Jade Tree International, Inc. is an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

formed by Darren Walters and Tim Owen in 1990 in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...

History

Origin (1987–1990)

In 1987, Tim Owen and Darren Walters were introduced during a punk show in Washington, D.C. At the time, Walters was a student at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 m ...

where he had already independently released records on his label, Hi-Impact Records. To further these musical pursuits, Darren teamed up with

Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in the town of Henrietta, New York, Henrietta in the Rochester, New York, metropolitan area. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree ...

student Tim Owen, and his friend Carl Hedgepath. Together, they created their own label, Axtion Packed Records. Both Axtion Packed and Hi-Impact focused on

straight edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated sXe or signified by XXX or X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs, in reaction to the excesses of punk subculture. For some, t ...

hardcore and produced

vinyl records A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...

in 45 format. In an effort to expand musical genres and format, Axtion Packed Records was dissolved in 1990 to form Jade Tree Records. Owens and Walters modeled their new label on established independent's Touch & Go out of Chicago and Washington, D.C.'s

Dischord Records Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idle ...

Growth and becoming established (1991–1996)

In August of 1991, Jade Tree made their inaugural release, Culture Shock by the hardcore band Four Walls Falling. The album art included original photography by Owens. The new label started with many

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has bee ...

and

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extrem ...

bands, though these bands didn't garner much interest from the public. It wasn't until 1993, when Jade Tree released the album Pull No Punches by DC area hardcore band, Swiz, did the label start receiving recognition. The label began incorporating emo, punk,

melodic hardcore Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. It generally incorporates fast rhythms, melodic and often distorted guitar riffs, and vocal styles tending towards shouting an ...

, and

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

groups into their line-up. Through college, they grew the label into a stable roster by 1995. By 1994, Jade Tree was becoming less of a priority to the two founders. Owen had moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

to attend the

School Of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

to further his photography education. Walters remained in their native Delaware, where he worked in education, focusing on disadvantaged students. A newfound interest was once again sparked, when the pair heard an unreleased demo by the band

LIfetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

. By the fall of 1995, the band had officially signed with Jade Tree, and together they released the album Hello Bastards. This album would serve as the turning point for Jade Tree. In 1996, sales started to increase after the label released

The Promise Ring The Promise Ring was an American rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that is recognized as part of the second wave of emo. Among various other EPs and singles, the band released four studio albums during their initial run: ''30° Everywh ...

's ''

30° Everywhere ''30° Everywhere'' is the debut studio album by American rock band the Promise Ring. It was released in 1996 on Jade Tree. Background The Promise Ring were formed from the aftermath of several Midwest emo groups in February 1995: guitarists Jaso ...

''. The label often used the graphic designers Jason Gnewikow and Jeremy Dean for many releases.

Middle years (1997–2008)

Bands signed by Jade Tree have released albums which saw regular radio play, including Alkaline Trio, Pedro the Lion,

Jets to Brazil Jets to Brazil was an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, USA. They formed in 1997 and were active until 2003. History Jets to Brazil was founded by Blake Schwarzenbach, the former frontman of Jawbreaker, and Jeremy Chatelain, ...

, and

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the corona ...

Downsizing (2009–2013)

When key distributor

Touch and Go Records Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. To ...

downsized in 2009 Jade Tree scaled down too. This led to a lessening of the frequency of new releases from the label.

Digital release and regrowth (2014–2016)

Jade Tree made its entire discography available for digital download and streaming on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

in June 2014. This marked a planned increase in the number of new releases. In February 2015, the label signed the band Dogs on Acid.

Epitaph purchase (2017–present)

In 2017

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and em ...

purchased Jade Tree's entire catalog and started to re-release the back catalogue on vinyl.

Bands signed

* Alkaline Trio * Avail * Breather Resist * Cap'n Jazz * Cex * Cloak/Dagger * Cub Country *

Damnation AD Damnation A.D. is an American band from Washington, D.C. The group released several albums in the 1990s before disbanding. They reformed in 2007. History Damnation A.D. formed under the name "Damnation" in 1992 by two veterans of the D.C. stra ...

* Dark Blue *

Denali Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the thi ...

* Despistado * Dogs on Acid *

Edsel Edsel is a discontinued division and brand of automobiles that was marketed by the Ford Motor Company from the 1958 to the 1960 model years. Deriving its name from Edsel Ford, son of company founder Henry Ford, Edsels were developed in an effo ...

* Eggs * Eidolon *

Ester Drang Ester Drang is an experimental, post rock musical group from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The band was formed in 1995, with guitarist Bryce Chambers recruiting drummer James McAlister and bass player Kyle Winner. The line-up of the band during its ...

* Euphone * The Explosion *

Four Walls Falling Four Walls Falling was an American hardcore punk band from Richmond, Virginia, active between 1987 and 1995. Their most successful release was ''Culture Shock'' in 1991. Band members Original lineup *Greta Brinkman (Unseen Force and later ...

* From Ashes Rise *

Fucked Up Fucked Up is a Canadian hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2001. The band consists of Damian Abraham (vocals), Mike Haliechuk (guitar, vocals), Josh Zucker (guitar), Sandy Miranda (bass), and Jonah Falco (drums, vocals). From ...

* Girls Against Boys *

Gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classif ...

* Jones Very * Juno * Kid Dynamite * Leslie *

Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

* Lords * Leather *

The Loved Ones Loved Ones, Loved One, The Loved Ones, or The Loved One may refer to: Films * ''The Loved One'' (film), a 1965 American satire based on Evelyn Waugh novel * ''The Loved Ones'' (film), a 2009 Australian horror film by Sean Byrne Literature *''The ...

* Micah P. Hinson *

Mighty Flashlight Mike Fellows, also known as Miighty Flashlight, is an American musician who has performed and recorded with a variety of groups and artists since the early 1980s, notably Rites of Spring, Silver Jews Silver Jews were an American indie rock ...

* Milemarker * New End Original * New Mexican Disaster Squad * The New Old Hopes * Onelinedrawing *

Owls Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers ...

* Paint It Black * Panda & Angel * Pedro the Lion * Pitchblende *

* Railhed *

Snowden Snowden may refer to: * Snowden (surname), a given name and a family name People * Edward Snowden, former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013 Music * Snowden ...

* Spraynard * State of the Nation * Statistics * Strike Anywhere * Sweetbelly Freakdown * Swiz * Texas Is The Reason * These Arms Are Snakes * Trial By Fire *

Turing Machine A Turing machine is a mathematical model of computation describing an abstract machine that manipulates symbols on a strip of tape according to a table of rules. Despite the model's simplicity, it is capable of implementing any computer algor ...

Turning Point A turning point, or climax, is the point of highest tension in a narrative work. Turning Point or Turning Points may refer to: Film * ''The Turning Point'', a 1914 silent film starring Caroline Cooke * ''The Turning Point'' (1920 film), an Amer ...

* Universal Order of Armageddon *

Walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

* Young Widows

References

External links

Jade Tree official web siteJade Tree MySpace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jade Tree (Record Label) Record labels established in 1990 American independent record labels Post-hardcore record labels Emo Hardcore record labels Alternative rock record labels Companies based in Wilmington, Delaware Punk record labels Jade Tree (record label) 1990 establishments in Delaware