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39-503: Eastern Conference Champions (also known as ECC) was formed by Joshua Ostrander and Greg Lyons in 2005, shortly after leaving the rock band Laguardia. They released The Southampton Collection EP on Retone Records in March 2006. In late 2006 the band was signed to Geffen/Suretone Records, a subsidiary of Geffen Records . The band worked with British producer Owen Morris , on recording their first full-length album Ameritown , which

78-563: A 'one stop shop' for anything band related. They record, produce, mix and master their own records and Ostrander designs all artwork and posters. He has made reference to being an "un-qualified hack at everything" and that he "should have been a lawyer." On August 24, 2015, Josh Ostrander announced that Eastern Conference Champions was disbanding following their release "Love in Wartime" on iTunes. Josh Ostrander Joshua Keith Ostrander (born April 8), also known as Mondo Cozmo ,

117-558: A five-year contract, which prevented him from working elsewhere. When that deal expired, he returned to work in 1980 and struck a deal with Warner Bros. Records (now simply Warner Records , due to the label's disassociation from Warner Bros. Pictures in 2004), to create Geffen Records. Warner Bros. Records provided 100 percent of the funding for the label's start-up and operations, while it distributed its releases in North America , with CBS 's Epic Records handling distribution in

156-477: A full length once they realized they were going to be on the upcoming Twilight Eclipse soundtrack. The album, entitled Speak-ahh , was to be released on April 26 via RockHampton Records. It was said to be the biggest departure to date from the band's already unique sound. In an interview with Ostrander he stated the first single, "Bull in The Wild" was without a doubt the "biggest song of their career." The band

195-487: A music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pictures , it is owned by the Interscope Geffen A&;M (IGA) faction of Universal Music Group (UMG). Geffen has been a part of IGA since 1999 and has been used by Universal Music as a syndicating division of Interscope Records , serving its purpose to operate as a premier label for many new releases since 2003 and its 2017 reboot. At the same time, it

234-526: A part of UMG during its preceding MCA days from 1988 to 1993). In the ensuing months, a number of corporate reshufflings occurred, resulting in Geffen and A&M, on New Year's Eve 1998, being merged into Interscope Geffen A&M Records . Interscope Geffen A&M became one of Universal Music Group's four new label factions alongside the Verve Label Group , Universal Motown Republic Group and

273-459: A song Ostrander says is about trying to quit smoking. The band was also featured on the season finale of Gossip Girl on May 17, 2010 with their rendition of Bob Dylan's ' Don't Think Twice, It's All Right '. The song quickly became the band's number one seller on iTunes. Based on the success of the Santa Fe EP the band decided to release another EP in early 2010, but then decided to record

312-497: A staff exchange that July, longtime Interscope executive Nicole Bilzerian was drafted to Geffen to become its executive vice president. Olivia Rodrigo joined Geffen in the fall of 2020. Her single, " Drivers License ", made the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 2021. That May, she released her debut album, Sour . It accumulated 295,000 album-equivalent units. Its five-week reign at number one on

351-466: Is an American singer-songwriter and record producer from Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. He is now based in Los Angeles, California. His solo music has been described as "chorus-heavy folk-rock." Ostrander fronted the alt-rock band Laguardia from 2000 to 2005. It included Joshua Ostrander, Greg Lyons, Lee Bernstein and Michael Morpurgo and was signed to Universal Records and Republic Records released

390-569: Is projected to reissue many releases from recording labels (some of which have been directly absorbed into Geffen) such as Decca Records (exclusively the American pop/rock catalog), Kapp Records , DreamWorks Records , MCA Records , Uni Records , Chess Records , Almo Sounds (Interscope has managed reissues of the label in 2015), Dot Records , ABC Records (primarily its pop, rock, and R&B recordings) and DGC Records (the label had merged into Geffen in 2021 with reissues now being handled by

429-587: The Billboard 200 became the longest by a female recording artist that year. Sour also made Rodrigo the first Geffen recording artist and first female artist overall to have a number one album under the label in nearly 13 years since Mary J. Blige's Growing Pains (2007). Rodrigo followed up Sour in 2023 with Guts . Released in September, it once again debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, though its first week units were moderately slim behind

