Fenway Recordings
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fenway Recordings is an independent record label based in Boston, MA.
Fenway was founded in 2001 by Mark Kates. Previously Kates had held an A&R position at Geffen Records before leaving to become the president of the Beastie Boys' Grand Royal Records[1]
Fenway has signed and released records by artists including Read Yellow, State Radio, consonant (Mission Of Burma bassist Clint Conley’s other band), The Kickovers (the first act to sign, with former Mighty Mighty Bosstones member Nate Albert and ex-Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh), The Love Scene, Longwave, and Unbusted.
Fenway has also released compilations such as the In Our Lifetime series which has featured the artists My Morning Jacket, Ash, Cave In, Ben Kweller, Rival Schools, and Dropkick Murphys.
The company provides management for many artists including Mission Of Burma, Jake Brennan & The Confidence Men, and New York City based Foreign Islands, as well as co-management for The Cribs and Doves.
Since the Spring of 2004, Fenway has put on the Fenway Recording Sessions, a series of concerts that has been host to local, national, and international artists. Kates often takes part himself, spinning records between sets as DJ Carbo. Artists like Read Yellow, 7L & Esoteric, and The Love Scene took part in the initial shows, which were held at The Paradise Lounge. The Sessions eventually moved to Great Scott in Allston and have featured The Cribs, HARD-Fi, The Magic Numbers, Arab Strap, The Subways, The Twenty Two’s, The Editors and many more. In the winter of 2006, the Sessions began to branch out from the indie rock scene and began booking electronica acts such as Hot Chip, Jamie Liddell, Dabrye and Diplo.
Kates also collaborates with Red Sox GM Theo Epstein and Peter Gammons' bi-annual concert event Hot Stove Cool Music, which debuted with a show that featured Kay Hanley of Letters To Cleo, Buffalo Tom, Juliana Hatfield, Red Sox stars Bronson Arroyo and Lenny DiNardo and the New York Yankees' Bernie Williams. The Hot Stove Cool Music compilation featured artists including Pearl Jam, Paul Westerberg, and The Allman Brothers Band. It has raised over $500,000 for the Jimmy Fund and over $300,000 Epstein’s "Foundation To Be Named Later".
