Zero Hour Records
{{short description|New York City-based indie rock record label}}
{{Infobox record label
| name = Zero Hour Records
| image =
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| caption =
| parent =
| founded = {{start date|1990}}
| founder = Ray McKenzie
| fate =
| defunct =
| status = Inactive
| distributor = Rising Tide Entertainment
| genre = Indie rock
| country = U.S.
| location = New York City, New York
| url =
}}
Zero Hour Records was an indie rock record label based in New York City. It was established in 1990 by Ray McKenzie, a former phone clerk for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The label's first release was McKenzie's own 12" single "The Ozone Hole."{{Cite magazine |last=Bessman |first=Jim |date=1994-05-28 |title=N.Y.'s 22 Brides Find A Music Biz Mate In Fledgling Independent Label Zero Hour |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TwgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8 |magazine=Billboard |volume=106 |issue=22 |page=8}} In 1995, Rising Tide Entertainment, a joint venture between Doug Morris and MCA Music Entertainment, announced it would be distributing and marketing Zero Hour Records's albums.{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-10-11-fi-55761-story.html |title=Company Town Annex |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=1995-10-11}} In 1997, the label opened the $300,000 mastering studio Ground Zero in SoHo, Manhattan. According to Billboard, this studio was intended to "cater to the full range of independent labels in New York", not just Zero Hour.{{Cite magazine |last=Verna |first=Paul |date=1997-03-01 |title=Zero Hour's SoHo Studio Rises from Ground Zero |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9g4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA37 |magazine=Billboard |volume=109 |issue=9 |page=37}}
Artists
Artists who released one or more albums on Zero Hour included:
- 22 Brides
- The Black Watch{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-10-13-ol-49618-story.html |title=New Pick of the Week |last=Boehm |first=Mike |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=1994-10-13}}
- Boyracer{{Cite web |url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=boyracer |title=Boyracer |last=Glauner |first=Jim |website=Trouser Press}}
- The Cucumbers{{Cite magazine |last=Verna |first=Paul |date=1995-10-21 |title=Rising Tide, Zero Hour Join Forces |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mw4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13 |magazine=Billboard |volume=107 |issue=42 |page=13}}
- Grover (featuring Angie Carlson of Let's Active)
- John Wesley Harding{{Cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/3741-trad-arr-jones/ |title=Trad Arr Jones Review |last=Lieberman |first=Neil |website=Pitchfork Media |date=1999-02-09 |access-date=2017-01-21}}
- Dirt Merchants
- Space Needle
- Steve Wynn, who became the first established artist the label worked with when it released his album Melting in the Dark in 1996{{Cite magazine |last=Mirkin |first=Steven |date=1996-06-22 |title=Steve Wynn's 'Melting' Is Solid Shift For Zero Hour |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qQkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA12 |magazine=Billboard |volume=108 |issue=25 |page=12}}
- Swervedriver{{Cite news |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-29791412.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202000440/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-29791412.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2017-02-02 |title=Swervedriver Leader Brings Latest Band to South Park |last=Thrasher |first=Don |newspaper=Dayton Daily News |date=2011-09-30}}
- Varnaline{{Cite magazine |last=Reece |first=Doug |date=1997-04-12 |title=Varnaline No Longer A One-Man Band |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aw4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13 |magazine=Billboard |volume=109 |issue=15 |page=13}}
- Kittywinder
- The Multiple Cat
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Record labels established in 1990