New Alliance Records was an independent

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

founded by American musicians D. Boon and

Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ca ...

(of The Minutemen) and longtime friend and associate Martin Tamburovich. They were inspired by the example of their friends in southern California, Black Flag, who had earlier formed

SST Records SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was first founded in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Transmitters, a small business through which he sold elec ...

. The existence of SST led Watt to understand, according to a 1987 interview he gave to ''Musician'' magazine, how easy it was to get a record made: "All you had to do was pay the record plant man." The label's first release was the 1980 various-artist compilation ''Cracks in the Sidewalk,'' which included tracks by the Minutemen, Black Flag, and Saccharine Trust. Other early releases on New Alliance included

Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continuous members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardc ...

's first album ''

Land Speed Record The land speed record (LSR) or absolute land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. By a 1964 agreement between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de M ...

'' and the Minutemen's second-ever release, the seven-inch EP ''

Joy Joy is the state of being that allows one to experience feelings of intense, long-lasting happiness and contentment of life. It is closely related to, and often evoked by, well-being, success, or good fortune. Happiness, pleasure, and gratitu ...

''. Eventually the label grew to nurture the early career of the

Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in Manhattan Beach, California, in 1977, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson (musician), Bill Stevenson as a power pop/surf music, surf punk band. I ...

, issue additional compilation albums (''Chunks'' and ''Mighty Feeble'') and release other recordings by the Minutemen (''

The Politics of Time ''The Politics of Time'' is the first compilation album by American hardcore punk band The Minutemen (band), Minutemen, released in 1984 through New Alliance Records. Released in between their ''Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat'' 12-inch ...

''), Secret Hate (''Vegetables Dancing''), and Hüsker Dü ('' In a Free Land'' EP). The label also showcased a number of post-punk bands from the South Bay area of southern California, notably Slovenly, Phantom Opera, and Invisiblechains. After D. Boon's death in 1985 due to a car-accident and the increasingly busier schedule of Watt's post-Minutemen band Firehose, Watt and Tamburovich sold New Alliance to SST in 1987.

Greg Ginn Gregory Regis Ginn ( , born June 8, 1954) is an American musician and songwriter, best known for being the leader, primary songwriter, and the only continuous member of the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led from 1976 to ...

, SST's owner and Black Flag's guitarist, proceeded to transfer all of the Minutemen and Descendents back catalog and Hüsker Dü's ''Land Speed Record'' to SST and turned New Alliance into a subsidiary label of SST that concentrated on more adventurous and non-mainstream records, including jazz, instrumental, poetry, and spoken-word releases. New Alliance also released the debut single of Ciccone Youth and material from

The Coachmen The Coachmen were a lower-Manhattan punk rock/no wave band that performed from early 1978 to their final gig at White Columns in August, 1980. The line-up included guitarists Thurston Moore and J. D. King, bassist Bob Pullin, and Danny Walwort ...

, both of which were

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

-related projects. New Alliance ceased its operations in 1998 in order to save money. Its back-catalog has been deleted, its releases are no longer available through SST Records, and there is no mention of the label or its artists on SST's website. Label co-founder Tamburovich died of a bacterial infection in 2003. Rapp Records founder Rad Ramsey & Martin Tamburovich reactivated New Alliance in 2000 as a Rapp Records sublabel. It also brought back its back-catalog. This time it was specialized for Rap, Rock & Reissuing its old material. However, in 2006, SST filed a case against Rapp & forced Ramsey to close down New Alliance.

Catalogue

References

External links

Discogs.com (partial discography)
{{Authority control Record labels established in 1980 Alternative rock record labels Defunct record labels of the United States

Catalogue

See also

References

External links