New Alliance Records was an independent

record label 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 produ ...

founded by American musicians D. Boon and Mike Watt (of The Minutemen) and longtime friend and associate

Martin Tamburovich Martin Tamburovich (June 6, 1958 – December 2, 2003) was the co-founder of New Alliance Records and vocalist for the short-lived punk/ new wave band The Reactionaries. Tamburovich, along with his San Pedro High School classmates D. Boon, Mi ...

. They were inspired by the example of their friends in southern California band Black Flag who had earlier formed

SST Records SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was formed in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Tuners, a small business through which he sold electronics equipm ...

. The existence of SST led Watt to understand, according to a 1987 interview he gave to ''Musician'' magazine, how easy it was to get a record made: "All you had to do was pay the record plant man." The label's first release was the 1980 various-artist compilation '' Cracks in the Sidewalk,'' which included tracks by the Minutemen, Black Flag, and Saccharine Trust. Other early releases on New Alliance included

Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist/vocalist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notabili ...

's first album ''

Land Speed Record The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regula ...

'' and the Minutemen's second-ever release, the seven-inch EP ''

Joy The word joy refers to the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune, and is typically associated with feelings of intense, long lasting happiness. Dictionary definitions Dictionary definitions of joy typically include a sense of ...

''. Eventually the label grew to nurture the early career of the

Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Manhattan Beach, California, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson. In 1979, they enlisted Stevenson's school friend Milo Aukerman as a ...

, issue additional compilation albums ('' Chunks'' and '' Mighty Feeble''), and release other recordings by the Minutemen ('' The Politics of Time''), Secret Hate ( Vegetables Dancing), and Hüsker Dü (the '' In a Free Land'' EP). The label also showcased a number of post-punk bands from the South Bay area of southern California, notably Slovenly, Phantom Opera, and Invisiblechains. After D. Boon's car-accident death in 1985 and the increasingly busier schedule of Watt's post-Minutemen band Firehose, Watt and Tamburovich sold New Alliance to SST in 1987.

Greg Ginn Gregory Regis Ginn (born June 8, 1954) is an American guitarist, bassist, singer and songwriter, best known for being the leader, primary songwriter, and the only continuous member of the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led ...

, SST's owner and Black Flag's guitarist, proceeded to transfer all of the Minutemen and Descendents back catalog and Hüsker Dü's ''Land Speed Record'' to SST and turned New Alliance into a subsidiary label of SST that concentrated on more adventurous and non-mainstream records, including jazz, instrumental, poetry, and spoken-word releases. New Alliance also released the debut single of Ciccone Youth and material from The Coachmen, both of which were Sonic Youth-related projects. New Alliance ceased its operations in 1998 in order to save money. Its back-catalog has been deleted, its releases are no longer available through SST Records, and there is no mention of the label or its artists on SST's website. Label co-founder Tamburovich died of a bacterial infection in 2003. Rapp Records founder Rad Ramsey &

reactivated New Alliance in 2000 as a Rapp Records sublabel. It also brought back its back-catalog. This time it was specialized for Rap, Rock & Reissuing its old material. However, in 2006, SST filed a case against Rapp & forced Ramsey to close down New Alliance.

References

External links

Discogs.com (partial discography)Rate Your Music.com (partial discography from 1980 to 1998)
{{Authority control Record labels established in 1980 Alternative rock record labels Defunct record labels of the United States

See also

References

External links