Tape Cassettes and Bands and Burgers

Shannon and the Clams cassette tape.

 

 

 

If reemerging trends in punk culture have taught us anything over the last few decades, it’s that the do-it-yourself attitude adopted by the counterculture genre will always take you pretty far. Just take Burger Records, the unassuming record label and partnering store which has achieved immense success in recent years by not following anyone’s rules but their own.

Today, popular music is predominantly controlled by corporate labels, molding the mainstream music industry into more of a marketing business and less of a nod to the good ‘ol days of rock and roll. With this in mind, it seems like the independent labels like Burger are having all the fun, while still doing pretty well for themselves as a small business. Created in 2008 by Sean Bohrman and Lee Rickard, Burger Records was a way for the duo to produce their own music for their power pop band, Thee Makeout Party. Based out of Fullterton, California, the two saw a need for a record shop in their area, and Burger became a platform for a store of the same name, co-owned by Bohrman and Brian Flores.

Burger Records has garnered a lot of attention over the last few years in the independent music scene for its dedication to making a mark on the music industry in ways that pay homage to sensibilities of the past. This means producing albums with a DIY attitude, creating cassette tapes and 7” vinyl records, being inclusive, and just having a good time. The label is known for supporting often young, local bands with a lot of talent and a love for rock and roll. Subgenres of rock like garage rock, power pop, and punk pervade the label’s overall aesthetic, which mirrors the kind of music favored in underground scenes.

Cassette tapes and vinyl records certainly won’t make Burger or its signed bands a lot of money, but that’s actually sort of the point. Burger Records allows for inclusiveness for listeners, a closed gap between fans and musicians, and exposure for artists who don’t have any desire to succumb to mainstream standards. Burger has represented and helped produce music for more than three hundred bands, many of which tour often and play at a number of popular festivals like increasingly influential South By Southwest. Bands like King Tuff, JEFF the Brotherhood, Quilt, and Audacity bring the fun, and attitude back to rock and roll, and Burger couldn’t be a better label to collaborate with them. 

Images: burgerrecords4life via Instagram