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.? 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.
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.Owsinski, Bobby (2014). Music 4.0: A Survival Guide for Making Music in the Internet Age. Hal Leonard Corporation. 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 Stephen Lynch The Whitest Kids U' Know Trace Bundy
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
References