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Tjjgee FRee KlNCeRCQRe S«TS i»/1n3t tQfi IS te*n. iqhS Live imInHy tQfi! "Winky Dog is a fictitious twee band that Ryan's roommate made up to define the Kindercore sound the way Flagpole and other critics have talked about us," says Dan Geller, co-owner of Kindercore Records. "Yeah, Winky Dog doesn't exist," rejoins Ryan Lewis, Getter's partner. "And, sadly, the days of Winky Dog are gone." In fact, Kindercore's upcoming festival, "Expo 2000," will find the young entrepreneurs sur rounded by their most musically and geographi cally eclectic lineup to date, all dancing together ecstatically on the grave of Winky Dog and the one-dimensional label identity it represents. DJ collectives, acoustic duos and Elephant 6ers will join Kincaid and the other usual Kinder-suspects on-stage at various venues around town in cele bration of Athens' longest-lived and most suc cessful independent record label to date. Geller and Lewis put Kindercore into motion in 1996 as an imprint for a self-released 7" single they released for their band, Kincaid. While they were waiting for the vinyl to come back from the manufacturer, they decided to use the imprint to release a cassette compilation of some of the other bands around town. They were able to compile, produce and begin selling that first compilation, titled The Treble Revolution, before the company they'd hired to do their single could even get the 45's manufactured. After that first compilation, Geller and Lewis knew they could get things done, and they knew plenty of musicians, so they decided to keep the label going. But they needed to nanow the focus. Their attempt to establish an identity for the label amounted, at first, to identifying themselves with the youthful, innocent pop sounds that have haunted them ever since. Early releases by Athens- based Kincaid and Gritty Kitty seemed to define the Kindercore sound. It's strange that Kindercore has become so suc cessful with an early focus on "pop." The most identifiable "Athens sound" in the massive local music community was definitely not pop when they created the label. "When we started, the paper hated us, every body here couldn't stand what we were doing, most of the other bands couldn't stand it, most of the clubs couldn't stand it," remembers Lewis. ‘ But we found other people that liked it. We played in houses to the point where the houses were being advertised in the Flagpole. To the point where somebody from the Flagpole actually went and saw it and said, 'Hey, this isn't that bad!"' In a way, Geller and Lewis helped to create the very scene that they have documented over the years by introducing future bandmates to each other and allowing an outlet for otherwise neglected talent. Kindercore continued growing for over a year, signing mostly Athens-based bands. Kindercore has always been about a sensibility, a dependable brand name that lets people know that if you like one group on this label, you'll probably like the others, even across genres and nationalities. In 1998, citing little job opportunity, restless ness after five years in Athens and nostalgia for the Northeast where he grew up, Ryan Lewis deeded to move to New York. The trip was also a business move, Lewis explains: "We couldn't do the label the way we were doing it for much longer if it was going to keep getting bigger. Money-wise, we couldn't afford to work on it full-time, but we would've hed to quit our jobs if we were going to continue to qrow. That was one of the things I had in mind going up there." The owners say their success is due primarily to their willingness to work and to take advantage of opportunity. The label's biggest opportunity came when Lewis set up a relationship between NYC's own Emperor Norton Records and Kindercore. Geller moved to New York in April of '99. as soon as the two were sure of the deal. In June of that year, thanks to their new sponsors, Geller and Lewis were able to quit their day jobs and do the label full-time. "Give a man a fishing pole instead of a fish, that might be what they did for us," says Lewis. Geller adds, "You can interpret that however you want: a green fishing pole with George Washington's face on it, maybe." Empe r or Norton provided much-needed funding for expanding Kindercore's efforts, and agreed to share a warehouse an. co-release several albums. But Geller and Lewis are still the sole owners of the Kindercore label: they still decide who gets signed, and they are saddled with all the adminis trative burdens of a small business. Shortly after the Empero' Norton deal came through, Dan snd Ryan came back to Athens. Ultimately, it was a decision to move out of New York rather than a decision to return to Athens. What they needed was cheap offices and houses, which they knew they could find back in Georgia, so they returned to the Classic City with an investor and an eye for expanding their roster. Lewis and Geller seem determined these days to get out from under the "kiddie-pop" tag from their early years. "We're a mature, diverse label, but everybody heard the Gritty Kitty record and that's all they think we are." Recent and pending releases include electronica, acoustic folk (Norway's Kings Of Convenience), E6 side projects from Bill Doss and Julian Koster, an emo side pro ject from Promise Ring frontman Davey Von Bohlen, and others. The label's dedication to get ting things done is what has allowed Kindercore to pick up cc .eted European acts like the Kings Of Convenience and DJ collective Electric Watusi Boogaloo. Lewis says the secret to luring sought- after foreign acts is that the label will "bring those guys to America and have them stay here, record an album and tour. They know that production deal they might've signed with some big company might've been three years of them waiting and the band breaking up in the meantime." Kindercore's commitment to releasing whatever they want to release, in any genre and from any where in the world, has kept the imprint vital and respected in the Athens scene and around the globe. Ryan Lewis: "This is really a showcase of every thing we do. Anyone who comes to see the same old thing will probably be disappointed, because most of what people assume we are doesn't even exist anymore." Brandon Butler 7 i ■■ ? 7'7-^7 I', 285 W. Washington St. Athens, GA • Call 549-7871 for Show Updates WE serve: Rij»hteou§ Juices Vj&Jt viv /“V virf viff >1« vi< 'Z> >1* vltf V- tcifT <- ' *Z'. /TA A. »./ - V ' |rat n. 7 f EXPO 2000: Jjtfc doors open at 8pm MUSIC AT 8:00 SHARP! eight dollars at door or $30 tickets for sale at wuxtry or kindercore com ^ A** /K & WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9 X i I AM THE WORLD TRADE CENTER * VELMA • EASY • SLEEPING FLIES jj. 4 8-TRACK GORILLA • JAPANCAKES * jjif, ^ i THURSDAY) AUGUST lO KINCAID • BABALU • TULLYCRAFT 4 & KINGS OF CONVENIENCE MASTERS OF THE HEMISPHERE «- f THE ESSEX GREEN • OF MONTREAL * • 40f A >.)»»****••• FRIDAY. AUGUST 11 £ THE MYSTERY BAND * * THE FOUR CORNERS • GREAT LAKES £ RICHARD DAVIES • VHS OR BETA W *• FROM US 2 U £ ■ m i ***•*♦**■*,«.-»*.#»*»■ »*••»•••««. «»*»»#* - X SATURDAY. AUGUST 12 V i SUMMER HYMNS • C.A.R. r MARSHMALLOW COAST X X JUNIOR VARSITY • DRESSY BESSY BIRDIE • THE SUNSHINE FIX £ -Ar -Ar A -Ar A: ipr A A* A -A" A A A: A A Ar A Ar A MONDAY. AUGUST 14 D GCiMPSIR ^ URBAN HENRY doors open at 10pm three dollars COMING SO ON 8/19 KEVN KINNEy 8/21 THE CRACKER APOTHECARY with ex-members of CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN 8/26 POSIES / SHANNON WRIGHT / GRITTy KITTY 9/22 yO LA TENGO / VERSUS * Tickets Available at Big Shot & Lo yo yo AUGUST 9, 2000 FLAGPOLE ED