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468-672: The Holy See to produce an album of Marian songs and prayers from Pope Benedict XVI . Interscope Geffen A&M chairman and CEO Jimmy Iovine relaunched Geffen in 2011, moving its headquarters from Santa Monica to New York City . Former manager of Kanye West , Gee Roberson was appointed chairman. However, in late 2013, the label went idle with a majority of Geffen's artists now recording under Interscope. On May 28, 2014, Iovine departed from Interscope Geffen A&M as its chairman and CEO and hired Fueled by Ramen co-founder John Janick as his replacement. In March 2017, Neil Jacobson

507-662: The Island Def Jam Music Group . However, the IGA merger resulted in Geffen firing 110 of its employees. Unlike A&M, which was closed entirely, Geffen was able to continue existing as a one-off brand under Interscope Records . At the same time, international distribution of Interscope and Geffen releases respectively switched from BMG Distribution and Island Records UK to ex-PolyGram label Polydor Records , which had already been distributing A&M releases overseas (in return for A&M handling Polydor releases in

546-738: The EP called The Southampton Collection under the ECC moniker. Three studio albums followed: Ameritown in 2007, Santa Fe in 2009 and SPEAK-AHH in 2010, and a number of EPs as Eastern Conference Champions. ECC disbanded in August 2015. Along with producing their own releases, Ostrander produced for such bands as Voxhaul Broadcast and worked on projects with such producers as Brendan O'Brien , Owen Morris , Brad Wood , Thom Panunzio , Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis . Ostrander works out of his downtown LA studio called Santa Fe Studios. Ostrander began recording under

585-509: The MCA, DGC and DreamWorks labels, along with the signage of new acts such as Ashlee Simpson , Angels & Airwaves and Snoop Dogg , had boosted the company to the extent that it began gaining equal footing with the main Interscope label, leading some industry insiders to speculate that it could revert to operating as an independently managed imprint at UMG again. In 2006, musician Ron Fair

624-554: The U.S.); A&M was forced to remain as a one-off active label for Interscope following a lawsuit by its co-founders Jerry Moss and Herb Alpert , which was later settled in 2003. In October 1999, Jordan Schur (of Flip Records ) was declared Geffen's new president; this led to Schur stepping down as the head of Flip, but he still managed to maintain control of the label, while certain acts from Flip's roster, such as Cold and Professional Murder Music , were transferred over to Geffen. Geffen's first release under Schur's leadership

663-658: The United States and peak at number one on Billboard 's Hot Latin Songs chart. In December 2019, Neil Jacobson vacated his position as the president of Geffen, leaving to start his own company, Crescent Drive Productions. The following month to a new year, in mid-January 2020, Lee L'Heureux was appointed the general manager of Geffen. The label then started to see more success from artists Rod Wave , Lil Durk , Yungblud and Hotboii (the former two were signed to Geffen through Todd Moscowitz 's Alamo Records). In

702-610: The album Welcome to the Middle in 2003 with "Holy Ghost" from the album released as a single. Ostrander's band, Laguardia, should not be confused with the famous Spanish Pop rock band La Guardia active 1983–1997 and relaunched in 2003. Ostrander later became the front man of Eastern Conference Champions (ECC), which he started with his friend and collaborator Greg Lyons from Laguardia and Vern Zaborowski from CKY . The band also included Melissa Dougherty. The band came about when Ostrander and Lyons signed with Geffen Records and released

741-768: The charts, Lennon was murdered in New York City. Subsequently, the album went on to sell millions and gave Geffen its first number-one album and single; the rights to the album would later be taken over by EMI , which eventually would be absorbed by Geffen's then-future parent, Universal Music Group in 2012. As the mid-1980s progressed, Geffen would go on to have extended success with such acts as Asia , Berlin , Enya , Kylie Minogue , Quarterflash , Wang Chung , and Sammy Hagar . The label also signed several established acts such as Elton John , Irene Cara , Cher , Debbie Harry , Don Henley , Joni Mitchell , Neil Young , Peter Gabriel , and Jennifer Holliday . Toward

