R.E.X. Records was an independent record label

Independent record label

An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

 founded by Doug Mann and Gavin Morkel, which operated from 1987 until running into financial difficulty in 1995

1995 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1995.- January–February :*January 18 – Jerry Garcia crashes his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California, USA, but is not injured in the accident....

. Operations were based in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 until 1990 when the company moved to Nashville. The label was artistic in nature, and though they were especially active in the Christian metal

Christian metal

Christian metal, also known as white metal, is a form of heavy metal music usually defined by its message in a song's lyrics as well as the band's dedication to Christianity...

 genre some acts (such as Circle of Dust

Circle of Dust

Circle of Dust were a 1990s Industrial rock band created and run by Klayton who is now more widely known for his solo band Celldweller. Circle of Dust was, along with contemporaries Mortal and Deitiphobia, instrumental in bringing industrial metal to the Christian alternative metal scene...

) were also marketed to mainstream audiences. Sublabels included Storyville Records and Street Level Records, founded by Randy Stonehill

Randy Stonehill

Randall Evan "Randy" Stonehill is an American singer-songwriter from Stockton, California, best known as one of the so-called "fathers of contemporary Christian music". His music is primarily folk rock in the style of James Taylor, but he has assayed other styles, with various albums focused on...

.

Operations

In Christian markets their records were distributed by the Diamante Music Group

Diamante Music Group

Diamante Music Group was a Newport Beach, California based independent record label distributor active from 1993 through 2004. During its heyday, Diamante was home to several dozen small independent record labels, some of whose artists later gained worldwide recognition.Among such were Rescue...

 until 1995 when they switched to Light Distribution (see Light Records

Light Records

Light Records was a gospel record label founded in 1966 by Ralph Carmichael as a joint venture with the Waco, Texas-based Word Records.-History:...

), by then a division of Platinum Entertainment. In general markets they were distributed by RED

RED Distribution

RED - An Artist Development Company is a Sony Music Entertainment-owned sales and marketing division that handles releases for over sixty independent record labels....

. By 1996 R.E.X was experiencing layoffs and looking for a buyer. Platinum acquired the label in July 1996.

In 1997 R.E.X. sued Platinum for breach of contract, asserting that Platinum had not properly distributed their product and had misrepresented their financial position in the buyout.

For a short time R.E.X. provided distribution for Grrr Records

Resurrection Band

Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, was a Christian rock band formed in 1972. They were part of the Jesus People USA Christian community in Chicago and most of its members have continued in that community to this day. Known for their blend of blues-rock and hard rock, Resurrection...

. Employee Alex Parker left and began Flying Tart

Flying Tart

Flying Tart was an independent record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It was started by Alex Parker, formerly of R.E.X. Records, and operated from 1990 until 1996 when it was purchased by Light Records.-Bands:*Aleixa...

 in 1990

1990 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990.-Events:*January 21 – MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with British band Squeeze...

. Following the label's closure, founder Doug Mann took a position with ForeFront Records

ForeFront Records

ForeFront Records is a Christian Music record label founded in 1987 by Dan R. Brock, Eddie DeGarmo, Dana Key, and Ron W. Griffin. It was purchased by EMI in 1996 from current owners Dan R. Brock and Eddie DeGarmo and is now part of the EMI Christian Music Group.In 1998, ForeFront released a 2-CD...

.

