Oregon daily emerald., April 05, 2000, Page 16, Image 26

Extending out from its hardcore roots, JADE TREE records has
quietly—well, not that puietly—become one of indie rock’s hottest
labels. Not bad for a couple of punks. BY BRIAN M. RAFTERY
Branch Managers
_r» ^^_
BOY POWER [1] Jade
Tree founders Walters
and Owen; [2] Jets to
Brazil: [3] Pedro the Lion
whom were running their own labels
(Owen in D.C., Walters in Delaware),
decided to join forces and extend their
musical interests beyond just hardcore.
While Jade Tree’s earliest releases
didn’t extend too far, the label’s roster,
now eight bands strong, has expanded
to include near-jazz instrumentals (Eu
phone) and somber balladry (Pedro the
Lion), while still churning out high
machismo punk (The Explosion). “We
wanted to do something rooted in punk,
but not be pigeonholed,” says Owen.
But the label hasn’t escaped pigeon
holing altogether, and is often tagged
as specializing in “emo,” the aggres
sive-but-introspective punk style
served up by the likes of Fugazi. “I do
roll my eyes [at the “emo” descrip
tion], but at the same time, emo is
where we came from,” says Walters.
“But it’s become this ridiculous tag to
describe anything that’s emotional.”
But even as Jade Tree attempts to
move beyond punk’s perceived limita
tions—both musical and professional—
Owen and Walters remain firmly
grounded in punk’s do-it-yourself aes
thetic. They are as hands-on as possi
ble, with Walters handling lawyers and
accountants, while Owen works on ad
vertising and promotion. Still, autono
my can be a struggle when a band like
The Promise Ring is high profile
enough to merit major-label attention
or a cohosting slot on 120 Minutes.
Listen up, morrissey. now that
you’re officially label-less (and
no doubt missing out on all the
cushy perks, hefty advances,
and other extravagances a major can
provide), there are two guys from Del
aware—yep, Delaware—who would
love to put out your next record.
Of course, to Jade Tree records, land
ing a star on par with the ex-Smiths
frontman may be just two punk rock
ers’ pipe dream—“It’s been our little
3
joke for a while,” says cofounder Tim
Owen, 28—but it’s not that far-fetched.
After all, Jade Tree has become one of
the country’s hottest small-scale indie
rock labels. “There’s a definite name
recognition with Jade IVee,” says Matt
Swagler, a music director at Brown
University’s WBSR. “You can more or
less count on the stuff coming out of
[there] to be cutting edge.”
Jade Tree was formed in 1990 after
Owen and Darren Walters, 29, both of
I