Mr. Lady Records
Encyclopedia
Mr. Lady Records was a San Francisco-based lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...

-feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...

 independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

 and video art
Video art
Video art is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data. . Video art came into existence during the 1960s and 1970s, is still widely practiced and has given rise to the widespread use of video installations...

 distributor. Artists on the label included Le Tigre
Le Tigre
Le Tigre is an American electroclash band, formed by Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman in 1998. It also featured Sadie Benning from 1998 until 2001, and JD Samson for the rest of the group's run...

 and The Butchies
The Butchies
The Butchies are a punk rock band from Durham, North Carolina, that existed from 1998 to 2005, and are currently on a hiatus. The frequent focus of their lyrical content concerned lesbian and queer themes....

. OutSmart magazine noted that Mr. Lady was "queercore
Queercore
Queercore is a cultural and social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of punk. It is distinguished by being discontent with society in general and its rejection of the disapproval of the gay, bisexual, and lesbian communities and their "oppressive agenda"...

's strongest label."

The label was founded in 1996
1996 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact...

 in Durham
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...

, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 by musician Kaia Wilson
Kaia Wilson
Kaia Wilson is a musician from Portland, Oregon, best known as a founding member of both Team Dresch, a revered 1990s queercore punk band, and The Butchies, a pop-rock spin-off from her solo work. In addition to singing, songwriting and guitar, Wilson co-established and operated Mr...

 and artist/UNC
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

 photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

 professor Tammy Rae Carland
Tammy Rae Carland
Tammy Rae Carland is a zine editor, artist, filmmaker and owner of the independent lesbian music label Mr. Lady Records.In the late 1980s she co-founded an independent art gallery in Olympia, Washington with Heidi Arbogast. The two teamed up with Kathleen Hanna, who often did spoken word...

, aiming to redress what they saw as a lack of feminist record labels at the time. As well as a range of recording artists, the label was also heavily involved in other events that promoted feminist thinking and music, such as the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival
Michigan Womyn's Music Festival
The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, called "the Original Womyn's Woodstock" and often referred to as MWMF or Michfest, is an international feminist music festival occurring every August since 1976 near Hart, Michigan...

 – which led to some controversy in 1999 – and various art showcases. Mr. Lady closed down in June 2004
2004 in music
See also:* 2004 in music Record labels established in 2004-January:*January 1**The Vienna New Year's Concert is conducted by Riccardo Muti.**Kurt Nilsen wins World Idol....

.

Founding

Kaia Wilson was a member of lesbian punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 group The Butchies
The Butchies
The Butchies are a punk rock band from Durham, North Carolina, that existed from 1998 to 2005, and are currently on a hiatus. The frequent focus of their lyrical content concerned lesbian and queer themes....

, and felt their "out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....

 politics held them back." Without a record company to specifically represent the work of herself and other "out" female musicians, Wilson and her girlfriend, Tammy Rae Carland
Tammy Rae Carland
Tammy Rae Carland is a zine editor, artist, filmmaker and owner of the independent lesbian music label Mr. Lady Records.In the late 1980s she co-founded an independent art gallery in Olympia, Washington with Heidi Arbogast. The two teamed up with Kathleen Hanna, who often did spoken word...

, found their opportunities limited. Subsequently, they formed Mr. Lady to redress the "lack of enough women and/or dyke
Dyke (slang)
Dyke is slang terminology referring to a lesbian or lesbianism. It originated as a derogatory label for a masculine woman, and this usage still exists. However, some attempt to use it in a manner they see as positive, or simply as a neutral synonym for lesbian...

 run record labels," which they felt led to an "extremely limited amount of affordable and accessible means for independent artists to distribute their work." Thus, Mr. Lady Records was started with, in Wilson's words, "$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

35 and a lotta...faith."
Wilson stated the name "Mr. Lady" came from a trip to Italy while on tour with Team Dresch
Team Dresch
Team Dresch is an American punk band from Portland, Oregon, originally formed in Olympia, Washington, which was initially active from 1993 until 1998. The band made a significant impression on the do-it-yourself movement queercore, which gave voice through zines and music to the passions and...

: "I saw a store called Mr. Baby, and it freaked me out. Then everyone started calling me Mr. Baby. Then I became Mr. Baby onstage. I had my own theme song and everything. I wore a little eyeliner mustache. From there it changed into Mr. Lady, which just seemed like a good name for a queer label." It also related to Ladyman, Wilson's first solo LP
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

, produced with the aid of Melissa York
Melissa York
Melissa York is a rock drummer. She currently lives in Durham, North Carolina.York first began drumming with the New York-based hardcore punk bands Born Against, the Manacled and Vitapup. After this, she moved to the West Coast to drum for Team Dresch. Following that, she was a member of the power...

 after they both left lesbian "supergroup" Team Dresch
Team Dresch
Team Dresch is an American punk band from Portland, Oregon, originally formed in Olympia, Washington, which was initially active from 1993 until 1998. The band made a significant impression on the do-it-yourself movement queercore, which gave voice through zines and music to the passions and...

