Teen Beat is an 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:...

, originally based in Arlington, VA, now based in Cambridge, MA. It was founded by Mark Robinson

Mark Robinson (musician)

Mark Robinson is an indie-rock musician from Washington, D.C. who founded TeenBeat Records in 1984. Best known for founding Unrest , he has also been a member of Air Miami, Flin Flon, Grenadine, and currently plays with Evelyn Hurley in Cotton Candy. He has released a number of solo records...

 (of Unrest

Unrest (band)

Unrest is an indie rock band from the Washington, D.C. area. It was one of Mark Robinson's projects for what would eventually become the TeenBeat label, also created by Mark while in high school. Developing from an experimental approach of never playing the same song twice, earlier material seemed...

) in 1984

1984 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1984.-Janury-March:*January 21 – "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood reaches number one in the UK singles chart, despite being banned by the BBC; it spends a total of forty-two weeks in the Top 40.*January 27 – Michael Jackson's...

 at Wakefield High School along with Phil Krauth (of Unrest), Andrew (Riley) Beaujon (of Eggs

Eggs (band)

Eggs was a Washington, DC based indie rock band centered around Andrew Beaujon. The band was active in the early and mid nineteen-nineties and was signed to prominent indie pop record label TeenBeat Records.-Albums:* Bruiser Teenbeat 76...

), Tim Moran (of Unrest), and Ian Zack (Thirsty Boys).

The label was originally set up like a lending library. Only one copy of each album existed and high school classmates of the founders could borrow one for a few days. The albums were mostly unedited Unrest rehearsals and were not numbered but lettered (A, B, C, etc.). Only one of these early albums is known to still exist: Unrest's This Side, Numskull; catalogue number "J" (the 10th TeenBeat release); dated December 14, 1984.

The first public release was a compilation cassette called Extremism In the Defense of Liberty is No Vice on February 23, 1985. This was catalog number "TeenBeat 1". This audiocassette was dubbed into multiple copies by Andrew (Riley) Beaujon and Mark Robinson.

Teen Beat (or "Teen-Beat" or "Teenbeat") has been home to a number of prominent indie bands, including Unrest

Unrest (band)

Unrest is an indie rock band from the Washington, D.C. area. It was one of Mark Robinson's projects for what would eventually become the TeenBeat label, also created by Mark while in high school. Developing from an experimental approach of never playing the same song twice, earlier material seemed...

, +/-

+/- (band)

+/-, or Plus/Minus, is an American indietronic band formed in 2001. The band makes use of both electronic and traditional instruments, and has sought to use electronics to recreate traditional indie rock song forms and instrumental structures...

, Versus

Versus (band)

Versus is an American indie rock band formed in 1990 by Richard Baluyut, Fontaine Toups and Edward Baluyut in New York City. Richard and Fontaine were to remain the two core members throughout the band's history. The band was noted for their marriage of indie pop songwriting and vocal harmonies to...

, Gastr del Sol

Gastr del Sol

Gastr del Sol was a Chicago band consisting, for most of their career, of David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke. Between 1993 and 1998 they put out seven albums ranging in genre from post-rock to musique concrète....

, Eggs

Eggs (band)

Eggs was a Washington, DC based indie rock band centered around Andrew Beaujon. The band was active in the early and mid nineteen-nineties and was signed to prominent indie pop record label TeenBeat Records.-Albums:* Bruiser Teenbeat 76...

, Aden

Aden (band)

Aden is a band currently based in Washington, D.C. which is heavily influenced by 1970s soft rock such as Steely Dan .-History:...

, True Love Always

True Love Always

True Love Always is a pop band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1995, with a mission to play only love songs. Heavily influenced by Joao Gilberto, Dionne Warwick and Earth, Wind and Fire, their sound was at odds with much of the more macho indie-rock gaining popularity at the time...

 and a large number of other bands and side projects. Along with Dischord Records

Dischord Records

Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in the independent punk music of the D.C.-area music scene. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles...

, TeenBeat was an important early independent label; while Dischord focused on punk and hardcore, TeenBeat's bands were more typically guitar-based "indie-pop". Both labels almost exclusively work with bands from the Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 area.

Like its influence Factory Records

Factory Records

Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside and James and...

, Teen Beat prominently numbers its releases, with some releases known only by catalog number (e.g., the TEENBEAT 100 compilation, 1993); numbers have also been assigned to non-musical items including T-shirt

T-shirt

A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....

s, coffee mugs

Mug

A mug is a sturdily built type of cup often used for drinking hot beverages, such as coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Mugs, by definition, have handles and often hold a larger amount of fluid than other types of cup. Usually a mug holds approximately 12 fluid ounces of liquid; double a tea cup...

