poetry and literature.
The Early November is an American rock band from New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 2001 and signed with Drive-Thru Records in 2002. As of 2018, they have released two EPs: For All of This (2002) and The Acoustic EP (2005). They have released four full-length albums: The Room's Too Cold (2003), triple album The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path (2006), In Currents (2012), and Imbue (2015). Their most recent album, Lilac, was released September 27, 2019. The band is currently signed to Rise Records.
Finch was an American rock band from Temecula, California. The band released an EP Falling into Place and two full-length albums, What It Is to Burn and Say Hello to Sunshine before declaring a hiatus in 2006. Finch reformed in 2007, playing a reunion show on November 23 at the Glasshouse in Pomona, California. They released a self-titled EP a year later, and were in the process of writing their third studio album when they disbanded in late 2010. After playing a group of shows commemorating the ten-year anniversary of What It Is to Burn in 2012, Finch signed with Razor & Tie in 2014 and revealed that they were working on a new studio album. The album was titled Back to Oblivion and released on September 30, 2014. In October 2016, Finch announced its third official break up.
Based on a True Story is the second studio album by American pop punk band the Starting Line. The group's label Drive-Thru Records had a distribution deal which allowed MCA Records to acquire their bands. After MCA Records was absorbed into Geffen Records in mid-2003, the band spent most of 2004 writing and demoing songs for their next album. Following pre-production in July 2004, the band began recording for Based on a True Story, finishing in September. The album was recorded at various studios in New York state and California. Separate sessions were produced by Tim O'Heir, Howard Benson and Eric Rachel.
Hidden in Plain View is an American five-piece post-hardcore band from northern New Jersey. They formed in 2000 and originally disbanded in 2007. During this seven-year run, the group released records with four record labels, including two full-length albums and three EPs. Hidden in Plain View played numerous venues, including The Capitol in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, and concert tours such as the Warped Tour and the Drive-Thru Records Invasion Tours in the United States, Europe and Japan. In 2014 they reunited and released an EP entitled Animal via Rise Records.
Self Against City was a pop rock band from Sacramento, California best known for their single "The Process." They formed in 2004 and were the first band to sign to Rushmore Records. The five-piece band made an EP, as well as a full-length album Telling Secrets to Strangers (2007).
Houston Calls was an American rock band, based in Rockaway, New Jersey, United States. They formed in 2003 and were signed to Rushmore Records. On June 9, 2009, they announced their official breakup.
David Andrew Melillo is the former lead guitarist for Anarbor, and the former bassist for pop rock band Cute Is What We Aim For. His earlier material as a solo artist consisted of acoustic guitar-driven acoustic rock and piano-accented power pop, somewhat in the vein of early Dashboard Confessional and The Rocket Summer.
Adelphi was an American rock band, based in Towson, Maryland. They formed in 2002 and were signed to the record label Drive-Thru Records. They played their last show as Adelphi on December 30, 2007 and three members now make up the band The Everlove.
Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! is the debut studio album by American indie pop band Hellogoodbye. Produced by Matt Mahaffey, Jeff Turzo, and Forrest Kline, the album was released on August 8, 2006 in the United States by Drive-Thru Records. The album's lead single, "Here ", reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum in the United States.
Forget What You Know is the third and final studio album by American rock band Midtown. Following the release of Living Well Is the Best Revenge (2002), Midtown was moved from MCA to Geffen Records as a result of a merger between the two labels. The group spent time writing on their next album and following a meeting with Butch Walker, moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to start recording the new material. Walker headed the producing helm and Forget What You Know was recorded in late 2003 at Ruby Red Studios. The album is classified as an emo and pop punk release; its songs were compared with those of Division of Laura Lee, Recover and Jimmy Eat World.
Socratic is an American rock band from Cranford and Linden, New Jersey. After signing to Drive-Thru Records in 2004, they released their debut full-length Lunch for the Sky in 2005, the Just Turn EP in 2006, Mark Hoppus-produced follow-up album Spread The Rumors in 2008 and their self-produced self-titled album Socratic in 2012. Socratic toured throughout their entire tenure performing in Japan, Australia, and the continental United States.
The Track Record was an American pop punk band from Annapolis, Maryland, United States, that was signed to Rushmore Records. The band consisted of Michael Strackbein, Rob Elson (guitar), Rob Viti (guitar), and Hasani Martin (drums). Rob Elson was the primary songwriter. Rob Elson and Hasani both attended the University of Maryland, College Park, until they decided to pursue the band full-time.
Richard Reines is an American recording industry executive who is co-owner of Drive-Thru Records with his sister, Stefanie Reines. Since its establishment in 1996, Drive-Thru Records has achieved notable success with bands including New Found Glory, Fenix*TX, Midtown, Finch, The Starting Line, Something Corporate, The Early November, Dashboard Confessional, Senses Fail and Hellogoodbye.
You, Me, and Everyone We Know is a rock band from Washington, D.C. After a decade-plus of lineup changes and hiatuses, the moniker has become a vehicle for singer-songwriter Ben Liebsch. The band has released eight EPs, one full-length album, and a live album.
Damon DeLaPaz is an American drummer, guitarist, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the punk rock groups Fenix TX, 30footFALL, Demasiado, and Sing The Body Electric. He has also recorded an instrumental solo project called Sci-Fi/Horror. DeLaPaz has recorded, performed and toured with a variety of different bands and also toured as a fill in drummer for Blink-182, The Vandals, Good Charlotte, Pulley, Home Grown, Ape Machine, Trash Talk (band), and The Last Internationale.
Madison was an American rock band from New Jersey during 2001-2006. After releasing their debut EP 'For The First Time in Years... I'm Leaving You' under Fidelity Records, the band signed with Rushmore Records/Drive-Thru Records in 2005. While together, the band played over 200 shows including a stint on Van's Warped Tour in 2004 and several tours with label mates Hellogoodbye, Hidden in Plain View, Senses Fail, and Houston Calls. The band also appeared on the Drive Thru Records / PureVolume compilation in 2005. Former bassist, Jonathan Snyder, played for Meg & Dia.
