This issue, we're very pleased to have this time line that records significant events at Daemon Records. Many thanks to Andrea White for providing Kelli Kay with this chronology!
Summer 1988--Indigo Girl Amy Ray signs with Sony Music, thereby leaving the arena of underground music to become a mainstream, major label recording artist.
Summer 1989--Indigo Girls become a smash success, selling vast quantities of records and, ulitimately, winning a Grammy. Desiring to maintain her connection to the world of underground music, and also now having the financial resources to support the arts, Amy decides to form an indie record label. She names it Daemon Records, and creates her own unique philosophy behind it. The label would be a not-for-profit entity, a vehicle for discovering and nurturing underground talent that was, in Amy's opinion, ready for wider recognition. The label would definitely NOT be a showcase for a specific genre of music, so the Daemon "sound" would be as diverse and eclectic as possible, everything from folk to punk. Amy selects local Atlanta favorites Ellen James Society, a female-fronted punk-pop quartet, to be the very first band signed.
Fall 1990--Daemon emerges into the public eye with its premier release, Ellen James Society's Reluctantly We. This album is still one of Daemon's all-time, best-selling albums to date, and the band enjoys critical and commercial success.
Spring 1992--Daemon releases it's next three albums nearly simultaneously. The first two are the folk/pop gems Gerard McHugh More Than I and Kristen Hall Fact and Fiction. The third was a follow-up Ellen James Society release entitled The Survivor's Parade. Daemon and its roster of three artists thrive on a local, regional, and national level; Kristen Hall ultimately signs to a major label, High Street, on the basis of her very successful of Daemon release.
Summer 1993--Daemon releases former Mary My Hope frontman James Hall's debut solo album My Love, Sex and Spirit. James tours the continental US like a madman, and a huge national buzz about his Bowie-esque, glam-rock sound culminates in a bidding war between major labels to sign him. He eventually signs with Geffen Records.
Fall 1993--Daemon releases Lay Quiet Awhile's Delicate Wire, self-described as "melodic thrash folk metal." This Columbia, SC band immediately captures everyone's heart! This was also Daemon's first introduction to soon-to-be-hugely-successful solo artist Danielle Howle, who was then LQA's front-person and songwriter.
Winter 1994--Daemon releases a come-back album for Holly Beth Vincent, best-known for her hit single "Tell That Girl To Shut Up" during the very early 80's New Wave scene. Holly releases her Daemon album America under the band name The Oblivious.
Spring 1994--Daemon Records presents it's first-ever label showcase. This event is tied in with the South By Southwest music showcase in Austin, TX, and the line-up features James Hall, Lay Quiet Awhile, and Holly Vincent aka The Oblivious. It is a massive success and is so crowded that people are turned away at the door.
Spring 1994--Daemon releases Not Dead (Yet) by New Mongrels, which is more of a "project" than an actual band. Featuring the eccentric and eclectic folk songs of Haynes Brooke, the Mongrels consist of a huge number of participants including Indigo Girls, Michelle Malone, Gerard McHugh, Dede Vogt, members of Big Fish Ensemble, and many others.
Summer 1994--Daemon releases Redemption Dream, an album of new material by former Arista recording artist Michelle Malone, now performing under the band name Band de Soleil.
Fall 1994--Daemon releases its best-selling album to date: a double album Atlanta cast recording of Jesus Christ Superstar, which featured a host of well-known Atlanta bands, most notably Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers as Jesus and Mary Magdalene, respectively. This runaway hit sold tens of thousands of copies and was written up in magazines like Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly. It was also a benefit project whose proceeds were earmarked for various groups working to end handgun violence--to date, over $60,000 has been donated. The cast went on to perform the album live in a release-party, stage-show extravaganza that sold out two shows at Atlanta's Variety Playhouse over Thanksgiving Weekend of that year.
Spring 1995--Daemon presents the live stage show of Jesus Christ Superstar at South By Southwest in Austin, TX. This turns out to be one of the main highlights of that year's event.
Summer 1995--Daemon once again presents the live stage show of Jesus Christ Superstar, this time in Seattle, WA. It is hugely successful and receives extensive local media coverage.
Fall 1995--Daemon releases the sonically experimental Test Market #1 by Grady Cousins, Atlanta's favorite singer, songwriter, poet, performance artist, and all-around wild man.
Winter 1996--Daemon releases two more albums. First, the self-titled debut of local Atlanta favorites The Rock-A-Teens, whose "reverb soaked art-a-billy" had made them a local favorite. Next, the moody and atmospheric Life Without Television by Atlanta's Reversing Hour.
