Slim Moon | |
---|---|
Birth name | Matthew Moon |
Born | October 15, 1967 |
Origin | Missoula, Montana, USA |
Genres | Indie rock |
Occupation(s) | Minister, Musician |
Labels | Kill Rock Stars, 5 Rue Christine, Nonesuch Records, Rykodisc |
Matthew "Slim" Moon (born October 15, 1967) is an American musician and the founder of the American independent music label Kill Rock Stars (KRS). [1] He also started its sister label, 5 Rue Christine. Slim ran KRS from 1991 to 2006, during which time KRS released albums by dozens of artists including Sleater-Kinney, Elliott Smith, The Decemberists, Miranda July, Bikini Kill, Unwound, Huggy Bear, The Gossip, and Linda Perry.
Moon graduated from high school in Seattle in 1986. Danny Goldberg has described him as one of "a group of obsessed Melvins fans" who would attend any show the band played within driving distance. Moon says he first met Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain at one of these shows. [2]
After moving to Olympia, Moon attended Evergreen State College for a short time, remaining in Olympia due to the thriving music scene. Moon has described Olympia during that era as "a tough place to be seen as cool. It had a rep for being elitist." [2]
Moon reportedly bonded with Cobain over a shared interest in the punk band Big Black at a party he attended with high school friend Dylan Carlson in East Olympia. Some months later Moon attended another party where Kurt and Krist Novoselic were playing with Dale Crover on drums. They were calling themselves "Skid Row" (though Moon says the band's name was still changing frequently.) He began to promote small shows in Olympia and booked Cobain's band for one of their first shows. [2]
In October 2006, Moon announced he would be departing from Kill Rock Stars to work as an A&R representative at Nonesuch Records, a Warner Music Group subsidiary. Portia Sabin took over ownership of Kill Rock Stars. [3]
In June 2007, Moon was laid off from his position at Nonesuch as part of corporate downsizing in Warner Music Group. A few days later, Moon was named senior director of A&R and artistic development at Rykodisc, also owned by WMG.
Moon left Rykodisc in July 2008 to engage in artist management full-time for Shotclock Management, a company he owns with his wife. He is also a co-founder and the Director Of Development for the Portland Folk Festival, which had its inaugural festival in 2010.
In 2014, Moon discussed his new role as a minister with First Unitarian Church in Portland—as well as his departure from the music world—with Oregon Public Broadcasting's radio show, “State of Wonder.” On the topic of his life in the music world then to his life in the ministry now he states, “When I walked away from music. I made a really clean break. I stopped going to shows. Then I walked into the world of ministry, and have sort of made completely new friends, new relationships. Most of the people who knew me for twenty years don't know what I'm doing now, and most of the people I know now have no idea what I did before I got here.” [4]
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American musician who was the co-founder, lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona, Cobain's compositions widened the thematic conventions of mainstream rock. He was heralded as a spokesman of Generation X and is highly recognized as one of the most influential alternative rock musicians.
Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally known for its commitment to underground punk rock bands and the Olympia area music scene.
Calvin Johnson is an American guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, music producer, and disc jockey. Known for his uniquely deep and droning singing voice, Johnson was a founding member of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, Dub Narcotic Sound System, The Go Team and The Halo Benders.
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Kathleen Hanna is an American singer, musician and pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. In the early-to-mid-1990s she was the lead singer of feminist punk band Bikini Kill, and then fronted Le Tigre in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Since 2010, she has recorded as the Julie Ruin.
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Dylan Carlson is an American musician, best known as the guitarist and founder of the drone metal/post-rock group Earth, and the main contributor to his solo project Drcarlsonalbion.
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Bangs was an American punk rock and riot grrrl band from Olympia, Washington.
Mary Lou Lord is an indie folk musician who started performing as a busker in Boston.
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Kurt & Courtney is a 1998 British documentary film by Nick Broomfield investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Kurt Cobain, and allegations of Courtney Love's involvement in it.
Dr. Portia Sabin is President of the Music Business Association, a not-for-profit trade association that seeks to promote sustained financial growth and bolster inclusion & equity efforts in all areas of the global music business. Sabin previously served as president of the independent record label Kill Rock Stars, and has been involved in the leadership of music industry associations American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) and World Independent Network (WIN).
Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain is a book by Danny Goldberg, former music manager of Nirvana, and current president and owner of Gold Mountain Entertainment. It was published in April 2019, on the 25th anniversary of Cobain's suicide.