Alternative Tentacles 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 ...

established in 1979 in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It was used by

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...

for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, they released records for other bands as well. Dead Kennedys guitarist

East Bay Ray Raymond John Pepperell (born November 17, 1958), better known by his stage name East Bay Ray, is an American musician best known as the guitarist for the San Francisco Bay area-based punk band Dead Kennedys. His guitar work was heavily influence ...

and vocalist

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially ac ...

formed Alternative Tentacles, but Biafra became the sole owner in the mid-1980s. Alternative Tentacles no longer owns the rights to Dead Kennedys recordings after a 2000 lawsuit.

History

Alternative Tentacles subsequently released records of other bands of the alternative/punk scene including releasing records (which were later released by other labels) by bands including

The Dicks ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, 7 Seconds, and the

Butthole Surfers Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been ...

. In 1981, Alternative Tentacles released the compilation ''

Let Them Eat Jellybeans! ''Let Them Eat Jellybeans!'', subtitled "17 Extracts From America's Darker Side", is a compilation album released by Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles in 1981. It was one of the earliest compilations of underground music in the United States ...

''. Some of the best known bands that have released albums through Alternative Tentacles are

NoMeansNo Nomeansno (sometimes stylized as NoMeansNo or spelled No Means No) was a Canadian punk rock band formed in Victoria, British Columbia and later relocated to Vancouver. They issued 11 albums, including a collaborative album with Jello Biafra, a ...

D.O.A. DOA may refer to: * Dead on arrival * Dead or Alive (disambiguation) Film * ''D.O.A.'' (1949 film), a ''film noir'' * ''D.O.A.'' (1988 film), a remake of the 1949 film * '' D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage'' (1980 film), a documentary on the gene ...

, and

Alice Donut Alice Donut is a punk rock band from New York City formed in 1986. The band released six albums before splitting up in 1996. They reformed in 2001. History 1986–1996: Formation to split Alice Donut formed in 1986 after the demise of the Sea B ...

. In addition to musical acts, Alternative Tentacles also publishes

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

albums, many by Jello Biafra himself. Another common theme of Alternative Tentacles records over the years has been the artwork of

Winston Smith Winston Smith may refer to: People * Winston Smith (artist) (born 1952), American artist * Winston Smith (athlete) (born 1982), Olympic track and field athlete * Winston Boogie Smith (born ), American man killed by law enforcement in 2021 * Winst ...

, which has appeared on many of their records, catalogs, posters and shirts. Smith also designed the Alternative Tentacles logo.A Crash Course in Alternative Tentacles.
Alternative Tentacles. 2004. Web. In April 2019

Kerrang ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one-of ...

ran a long form feature called "An Oral History of Alternative Tentacles". Within that article were quotes on the modern political stance of the label:

"Alternative Tentacles has a long history of making political statements. Two of their biggest selling T-shirts since America’s 2016 election are the ‘Nazi Trumps Fuck Off’ and ‘Trump Hates Me’ designs. Anti-Trump sentiments have also been expressed on the A.T Batcast podcast. So it came as a surprise to the staff to find out that there are Trump supporters who are also fans of A.T. “They think that Trump is punk,” Chris sighs. “He’s the chaos factor, so they see him as someone who’s fucking up the government. It’s amazing to me that people are surprised Jello is anti-Trump. Like, where have you been?!”
This label has questioned every single president – including Obama – since 1979,” adds Dominic, “and we will continue to do so. We support questioning everything, we are feminists, we like to challenge norms, and we aren’t afraid to take a side. I’ll say it again: If you support Trump, fuck you. That shaking things up you love so much is destroying people’s lives.”

In March 2020,

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 ...

ran a feature on their site entitled "The Lesser-Known Classics of Alternative Tentacles Records" as part of their label profile series.

United Kingdom branch

In the early 1980s, Alternative Tentacles opened an office in the UK (eventually settling at 64 Mountgrove Road in London) to release special editions of American punk records that were unavailable in Europe, many of which were licensed from other independent U.S. labels. Among these were releases by

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

' groups Black Flag and

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

, the

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 Idles. ...

compilation ''

Flex Your Head ''Flex Your Head'' is a sampler album featuring early hardcore punk bands from the Washington, D.C. area.Curd, Zach"''Flex Your Head'': AllMusic Review by Zach Curd" ''AllMusic''. Retrieved April 20, 2016. It was originally released in January 1 ...

'', and an EP of tracks from the

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this ...

eponymous 1982 album, as well as U.K. pressings of all American Dead Kennedys releases. It was also a distribution hub for Elemental Records.

Legal trouble

In 1985, Los Angeles prosecutors charged Biafra with "distributing harmful matter to minors" for artwork contained in the

album ''

Frankenchrist ''Frankenchrist'' is the third album by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys, released in 1985 on Alternative Tentacles. The album is an example of the progressive, psychedelic side of Dead Kennedys' musical personality. The spaghetti We ...