Artists

Argyle Park Argyle Park For the park of the same name in Babylon, NY, see Argyle Lake ParkArgyle Park was an underground industrial rock supergroup founded in New York City in 1994 and active until 1996. Members of the group reformed under the name AP2 in 1998, and were active under that name until winter 2000...  (Changed name to AP2, then disbanded) Believer (Active, with Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The U.S. corporate office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Arizona, Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music... ) Circle of Dust Circle of Dust Circle of Dust were a 1990s Industrial rock band created and run by Klayton who is now more widely known for his solo band Celldweller. Circle of Dust was, along with contemporaries Mortal and Deitiphobia, instrumental in bringing industrial metal to the Christian alternative metal scene...  (Disbanded; members went on to form Angeldust Angeldust (Industrial band) Angeldust was an American Industrial music/magic band project from New York City formed by Klay Scott and Criss Angel in 1995. The band only released one album called Musical Conjurings From World of Illusions in 1998 under the name Angeldust and three more albums in 2000 released under Criss... , Argyle Park Argyle Park For the park of the same name in Babylon, NY, see Argyle Lake ParkArgyle Park was an underground industrial rock supergroup founded in New York City in 1994 and active until 1996. Members of the group reformed under the name AP2 in 1998, and were active under that name until winter 2000... , CHATTERbOX Chatterbox - In music :* "Chatterbox", a song by composer Jerome Brainin for the musical film That’s Right You’re Wrong * Chatterbox , a 1990 album by Toadies frontman Todd Lewis and guitarist Darrel Herbert... , Klank Klank Klank is the nickname for New York City-based musician Daren Diolosa and the name of Diolosa's band. Diolosa formed Klank in the mid 90's when he was a member of industrial metal band Circle of Dust, for whom Klank was a guitarist... , and Celldweller Celldweller Celldweller is a Detroit, Michigan-based Electronic Rock project that was created by multi-instrumentalist Klayton, former frontman and songwriter of the bands Circle of Dust, Argyle Park, Angeldust . Celldweller's music is multi-faceted, often labeled electronic rock and more commonly being... ) The Choir (Active, with Galaxy21 Music Galaxy21 Music Galaxy21 Music is a record label founded in 2001 by Dan and Lisa Michaels.Galaxy21, based in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, started as a "family label", composed entirely of bands that had been friends and had worked and toured together for many years.... ) Code of Ethics (Active, currently unsigned) Crashdog Crashdog Crashdog was one of the first Christian punk bands and was active primarily in the early 1990s. Most of their albums were released by Grrr recordS, which has also been home to Headnoise, Resurrection Band, and Glenn Kaiser, among others....  (On Indefinite Hiatus) Crimson Thorn Crimson Thorn Crimson Thorn is an American Christian death metal band. According to Allmusic, they are "surely one of the world's most extreme-sounding Christian metal bands". Crimson Thorn has performed at notable events such as Cornerstone Festival and Sonshine Festival...  (Active, currently unsigned) Fleming & John (Active, with Dweeb Records) Four Living Creatures (Disbanded; members went on to form Sweet Nectar, Elder Elder Elder is a surname that means "older than you".* American Indian elder-In religion:* Elder , person valued for his wisdom who accordingly holds a particular position of responsibility in a Christian group** Elder... , and Fell Desire) Haven Haven (American band) Haven was a Christian progressive metal band from New Jersey during the late 1980s until 1993. Haven drew its influences from bands such as, Queensryche, Metallica, King Diamond, and Dream Theater. Haven split shortly after the completion of the "Age of Darkness" release.-The beginning:In the...  (Disbanded) Hot Pink Turtle (Disbanded; former side project of DigHayZoose DigHayZoose DigHayZoose was a Christian funk/Modern rock band from Kansas City, Missouri. The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music describes them as "One of the first Christian alternative rock bands of the 1990s"... ; members went on to form Dev Null) The Lead The Lead The Lead was an American Christian punk band from Florida, formed in 1984. They were Julio Rey , Robbie Christie , and Nina Llopis . Andy Coyle joined the band on guitar between 1989 and 1991.The Lead helped pioneer Christian punk music...  (Disbanded; members went on to form Frank's Enemy) Leaderdogs For The Blind Leaderdogs For The Blind Leaderdogs for the Blind was a Christian rock band, formed by Lyndon Perry, who was the guitar and backup vocals. The band members were Derek Cilibraise - lead vocals, Andrew Barancik - bass, Grant Mohrman - guitar, the drums were programed by Grant Mohrman and Lyndon Perry.- Musical career...  (Disbanded) Living Sacrifice Living Sacrifice Living Sacrifice is a Christian heavy metal band that formed in September 1989 in Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. The band has released seven studio albums, out of which the first three were recorded under R.E.X. Records with their original vocalist Darren Johnson as a more thrash metal and death metal...  (Active, with Solid State Records Solid State Records Solid State Records is a Christian record label, a division of Tooth & Nail Records. Unlike Tooth & Nail, Solid State signs hardcore and metal bands. Like Tooth & Nail, Solid State is primarily a Christian label. However, they have signed several bands that don't label themselves as Christian,... )

