TKO Records

TKO Records
TKO Records 2013 logo
Founded	1997
Founder	Mark Rainey
Genre	hardcore punk street punk
Country of origin	US
Official website	http://www.tkorecords.com

TKO Records is an independent punk rock record label based in Huntington Beach, California. The label is primarily known for its pivotal role in the late 1990s American street punk scene and has continued its notability as a source of new releases, reissues, and archival recordings.^[1] The OC Weekly newspaper recognized the label as "best record label" in Orange County in 2011^[2] and its record store of the same name as "best punk-rock record store" in Orange County, 2008.^[3]

History

TKO Records was founded by Mark Rainey in 1997 in San Francisco, California. Early on the label rose to prominence with releases from the Dropkick Murphys, Lower Class Brats, Anti-Heros, Swingin' Utters, The Templars, Pressure Point, Workin' Stiffs, U.S. Bombs, and The Forgotten.^[2] The label helped to establish a sound and aesthetic for the street punk scene in the United States that was then rising in popularity. As TKO's prominence within the punk rock scene increased, the label also began releasing records from veteran punk bands such as Cocksparrer, Angelic Upstarts, the Partisans, Slaughter and the Dogs, The Bruisers, Chelsea, The Business, The Real Kids, and Antiseen.^[4]

Eventually the label relocated to Orange County, California and from 2000 to 2005 continued building a name with notable releases from "Beach Punk" bands such as the Smut Peddlers, the Stitches, Smogtown, the Crowd and Broken Bottles while continuing to release street punk and Oi! records.^[5]

In 2007 TKO Records opened a record store in Fountain Valley, California as part of the label's ten year anniversary. The label continues to release reissues and archival recordings from seminal punk bands, such as Poison Idea, the Templars (band), T.S.O.L., The Meatmen, Antiseen, No For An Answer, Channel 3, and Iron Cross, as well as new recordings from Giuda, The label's store front relocated to Huntington Beach, California in 2013 and has hosted readings from punk rock related writers, such as Tesco Vee, Jack Grisham, Alice Bag, Chris D. and Legs McNeil, as well live performances from artists including Deniz Tek, Chuck Dukowski, Scott Weinrich, Joe Keithley and Channel 3. The store specializes in rare, out of print records, as well as new releases from punk, hardcore, garage, reggae, ska, rock, and metal bands.^[2][3]

Mark Rainey has also co-run the imprint record label Flat Records, along with Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys. Flat's releases have included records from Agnostic Front and Blood For Blood.^[6]

Current TKO Records Artists

-ANTiSEEN -the Beltones -Giuda

-Poison Idea -The Templars (band) -YDi

Former TKO Records Artists^[4]

46 Short Adolf and the Piss Artists GG Allin & ANTiSEEN Angelic Upstarts Anti-Heros Bad Luck Charms (side project with members of U.S. Bombs) Blood Stained Kings (featuring Yoji Harada) The Bodies The Boils Bottles & Skulls (featuring members of Triclops!) Broken Bottles The Bruisers The Business (band) Channel 3 (band) Chelsea (band) Class Assassins Cocknoose Cocksparrer Complete Control The Crowd The Crumbs Deadbolt (band) Dead End Cruisers Demented Are Go The Distraction (featuring members of Le Shok) Dropkick Murphys

Electric Frankenstein The Escaped Filthy Thievin' Bastards The Flesh Eaters (band) The Forgotten (band) Glass Heroes (produced by Rat Scabies) The Generators Hammerlock Hank III Hard Skin (featuring Sean Forbes of Wat Tyler (band)) Hatepinks Hollywood Hate (featuring Scotty Wilkins) Iron Cross (band) Kill Your Idols The Krays (band) Krum Bums Last Target (featuring members of Thug Murder) Limecell the Loose Lips Lower Class Brats Meatmen Nazi Dogs New York Rel-X (featuring members of The Krays (band)) Niblick Henbane No For An Answer The Obsessed Old Firm Casuals (featuring Lars Frederiksen)

One Man Army (band) The Partisans (band) Peter and the Test Tube Babies Pressure Point The Radicts the Randumbs Real Kids Reducers SF the Rhythm Doctors (featuring members of The Aggrolites) The Riffs Slaughter and the Dogs Shock Nagasaki Smogtown Smut Peddlers The Stitches Straitjacket Strychnine Swingin' Utters Terminus City Those Unknown Tommy and the Terrors The Truents T.S.O.L. The Upsets U.S. Bombs VICIOUS CIRCLE (pre-T.S.O.L.) Workin' Stiffs Wretched Ones

Flat Records Artists

30 Seconds Over Tokyo All Systems Stop Agnostic Front BeerZone Big Bad Bollocks Blood For Blood the Bruisers the Cuffs Dropkick Murphys The Drunks Ducky Boys

Hudson Falcons Main Street Saints Oxymoron (band) Pressure Point the Randumbs Runnin' Riot The Shods Terminus City Thug Murder the Trouble The Vigilantes

Notes

1. Travis, Tiffini A (April 13, 2012). Skinheads: A Guide to an American Subculture (First ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 37. ISBN 0313359539.
2. "Best Record Label Orange County 2011". OC Weekly. October 13, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
3. "Best Punk-Rock Record Store Orange County 2008 - TKO Records". OC Weekly. October 9, 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
4. Discogs, Discogs. "TKO Discogs Page". Discogs. Discogs. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
5. Alim, Nadeem (December 20, 2010). "Making and Selling Music, for the Record". Fountain Valley Patch. Fountain Valley Patch. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
6. Discogs, Page. "Flat Records Discogs Page". Discogs. Discogs. Retrieved 2014-07-15.