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55-469: The PeeChees (aka The PeeChee All-Season Sensations ) were an American punk band formed in 1994 by Lookout! Records co-owners Christopher Appelgren ( The Pattern , Bumblescrump , The Lefties ), Molly Neuman ( Bratmobile , The Frumpies , Love or Perish ), along with guitarist Carlos Cañedo ( Rice , Love or Perish , Beehive & The Baracudas), and bass player Rop Vasquez ( Rice , Semi-Automatic , The Lefties ). The PeeChees released three albums on

110-500: A 2015 memoir, Livermore recalled that Even when it came to music we both liked, we found things to disagree about. [David Hayes] didn't want to hear me speculate about bands becoming popular even on an underground — let alone a mainstream — level. It almost felt as if he thought it was our job to stop that from happening, or at least delay it as much as possible... This confused me. I saw no logical reason why some of our bands shouldn't sell hundreds of thousands, even millions of records. I

165-414: A 7-inch EP entitled Chet, Livermore and Hayes jointly worked to bring about a third release later in 1987. This would be yet another 7-inch EP, a record by raw-edged ska-punkers Operation Ivy called Hectic. This third release proved to be an aural document of the right band at the right moment, with the release by the high energy local favorites selling through its first pressing of 1,000 copies within

220-495: A campaign volunteer for Berkeley Citizen's Action Group, an organization which had won majority control of the Berkeley City Council, and was able to call upon friends sitting on various city boards, urging their cooperation with the new venture. Berkeley mayor Gus Newport was supportive and project organizers took care of every detail into winning the tacit approval for the project from businesses and residents of

275-437: A job." With a quiet determination, Hayes declared that his departure would take effect on January 1, 1990, adding "I don't want anything more to do with Lookout, and I don't want anything more from Lookout." The speechless Livermore was left with full ownership and control of the label on the very eve of its commercial success. David Hayes would go on to start his own label, Very Small Records , releasing dozens of records over

330-543: A local recording studio to record their songs, with a 26-song demo tape resulting. He also began living part-time in the San Francisco Bay Area , splitting his time between the city and his home in the mountains of Mendocino County . The Lookouts began playing out more in San Francisco and Berkeley and began to develop a fan following and to make the acquaintance of other local bands, including

385-447: A long time punk rock fan, band member, and 1986 Gilman volunteer later recalled: "There was something in the air, you could say, back then. A good feeling, or a sense of pulling together, and unity among people who just wanted to see bands that was free of sexism, homophobia, racism, and especially violence. Shows were not as safe then—there were shows I went to before Gilman where I got beat up... Shows where I went to jail, just for being

440-569: A major financial loss that would effect the label's royalty payouts in the following years. The label also switched its long time distribution affiliation with Mordam to RED Distribution. In 1998, the label signed Palo Alto-based band The Donnas and would release 3 albums from the band between 1998 and 2001 as well as reissue their debut album. With decent sales and heavy coverage of the band from mainstream media outlets, The Donnas would depart for Atlantic Records in 2002. Other veteran acts such as The Queers, Pansy Division and Avail would depart in

495-478: A major label. Many of the other bands which have played the club in the past are now defunct. The venue still serves the East Bay and Northern California hardcore scene by bringing local, national, and international acts to the East Bay. A 2004 history of the club, 924 Gilman: The Story So Far , was written and edited by Brian Edge, who collected memories and anecdotes from many of the seminal contributors to

550-442: A mecca for punk youth to get away from everyday issues at home, work, government, etc. In its initial phase, hardcore punk shows were held three days a week—on Friday and Saturday nights as well as Sunday matinees. This quickly proved to be overwhelming for club volunteers, however, and as an alternative non-hardcore shows began to be run on Fridays by a separate crew of organizers. These Friday shows were more poorly attended than

605-592: A melodically friendly group called The Mr. T Experience . A vibrant local scene began to congeal, based around the Gilman Street Project , an all-ages venue inspired, bankrolled, and coordinated by the popular Maximum Rocknroll, launched the night of December 31, 1986. Early in 1987 Livermore decided that it was time for The Lookouts to release a record. Livermore chose to take the Do It Yourself route to create such an album, self-releasing

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660-493: A month. In an effort to make a splash, four 7-inch vinyl records were released simultaneously, including also releases by popular 924 Gilman bands Crimpshrine (LK-04) and Isocracy (LK-05). This initial barrage of new releases went far in cementing Lookout's place as a cutting edge local label for the Berkeley punk scene. The "Gilman bands" began to form friendships amongst themselves and to play out together at other venues on

