Scott Ritcher
Encyclopedia
Scott Ritcher is a magazine publisher and graphic designer from Louisville, Kentucky
, born September 27, 1969.
He is best known as the former proprietor of the Slamdek Record Company which released early recordings by influential punk
and indie rock
bands including Endpoint
, Rodan
, Jawbox
, and Ritcher's own bands Sunspring and the Metroschifter. The label's first release was a cassette tape by the synthesizer band Pink Aftershock in 1986 and its last was a Sunspring retrospective CD in 1995. Slamdek pressed 44 different records during its nine years in business.
In 1998, Ritcher entered politics as the Reform Party
's candidate for Mayor of Louisville. Though he spent only $1000 on the campaign, Ritcher had a respectable showing at the polls and finished third of four candidates.
Scott Ritcher is the publisher of K Composite Magazine and runs a small publishing house also called K Composite. The magazine contains interviews of his friends and has been featured in Rolling Stone
, The Chicago Tribune, and on Talk of the Nation
on NPR
.
In 2008, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported that his company "has completed the sale of its social networking site EggFly.com to a startup company, Ikimbo 2.0 of Radnor, Pennsylvania
." According to the bio on his campaign website, he has been a contributor to LEO
, Velocity Weekly
, College Music Journal
, public radio's This American Life
, and appeared as a newspaper photographer in the 1999 film The Insider
.
He announced his candidacy in early 2008 as an independent candidate for Kentucky Senate
from District 35. A controversial lawsuit brought by the Democratic incumbent Denise Harper Angel eventually disqualified Ritcher from the race.
Angel's suit alleged that some of the signatures gathered on Ritcher's ballot petition were those of voters living outside the lines of Kentucky's State Senate District 35 and therefore inadmissible. Reporting the verdict, the political site Page One Kentucky published the entire court order and noted, "while votes for Ritcher will no longer be counted, the court still backs Ritcher’s honesty by plainly stating that the district boundaries that create the 35th Senate District are confusing."
Sunspring reunited for one final show on May 14, 2010, with Endpoint for a cancer benefit for Jason Noble of Rodan
. Ritcher moved to Stockholm
in 2009 and is now a US citizen with Swedish residency.
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, born September 27, 1969.
He is best known as the former proprietor of the Slamdek Record Company which released early recordings by influential 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...
and indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
bands including Endpoint
Endpoint (band)
Endpoint was a hardcore band from Louisville, Kentucky.Endpoint was one of the most popular underground bands to come out of Louisville, Kentucky. Their initial sound developed from speed-orientated punk/hardcore, with songs inducing audience sing-alongs...
, Rodan
Rodan (band)
Rodan was an American math/post-hardcore band in the early to mid 1990s. The best known lineup of the band consisted of Jeff Mueller , Jason Noble , Tara Jane O'Neil , and Kevin Coultas .-History:...
, Jawbox
Jawbox
Jawbox was an alternative rock band from Washington, D.C., U.S.. Its original members were J. Robbins , Kim Coletta and Adam Wade...
, and Ritcher's own bands Sunspring and the Metroschifter. The label's first release was a cassette tape by the synthesizer band Pink Aftershock in 1986 and its last was a Sunspring retrospective CD in 1995. Slamdek pressed 44 different records during its nine years in business.
In 1998, Ritcher entered politics as the Reform Party
Reform Party of the United States of America
The Reform Party of the United States of America is a political party in the United States, founded in 1995 by Ross Perot...
's candidate for Mayor of Louisville. Though he spent only $1000 on the campaign, Ritcher had a respectable showing at the polls and finished third of four candidates.
Scott Ritcher is the publisher of K Composite Magazine and runs a small publishing house also called K Composite. The magazine contains interviews of his friends and has been featured in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, The Chicago Tribune, and on Talk of the Nation
Talk of the Nation
Talk of the Nation is a talk radio program based in the United States, produced by National Public Radio, and is broadcast nationally from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Its focus is current events and controversial issues....
on NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
.
In 2008, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported that his company "has completed the sale of its social networking site EggFly.com to a startup company, Ikimbo 2.0 of Radnor, Pennsylvania
Radnor, Pennsylvania
Radnor is a wealthy Main Line township. It is an unincorporated community in Radnor Township of Delaware County and Tredyffrin Township of Chester County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It lies near the communities of Villanova and St...
." According to the bio on his campaign website, he has been a contributor to LEO
Louisville Eccentric Observer
The Louisville Eccentric Observer is a free weekly newspaper , distributed every Wednesday in over 800 locations throughout the Louisville, Kentucky area, including areas of southern Indiana...
, Velocity Weekly
Velocity (newspaper)
Velocity was a free, weekly magazine published between December 3, 2003 and June 15, 2011, by The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky.The full-color tabloid was distributed at 1,800 locations in a 13-county area in Kentucky and Southern Indiana....
, College Music Journal
College Music Journal
College Music Journal, commonly known as CMJ, is a music events/publishing company which hosts an annual festival in New York City, the CMJ Music Marathon, as well as a weekly magazine of and for the music industry and college radio stations in the United States and Canada. It publishes top 30...
, public radio's This American Life
This American Life
This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
, and appeared as a newspaper photographer in the 1999 film The Insider
The Insider (film)
The Insider is a 1999 film based on the true story of a 60 Minutes television series segment, as seen through the eyes of a real tobacco executive, Jeffrey Wigand. The 60 Minutes story originally aired in November 1995 in an altered form because of objections by CBS’ then-owner, Laurence Tisch, who...
.
He announced his candidacy in early 2008 as an independent candidate for Kentucky Senate
Kentucky Senate
The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators...
from District 35. A controversial lawsuit brought by the Democratic incumbent Denise Harper Angel eventually disqualified Ritcher from the race.
Angel's suit alleged that some of the signatures gathered on Ritcher's ballot petition were those of voters living outside the lines of Kentucky's State Senate District 35 and therefore inadmissible. Reporting the verdict, the political site Page One Kentucky published the entire court order and noted, "while votes for Ritcher will no longer be counted, the court still backs Ritcher’s honesty by plainly stating that the district boundaries that create the 35th Senate District are confusing."
Sunspring reunited for one final show on May 14, 2010, with Endpoint for a cancer benefit for Jason Noble of Rodan
Rodan (band)
Rodan was an American math/post-hardcore band in the early to mid 1990s. The best known lineup of the band consisted of Jeff Mueller , Jason Noble , Tara Jane O'Neil , and Kevin Coultas .-History:...
. Ritcher moved to Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
in 2009 and is now a US citizen with Swedish residency.