Checkered Past Records

Checkered Past Records is an American indie music record label established in May 1997 in Chicago.

History

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The label was founded in May 1997 by Bloodshot Records co-founder Eric Babcock, Yvonne Jones, and Larry Lipson.[1] Babcock met Jones through their shared love of the Texas-based band Killbilly, and ran Checkered Past out of Jones' and her husband's house in Irving Park.[2] Babcock's stated motivation for starting the label stemmed in part from his desire to release "more traditional and rootsy-sounding" music by relatively little-known artists.[3] It was also influenced by Bloodshot's refusal to release "The Neighborhood is Changing", the debut album by Tom House.[4] He has also recalled that while he was working at Bloodshot, he was looking through dozens of albums by such artists, and was surprised that they hadn't been released locally yet. So he decided to start his own label to do so himself, starting with Tom House's album The Neighborhood Is Changing.[1] In 1999, Babcock founded the Nashville-based Catamount Records,[5] and, as of 2004, had since left Checkered Past to run it.[6]

Artists

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Artists which have released albums on Checkered Past include, but are not limited to:

References

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  1. ^ a b Ridley, Jim (9 July 1998). "Another Country". Nashville Scene. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  2. ^ Hoekstra, Dave (15 February 1998). "Past guides roots musicians". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  3. ^ Reiss, Randy (3 September 1997). "New Label Lifts Spirits Of 'No Depression' Co- Founder". MTV News. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  4. ^ Weitz, Matt (18 December 1997). "Close to the bone". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  5. ^ Smith-Lindall, Anders (27 June 2000). "Bloodshot Records Celebrates Fifth Birthday". MTV News. Archived from the original on July 16, 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  6. ^ Kot, Greg (4 February 2004). "Bloodshot but not tired". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 14 July 2014.