Spring 1996--Daemon releases two more albums: a live, solo-acoustic recording by Danielle Howle entitled Live At McKissick Museum, and also Pleasant Music For Nice People by Atlanta's colorful and quirky, piano-based, popmeisters Belloluna.
Summer 1996--Daemon presents a lable showcase at Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival. The line-up features Danielle Howle, Michelle Malone, and Belloluna. Based on the turnout, crowd response, and cd sales, it becomes clear that Seattle is an important market for Daemon and its artists.
Fall 1996--Daemon releases another double album benefit project, Honor, which is a collection of never-before-released tracks from artists like Bonnie Raitt, Indigo Girls, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Soul Asylum, Bruce Cockburn, and Matthew Sweet, just to name a few. Proceeds were to benefit the Honor the Earth Campaign, which in turn funds various Native American activist groups struggling to combat environmental destruction of their sacred lands and to create sustainable communities within the various Indigenous cultures. High-profile album release parties, featuring performances by many of the contributing artists, were held in New York, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis.
Winter 1997--Daemon releases a follow-up recording by The Rock-A-Teens, Cry.
Winter 1997--Daemon presents another label showcase, this time at Nashville's annual Extravaganza music showcase event. Featured bands are Danielle Howle and the Tantrums, Belloluna, Reversing Hour, Rock-A-Teens, and Lift. It was standing room only in the venue, and the showcase is later regarded as one of the main highlights of that year's Extravaganza.
Spring 1997--Daemon releases Lifelike by Atlanta pop/rock outfit Lift.
Summer 1997--Daemon releaes Leavin' This Town by Orlando-based country/pop/folk songstress Terri Binion.
Fall 1997--Daemon releases Danielle Howle and the Tantrums Do A Two Sable, an eclectic collection of pop/rock gems that defy easy categorization in just one genre. The album produces the single "She Has A Past," which marks Daemon's first entry into the world of commercial radio. Danielle Howle, a perennial Daemon favorite, is written-up in big national magazines like Interview and MS Magazine, and the stylisticaly diverse Sable enjoys great critical and commercial success.
Winter 1998--Another Daemon Records Showcase at Nashville's Extravaganza. The line-up features Terri Binion, Danielle Howle and the Tantrums, Belloluna, and Reversing Hour.
Winter 1998--Daemon releases a follow-up New Mongrels album entitled Big Cup of Empty.
Spring 1998--Daemon presents another label showcase at South By Southwest in Austin, TX. This year's line-up features Belloluna, Terri Binion, Rock-A-Teens, and Danielle Howle and the Tantrums.
Spring 1998--Daemon begins sponsoring an ongoing series of all-ages shows in Atlanta. Featured bands are not limited to the Daemon roster, but open to all local Atlanta bands. These shows are Saturday afternoon matinees occurring once a month, and cover charge is always one dollar. Daemon willingly loses money on each show because Amy and the staff felt that it was a valuable contribution to the community--developing bands get exposure, and high school kids have access to live rock shows at a cool club that they normally wouldn't be able to get into.
Summer 1998--Daemon releases Kissed, low-fi, bubblegum, garage-pop from Birmingham, Alabama's Three Finger Cowboy.
Fall 1998--Daemon presents a label showcase at CMJ's Music Marathon, a high-profile showcase event in New York City. The line-up featured Three Finger Cowboy, Terri Binion, Belloluna, Danielle Howle and the Tantrums, and Reversing Hour.
Winter 1999--Daemon releases a follow-up album by Belloluna entitled Livid And Loving It.
Winter 1999--Another Daemon showcase at Nashville's Extravaganza. The line-up features Three Finger Cowboy, Belloluna, 6X, PH Balance, and Danielle Howle and the Tantrums.
Spring 1999--Daemon releases two more albums. First, the self-titled debut from Atlanta's PH Balance, whose lush and atmospheric dance pop--with elements of hip-hop and rap--established Daemon Records as an even more eclectic label than people had previously thought. Secondly, there was 6X Kung Pow, an extremely likeable punky power-pop album from yet another Atlanta band.
Summer 1999--Daemon releases a solo acoustic folk album, Anybody, by Chicago-based singer/songwriter Rose Polenzani.
Fall 1999--Daemon releases a follow-up album by Three Finger Cowboy entitled Hooray For Love.
Fall 1999--Daemon releases more local Atlanta hip-hop--this time it's Justin Hale's In Formation, whose music is edgier and less melodic than that of their good friends' and label mates' PH Balance.
Editor's Note: Want to read more about Daemon Records? Click here to read Kelli Kay's article on Daemon Records. Click here to read Kelli's interview with Daemon Records Manager Andrea White.