715-501: A period of rapid contraction the label slowly expired, terminating operations and removing its music from online distribution channels early in 2012. During the fall of 1984 Larry Livermore (née Larry Hayes), a resident of the small town of Laytonville, California , of countercultural proclivities, felt the urge to opine about the problems of his community and the world in a small-circulation periodical . Thus in October of that year

770-454: A permanent label. Both Lawrence Livermore (née Larry Hayes) and David Hayes (not related) were deeply inspired by the energetic East Bay punk rock scene and sought to further document its leading bands. David Hayes initially wanted to start a new label of his own for the purpose, to be known as Sprocket Records, with a view to a first release for the band Corrupted Morals . Livermore, a columnist for Maximum Rocknroll (MRR) who knew Hayes as

825-417: A punk rock kid out after curfew. And worse, shows where I saw people getting beat up by skinheads , or jocks , and there was not a damn thing I could do about it if I wanted to stay healthy. Those were the kind of things that motivated us to get involved." Despite a few early incidents of vandalism, a fertile creative environment rapidly developed. The venue saw the first public appearance of Operation Ivy ,

880-595: A scrap of paper and taped to the window by Yohannan, noting that the Gilman Street Project was "now closed permanently due to lack of the creative juices necessary to make it worthwhile." Yohannan added that "apathy and taking Gilman for granted" had "led to a consumerist attitude" and that the decision had been made by core volunteers to "work together in other ways." Although the September closure spelled an end to Tim Yohannan's personal connection with

935-440: A show featuring controversial hardcore punk bands Fang and Slapshot only narrowly being moved to an alternative venue, as well as allegations of sexism, transphobia and ableism made against some core volunteers at the time. Maximumrocknroll expressed support for the boycott, with then-editor Grace Ambrose stating that "Gilman's actions run counter to the spirit that propels MRR." Gilman showcases mostly punk rock , running

990-402: A so-called "shitworker" for the publication, convinced the latter that a partnership was in order to advance their common goal. As Livermore's release had an independently controlled label name, Lookout Records, while Hayes's debut release borrowed the well-known MRR moniker, the former name was decided upon as the label name for the releases of the duo moving forward. According to Livermore,

1045-546: A start to a career. Lookout became famous for releasing albums that featured a very distinctive "Ramonescore" pop punk sound including bands such as Screeching Weasel, The Mr T Experience, The Queers, Crimpshrine, Green Day, Sweet Baby, Squirtgun, The Wanna-Bes and others. In the spring of 1994 Lookout principal Larry Livermore made a very public break with Tim Yohannan and his Maximum Rocknroll, for which Livermore had written since 1987. With punk exploding in popularity and various tangential musical forms attaching themselves to

1100-470: A thrashing ska-punk outfit that gained nearly instantaneous local popularity, and was a proving grounds for the young Green Day —the albums of whom helped to launch the Lookout Records empire of Larry Livermore and David Hayes . The eclectic sounds of this and other pioneer "Gilman bands" stood in contrast to the speed metal and ultra-aggressive hardcore which dominated the punk world during

1155-659: Is a non-profit, all-ages , collectively organized music club. It is located in the West Berkeley area of Berkeley, California . Gilman is mostly associated with being the springboard for the '90s punk revival led by bands like Green Day , Operation Ivy , Rancid , AFI , and The Offspring . Gilman showcases mostly punk rock , specifically pop punk and hardcore punk acts, as well as heavy metal , industrial metal , grindcore , ska punk and, most recently, hip hop . As early as 1984, punk rock fan and Maximumrocknroll founder Tim Yohannan began thinking about

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1210-419: Is said to have been knocked to the floor and held down, where he was kicked in the head by "Cretin." During the incident others are said to have taunted Biafra, yelling "rich rock star" and "sellout." Police were called but "Cretin" and his friends escaped the premises in a van bearing Arizona plates. Biafra was hospitalized, where it was determined that he suffered detached ligaments and a broken leg. Biafra

1265-600: The Kill Rock Stars label, and singles on Kill Rock Stars , Lookout! Records , and Subpop , and were on many compilations during the mid-1990s. They toured the United States and Europe and performed with label mates Bikini Kill , Unwound , and Sleater-Kinney and performed and collaborated with Rocket From The Crypt and Rancid . They were peripherally involved in the Riot grrrl movement, with Neuman (one of

1320-526: The Maximum Rocknroll (MRR) radio show, broadcast weekly from Berkeley and featuring prominent scenester and future fanzine publisher Tim Yohannan and his cohorts. Livermore also decided to start a band, drafting a 12-year-old neighbor to play drums — given the punk rock name " Tré Cool " by Livermore. Cool would later gain fame as the drummer of Green Day . After a few ill-attended shows in 1985 Livermore took his band, The Lookouts , into

