Tarantulas Records was a punk rock

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...

 record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 generally owned by the band The Explosion

The Explosion

The Explosion was a punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. On February 13, 2007 the band announced that they had left Virgin Records. On April 30, 2007 the band announced that they were to split up...

 and run by their then manager Rama Mayo (and other members of bands involved in the label). It was officially established in 2002

2002 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI...

, as an art movement and a protest against record labels constantly signing bands that are merely rehashes of what has already been done before. Its mission statement is to "sign bands that go against what you believe to be cool." The most prominent and active bands amongst the Tarantulas (besides the Explosion) were The Distillers

The Distillers

The Distillers were an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1998. They released their first two albums on Hellcat Records/Epitaph Records before moving to Sire, part of the Warner Music Group. The Distillers were originally formed by Australian-born Brody Armstrong , a woman with a...

, The Bronx

The Bronx (band)

The Bronx is an American hardcore punk band from Los Angeles formed in 2002. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Matt Caughthran, guitarists Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne, bass guitarist Brad Magers, and drummer Jorma Vik...

, The Static Age

The Static Age

The Static Age are an American post punk band originally from Burlington, Vermont consisting primarily of Andrew Paley and Adam Meilleur. The band's name is taken from the Misfits' long-unreleased first album, though the band's sound owes very little to the Misfits.- History :The Static Age began...

, and Darker My Love

Darker My Love

Darker My Love is an indie psychedelic rock band based in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of 5 members. Tim Presley, a former member of the band The Nerve Agents and also a visual artist responsible for much of the band's imagery, formed the band in 2004 and contributes vocals and guitar...

. At its height, Tarantulas became less a label and more a movement of people across the US sick of what was happening to music and counterculture -- a number of non-musicians (for lack of a better term, fans) identified themselves as Tarantulas, many tattooing themselves with the label logo -- and bands turned down other, much bigger labels, to be a part of the group. Unfortunately, the label/collective ceased to be in 2005/2006 due to disagreements with distributor The Platform Group (a link to Fontana) and other tensions (many rumors and myths persist about all sorts of clashes around this time, centering around 2005 in Silver Lake, LA), but a couple of the label's main bands at the time continued on to other labels and situations, namely The Static Age

The Static Age

The Static Age are an American post punk band originally from Burlington, Vermont consisting primarily of Andrew Paley and Adam Meilleur. The band's name is taken from the Misfits' long-unreleased first album, though the band's sound owes very little to the Misfits.- History :The Static Age began...

 and Darker My Love

Darker My Love

Darker My Love is an indie psychedelic rock band based in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of 5 members. Tim Presley, a former member of the band The Nerve Agents and also a visual artist responsible for much of the band's imagery, formed the band in 2004 and contributes vocals and guitar...

.

Bands signed

• The Explosion
  The Explosion
  The Explosion was a punk rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. On February 13, 2007 the band announced that they had left Virgin Records. On April 30, 2007 the band announced that they were to split up...
  
  
• The Lot Six
• The Bronx
  The Bronx (band)
  The Bronx is an American hardcore punk band from Los Angeles formed in 2002. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Matt Caughthran, guitarists Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne, bass guitarist Brad Magers, and drummer Jorma Vik...
  
  
• The Faux
• The Tonsils
• The Static Age
  The Static Age
  The Static Age are an American post punk band originally from Burlington, Vermont consisting primarily of Andrew Paley and Adam Meilleur. The band's name is taken from the Misfits' long-unreleased first album, though the band's sound owes very little to the Misfits.- History :The Static Age began...
  
  
• Spitzz
• Darker My Love
  Darker My Love
  Darker My Love is an indie psychedelic rock band based in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of 5 members. Tim Presley, a former member of the band The Nerve Agents and also a visual artist responsible for much of the band's imagery, formed the band in 2004 and contributes vocals and guitar...
  
  
• The Distillers
  The Distillers
  The Distillers were an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1998. They released their first two albums on Hellcat Records/Epitaph Records before moving to Sire, part of the Warner Music Group. The Distillers were originally formed by Australian-born Brody Armstrong , a woman with a...