.

Artists and releases

Mr. Lady Records released recordings by groups such as Kathleen Hanna
Kathleen Hanna
Kathleen Hanna is an American musician, feminist activist, and punk zine writer. In the early- to mid-1990s she was the lead singer and songwriter of Bikini Kill, before fronting Le Tigre in the late 1990s and early 2000s...

's lo-fi
Low fidelity
Low fidelity or lo-fi describes a sound recording which contains technical flaws such as distortion, hum, or background noise, or limited frequency response...

 group Le Tigre
Le Tigre
Le Tigre is an American electroclash band, formed by Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman in 1998. It also featured Sadie Benning from 1998 until 2001, and JD Samson for the rest of the group's run...

 (who released their first two records – Le Tigre
Le Tigre (album)
Le Tigre is the debut studio album of American feminist electroclash trio Le Tigre.The song "Deceptacon" was featured in the 2006 Norwegian film Reprise and the 2003 skateboarding film Yeah Right!...

and Feminist Sweepstakes
Feminist Sweepstakes
Feminist Sweepstakes is the second studio album by the American feminist electroclash band Le Tigre.The album is the follow-up to the trio's self-titled debut and the first to feature JD Samson as a member of the band...

– with Mr. Lady), punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 group The Butchies
The Butchies
The Butchies are a punk rock band from Durham, North Carolina, that existed from 1998 to 2005, and are currently on a hiatus. The frequent focus of their lyrical content concerned lesbian and queer themes....

 (of whom Kaia Wilson
Kaia Wilson
Kaia Wilson is a musician from Portland, Oregon, best known as a founding member of both Team Dresch, a revered 1990s queercore punk band, and The Butchies, a pop-rock spin-off from her solo work. In addition to singing, songwriting and guitar, Wilson co-established and operated Mr...

 is the lead singer), British group Electrelane
Electrelane
Electrelane are a British all-female indie rock band, formed in Brighton in 1998 by Verity Susman and Emma Gaze. The band comprised Susman, Gaze, Mia Clarke, and Ros Murray. Their music draws from wide range of influences including Neu!, Stereolab, Sonic Youth, and The Velvet Underground...

, Tara Jane O'Neil
Tara Jane O'Neil
Tara Jane O'Neil is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, audio recording engineer, and visual artist based out of Portland, Oregon.-Biography:...

, spoken-word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....

 collective Sister Spit
Sister Spit
Sister Spit is a lesbian-feminist spoken word and performance art collective based in San Francisco, signed to Mr. Lady Records. They formed in 1994 and disbanded in 2006. Founding members included Michelle Tea and Sini Anderson, Other members included Jane LeCroy and poet Eileen Myles...

 (Sini Anderson
Sini Anderson
Sini Anderson is an American film director, producer, performance artist and poet. She is originally from Chicago, Illinois, has lived in San Francisco, California and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York....

 and Michelle Tea
Michelle Tea
Michelle Tea is an American author, poet, and literary arts organizer whose autobiographical works explore queer culture, feminism, race, class, prostitution, and other topics. She is originally from Chelsea, Massachusetts and currently lives in San Francisco...

), and others. In March 2001, Calling All Kings & Queens
Calling All Kings & Queens
Calling All Kings & Queens is a sampler album of alternative rock songs by artists on the San Francisco, California based lesbian-feminist independent record label, Mr. Lady Records...

, a sampler album, was released which featured eighteen tracks from various artists and friends of the label, including Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney was an alternative rock band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 1994. Originally formed in Olympia, Washington, the group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces. They were a...

 and Team Dresch
Team Dresch
Team Dresch is an American punk band from Portland, Oregon, originally formed in Olympia, Washington, which was initially active from 1993 until 1998. The band made a significant impression on the do-it-yourself movement queercore, which gave voice through zines and music to the passions and...

. It followed 1999's New Women's Music Sampler
New Women's Music Sampler
New Women's Music Sampler is a sampler album of alternative rock songs by artists on the San Francisco, California based lesbian-feminist independent record label, Mr. Lady Records. It was released in October, 1999...

.

A focus on women musicians

No band that signed with Mr. Lady contained a male artist. Carland said "It's not that we're necessarily never going to put out a band with men in it, but it's just kind of organically happened that way. We wanted to focus on putting out music by women. We do consider ourselves a feminist business and part of that involves prioritizing work made by women."

Due to their work with Mr. Lady, Wilson and Carland were described as two of the "100 most influential gay people in the world" by About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....

 in 2002.

