Plan-It-X Records (PIX) was 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 ...

. Originally based in Georgetown, Indiana, PIX was based out of Bloomington, Indiana following brief stints in Olympia, Washington,

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

, and

Cairo, Illinois Cairo ( ) is the southernmost city in Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County. The city is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Fort Defiance, a Civil War camp, was built here in 1862 by Union General Ulysses ...

. The label released

folk punk Folk punk (known in its early days as rogue folk) is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was popularized in the early 1980s by the Pogues in England, and by Violent Femmes in the United States. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in ...

and pop punk music, including

Against Me! Against Me! is an American punk rock band formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida, by singer and guitarist Laura Jane Grace. That same year, Grace moved to Gainesville, Florida, which is considered the band's hometown. Since 2001, the band's lineup ...

's '' Crime As Forgiven By'', other releases include albums by

This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb were a folk punk band from Pensacola, Florida, United States. Their first recording was released in 1997 on Ghostmeat Records. Their later releases have been on Plan It X Records and No Idea Records, but now appear on ...

, Defiance, Ohio, Ghost Mice, Japanther, The Bananas, Operation: Cliff Clavin, and

Antsy Pants Kimya Dawson (born November 17, 1972) is an American folk singer-songwriter, one half of the anti-folk duo the Moldy Peaches. Dawson's work with the Moldy Peaches earned them a cult following and critical acclaim, with their 2001 song " Anyone ...

and Fifteen.

History

Founded in 1994 by Samantha Jane Dorsett, Plan-It-X held a DIY punk ethic. The label sold all CDs for five dollars or less. PIX's slogan reads: "If it ain't cheap, it ain't punk". PIX attempted to demonstrate that the practices of

major record labels A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...

do not need to be duplicated by independent record labels in order to be successful. They supported other small labels and encourage others to do so as well (and even go as far as to suggest starting your own label). The label was run by Chris Johnston, who goes by the name Chris Clavin (For the band name Operation: Cliff Clavin) and his friends. Johnston formerly played in the bands Ghost Mice and

Imperial Can Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

, as well as his solo acts

Captain Chaos ''The Cannonball Run'' is a 1981 action comedy film. It was directed by Hal Needham, produced by Hong Kong's Golden Harvest films, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Filmed in Panavision, it features an all-star ensemble cast, including Bu ...

. Chris is a former band member of Operation: Cliff Clavin, The Devil Is Electric, The Ted Dancin' Machine, Peanucle,

The Sissies The Sissies were an American pop-punk band based in Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fo ...

Tooth Soup A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, te ...

and

The Jammy Dodgers ''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 ...

. Beyond the release of musical albums, Plan-It-X has released a book by author Greg Wells (''Complete Control: An Anthology 1997-2005''), the zine

My Friend Bubby My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Mark ...

, as well as a DVD featuring live performances of bands filmed during Plan-It-X Fest 2004 (see below). A documentary was released in 2010, put together from footage shot across the week of the 2006 Plan-It-X Fest. Clavin closed the label in 2016, writing that since it was not financially possible to release music in a physical format, and since bands could now easily release their music on their own, the label had outlived its original purpose. In August and September 2017, Clavin was accused of one act of non-consensual sexual contact and other incidents of interpersonal misconduct. Clavin said, "I no longer play in any bands. I no longer run a record label or publishing company. I will settle all affairs and orders of course, and pay all outstanding debts and invoices." Many artists who worked with Plan-It-X made public statements condemning Clavin's alleged behavior and assured fans that their prior Plan-It-X releases, in most cases out of print, would not be re-released under the Plan-It-X name. Some of these artists include AJJ and Kimya Dawson. His bandmate in Ghost Mice, Hannah O'Connor, posted the following on Facebook, quoted by ''PunkNews'' in response to the allegations: "Since I have been Chris' friend for a long time, I know that he is being accused of things he has not done. I know there are a lot of false allegations, rumors, and lies spreading very fast about him."

