Seattle record label
C/Z Records
was a Seattle-based
punk rock
record label
established in early 1985 by
Chris Hanzsek
and Tina Casale. It started with the release of
Deep Six
, which collected early recordings of what later came to be known as
grunge
.
[1]
After
Deep Six
proved commercially unsuccessful, Hanzsek and Casale sold the label to
Daniel House
.
[2]
History
[
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]
The label was first founded in early 1985 by
Chris Hanzsek
and Tina Casale. The label's first release in March 1986 was
Deep Six
(CZ001), a compilation LP featuring early
grunge
bands
Soundgarden
,
Melvins
,
Green River
,
Skin Yard
,
Malfunkshun
, and
The U-Men
. The record was commercially unsuccessful, and after around 18 months, Hanzsek and Casale decided to sell the label.
Daniel House
, bass player for
Skin Yard
, who was recording the band's first album at the time, took over the operation of C/Z records. Over the following years, C/Z Records became an outlet for many unsigned Seattle bands. In 1989, House began working as director of sales for newly-formed Seattle independent record label
Sub Pop
. Eventually he left C/Z Records, and subsequently released early albums and singles by
The Presidents of the United States of America
, Melvins,
Built to Spill
,
7 Year Bitch
,
The Gits
,
Silkworm
and
Hammerbox
.
In 1993, C/Z entered into a production and distribution deal with
Sony
-owned
RED Distribution
. The deal had a negative impact on the label,
[
citation needed
]
, which was forced to downsize, and did not issue any new releases for over a year.
In 1996,
BMG
-owned
Zoo Entertainment
partnered with C/Z, providing an operating and recording budget and assisting in the development of new artists. In 1997, Zoo was purchased by
Volcano Entertainment
and all third party ventures were dropped.
Daniel House subsequently returned C/Z to part-time status, releasing only occasional records on an infrequent basis.
Releases
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]
In 2002, C/Z released a collection of unreleased and unavailable
Skin Yard
material,
Start at the Top
.
C/Z released several
Teriyaki Asthma
compilations, one of which contained
Nirvana
's track "
Mexican Seafood
". Nirvana also released their version of "Do You Love Me?" on C/Z's
Kiss
tribute album
Hard to Believe: Kiss Covers Compilation
.
Notable bands
[
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]
Notable bands who released music through C/Z Records included:
[3]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]