Growing popularity

Although initially a vehicle for Wilson to release her own albums, Mr. Lady grew into a label whose musical and political contributions gained national attention. During a review of Tami Hart's debut release with Mr. Lady, online magazine PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...

described the label as "one of the bright spots in new music. Whether the groups or singers are punk or indie, they are all anti-mainstream hip, political, and good – really good." Discorder
CITR-FM
CITR-FM, normally branded CiTR , is a Canadian FM radio station based out of the University of British Columbia's Student Union Building in the University Endowment Lands, just west of the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia.CiTR is operated by UBC students and community volunteers under the...

 magazine described the label in 2004 as "lead[ing] the way when it came to releasing music that was as politically significant as it was danceable."

Initially distributing music through mail order
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...

, the label signed a deal to distribute records nationally across the US in 2001. The Independent Weekly
Independent Weekly
The Independent Weekly is a tabloid-format alternative weekly newspaper published in Durham, North Carolina, United States and distributed throughout the Research Triangle area and counties .The Independent is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and has a...

 described the label as having "grown from a community that perhaps needed it the most," contrasting the scarcity of a gay/lesbian-oriented label in the southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

 at the time with the many in New York.

Involvement with the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival

In 1999, Mr. Lady records (along with one of its artists, The Butchies
The Butchies
The Butchies are a punk rock band from Durham, North Carolina, that existed from 1998 to 2005, and are currently on a hiatus. The frequent focus of their lyrical content concerned lesbian and queer themes....

), were involved in issues surrounding the debate as to whether transsexual
Transsexualism
Transsexualism is an individual's identification with a gender inconsistent or not culturally associated with their biological sex. Simply put, it defines a person whose biological birth sex conflicts with their psychological gender...

 women should be entitled to attend the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival
Michigan Womyn's Music Festival
The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, called "the Original Womyn's Woodstock" and often referred to as MWMF or Michfest, is an international feminist music festival occurring every August since 1976 near Hart, Michigan...

, which had a formal stance against allowing transsexual
Transsexualism
Transsexualism is an individual's identification with a gender inconsistent or not culturally associated with their biological sex. Simply put, it defines a person whose biological birth sex conflicts with their psychological gender...

 and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....

ed women to attend the festival. In response to a request from transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....

 activists
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...

 to boycott the festival, Mr. Lady released a statement which defended the festival, believing that they did not consider an event for "womyn
Womyn
"Womyn" is one of a number of alternative spellings of the word "women" used by some feminist writers. There are many alternative spellings, including "wimmin", "womban", "wom!n"...

 born womyn" and the transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....

ed community to be mutually exclusive, but backed the right of the festival to exclude those not born as women.

Kaia Wilson confirmed this in a June 1999 statement: "[W]e strongly believe that transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....

ed/transsexual
Transsexualism
Transsexualism is an individual's identification with a gender inconsistent or not culturally associated with their biological sex. Simply put, it defines a person whose biological birth sex conflicts with their psychological gender...

 people are an important part of the queer community and that they face an enormous amount of opposition. [...] We know that the MWMF
Michigan Womyn's Music Festival
The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, called "the Original Womyn's Woodstock" and often referred to as MWMF or Michfest, is an international feminist music festival occurring every August since 1976 near Hart, Michigan...

 started as a separatist event for womyn born womyn and we personally still feel the continued need for that kind of space and event. [...] We don't think that our support of the trans communities and womyn born womyn communities are in direct contradiction to each other."

Formally backing the festival's trans
Transsexualism
Transsexualism is an individual's identification with a gender inconsistent or not culturally associated with their biological sex. Simply put, it defines a person whose biological birth sex conflicts with their psychological gender...

-exclusion policy led to protests and boycotts aimed towards Mr. Lady acts, Wilson and The Butchies
The Butchies
The Butchies are a punk rock band from Durham, North Carolina, that existed from 1998 to 2005, and are currently on a hiatus. The frequent focus of their lyrical content concerned lesbian and queer themes....

 in particular. Groups such as Camp Trans
Camp Trans
Camp Trans is an annual demonstration and event held outside the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival by trans women and their allies to protest the Festival's policy of excluding trans women from attending.-Background:...

, and many participants in the queercore
Queercore
Queercore is a cultural and social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of punk. It is distinguished by being discontent with society in general and its rejection of the disapproval of the gay, bisexual, and lesbian communities and their "oppressive agenda"...

 community disagreed with Mr. Lady's stance and felt that the group and label exploited transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....

ed images. The label went defunct in June 2004.

