Lame-O Records 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 ...

based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Eric Osman to release

Modern Baseball Modern Baseball (MoBo) was an American emo band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania consisting of Bren Lukens, Jake Ewald, Sean Huber, and Ian Farmer. The band formed in 2012 at Drexel University and released their first album, ''Sports'', on Lame-O ...

's ''

Sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

'', the label has been hailed as one of Philadelphia's best indie labels.

History

Lame-O Records was founded in 2012 by Eric Osman, manager of the band

, to release the band's debut LP ''

''. Osman funded the 300-copy pressing with savings earned working at

coffee shops A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

. Though ''Sports'' earned the label no profit, it quickly sold out and has subsequently been repressed four times. The label was not originally supposed to continue beyond ''Sports'', but Osman decided to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the success of the first album. Lame-O began signing

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

-area acts including Ma Jolie, Steady Hands, the Hundred Acre Woods, the Superweaks, and Three Man Cannon. Osman enlisted fellow

Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

student Emily Hakes during the planning stages of the Hundred Acre Woods' ''Cold in the Morning''

7" single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

, shortly before the label expanded beyond Philly in 2014, signing the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based group

Johnny Foreigner Johnny Foreigner are an indie rock four-piece from Birmingham, UK, consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Alexei Berrow, bassist and vocalist Kelly Parker (née Southern), drummer Junior Elvis Washington Laidley, and guitarist and visual ar ...

. The label earned acclaim in 2015 for their successful ''Strength in Weakness''

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

. The six-way split (featuring Lame-O's

and The Superweaks as well as

Spraynard Spraynard is an American punk band from West Chester, Pennsylvania. History Spraynard began in 2008 with the release of a split EP with Captain, We're Sinking via Creep Records. In 2010 the band released a split with Paramedic! via Square of Opp ...

Marietta Marietta may refer to: Places in the United States *Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida *Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta *Marietta, Illinois *Marietta, Indiana *Marietta, Kansas *Marietta, Minnesota *Marietta, Mississippi *Mar ...

, Hurry, and

Beach Slang Beach Slang was an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed in May 2013. The band underwent several line-up changes, with lead vocalist/guitarist James Alex serving as the band's leader, figurehead, chief songwriter and sole orig ...

) was sold to raise money for

United Cerebral Palsy United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) is an international nonprofit charitable organization consisting of a network of affiliates. UCP is a leading service provider and advocate for adults and children with disabilities. As one of the largest health nonpro ...

in honor of Modern Vinyl managing editor James Cassar. The 500-copy pressing sold out immediately. The EP also served as Hakes' senior project for her music industry degree, while the accompanying shows at First Unitarian and

Saint Vitus Vitus (), whose name is sometimes rendered Guy or Guido, was a Christian martyr from Sicily. His surviving hagiography is pure legend. The dates of his actual life are unknown.Basil Watkins, ''The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical D ...

was Osman's for his entertainment & artist management degree. Lame-O has earned praise for their

DIY ethic "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

and commitment; Ma Jolie frontman Kirk Malosh commented, "It’s like they’re in the band... Any time anyone puts that much of an investment into your music, it’s unbelievable."

Artists

* An Horse * Attia Taylor *

Big Nothing ''Big Nothing'' is a 2006 black comedy crime film directed by Jean-Baptiste Andrea, starring David Schwimmer, Simon Pegg and Alice Eve. It had its world premiere at the Cardiff Film Festival on 18 November 2006, and was released in the United K ...

Cartalk ''Car Talk'' is a radio talk show that was broadcast weekly on National Public Radio (NPR) stations and elsewhere. Its subjects were automobiles and automotive repair, often discussed humorously. It was hosted by brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi ...

* Dazy * Dominic Angelella * Dust Star * Gladie * Golden Apples * Great Cynics * The Hundred Acre Woods * Hurry *

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

Loose Tooth Tooth mobility is the horizontal or vertical displacement of a tooth beyond its normal physiological boundaries around the gingival area, i.e. the medical term for a loose tooth. Tooth loss implies in loss of several orofacial structures, such as ...

* Lowercase Roses * Ma Jolie *

The Max Levine Ensemble The Max Levine Ensemble is an American DIY punk band from the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. They play punk rock with various pop influences, and often have politically conscious lyrics. They used to have a rotating band roster that chan ...

* Mike Bell & The Movies * Mo Troper *

* No Thank You *

The Obsessives The Obsessives is an American rock band from Washington, D.C. History Made up by best friends Nick Bairatchnyi and Jackson Mansfield, The Obsessives started in 2013 as a two piece band. The outfit was often compared to similar sounding Emo ban ...

* The Pooches * Provide * Shannen Moser *

Slaughter Beach, Dog Slaughter Beach, Dog is a rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania formed by Jake Ewald in 2014. Initially starting as one of Ewald's solo projects away from Modern Baseball, the group was realized after an indefinite hiatus of Modern Baseball w ...

* Steady Hands * superviolet * The Superweaks *

Thin Lips Thin Lips are an American indie rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History Thin Lips released their debut full-length album in 2016 titled ''Riff Hard'', named for Chrissy Tashjian's knuckle tattoos that feature on the cover, on Lame-O ...

* Three Man Cannon * Trace Mountains * U.S. Highball * Walter Etc. * Yankee Bluff * Year of Glad * Yours Are The Only Ears

Compilations

References

External links

Official website

Bandcamp
{{Authority control American independent record labels Companies based in Philadelphia Indie rock record labels Record labels established in 2012 Rock record labels