Skene! Records was an American DIY punk rock record label founded in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

in 1988 by Jeff Spiegel, then later based in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. An early album release was ''Better Yet Connecticut Hardcore'', featuring bands such as Bug Gulp, Fallback, Freedom of Choice, Forced Reality and Scooter X. Spiegel also promoted local punk shows in central

. The most infamous of which being "the greatest show that never happened", showcased at the New Britain VFW hall and featuring bands such as Big Gulp, Freedom of Choice, and Fallback. Shortly after the show began, during Fallback's set, a fight broke out and the show was forcibly shut down by the New Britain Police department; some of the footage was caught on a video tape that seems to have been lost. The label later released records from such bands as

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

,Specifically, '' Sweet Children''.

Trenchmouth Trenchmouth was an American punk band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1988. Throughout its existence, the band mainly consisted of Damon Locks (vocals/percussion), Chris DeZutter (guitar), Wayne Montana (bass), and Fred Armisen (drums). Bio ...

Shades Apart Shades Apart is an American alternative rock musical group from Bridgewater Township, New Jersey. They are best known for their US radio hit "Valentine", "Stranger by the Day" and their cover of the hit song "Tainted Love." History The band fo ...

AWAKE! ''Awake!'' is an illustrated religious magazine published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. It is considered to be a companion magazine of ''The Watchtower'', and is distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses. The Watch Tower So ...

The People's Court ''The People's Court'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show, featuring an arbitrator handling small claims disputes in a simulated courtroom set. Within the court show genre, it is the first of all arbitration-based reality sty ...

, Slap of Reality, Candy Machine, Bob Evans,

Lifter Puller Lifter Puller, or LFTR PLLR, was an American indie rock band from the Twin Cities and the Boston area between 1994 and 2000. Their music is considered innovative, with its angular riffs and a synth-infused sound that predated the '80s revival fa ...

, Actionslacks, Everready, Fuel (not to be confused with the popular rock band), Angry Son, Go!, Phleg Camp, Jawbreaker,

Crimpshrine Crimpshrine was an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California. The group was formed in 1982 by Aaron Cometbus, founder of the seminal punk rock zine ''Cometbus'', and future Operation Ivy vocalist Jesse Michaels. They grew out of the East ...

Dog Tired The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

, The Deviators, Gneissmaker,

Walt Mink Walt Mink were an American alternative rock power trio formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota in 1989 by guitarist/singer/songwriter John Kimbrough, drummer Joey Waronker and bassist Candice Belanoff. The band released four studio a ...

, and others, and was considered a contemporary of

No Idea Records No Idea Records is an American independent record label based in Gainesville, Florida which focuses on punk rock and its sub-styles and produces both vinyl records and compact discs. The label also organizes The Fest, an independently operated ...

Very Small Records Very Small Records was an independent record label, formed in 1989 by David Hayes, co-founder and former co-owner of Lookout Records. The name of the label was changed to Too Many Records around 1994, but was changed back around 1997. The label ter ...

, and

Lookout! Records Lookout Records (stylized as Lookout! Records) was an independent record label, initially based in Laytonville, California and later in Berkeley, focusing on punk rock. Established in 1987, the label is best known for having released Operation ...

. The label existed at least until 1996, and is mentioned by Matt Diehl in ''My So-Called Punk'' (St Martin's Press, 2007) in terms of the relation between punk with a

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 contemporary "neo-punk" involved in the

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

and large punk labels such as

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...

Notes

References

American record labels Punk record labels Record labels established in 1988 Record labels disestablished in 1996 American independent record labels Independent record labels based in Minnesota {{US-independent-record-label-stub