Showcases

Mr. Lady Records has sponsored numerous showcase
Showpiece
A showpiece is:* An accomplishment which is worthy of display and admiration:* English Wikipedia's 1,000,000th qualified article, Jordanhill railway station, was called a "showpiece of parallel collaboration."* An outstanding example of a type:...

s of feminist and lesbian music, including events at the Weisman Art Museum
Weisman Art Museum
The Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum is an art museum located on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis. A teaching museum for the university since 1934, the museum is named for Frederick R. Weisman, and was designed by the renowned architect Frank Gehry...

 at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

 campus in Minneapolis, Minnesota (working with the Queer Student Cultural Center
Queer Student Cultural Center
The Queer Student Cultural Center is the current incarnation of the coming out, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer, intersex, and allied communities organization of the University of Minnesota campuses that has been active since May 1969 ....

) and "Mr. Sister", a showcase at the National Queer Arts Festival
National Queer Arts Festival
National Queer Arts Festival is an annual queer festival in San Francisco, established in 1998 to coincide with Pride Month.Other organisations which have assisted over the years include the Harvey Milk Institute, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Art and the Center for African and African...

 in 2003 at the Center for Lesbian Gay Bi Transgender Art & Culture in San Francisco.

Artists formerly on Mr. Lady


  • The Butchies
    The Butchies
    The Butchies are a punk rock band from Durham, North Carolina, that existed from 1998 to 2005, and are currently on a hiatus. The frequent focus of their lyrical content concerned lesbian and queer themes....

  • Sarah Dougher
    Sarah Dougher
    -Career:Dougher has a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Texas. Apart from her musical endeavours, Dougher teaches courses on the History of Women in Rock music and Lyric Poetry in the Women's Studies department at Portland State University...

  • Electrelane
    Electrelane
    Electrelane are a British all-female indie rock band, formed in Brighton in 1998 by Verity Susman and Emma Gaze. The band comprised Susman, Gaze, Mia Clarke, and Ros Murray. Their music draws from wide range of influences including Neu!, Stereolab, Sonic Youth, and The Velvet Underground...

  • The Haggard
  • Tami Hart
  • Kiki and Herb
    Kiki and Herb
    Kiki and Herb are an American drag cabaret duo. Bond portrays Kiki DuRane, an aging, alcoholic, female lounge singer...

  • Le Tigre
    Le Tigre
    Le Tigre is an American electroclash band, formed by Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman in 1998. It also featured Sadie Benning from 1998 until 2001, and JD Samson for the rest of the group's run...

  • The Moves
  • The Need
    The Need
    The Need was a queercore band that originated in Olympia, Washington in the late 1990s. It was formed by Rachel Carns and Radio Sloan ; both were veterans of other indie rock bands...

  • Tara Jane O'Neil
    Tara Jane O'Neil
    Tara Jane O'Neil is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, audio recording engineer, and visual artist based out of Portland, Oregon.-Biography:...

  • Gretchen Phillips
    Gretchen Phillips
    Gretchen Phillips is an American singer-songwriter known for her humorous and topical songs. Phillips has been openly gay throughout her life and her lesbianism has inspired much of her material.- Background :...

  • Amy Ray
    Amy Ray
    Amy Elizabeth Ray is an American singer-songwriter and member of the contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls. She also pursues a solo career and has released four albums under her own name, and founded a record company, Daemon Records....

  • Sextional
  • Radio Sloan
    Radio Sloan
    Radio Sloan is a musician from Olympia, Washington.She is best known as a guitarist for The Need, the band she formed with Rachel Carns; her other bands include Ce Be Barns Band, The Circuit Side, Fact or Fiction, Grandpa's Ghost Stories; and Courtney Love's short-lived all-female backing band The...

  • The Sissies
    The Sissies
    The Sissies were an American pop-punk band based in Bloomington, Indiana. Formed in 1998, the band released two albums before breaking up in 2002: 1999's Geography, released on Plan-it-X Records, and 2001's Look Back and Laugh on New Disorder Records...

  • Sister Spit
    Sister Spit
    Sister Spit is a lesbian-feminist spoken word and performance art collective based in San Francisco, signed to Mr. Lady Records. They formed in 1994 and disbanded in 2006. Founding members included Michelle Tea and Sini Anderson, Other members included Jane LeCroy and poet Eileen Myles...

  • Tracy + the Plastics
    Tracy + the Plastics
    Tracy + the Plastics is the name of the electro-pop solo project of Wynne Greenwood, a lesbian feminist video artist based in Olympia, Washington. The music consists of a Boss DR-5 drum machine, an Akai 612 disc sampler and anything else Tracy, Nikki, and Cola feel like using...

  • V for Vendetta
  • Kaia Wilson
    Kaia Wilson
    Kaia Wilson is a musician from Portland, Oregon, best known as a founding member of both Team Dresch, a revered 1990s queercore punk band, and The Butchies, a pop-rock spin-off from her solo work. In addition to singing, songwriting and guitar, Wilson co-established and operated Mr...


External links

  • Mr. Lady website on the Internet Archive
    Internet Archive
    The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...

     (site has been defunct since January 2005)
  • Alternative Mr. Lady logo on Flickr
    Flickr
    Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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