Teen Beat is an American

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 and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

, originally based in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

, now based in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

. It was founded by Mark Robinson (of Unrest) in 1984 at Wakefield High School, along with Phil Krauth (of Unrest), Andrew Beaujon (of

Eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

), Tim Moran (of Unrest), and Ian Zack (Thirsty Boys).

History

In 1984, when Mark Robinson was in high school, he started the label as a kind of lending library. Only one copy of each album existed and his classmates could borrow one for a few days. The albums were mostly unedited rehearsals of Robinson's band Unrest. They were not numbered but lettered (A, B, C, etc.). Only one of these early albums is known to still exist: Unrest's ''This Side, Numskull''; catalogue number "J" (the 10th TeenBeat release); dated December 14, 1984. The first public release was a compilation cassette called ''Extremism In the Defense of Liberty is No Vice'' on February 23, 1985. This was catalog number "TeenBeat 1". This audiocassette was dubbed into multiple copies by Andrew (Riley) Beaujon and Mark Robinson, by hooking up two separate cassette machines. Robinson's original intention was to release music from the local area, inspired by

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 Id ...

. Before the label had any distribution deal Robinson would leave a few cassettes at records stores when he visited different cities.

Style

As with its influence

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order (band), New Order, A Certain Ra ...

, Teen Beat prominently numbered its releases, with some releases known only by catalog number (e.g., the ''TEENBEAT 100'' compilation, 1993); numbers have also been assigned to non-musical items, including

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt, or tee for short) is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shir ...

coffee mugs Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially ava ...

, events, its offices, and

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

List of Teen-Beat bands

Teen Beat (or "Teen-Beat" or "Teenbeat") has been home to a number of prominent indie bands, including Unrest, +/-,

Versus Versus (Latin, 'against') may refer to: Film and television * ''Versus'' (2000 film), a Japanese zombie film * ''Versus'' (2016 film), a Russian sports drama film * ''Versus'' (2019 film), a French thriller film * Versus (TV channel), form ...

Gastr del Sol Gastr del Sol (derived from a combination of the name of a race horse (Gato del Sol) and David Grubbs' previous band Bastro) was an American, Chicago-based band, consisting for most of their career of David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke. Between 19 ...

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

, True Love Always and a large number of other bands and side projects. Along with

, TeenBeat was an important early independent label; while Dischord focused on punk and hardcore, TeenBeat's bands were more typically guitar-based "indie-pop". Both labels almost exclusively work with bands from the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

area. *

Air Miami Air Miami was an American indie rock band from Washington, D.C. that was active from 1994 to 1996. The band was formed by Mark Robinson and Bridget Cross, both former members of Unrest, a few months later they became a quartet with the additio ...

Autoclave An autoclave is a machine used to carry out industrial and scientific processes requiring elevated temperature and pressure in relation to ambient pressure and/or temperature. Autoclaves are used before surgical procedures to perform steriliza ...

* The Ballet *

Bastro Bastro was an American post-hardcore band which was active in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's main line-up consisted of David Grubbs on guitar, Clark Johnson on bass guitar, and John McEntire on drums. The band also experimented wit ...

* Andrew Beaujon * Bells Of * Blast Off Country Style * Bloodthirsty Butchers * Mark Borthwick/hollAnd * Bossanova *

Bratmobile Bratmobile is an American punk band from Olympia, Washington, formed in 1991. They are known for being one of the first-generation "riot grrrl" bands. The band was influenced by several eclectic musical styles, including elements of pop, surf ...

* Bridget/Kathi/Doug *

Cath Carroll Cath Carroll (born 25 August 1960) is a British musician. Career Carroll was born on 25 August 1960 in Chipping Sodbury, England, but raised in Swansea, then Manchester. She played guitar in post-punk band Property of... in 1978, which also inc ...

* Justin Chearno * Tha Cheeky Bastid * Circus Lupus * Clarence *

Cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. ...

* Jonny Cohen * Containe * Cotton Candy *

Crispy Ambulance Crispy Ambulance are an English post-punk band, formed in Manchester in late-1977 by Keith Darbyshire (bass), Robert Davenport (guitar), Alan Hempsall (vocals), and Gary Madeley (drums).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', ...

* Currituck Co. * Draw the Kitten * Dustdevils * DVS *

* The Feminine Complex * Flin Flon * Flowers of Discipline * Flying Saucer * The Fontaine Toups/TFT * Fred & Ginger *

Gene Ween Aaron Freeman (born March 17, 1970), better known by his stage name Gene Ween, is an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the experimental alternative rock group Ween. Freeman, along with childhood friend Mickey Melchiondo ( De ...

* The Gollipopps *

Grenadine Grenadine () is a nonalcoholic bar syrup commonly used as a cocktail ingredient, distinguished by its sweetness, mild flavor, and red color. Popular in mixed drinks, grenadine syrup was traditionally made from pomegranate, but today is most p ...

* Helter Skillet * Kevin Hewick * hollAnd * horse ing two=HIT * Hot Pursuit *

In Camera ''In camera'' (; Latin: "in a chamber"). is a legal term that means ''in private''. The same meaning is sometimes expressed in the English equivalent: ''in chambers''. Generally, ''in-camera'' describes court cases, parts of it, or process wh ...

* In Interview * Jungle George & The Plague * The Krokodiloes * K-Stars * Phil Krauth * The Last Wave * Latin Hustle * The Long Goodbye * Los Marauders * Loudest Boom Bah Yea * Lu *

Barbara Manning Barbara Manning (born December 12, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist whose albums blend elements of rock, folk, pop and proto-punk. She is also known for her cover versions of often obscure pop songs. In addition to an acclaime ...

* Mark E. Superstar * Maybe It's Reno * Mirah & Ginger * MMM's Live Archive * The Naysayer * Nethers * New Carrollton *

No Trend ''No Trend'' was an American noise rock and hardcore punk group from Ashton, Maryland, formed in 1982. They were considered anti-hardcore, with the members, especially guitarist and lyricist Frank Price, vehement about their abhorrence towards ...

* Olympic Death Squad * The Pacific Ocean * Panax * +/- * Pocket Rockets * The Positions * Que Verde * Rhonda Harris * Rive Gauche * Mark Robinson * Romania * The Rondelles * The Ropers * Scaley Andrew * Robert Schipul/Ascension * The Screamer * S.C.U.D. * Section 25 * Sexual Milkshake * Sharky Favorite * Tracy Shedd * Sisterhood of Convoluted Thinkers * Sprites *

Stereolab Stereolab are an English people, Anglo-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's sound incorporates repetitive motorik beats with the use of vintage electronic keybo ...

Stick Insect The Phasmatodea (also known as Phasmida or Phasmatoptera) are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick bugs, walkingsticks, stick animals, or bug sticks. They are also occasionally referred to as Devil's da ...

* The Still * Subject to Change * Superconductor * Synthetic Socks * Juliet Swango * Teenage Gang Debs * Tel Aviv * Thirsty Boys * True Love Always * The Tube Bar * Tuscadero * Uncle Wiggly * Unrest *

Velocity Girl Velocity Girl was an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in College Park, Maryland, and active in the Washington, D.C., area. The band released three albums before splitting up in 1996. The band reunited for a one-off concert in 2002 and f ...

* Viva Satellite! * Volumia * Vomit Launch * Wall Drug * Whysall Lane * William & Vivian * Butch Willis * Naomi Wolff * Jeff & Robert Zitofsky

References

External links

TeenBeat Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teenbeat Records Record labels established in 1984 American independent record labels Indie rock record labels 1984 establishments in Virginia

History

Style

List of Teen-Beat bands

See also

References

External links