SST Records

SST Records is a Lawndale, California based independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by Black Flag founder/guitarist Greg Ginn. SST was originally an electronics company called SST Electronics that specialized in the production of ham radio components. The name SST stood for Solid State Transformers although the abbreviated form became the predominent name as time went on.

Related Topics:
Lawndale, California - Independent record label - 1978 - Long Beach, California - Black Flag - Greg Ginn - SST Electronics - Ham radio

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SST Electronics became SST Records in 1979 when Greg Ginn required an outlet to release Black Flag's Nervous Breakdown 7" and the following year's Jealous Again EP. The band had established itself in the LA scene in the two years prior (originally under the name Panic) and like many others in the area took it upon themselves to self-release records in the spirt of DIY (Do It Yourself). One of SST's employees was Black Flag bassist Chuck Dukowski.

Related Topics:
Black Flag - Nervous Breakdown - DIY - Black Flag - Chuck Dukowski

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The label was a prominent figure in the L.A. punk scene around 1980 and 1981, releasing more albums by Black Flag as well as The Minutemen, The Descendents, and The Stains and has since remained a major symbol of the city's underground culture. SST quickly branched out in its early years to release albums by bands outside of the southern California area, notably Soundgarden, Meat Puppets, Hüsker Dü, Bad Brains, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Negativland and others.

Related Topics:
The Minutemen - The Descendents - The Stains - Soundgarden - Meat Puppets - Hüsker Dü - Bad Brains - Sonic Youth - Dinosaur Jr. - Negativland

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In 1987, Ginn bought New Alliance Records from Mike Watt, who had founded the label with his best friend and Minutemen bandmate D. Boon. Ginn/SST proceeded to reissue some of New Alliance's key releases - albums by The Descendents, Hüsker Dü's Land Speed Record, and all of the Minutemen's non-SST releases - on SST. He then converted New Alliance to a label based around unusual jazz, rock, and spoken word releases.

Related Topics:
New Alliance Records - Mike Watt - D. Boon - The Descendents - Land Speed Record

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In the early 90's, Ginn started two SST-distributed sub-labels. The first, Cruz Records, released three solo records by Ginn in the space of a year, and also released records by All, Big Drill Car, Chemical People. The second, the short-lived Issues Records, concentrated on spoken-word releases, including a double album by basketball player Bill Walton with music by Ray Manzarek.

Related Topics:
Cruz Records - All - Big Drill Car - Chemical People - Issues Records - Basketball - Bill Walton - Ray Manzarek

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Also in the early 90's, SST began to suffer an exodus of much of its classic back catalog because of royalty disputes with some of the artists, who had to regain their masters from SST after pursuing legal action. The Meat Puppets were the first to sue, eventually claiming their master tapes and publishing rights, and licensing the former to Rykodisc. Sonic Youth claimed back their SST masters and sold them to Geffen Records, the major label they have been signed to since 1990. In the most agonizing trial for SST, Negativland fought a long legal battle with SST in the wake of their sampling lawsuit over their U2 single; the case was settled when Ginn and SST agreed to fully release most of Negativland's masters (mainly their Over The Edge cassettes) in exchange for completing work on a live album that had been planned long before their legal battles began, and keeping Negativland's three SST releases on the label for a short period (the copyright in those has since reverted to Negativland).

Related Topics:
The Meat Puppets - Rykodisc - Sonic Youth - Geffen Records - Negativland - Sampling

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SST went into near-hibernation in the mid-90's, not releasing much in the way of new material, but still keeping the catalogs of Black Flag, The Minutemen, fIREHOSE, Hüsker Dü, Soundgarden, The Descendents, and Bad Brains in print. In 2002, Ginn signed a new distribution deal with Koch Records and promised that new material by his various musical projects was forthcoming, but these releases have yet to materialize.

Related Topics:
Black Flag - The Minutemen - FIREHOSE - Hüsker Dü - Soundgarden - The Descendents - Bad Brains - 2002 - Koch Records

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