''. The artwork was a poster reproduction of the painting " Work 219: Landscape XX", also known as "Penis Landscape" by

H.R. Giger Hans Ruedi Giger ( ; ; 5 February 1940 – 12 May 2014) was a Swiss artist best known for his airbrushed images that blended human physiques with machines, an art style known as " biomechanical". Giger later abandoned airbrush for pastels, mark ...

. The case ended in a hung jury and charges were not re-filed. Biafra presented a detailed account of the trial on his second spoken word album, '' High Priest of Harmful Matter − Tales from the Trial''. In early 2000, the label and Biafra were named in a lawsuit brought by his former Dead Kennedys bandmates. The suit claimed that Biafra had failed to pay the band's members a decade's worth of royalties on the band's albums, totaling some $76,000. All sides agreed the initial underpayment of royalties was due to an accounting error. However, the jury ultimately ruled that Alternative Tentacles and Biafra were "guilty of malice,

oppression Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment or exercise of power, often under the guise of governmental authority or cultural opprobrium. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. Oppression refers to discrimination w ...

and

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

" by not promptly informing his former bandmates of the matter and instead withholding the information during subsequent discussions and contractual negotiations. The other Dead Kennedys members only learned of the royalty underpayment from a

whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

at the record label. A 2003 appeal upheld the verdict and judgment against Biafra and the record label of $200,000 in compensation and

punitive damages Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are damages assessed in order to punish the defendant for outrageous conduct and/or to reform or deter the defendant and others from engaging in conduct similar to that which formed the basis of the lawsuit. ...

. The result of the case saw the rights to the Dead Kennedys albums turned over to the other band members, who licensed them to

Manifesto Records Manifesto Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California that has released records by Dead Kennedys, Tim Buckley, Cinerama, Concrete Blonde, Cranes, The Czars, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Lilys, The Rugburns, Sing-Sing, ...

in the United States (and to other labels in the rest of the world). Dead Kennedys albums accounted for about half of all sales by Alternative Tentacles, leading to financial uncertainty for the label. In October 2002, the label moved to

Emeryville, California Emeryville is a city located in northwest Alameda County, California, in the United States. It lies in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, with a border on the shore of San Francisco Bay. The resident population was 12,905 as o ...

Artists

Current artists

* ArnoCorps *

The Bellrays The Bellrays (also capitalized as The BellRays) is an American rock group that combines garage rock and punk with soul music, founded in Riverside, California in 1990 by vocalist Lisa Kekaula and guitarist Bob Vennum. They have been with severa ...

Citizen Fish Citizen Fish is an English punk rock band that has been active since 1990 and shares members with Subhumans. Citizen Fish does not emphasize the raw political statements and nihilistic viewpoint of the former, instead focusing on issues of ...

* Cross Stitched Eyes * The Darts *

Dash Rip Rock Dash Rip Rock is an American rock band. Originally playing rockabilly and country music, the band is best known for its cowpunk sound, which mixes punk rock, rockabilly, hard rock, country and boogie. ''The New York Times'' stated that Dash Rip ...

Dead Ending Death is the Irreversible process, irreversible cessation of all biological process, biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whol ...

* Death Hymn Number 9 * Disaster Strikes *

eX-Girl eX-Girl is a Japanese female noise rock trio. Overview They claim to hail from the planet Kero Kero. They are described as psychedelic, space rock, jazz fusion, jagged alternating vocal harmonies, sugary synthesiser pop, punk, prog, epic/atmosph ...

* Feral Ohms * itchy-O *

* Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine *

Jucifer Jucifer are a two piece American sludge metal band whose albums have been released by Alternative Tentacles, Capricorn Records, and Relapse Records along with their own imprint Nomadic Fortress Records. The band's members are Gazelle Amber Valent ...

Leftöver Crack Leftöver Crack is an American punk rock band formed in 1998, following the breakup of Choking Victim. The band is currently signed to Tankcrimes for CD releases, and Alternative Tentacles for vinyl releases. Leftöver Crack spans several ...

Legendary Shack Shakers The Legendary Shack Shakers (originally Those or Th' ) are an American rock band from Murray, Kentucky that was formed in 1995 by J.D. Wilkes. The original line-up formed the band out of a shared interest in rockabilly, blues and Western swi ...

Nardwuar the Human Serviette John Ruskin (born July 5, 1968), better known as Nardwuar, or Nardwuar the Human Serviette, is a Canadian interviewer and musician from Vancouver, British Columbia.Doug Ward, "Trudeau rolled by Human Serviette", ''Vancouver Sun'', November 17, 1 ...

Pansy Division Pansy Division is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, San Francisco, California, United States, in 1991 by singer-songwriter Jon Ginoli and bassist Chris Freeman (musician), Chris Freeman. Conceived as the first openly hom ...

Pins of Light A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch d ...

The Silver Machine ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

* Skarp *

Spindrift Spindrift (more rarely spoondrift) is the spray blown from cresting waves during a gale. This spray, which "drifts" in the direction of the gale, is one of the characteristics of a wind speed of 8 Beaufort and higher at sea. In Greek and Roman ...