1375-552: The 16-year old Appelgren clearly not being ready for the role, Livermore tried a last-ditch effort to retain Hayes with the label, offering to take over all mundane operational tasks while leaving Hayes with "half the profits" as financial coordinator and public face of the organization. The anti-commercial Hayes flatly rejected this proposal with the declaration that "there's too much golden light around Lookout right now," adding that work on his label of love had come to feel "too much like

1430-544: The 924 Gilman Street location spotted by Hayden, he was ultimately persuaded that the building was a suitable space for the project which was envisioned. Negotiations began with the landlord and in April 1986 a lease was signed. The organizing circle was expanded with a view to raising the $ 40,000 needed for rent and remodeling and for generating the volunteers necessary to make the construction project happen. Yohannan made use of his political connections and experience gained as

1485-433: The 924 Gilman space. As one early participant recalled, "in order to not be closed down by local police we had to have rules, such as no drinking in or around the club, no fighting, things like that." This necessitated a regularized approach to security and resulted in events that were less violent than the 1980s hardcore norm, providing a more or less "safe environment" and sense of collective responsibility. Josh Levine,

1540-462: The Gilman "warehouse" provided a vital all-ages venue and spawned a vibrant local musical scene, its success was neither inevitable nor linear. On September 11, 1988, citing the "physical and emotional exhaustion" of volunteers, ongoing problems with vandalism, and financial difficulties resulting from a $ 16,000 legal award to a slam dancer who had fallen and broken his arm in the pit, and expiration of

1595-477: The Saturday night and Sunday afternoon hardcore extravaganzas but nevertheless served their purpose of providing an alternative venue to bands seeking to escape the grim reality of 21-and-over bar shows while allowing core volunteers to avoid the burnout associated with excessive event scheduling. This necessary scheduling adjustment had the serendipitous effect of diversifying and broadening the base of support for

1650-468: The Warped Tour and CMJ. By 2004, the label had closed its retail store on University Avenue in Berkeley. On August 1, 2005, Green Day followed Avail, Blatz, Filth, Operation Ivy, Screeching Weasel, Riverdales, Lillingtons and Enemy You in announcing they had rescinded the master rights for their Lookout Records material. They cited continuing breach of contract regarding unpaid royalties. This led to

1705-415: The area. The landlord also proved himself reliable and supportive of the goals of his new tenants. Tim Yohannan later recalled: "We didn't know shit about construction, and people were coming out of the woodwork, just showing up and helping—people who had the skills we needed, carpenters, plumbers, electricians. We had to build new bathrooms, etc., and pass the inspections. We got our final approval from

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1760-479: The breakup of Operation Ivy, some of the members formed Rancid. They released their debut EP, Rancid , in 1992 with Lookout Records. Screeching Weasel released their third and fifth to seventh albums, My Brain Hurts (1991), Wiggle (1993), Anthem for a New Tomorrow (1993), and How to Make Enemies and Irritate People (1994). Many other Bay area punk bands were getting signed by Lookout Records, giving them

1815-403: The building lease, Gilman shut its doors. In a published eulogy by Tim Yohannan, Gilman was remembered as a fun place where "the old macho bullshit got attacked" and a stand had been made against "creeping racist and fascist crap." The club's core volunteers were not despondent, Yohannan noted, and hoped to "arrange special shows at other existing venues" in the future. A note was scrawled on

1870-431: The city the afternoon of our first show, which was New Year's Eve, December 1986." Rent on the 2,000 square foot building was $ 2,000 per month at the time of the club's launch—regarded as a reasonable and manageable rate. On December 31, 1986, the first musical performance was held at 924 Gilman. Since then, it has been one of the longest-running independent music venues in the United States. The club slowly progressed as

1925-404: The club's day-to-day operations from 1986 through publication in 2004. The book is available through AK Press and also contains a full list of Gilman's shows from 1986 through early 2004. On May 7, 1994, an incident occurred in which former Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra was assaulted and injured. A group of rough slam dancers in the pit had been crashing into audience members. In

1980-405: The club, core volunteers almost immediately reorganized to launch a "new club" at the 924 Gilman location, based upon the core principles established by the previous venture. In May 2016, members of the club's community anonymously called for a boycott of 924 Gilman in online posts over Facebook and Tumblr citing several failures of the club in upholding its stated rules and ethics, notably

2035-508: The coming decade that ran the gamut of punk styles, maintaining fidelity to his artistic and ethical vision — while the label that he exited would go on to become a multimillion-dollar commercial enterprise. Many different punk rock bands, such as Green Day, were signed to Lookout in this time. Green Day released their debut EP, 1,000 Hours , in 1989. Green Day also released 39/Smooth (1990), Slappy (1990), Sweet Children (1990), and, with their new drummer, Kerplunk! (1992). After

