''The Shield Around the K: The Story of K Records'' is a 2000 documentary produced and directed by Heather Rose Dominic about the

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 ...

K Records K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent mu ...

. The film profiles the birth and growth of the punk rock

DIY "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 sem ...

label based in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...

. Co-founders,

Calvin Johnson Calvin Johnson Jr., (born September 29, 1985) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons with the Detroit Lions. He played college football at Georgia Tech, where he twice ...

and Candice Pedersen are interviewed along with over 20 K artists and peers including

Michael Azerrad Michael Azerrad is an American author, music journalist, editor, and musician. A graduate of Columbia University, he has written for publications such as '' Spin'', ''Rolling Stone'', and ''The New York Times''. Azerrad's 1993 biography '' Come ...

Timothy Brock Timothy Brock (born 1963) is an American-born conductor and composer specializing in concert works of the early 20th-century, orchestral performance practices of the 1920s and 1930s, and live performances to accompany silent film. Silent film sc ...

Gerard Cosloy Gerard Cosloy (born 1964) is an American music industry executive. Biography Cosloy was raised in Wayland, Massachusetts, a western suburb of Boston. While he was in high school, he became involved in the local hardcore punk scene, put together m ...

, The Crabs,

Steve Fisk Steve Fisk is an American, Washington-based audio engineer, record producer and musician. As a musician, he has been in bands such as the instrumental alternative/indie rock band Pell Mell and the electronic band Pigeonhed. He has long been as ...

, John Foster,

John Goodmanson John Goodmanson (born 1968) is an American recording engineer and indie rock record producer. He is best known for producing multiple albums by Bikini Kill, Blonde Redhead, Death Cab for Cutie, Los Campesinos!, and Sleater-Kinney. Selected dis ...

, Toni Holm, Rich Jensen,

Peter Kember Peter Kember (born 19 November 1965), also known by his stage name Sonic Boom, is an English singer and record producer. He was a founding member, vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist of alternative rock band Spacemen 3, lasting from 1982 until ...

, David Lester,

Bret Lunsford Bret Lunsford (born December 12, 1962) is an American vocalist, songwriter, guitarist, and founding member of the influential band Beat Happening and D+. In addition to his own musical endeavors, Lunsford owns and operates Knw-Yr-Own Records, an ...

Ian MacKaye Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye (; born April 16, 1962) is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label and the frontman of hardcore punk ...

Lois Maffeo Lois Maffeo (professionally known for much of her career as Lois) is an American musician and writer who lives in Olympia, Washington. She has been closely involved with and influenced many independent musicians, especially in the 1990s-era Olymp ...

, Patrick Maley,

Rose Melberg Rose Melberg is a musician and songwriter from Sacramento, California, currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She has performed both as a solo artist and as a member of Tiger Trap, The Softies, Go Sailor, Gaze, Gigi, Imaginar ...

Slim Moon Matthew "Slim" Moon (born October 15, 1967) is an American musician and the founder of the American independent music label Kill Rock Stars (KRS). He also started its sister label, 5 Rue Christine. Slim ran KRS from 1991 to 2006, during which ...

, Jack Rabid, David Raugh,

Ira Robbins ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

Jean Smith Jean Isabel Smith (born 1959) is a Canadian writer, painter and the lead singer of the Vancouver band Mecca Normal. Career Music Smith co-founded Mecca Normal with bandmate David Lester in 1981, while the two were working together at a Vancouv ...

, Winston Vidor, Wandering Lucy and

Dean Wareham Dean Wareham (born 1 August 1963) is an American musician and actor who formed the band Galaxie 500 in 1987. He left Galaxie 500 in April 1991 and founded the band Luna. Since Luna's breakup in 2005, Wareham has released albums with fellow Lun ...

. Included are Super 8 music videos of

Beat Happening Beat Happening is an American indie pop band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1982. Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis, and Bret Lunsford have been the band's continual members. Beat Happening were early leaders in the American indie pop and lo-fi mo ...

The Halo Benders The Halo Benders was a band formed in 1994 as a side project by Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening and Doug Martsch of Built to Spill. They released their first album, '' God Don't Make No Junk'', in 1994. They followed up in 1996 with '' Don't ...

Lois Lois is a common English name from the New Testament. Paul the Apostle mentions Lois, the pious grandmother of Saint Timothy in the Second Epistle to Timothy (commending her for her faith in 2 Timothy 1:5). The name was first used by English C ...

Mecca Normal Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valle ...

and

Tiger Trap Tiger trap may refer to: *Trou de loup In medieval fortification, a trou de loup (French for "wolf hole"; plural trous de loup, also commonly referred to as a tiger pit in the East) was a type of booby trap or defensive obstacle. Each trou de lo ...

directed by Patrick Maley and Lois Maffeo. The film also contains rare footage from the

International Pop Underground Convention The International Pop Underground Convention (or IPU) was a 1991 punk and alternative rock music festival in Olympia, Washington. The six-day convention centered on a series of performances at the Capitol Theater. Throughout August 20–25, ...

, a six-day festival held at the Capital Theater in Olympia, Washington in August, 1991.

Production

The film was shot using a Panasonic PV-810 camera.IMDb Technical Specs.
/ref> The majority of the film's footage was captured over two weeks in the Pacific Northwest. Interviews and locations were shot in Anacortes, Washington; New York, New York; Olympia, Washington; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; Vancouver, British Columbia; Vancouver, Washington and Washington, D.C.

DVD special features

IPU Footage *Beat Happening: Cast a Shadow *Beat Happening: Revolution Come & Gone *Mecca Normal: He Didn't Say *Mecca Normal: Walk Alone

Reception

The film played to a sold-out audience at the 2000

New York Underground Film Festival The New York Underground Film Festival was an annual event that occurred each March at Anthology Film Archives in New York City from 1994 through 2008 founded by filmmakers Todd Phillips ('' Road Trip'', '' Old School'') and Andrew Gurland. After P ...

and went on to receive invitational screenings at over 20 film festivals in Canada, England, Germany, Sweden and the United States. ''The Shield Around the K'' garnered favorable reviews from over 50 national and international publications including ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'', ''

Jane Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fil ...

'', ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'', and ''

Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

''. The film was referenced in ''

Our Band Could Be Your Life ''Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991'' is a book by Michael Azerrad. It chronicles the careers of several underground rock bands who, while finding little or no mainstream success, were hugely i ...

: Scenes from the American Indie Underground'', 1981-1991 written by Michael Azerrad and published by

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

, 2001.

References

External links

The Shield Around the K at the Internet Movie DatabaseThe Shield Around the K at AllmovieDVDTalk ReviewPhiladelphia City Paper ReviewHeather Rose Dominic Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shield Around The K 2000 films American independent films Documentary films about punk music and musicians American documentary films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films