* Subhumans *

Tsunami Bomb The tsunami bomb was an attempt during World War II to develop a tectonic weapon that could create destructive tsunamis. The project commenced after US Navy officer E.A. Gibson noticed small waves generated by explosions used to clear coral ree ...

* Turn Me on Dead Man *

Unsane ''Unsane'' is a 2018 American psychological horror film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer. The film stars Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Matt Damon, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins, and Amy I ...

Victim's Family Victims Family is a hardcore punk band formed in 1984 in Santa Rosa, California, by bass guitarist Larry Boothroyd and guitarist and vocalist Ralph Spight. Devon VrMeer completed the trio as drummer. Their sound blended punk, heavy metal and ja ...

Witch Hunt A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern perio ...

The World/Inferno Friendship Society The World/Inferno Friendship Society (also referred to as World Inferno, or Inferno) was an American band from Brooklyn, New York. Its style merged punk, soul, klezmer and jazz, while its collective membership featured horns, piano and guitar ...

Former artists

* 7 Seconds * Akimbo *

Amebix Amebix were an English crust punk band. Formed as the Band with No Name, the band's original run was from 1978 to 1987, during which time they released two EPs and three albums. The group reunited in 2008, released another full-length album ...

* Beatnigs * Black Flag *

Black Kali Ma Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

* BlöödHag * Blowfly * BGK *

Brujeria Various types of witchcraft and occult religious practices exist in Latin American and Afro-Caribbean cultures, known in Spanish as (pronounced ). Influenced by indigenous religion, Catholicism, and European witchcraft, the purpose may range ...

Brutal Juice Brutal Juice is a self-proclaimed "acid punk" (LSD-influenced hardcore punk and progressive rock) band from Denton, Texas. The band formed in 1990 and officially disbanded in February 1997, although they held several reunion concerts between 1999 ...

* Burning Image *

Buzzkill Buzzkill may refer to: * ''Buzzkill'' (TV series) * "Buzzkill" (''CSI: NY'' episode) * "Buzzkill" (song), by Luke Bryan *"Buzz-Kill", a song by Dune Rats from ''The Kids Will Know It's Bullshit'' *''Buzzkill'', a 2008 film by Second City See also ...

The Causey Way The Causey Way was an American Punk music, punk/New wave music, new wave group formed in 1997. History The underlying theme was that of a cult operating as a band

at Allmusic (with T-shirts coyly stating "The Causey Way Is Not ...

* Chill Eb * Christian (band), Christian * Christian Lunch * Comets on Fire * Creeps On Candy * Crucifucks *

* The Dicks *

* Doc Corbin Dart * Dog Faced Hermans * The Dot Wiggin Band * DUH (band), Duh *

* Eat (punk band), Eat * Eugene Chadbourne * Evan Johns and The H-Bombs * The Evaporators *

* F-Minus * Facepuller * False Prophets (band), False Prophets * The Fartz * The Flaming Stars * Fleshies * Flipper (band), Flipper * Tommy Guerrero, Free Beer * Galloping Coroners, Galloping Coroners (Vágtázó Halottkémek) * Geza X * God Bullies * Grong Grong * Grotus * Half Japanese * Howard Zinn * Hack (band), Hack * The Hanson Brothers (band), The Hanson Brothers * Hissanol * Husker Du (band), Husker Du * Jarboe * Jungle Studs * Kepone (band), Kepone * Klaus Flouride * Lard (band), Lard * Les Thugs * Life After Life (band), Life After Life * Logical Nonsense * The Looters * Los Gusanos * Ludicra * Mat Callahan * MDC (band), MDC * Melvins * M.I.A. (band), M.I.A. * Michael Gira * Mischief Brew * Mojo Nixon * Molotov Cocktail (band), Molotov Cocktail * Nausea (band), Nausea * Neurosis (band), Neurosis * Noam Chomsky * Nomeansno * No WTO Combo * Pachinko (band), Pachinko * Part Time Christians * D. H. Peligro, Peligro * Pitchshifter * Porch (band), Porch * Ratos de Porão * TARANTELLA * The Phantom Limbs * Radiopuhelimet * Saturn's Flea Collar * Sibling Rivalry * The Skatenigs * Skrapyard * Slim Cessna's Auto Club * SNFU * Star Fucking Hipsters * Stickdog * Teddy & the Frat Girls * Thrall * Toxic Reasons * Tragic Mulatto (band), Tragic Mulatto * Triclops (band), Triclops! * Tribe 8 * Tumor Circus * T.S.O.L. * Ultra Bide * VHK * Voice Farm * Ward Churchill * Wesley Willis * White Trash Debutants * The Witch Trials (band), The Witch Trials * The Yuppie Pricks * Zeni Geva * Zolar X

Discography

* Alternative Tentacles discography

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Alternative Tentacles, Alternative rock record labels American independent record labels Companies based in San Francisco Companies based in Emeryville, California Punk record labels Record labels established in 1979 Rock record labels Spoken word record labels Music of the San Francisco Bay Area