, events, its offices, and even intern

Intern

Internship is a system of onthejob training for white-collar jobs, similar to an apprenticeship. Interns are usually college or university students, but they can also be high school students or post graduate adults seeking skills for a new career. They may also be as young as middle school or in...

s.

List of Teen-Beat bands

• Aden
  Aden (band)
  Aden is a band currently based in Washington, D.C. which is heavily influenced by 1970s soft rock such as Steely Dan .-History:...
  
  
• Air Miami
  Air Miami
  Air Miami was a band from Washington DC. The band was formed by Mark Robinson and Bridget Cross, both former members of Unrest, and drummer Gabriel Stout...
  
  
• Autoclave
  Autoclave (band)
  Autoclave was a post-punk band, based in Washington, D.C.. They were on local label Dischord Records. Formed in the summer of 1990, the group consisted of vocalist and bassist Christina Billotte, lead guitarist Mary Timony, guitarist Nikki Chapman, and drummer Melissa Berkoff.The group broke up in...
  
  
• The Ballet
• Bastro
  Bastro
  Bastro was an American post-hardcore band in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's main line-up consisted of David Grubbs on guitar, Clark Johnson on bass guitar, and John McEntire on drums.-History:...
  
  
• Andrew Beaujon
• Bells Of
• Blast Off Country Style
• Bloodthirsty Butchers
• Mark Borthwick/hollAnd
• Bossanova
  Bossanova (Band)
  Bossanova is a musical group formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1997. The principal member is guitarist/vocalist Chris Storrow. The group currently has released one 7 inch, one EP, one LP, and has contributed to several compilations....
  
  
• Bratmobile
  Bratmobile
  Bratmobile was an American punk band. Bratmobile was a first-generation "riot grrrl" band, which grew from the Pacific Northwest and Washington, DC underground...
  
  
• Bridget/Kathi/Doug
• Cath Carroll
  Cath Carroll
  Cath Carroll is a British musician and music journalist.-Career:Carroll was raised in Swansea, then Manchester. She played guitar in post-punk band Property of... in 1978, which also included former Warsaw drummer Tony Tabac. In 1979 she formed the band Glass Animals with her friend Liz Naylor...
  
  
• Justin Chearno
• Tha Cheeky Bastid
• Circus Lupus
  Circus Lupus
  Circus Lupus was a post-hardcore band based in the area of Washington, DC, U.S.A.. The band originally formed in Madison where one-time Ignition and Soul Side bassist Chris Thomson met guitarist Chris Hamley and drummer Arika Casebolt while attending school...
  
  
• Clarence
• Cobalt
• Jonny Cohen
• Containe
• Cotton Candy
• Crispy Ambulance
  Crispy Ambulance
  Crispy Ambulance were an English rock band, formed in Manchester, United Kingdom in late 1977 by Alan Hempsall , Keith Darbyshire , Gary Madeley and Robert Davenport...
  
  
• Currituck Co.
• Draw the Kitten
• DUSTdevils
• DVS
• Eggs
  Eggs (band)
  Eggs was a Washington, DC based indie rock band centered around Andrew Beaujon. The band was active in the early and mid nineteen-nineties and was signed to prominent indie pop record label TeenBeat Records.-Albums:* Bruiser Teenbeat 76...
  
  
• The Feminine Complex
  The Feminine Complex
  The Feminine Complex were an all-female American garage rock band in the 1960s. The band formed while the girls were attending Maplewood High School in Nashville, Tennessee. They released only one album, Livin' Love, in 1969...
  
  
• Flin Flon
• Flowers of Discipline
• Flying Saucer
• The Fontaine Toups/TFT
• Fred & Ginger
• Gastr del Sol
  Gastr del Sol
  Gastr del Sol was a Chicago band consisting, for most of their career, of David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke. Between 1993 and 1998 they put out seven albums ranging in genre from post-rock to musique concrète....
  
  
• Gene Ween
  Gene Ween
  Aaron Freeman , best known as Gene Ween, is a musician and a founding member of the experimental alternative rock group Ween...
  
  
• The Gollipopps
• Grenadine
• Helter Skillet

• Kevin Hewick
• hollAnd
• horse ing two=HIT
• Hot Pursuit
• In Camera
• In Interview
• Jungle George & The Plague
• The Krokodiloes
• K-Stars
• Phil Krauth
• The Last Wave
• Latin Hustle
• The Long Goodbye
• Los Marauders
• Loudest Boom Bah Yea
• Lu
• Barbara Manning
  Barbara Manning
  Barbara Manning is an American indie rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. In addition to her solo career, Manning has been active in a number of bands, including 28th Day , World of Pooh, S.F. Seals and The Go-Luckys!. She has also distinguished herself as an interpreter of other writers' songs...
  
