Skene! Records was an American DIY

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

record label founded in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

in 1988 by Jeff Spiegel, then later based in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. 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 music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

,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). ...

Shades Apart Shades Apart is an American alternative rock band from Bridgewater Township, New Jersey. They are best known for their singles "Valentine" and "Stranger by the Day" as well as their cover of " Tainted Love." History Shades Apart formed in 198 ...

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 Towe ...

The People's Court ''The People's Court'' is an American Court show#Arbitration-based reality court show, arbitration-based reality court show, featuring an arbitrator handling small claims court, small claims disputes in a simulation, simulated courtroom set. W ...

, Slap of Reality, Candy Machine, Bob Evans, Lifter Puller, 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 Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bisho ...

, Dog Tired, The Deviators, Gneissmaker,

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

, 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. No Idea Records started not as a record label, but as a zine ...

, Very Small Records, 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 Operatio ...

. 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 is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...

and large punk labels such as

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. A large portion of the record label, known as Hellcat Records, is owned by Tim Armstrong, frontman of the punk rock band Rancid. Several ...

Notes

References

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