780-560: The emergence of alternative rock — Nirvana being an example. Geffen also briefly distributed the first incarnation of Def American Recordings (now simply American Recordings ) through Warner Music Group from 1988 to 1990. After nearly a decade of operating through WMG, its contract with the company ended. Geffen was then sold to MCA Music Entertainment, by then, a label division of the now-defunct MCA Inc. in 1990. The deal earned founder David Geffen an estimated US$ 800 million in stock and an employment contract that ran until then. Following

819-517: The end of the decade, the company also began making a name for itself as an emerging rock label, thanks to the success of Whitesnake (U.S. and Canada only), The Stone Roses , Guns N' Roses , Tesla , Sonic Youth and the comeback of 1970s-era rockers Aerosmith . This prompted Geffen to create a subsidiary label, DGC Records (formerly the David Geffen Company), in 1990; which focused on more progressive rock and would later embrace

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858-419: The label was previously absorbed in 1999 following its merger with Interscope. Retained artists, Beck and Sonic Youth , were later redirected to record for Geffen afterwards; DGC was later reactivated in 2007, later operating under Interscope rather than Geffen. With the mergers of MCA, DGC and DreamWorks into Geffen, more than 103 employees were laid off. As the mid-2000s progressed, Geffen's absorption of

897-583: The label. Meanwhile, DreamWorks Records, in October, also folded, with its artists roster, consisting of Nelly Furtado , Lifehouse and Rufus Wainwright , being absorbed by Geffen as well. The absorption occurred following a reorganization at DreamWorks Pictures, which resulted in DreamWorks Animation being divested and DreamWorks Records being acquired by UMG. During this time, the remains of DGC Records were also folded into Geffen, although

936-627: The musical guests on Last Call with Carson Daly on August 9, 2007. They released a behind the scenes video, chronicling their performance, which can be found on their Myspace . Melissa Dougherty joined the band in 2009 after the departure of founding bassist, former CKY bassist Vern Zaborowski. Ostrander, Lyons and Dougherty recorded The Santa Fe EP, which they self-released on September 30. The band sold limited edition signed artwork copies off of their website. The EP gained more exposure when it landed TV placements for 'Friday Night Lights' and 'Melrose Place'. Both shows featuring 'Sideways Walking',

975-662: The name Mondo Cozmo in 2016, and his single "Shine" hit No. 1 on Billboard 's Adult Alternative Songs chart in January 2017. His name comes from a combination of his dog's name, Cozmo, and the 1969 John Waters comedy "Mondo Trasho." His debut album "Plastic Soul" was released on August 4, 2017. Ostrander's debut headlining tour as Mondo Cozmo began on July 12, 2017 at the Exit/In in Nashville, Tennessee . The tour ran nineteen shows and concluded on October 28, 2017. The touring band

1014-478: The newly-founded company's DreamWorks Records subsidiary. That spring, Panasonic's ownership percentage of MCA was decreased to 20% when the remaining 80% was sold to Canadian distillery company Seagram in exchange for $ 5.7 billion USD. In January 1996, Geffen funded and distributed a short-lived boutique label, Outpost Recordings , featuring the likes of Whiskeytown , Ry Cooder , Veruca Salt , and Hayden . On December 9, 1996, Geffen's parent company, MCA Inc.

1053-406: The parent label). Geffen Records began operations in 1980. It was created by music industry businessman David Geffen who, in the early 1970s, had co-founded Asylum Records with Elliot Roberts . Geffen stepped down from Asylum in 1975, when he crossed over to film and was named a vice president of Warner Bros. Pictures . He was fired from Warner c.  1978 , but still remained locked in

1092-479: The rest of the world until 1985 when Warner Music Group (parent company of Warner Records and formerly a division of Time Warner/ Warner Bros. Discovery until 2004) took over distribution for the rest of the world. Profits were split 50% each between Geffen Records and its respective distributors. Despite being named for founder and original owner David Geffen, it has been acknowledged that Ed Rosenblatt, who became president of Geffen Records upon its inception in 1980,

