Blonde Vinyl 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 ...

founded in 1990 by

Michael Knott Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

. The ''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music'' describes the label as "one of Christian music's first true indie labels."

Background

Blonde Vinyl signed bands with styles that were viable in the underground of the general market but rarely found their way into the Christian market—old school punk, garage rock, grunge, gothic, EBM/industrial, synthpop/house, spoken word, acoustic pop. Blonde Vinyl folded in 1993 when its distributor, Spectra, went bankrupt. After bankruptcy, Knott attempted to resurrect Blonde Vinyl under the name Siren Records. Siren managed two releases before going bankrupt: ''World Tour'' by LSU Cash in Chaos and ''Beautiful Dazzling Music No. 1'' by Rainbow Rider (Dance House Children). After the failure of Siren, Knott started the band Aunt Bettys.

Sub-labels

Three sub-labels were created to further classify the diverse musical styles that were being released on Blonde Vinyl: Voice of the Youth, SLAVA Music, and Blonde Vinyl Inspirational. Voice of the Youth was created for the edgier alternative releases on Blonde Vinyl. Six albums were released under this imprint: ''product # bvcd 3482 (love gift)'' by

Breakfast with Amy Breakfast with Amy was an American Christian alternative rock band, formed in 1986 in La Habra, California at the La Habra Four-Square church. At that time, the band consisted of vocalist David Koval, bassist Jeff "Tennessee Beans" Beahn, guitari ...

, ''Go, Fluffy, Go!'' by Fluffy, ''Screaming Brittle Siren'' by

, ''The Grape Prophet'' by L.S. Underground, ''Plague of Ethyls'', and ''As Blue as the State Allows'' by Sass o' Frass Tunic. SLAVA Music existed as an underground

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...

-focused label before joining with Blonde Vinyl for distribution. Three albums were released under this imprint: ''Digital Priests - the Remixes'' by

Deitiphobia Deitiphobia is a Christian rock, Christian Industrial music, industrial, Electro music, electro and techno band from the United States formed in 1990 consisting of the duo of Wally Shaw and Brent Stackhouse. Known originally as Donderfliegen (tran ...

, ''Revelation 1921'' by Wigtop, and the ''SLAVA compilation''. Blonde Vinyl Inspirational was created for praise and worship music. The only release on this imprint was ''Quiet Assurance'' by N Side Out.

Notable artists

Dance House Children Dance House Children was the early 1990s musical group of Ronnie Martin and Jason Martin that was the precursor to The Brothers Martin. In the liner notes of ''Jesus'', Ronnie described its music as trendy, club-oriented music. The group was sig ...

Dead Artist Syndrome Dead Artist Syndrome was a Christian gothic rock band formed in 1989 in Orange County, California. The group consisted of singer-songwriter Brian Healy and a rotating cast of side men. Healy was dubbed the "father of Christian goth" by Rozz Wil ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

* Lifesavers *

Lust Control Lust Control is a Christian thrash punk band, originally formed in 1988. They are known for their explicit lyrical content, which is devoted to matters of sexual purity and sin, including abstinence, masturbation, pornography, sex ed, and re ...

Scaterd Few Scaterd Few was a Christian punk band originating from Burbank, California. ''CCM'' magazine described their music as "pure punk for dread people," stating that it was a cross between Janes Addiction and Charlie Mingus. History ''Sin Disease'' ...

Scaterd Few recorded ''Jawboneofanass'' for Blonde Vinyl, but due to the company's demise it was never released. *Sincerely Pau

2 of the Original Band members of S.P. are in the band SLIDE) * Steve Scott (poet), Steve Scott *

Tribe of Dan The Tribe of Dan (, "Judge") was one of the twelve tribes of Israel, according to the Torah. They were allocated a coastal portion of land when the people of Israel entered the Promised Land, later moving northwards. Biblical narrative In th ...

Compilations

*''Blonde Vinyl Teaser I'' (BVCD007 - 1991) *''Blonde Vinyl Teaser II / Food for Thought'' (BVCD0072 - 1991) *''SLAVA Compilation - Voice of the People'' (BVCD3442 - 1992) *''Radioactive Hits: The Definitive Blonde Vinyl Collection'' (84418-885-1 - 1993)

References

External links

Michael Knott's home pageDiscogs: Blonde VinylCMA: Blonde Vinyl
{{Authority control Record labels established in 1990 1990 establishments in the United States Record labels disestablished in 1993 American independent record labels Indie rock record labels Alternative rock record labels Christian record labels