Plan-It-X Fest

In 2004 Plan-It-X Records celebrated its 10-year anniversary with a three-day festival in Bloomington, Indiana. A large portion of the bands involved with the label performed throughout the three-day event. With the success of the 2004 fest, Plan-It-X decided to take the festival on the road the following year in 2005 with a number of their bands in a school bus. The school bus toured throughout the Eastern and Midwestern United States. 2006 saw th
third Plan-It-X fest
return to Bloomington as a six-day "Punk Rock Summer Camp," with bands playing every night and workshops and other activities throughout the afternoon. Like the two previous fests, 2006's fest raised money for charity. This year a total of $8,200 was split amongst three different charities. 2011 saw the fourth Plan-It-X Fest. It took place on June 24, 25, and 26 in Bloomington, Indiana. Like previous fests, this one was a benefit for several grassroots organizations. It also marked the release of PIX99, a book based on founder Samantha Dorsett's life. The 5th Plan-It-X Fest happened in 2012. The 6th Plan-It-X Fest took place in 2014 in Spencer, IN. The 7th and final Plan-It-X Fest took place in Spencer, IN from July 22 to the 24th, 2016. This festival was filmed for a short YouTube documentary by Punk With A Camera entitled "And One For Good Luck - The Last Plan-It-X Fest". Artists performing included Ramshackle Glory, Ghost Mice, Terror Pigeon, The Wild,

Pioneers Press Pioneers Press was an independent publishing house founded in 2012 by Jessie Duke, the former owner and manager of Portland-based publisher Microcosm Publishing. Pioneers Press was based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with its distribution center on a fa ...

author Adam Gnade, Super Famicon, Erin Tobey,

Your Heart Breaks Your Heart Breaks is an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington (state), Washington led by artist and musician Clyde Petersen. The group was formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1998. Petersen is transgender and his songwriting, particularly on ...

and many more.

Bands and artists

The following is an alphabetized list of artists that have worked with Plan-It-X to release projects on the label. Some of these bands overlap with Plan-It-X South bands (see below regarding PIX South). * Abe Froman *

* AJJ * Andrew Lips *

* The Bananas * The Blank Fight * Best Friends Forever * Beyond Things * Brook Pridemore *

* Carrie Nations * The Connie Dungs * The Dauntless Elite * Dave Dean's Musical Forklift * Dead Bird * Defiance, Ohio * Delay *

The Devil Is Electric ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

* Disarm * Dogbreth * The Door-Keys *

Emperor X Chad R. Matheny, known professionally as Emperor X, is an American singer and songwriter. Early life and career Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1979, Matheny got his start in music when he was given a Casio SK-1 by his grandparents at age nine, ...

* Eric Ayotte
Erin Tobey
* Fifteen * The Four Eyes * The Future Virgins * Ghost Mice * Greg Wells * Halo Fauna * Heathers * Henry Rollins and the Sweater Band * I Like Japanese Hardcore * Imperial Can * James Black * Japanther * Kyle Hall * Lava Lava * Left Out * Los Gatos Negros * Lycka Till * Madeline Adams * Madeline Ava * Matty Pop Chart *

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 ...

* Michael Jumpshot Touchdown Pass * Mitch the Champ * One Reason * ONSIND * Operation: Cliff Clavin * Pat the bunny *

Paul Baribeau Paul Baribeau is an American folk punk singer-songwriter from Grand Ledge, Michigan. He was signed to the independent record label Plan-It-X Records. His self-titled debut album was released on Plan-It-X Records in January 2004. In 2006, he embark ...

* Peanucle * Punkin Pie * Ramshackle Glory * Rosa * Russ Substance * Sara Cilantro * Saw Wheel * Sexy * Shotwell *

Soophie Nun Squad Soophie Nun Squad (often shortened by fans to simply Soophie or abbreviated SNS) is a DIY punk rock band from North Little Rock, Arkansas known for their jubilant stage performances which typically include costumes, puppet shows, and a large amo ...

* Spoonboy * Stressface * Street Eaters * Super Bobby * The Taxpayers * The Ted Dancin' Machine * The Tiger *

* Watercolor Paintings * Waxahatchee * Whiskey Smile! * Will Power *

Plan-It-X South

Overview

Plan-It-X South is a part of the main Plan-It-X label, but is run by Teddy Helmick of

. Plan-It-X carries all of the Plan-It-X South releases in their catalog. This arrangement benefits Chris Johnston, as Teddy operates and finances PIX South, so the burden is taken off of Johnston. And since the releases are distributed through the main PIX catalog, it allows Teddy the opportunity to take part in the production and release of more music, distributed through a channel already proven successful. PIX South shares the same DIY punk ethic of its mother label.Retrieved on 2009-06-16 http://www.plan-it-x.org/artist/future-virgins-the/

PIX South Bands

* ADD/C * Friday Knight * The Future Virgins * The Hidden Spots * Landlord * PantyShanty * Rymodee * Sexy * Stressface *

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control American independent record labels Record labels established in 1994 Punk record labels