Kerry Livgren Kerry Livgren Kerry Allen Livgren is an American musician and songwriter, best known as one of the founding members and primary songwriters for the 1970s progressive rock band, Kansas.-Biography:...  (Inactive) Rose Randy Rose "Ravishing" Randy Rose is a professional wrestler.-Career:Randy Rose competed in 1981 in Alabama's Southeast Championship Wrestling and formed The Midnight Express with Dennis Condrey and Norvell Austin. They dominated the tag team scene there until Condrey signed with Mid-South Wrestling in 1984...  (Inactive) Mercy Rule Mercy rule A mercy rule, also well known by the slightly less polite term slaughter rule , brings a sports event to an early end when one team has a very large and presumably insurmountable lead over the other team...  (Disbanded) Paramaecium Paramaecium Paramaecium was an Australian death/doom metal band formed in 1991. There is use of instrumentation like flutes, cellos and violins on some albums. Paramaecium is one of the few doom metal bands that focus on Christian lyrical themes and Christian concepts...  (Disbanded; members went on to form InExordium) Passafist (Disbanded) Rocketboy Rocketboy Rocketboy was an American Christian rock band formed in Covington, Georgia in 1993. Commonly categorized simply as Christian rock, Rocketboy's musical style was heavily influenced by a hodge-podge of mainstream artists such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Jimmy Buffett, and Vigilantes of Love.The...  (Disbanded) Sacrament Sacrament (US band) Sacrament was a Christian progressive thrash metal band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed in 1989. Their music was known for its evangelistic lyrics, and they often played to secular audiences. Sacrament is one of the pioneers of Christian thrash metal...  (Disbanded) Six Feet Deep Six Feet Deep Six Feet Deep was a Christian metal band from Cleveland, Ohio.They released two albums, Struggle and The Road Less Traveled, before disbanding in the late 1990s. Myk Porter, the lead singer for the band went on to form the indie band Brandtson along with guitarist Matt Traxler....  (Disbanded; members went on to form Brandtson Brandtson -History:The band formed in 1996 and first recorded for a Steadfast Records compilation entitled Radiowaves and Gibberish in 1997. Soon after the group signed with Deep Elm Records, appearing on their Emo Diaries series before issuing their debut LP, Letterbox, late in 1998... ) Sixpence None the Richer Sixpence None the Richer Sixpence None the Richer is an American rock/pop band that formed in New Braunfels, Texas, eventually settling in Nashville, Tennessee. They are best known for their songs "Kiss Me" and "Breathe Your Name" and their covers of "Don't Dream It's Over" and "There She Goes". The name of the band is...  (Active, with Credential Recordings Credential Recordings Credential Recordings is a Nashville-based record label, focusing generally on the pop rock genre. It began branching out when it agreed on a distribution agreement with Lowercase people records for Switchfoot singer Jon Foreman's solo EPs, which tend to be more folk-acoustic in style... ) Sweet Nectar (Disbanded) The Throes The Throes (band) The Throes is an indie band formed in 1988 in Northern Virginia.The original lineup consisted of singer/guitarist Bill Campbell, percussionist Harry Evans and bassist Joy Gewalt...  (Active, currently unsigned) The Walk (Status unknown) Trytan Trytan Trytan was a Christian progressive / pop metal / hard rock band from Chicago, Illinois, musically similar to Rush. The band was ministry oriented, and had what Christian music critic John J. Thompson characterized as a significant impact on their scene....  (Disbanded) Veni Domine Veni Domine Veni Domine is a Christian progressive doom metal band. The band was founded in 1987 in Sollentuna, Sweden.Veni Domine combines down-tempo melodic heavy metal, symphonic metal and doom metal with occasional touches of gothic. Originally, the vocalist Fredrik Ohlsson represented operatic,... Whitecross Whitecross Whitecross is a Christian metal band that formed in 1985 in Waukegan, IL releasing their first recording in the year 1987. Their early albums, which often invite comparisons to Ratt, are laced with fast, technical guitar work. In 1994, bandleader, primary songwriter and producer Rex Carroll split...  (Active, with Girder Records Girder Records Girder Records is a Christian Metal label started by Rex Carroll of Whitecross and Greg Hays of GirderMusic.com. Girder Records has re-issued classic releases such as the re-recording of the Whitecross "Self-Titled" album, now called Nineteen Eighty Seven. That release was followed by the first... )

See also

• List of record labels
• Tooth and Nail Records
  Tooth & Nail Records
  Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today...
  
  , successor to R.E.X. in the propagation of Christian metal and alternative music

External links

• Interview with Klay of Circle of Dust about R.E.X. Records
• Discogs: R.E.X. Music profile