  
• Mark E. Superstar
• Maybe It's Reno
• Mirah & Ginger
• MMM's Live Archive
• The Naysayer
• Nethers
• New Carrollton
• No Trend
• Olympic Death Squad
• The Pacific Ocean
• Panax
• +/-
  +/- (band)
  +/-, or Plus/Minus, is an American indietronic band formed in 2001. The band makes use of both electronic and traditional instruments, and has sought to use electronics to recreate traditional indie rock song forms and instrumental structures...
  
   {Plus/Minus}
• Pocket Rockets
• The Positions
• Que Verde
• Rhonda Harris
• Rive Gauche
• Mark Robinson
  Mark Robinson (musician)
  Mark Robinson is an indie-rock musician from Washington, D.C. who founded TeenBeat Records in 1984. Best known for founding Unrest , he has also been a member of Air Miami, Flin Flon, Grenadine, and currently plays with Evelyn Hurley in Cotton Candy. He has released a number of solo records...
  
  
• Romania
• The Rondelles
  The Rondelles
  The Rondelles are an indiepop band originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico. The band, which formed in the late 1990s, when the three members were still in high school, consisted of Juliet Swango on guitar and vocals, Yukiko Moynihan on bass, and Oakley Munson on drums and keyboard...
  
  

• The Ropers
• Scaley Andrew
• Robert Schipul/Ascension
• The Screamer
• S.C.U.D.
• Section 25
  Section 25
  Section 25 is an English post-punk band, best known for its single "Looking from a Hilltop" and its association with the Manchester record-label, Factory Records.-Early recordings 1977 - 1982 :...
  
  
• Sexual Milkshake
• Sharky Favorite
• Tracy Shedd
• Sisterhood of Convoluted Thinkers
• The Still
• Sprites
  Sprites (band)
  Sprites are an independent new wave/indie pop music group from Maryland, USA. Their lineup is ever-changing, with only the founding members staying constant...
  
  
• Stereolab
  Stereolab
  Stereolab are an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting team Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes...
  
  
• Subject to Change
• Superconductor
• Synthetic Socks
  Synthetic Socks
  Synthetic Socks is a very early recording by Gene Ween, released on TeenBeat Records in 1987. It is almost entirely the product of Gene Ween making personal recordings in his bedroom ....
  
  
• Juliet Swango
• Teenage Gang Debs
• Tel Aviv
• Thirsty Boys
• True Love Always
  True Love Always
  True Love Always is a pop band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1995, with a mission to play only love songs. Heavily influenced by Joao Gilberto, Dionne Warwick and Earth, Wind and Fire, their sound was at odds with much of the more macho indie-rock gaining popularity at the time...
  
  
• The Tube Bar
  Tube Bar prank calls
  The Tube Bar prank calls are a legendary series of prank calls. Performed in the mid-1970s, John Elmo and Jim Davidson made a number of phone calls to the Tube Bar in Jersey City, asking the proprietor if they could speak to a named customer. The given names were homophones for other, often...
  
  
• Tuscadero
  Tuscadero
  Tuscadero was an indie rock band from Washington, DC, one of the most prominent on the Washington-based TeenBeat Records roster. The band, which took its name from the Happy Days character Leather Tuscadero, crafted a blissful pop punk influenced by girl groups and the pop culture of its members'...
  
  
• Uncle Wiggly
• Unrest
  Unrest (band)
  Unrest is an indie rock band from the Washington, D.C. area. It was one of Mark Robinson's projects for what would eventually become the TeenBeat label, also created by Mark while in high school. Developing from an experimental approach of never playing the same song twice, earlier material seemed...
  
  
• Velocity Girl
  Velocity Girl
  Velocity Girl was an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in College Park, Maryland, although it was generally known as a Washington, DC-area band...
  
  
• Versus
  Versus (band)
  Versus is an American indie rock band formed in 1990 by Richard Baluyut, Fontaine Toups and Edward Baluyut in New York City. Richard and Fontaine were to remain the two core members throughout the band's history. The band was noted for their marriage of indie pop songwriting and vocal harmonies to...
  
  
• Viva Satellite!
• Volumia
• Vomit Launch
  Vomit Launch
  Vomit Launch was an indie rock band formed in Chico, California in 1985 as "an excuse to drink beer". In 1992, the band called it quits and played their last show on December 11, 1992....
  
  
• Wall Drug
• Whysall Lane
• William & Vivian
• Butch Willis
  Butch Willis
  Butch Willis is an American musician signed to TeenBeat Records. His records were released by Love Records in the 1980s and TeenBeat Records in the 1990s-present. Teenbeat rereleased his 1980s records. Willis is backed by The Rocks and many of his records are credited to Butch Willis and The Rocks...
  
  
• Naomi Wolff
• Jeff & Robert Zitofsky