Kindercore Records

Kindercore Records is an independent record label based in Athens, Georgia, which was founded in 1996 by Ryan Lewis and Daniel Geller to document the emerging music scene in Athens, Georgia.

Their first release was a cassette compilation called "The Treble Revolution", which sold out in a week. This release was followed by Kindercore's first vinyl 7" by kincaid. It currently is the promoter of Roderick a newly signed artist.

Subsequent 7" singles were released including The Mendoza Line, Masters of the Hemisphere, and others.

Although Kindercore was often called "indiepop" by many, the label soon added the hip-hop influenced Kitty Craft to their roster (Kindercore's first Top 10 record at college radio), along with the alt-country tinged instrumental group, Japancakes. Also coming on board at that time was the restrained and acoustic based band, Vermont, a side project of The Promise Ring.

With these new bands, Kindercore began to gain national attention. The label was approached by Emperor Norton Records who provided financial backing. With this support, Kindercore continued to sign talented artists from around the world, including Britain’s Birdie, Denver's Dressy Bessy and San Francisco’s Call and Response. In 2000, Spin Magazine named Kindercore the year’s “indie label to watch”.

In 2000, Kindercore hosted the Athens Expo 2000, a showcase for their friends and bands that lasted for three days and drew visitors from all over the world to their hometown of Athens, GA.

In 2002, Kindercore's agreement with Emperor Norton came to an end, and Kindercore entered into an agreement with The Telegraph Company. Geller and Lewis decided that they wanted to continue to broaden the scope of Kindercore's sound by signing new artists that reflected their evolving tastes. These included Maserati, Jet By Day, and Paper Lions.

The relationship between Telegraph and Kindercore came to an abrupt end in October 2003 with a series of contradictory press releases about the fate of the company, alternately released by both Stan Hartman and Jerod Gunsberg. The press releases caused much confusion in the independent music community, and it quickly came to light that Geller and Lewis had little control over the company they had founded. Shortly thereafter, in an attempt to regain control of the label, Geller and Lewis filed a lawsuit against The Telegraph Company, Hartman and Telegraph/Kindercore General Manager and President, Jerod Gunsberg. Gunsberg moved to California and filed for bankruptcy in early 2004. Hartman filed for bankruptcy, re-married and moved to Canada in 2005. Lewis and Geller received a judgment in the case and regained control over the Kindercore catalog.

Lewis and Geller continue to live in Athens, GA. Lewis is a columnist for the Athens Banner Herald and plays music. Geller continues to work with his band I Am The World Trade Center and works as a bio-diesel researcher for the University of Georgia.

In August 2007 the Kindercore website was revamped to reflect the label's rebirth.

The following recording artists have recently released material on other labels:

Of Montreal is now on Polyvinyl Records, Dressy Bessy released "Electrified" on Transdreamer Records, I Am The World Trade Center released "The Cover Up" on Gammon Records, Maserati is now on Hello Sir Records, Jet By Day is now on Future Farmer Records, and Japancakes is now on Warm Records.

See also

* List of record labels