What Are Records?
(or W.A.R.?) is an independent record label located in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in New York City in 1991 by owner Rob Gordon, former director of A&R at EMI, the company moved to Boulder in 1994. W.A.R.?
What Are Records?
- Name
- What Are Records?
- Founded
- 1991
- Headquarters
- United States
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
(or W.A.R.?) is an independent record label located in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in New York City in 1991 by owner Rob Gordon, former director of A&R at EMI, the company moved to Boulder in 1994. W.A.R.?
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wikidata · Q21189135 · wikipedia · What Are Records?
In this article
Overview
Overview
Has released over 100 records by Frank Black (of The Pixies), Bill Burr, Stephen Lynch, The Samples, Maceo Parker, Melissa Ferrick, and The Whitest Kids U' Know.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — What Are Records? • Founded — 1991 • Founder — Rob Gordon • Distributor — Select-O-Hits • Genre — Various • Country — U.S. • Location — Boulder, Colorado • Website — whatarerecords.com
History
History
What Are Records? was founded in Gordon's New York City loft in 1991. From the beginning, it fostered a direct-to-stores and direct-to-consumers distribution strategy. Friend of Gordon and The Samples then-manager, Ted Guggenheim, urged W.A.R.? to sign The Samples and they soon were among the first signings to the label. Other early acts included comedian Stephen Lynch, funk saxophone legend Maceo Parker (known for having played in James Brown’s band), former Squeeze frontman Glen Tilbrook, Grammy and Tony-nominated composer and piano man David Yazbek, singer-songwriter David Wilcox, and singer-songwriter Melissa Ferrick. Gordon relocated the company to Boulder in 1991 and has been operating out of the offices designed by architect Charles Haertling ever since.
Current artists
Current artists
• Stephen Lynch • The Whitest Kids U' Know • Trace Bundy
Catalog artists
Catalog artists
• Bill Burr • Between The Lines • Cycomotogoat • Daniel MacKenzie • David Wilcox • Everything • Fancey • Felicia Michaels • Figurine • Flickerstick • Frank Black • Glenn Tilbrook • Hazard • House of Large Sizes • The Innocence Mission • Jeep • Joseph Brenna • Le Concorde • Lir • Lloyd Cole • Luce • Maceo Parker • Melissa Ferrick • Munly • The Ocean Blue • The Poppy Family • Primitive Radio Gods • The Radiators • Sally Taylor • The Samples • Sean Kelly • Stuart Matthewman • Sungha Jung • The Swayback • 24-7 Spyz • Tim Finn • Tony Furtado • Ugly Americans
Institutional history
Dated record
Institutional history
The full dated record · 2 entries
1991
What Are Records? established.
1991
What Are Records? was established or created in 1991.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- United States
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q21189135: What Are Records?
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “What Are Records?”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Grossweiner, Bob. Industry Profile: Rob Gordon. Celebrity Access. February 1, 2002.
- 2.The History of What Are Records?. What Are Records?.
- 3.Owsinski, Bobby (2014). Music 4.0: A Survival Guide for Making Music in the Internet Age. Hal Leonard Corporation.
- 4.Sprague, David. While Hollywood And W.A.R.? Negotiated, The Samples Had Time To Sample MCA. Billboard. July 2, 1995.
- 5.Roberts, Michael. GOING TO WAR?. Westword. September 1, 1998.
- 6.Wenzel, John. Why comedians Bill Burr, Stephen Lynch and Ben Roy work for Colorado music labels. The Denver Post. August 3, 2013.
- 7.Bell, Carrie. Samples Return To Indie Roots. Billboard. September 1, 1998.
- 8.The Denver Eye. Boulder Eye Clinic. March 2, 2011.
References
Citations
References
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authority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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