1131-719: The sale, Geffen Records operated as one of MCA's leading independently managed labels. A year later, MCA was acquired by Japanese conglomerate Matsushita Electric (now Panasonic ), bringing Geffen, Universal Pictures and other sister companies along. The acquisition was completed on New Year's Day 1991 for $ 6.6 billion USD. Geffen stepped down as head of the label in 1995 to collaborate with Jeffrey Katzenberg and Amblin Entertainment co-founder Steven Spielberg to form DreamWorks SKG (later DreamWorks Pictures ), an ambitious multimedia empire dealing in film, television, books and music. Geffen Records would distribute releases on

1170-400: Was appointed president of Geffen Records to oversee the second relaunch of the label via new signings as well as reinvigoration of the label's legendary catalog. In 2018, Interscope musician DJ Snake was drafted to Geffen to release his second studio album, Carte Blanche , which commenced on July 26, 2019. Its single, " Taki Taki ", went on to accumulate four million equivalent units in

1209-403: Was composed of Drew "The Kid" Beck on electric guitar, Chris Null on acoustic guitar and bass, James Gordon on synth and keys, and Andrew Tolman on drums. Mondo Cozmo continues to tour and opened for Vance Joy in summer 2018. Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly Geffen Records Inc. until 2004) is an American record label , founded in late 1980 by David Geffen . Originally

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1248-466: Was later transferred to Geffen to avoid contractual obligations with G-Unit . His sophomore studio album (also his first under the label), Doctor's Advocate , debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 upon release on November 14, 2006. Geffen's urban division pertained even more notoriety with the IGA resigning of Keyshia Cole through the imprint, following DGC's relaunch and A&M's revitalization as A&M Octone Records in 2007; Cole

1287-413: Was named the chairman of Geffen. That same year, after disputes with Interscope co-founder Jimmy Iovine (at the time, the chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M, parent unit of Geffen), former labelmates 50 Cent and Dr. Dre , rapper The Game was dismissed from G-Unit Records and Interscope division imprint Aftermath Entertainment (the respective labels of the aforementioned latter two), but

1326-425: Was previously signed to sister label A&M early in her career from 2004 to that point. Her sophomore album, Just like You , received critical praise and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. However, at the end of 2007, Geffen was subsided further into Interscope. The restructuring resulted in Geffen laying off sixty employees. In 2009, it was announced that Geffen Records had signed an agreement with

1365-551: Was reincorporated as Universal Studios, Inc. Even so, its music division, MCA Music Entertainment Group, was also renamed Universal Music Group. However, under UMG's new ownership, Geffen's fortunes began to dwindle. On December 10, 1998, Seagram completed its seven-month $ 10.6 billion plan to acquire PolyGram. As a result, PolyGram's music division was merged into Universal Music Group. Geffen now became sister labels to A&M Records , Island Records , Mercury Records , Def Jam Recordings and Motown (which had previously been

1404-400: Was released on July 17, 2007. The release was a critical success but the band felt out of place at the major label and decided to opt out of their contract for the second record. Taking the exit fee and putting it towards self-releasing their own records under their imprint "RockHampton". A name Greg Lyons came up citing the town he and Josh grew up in, Southampton, PA. They were featured as

1443-591: Was the End of Days soundtrack , released in November 1999. Geffen became a predominantly rock music-based label. Geffen continued to do steady business—even within 2003 , UMG folded MCA Records into Geffen that July. Though Geffen had been substantially a pop-rock label, its absorption of MCA (and its back catalogs) led to a more diverse roster; with former MCA artists such as Mary J. Blige , The Roots , Blink-182 , Rise Against , and Common now being transferred to

1482-486: Was the one who led Geffen Records during its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s. The label's first artist signing was superstar Donna Summer , whose gold-selling album The Wanderer became the label's first release in October 1980. At the time, Donna Summer was undergoing a dispersing contract with and subsequent lawsuit against Universal Music Group 's Casablanca Records . The label then released Double Fantasy by John Lennon and Yoko Ono . Two weeks after it entered

1521-496: Was thinking of shortening their name to just 'ECC' in the Spring of 2010 until realizing they forgot to tell the producers of Twilight who then shipped the record with the full name. The band has made reference to the reason they never gained great success was because their "name was too long" and that nobody wanted to type it and jokingly that "we came up with the name before the internet took off." The band prided themselves on being

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