2090-551: The early 2000s citing poor promotion and the label's increasing attention and spending on new acts. By 2002, Lookout began to shift focus from its East Bay pop punk roots to a more diverse sound by releasing albums from bands such as Pretty Girls Make Graves , Ted Leo And The Pharmacists , The Oranges Band and Neuman's own band Bratmobile. The shift in direction and new releases from veteran acts like The Smugglers and The Mr. T Experience could not offset declining album sales and financial mismanagement including unprofitable showcases at

2145-571: The establishment of an all ages music space in the San Francisco Bay Area where bands could play and interact with audience members free of the structure of conventional music promotion. Actual organizational work began in 1985, with Yohannan joined in the effort by Victor Hayden, who had previously started a parallel project to start a punk club in Berkeley and who had already located a promising space in an industrial section of Berkeley. Although Yohannan initially had misgivings about

2200-403: The gamut from hardcore punk and grindcore to pop punk and ska punk, including as well industrial metal and, most recently, hip hop . Bands with major label contracts, including AFI , The Offspring , and Green Day , are only allowed to play the club when membership approves that individual show, a policy that enabled Green Day to play at Gilman again at least twice since they signed with

2255-501: The label in 1997. After Livermore's departure, Chris Appelgren took over as the label's president while his wife Molly Neuman became vice president and label employee Cathy Bauer took over as general manager. Screeching Weasel resigned with the label in 1998 for their album Emo. As part of an agreement, Lookout also purchased Ben Weasel's label Panic Button Records and would release albums from Panic Button acts including The Eyeliners , Enemy You and The Lillingtons . The move would be

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2310-768: The label laying off six of nine staff members. Appelgren told Punknews.org that the label would carry on in a scaled back form. Lookout Records turned 20 years old in 2008. In December 2009, the company entered a major financial reconstruction period. The label officially closed in January 2012. The label returned any remaining inventory, masters and artwork to the bands. Appelgren said he hoped bands would "... revisit their Lookout releases, with interesting and cool results." List of bands Lookout Records released at least one EP or full-length for: 924 Gilman Street The Alternative Music Foundation located at 924 Gilman Street , often referred to simply as "Gilman",

2365-454: The label's direction growing, and his expressed desires of departure becoming more frequent. Hayes had gradually come to find working with Livermore to be insufferable and sought peace and artistic freedom through formation of his own record label. Believing that Hayes's participation in the Lookout project as bookkeeper and skilled mitigator of the demands of demanding bands was essential,

2420-523: The label's projects began to be bifurcated between the two principals — "Larry's bands" and "David's bands," with the eclectic Hayes next turning to releases by post punk band Plaid Retina and country punks Sewer Trout . In addition to differences in musical taste which became more apparent over time, the pair were temperamentally ill-suited, with Hayes understated and reserved and Livermore boisterous and gregarious. In addition, Hayes and Livermore differed greatly with respect to commercial motivation. In

2475-402: The middle 1980s. Staying true to the " independent spirit " was also a major component of the venue's philosophy, and many of the bands that started out at Gilman found themselves on the outs with the club after achieving mainstream success. Green Day's song "86" from their album Insomniac is about being banned from the club after their major label debut Dookie was released. Although

2530-406: The movement and swamping MRR with promotional material, a tightening of musical focus was demanded by Yohannan — a move which led to the launch of the more eclectic rival publication Punk Planet . Livermore rebelled at the new line, charging that MRR had increasingly become "a lifestyle journal for retro-punks" who "think if they dress up in the same clothes they wore 15 years ago, if they drink

2585-409: The movement's founders) playing drums for the band. The band disbanded in 1998. Lookout! Records Following the departure of co-founder Larry Livermore in 1997, the label departed from its "East Bay sound" and proved unable to match early success. In 2005 the label ran into financial difficulties after several high-profile artists rescinded the rights to their Lookout Records material. After

2640-628: The name "Lookout" was chosen for his magazine and band and thus the label from whence it sprung was selected in reference to the United States Forest Service fire watch tower on Iron Peak, the highest point in Livermore's rural Mendocino County neighborhood. The company's iconic "beady eyes" logo was the early creation of David Hayes, who also handled much of the artwork for the label's early sleeves and LP jackets. With Hayes's Corrupted Morals project moving forward as LK-02,

2695-546: The one-off LP under "Lookout Records." At the same time, the new bands emerging around the vibrant 924 Gilman Street venue, including Operation Ivy , Crimpshrine , Sewer Trout , Isocracy , and others were documented for the first time by local scenester David Hayes on a 17-song double 7-inch compilation entitled Turn It Around, released through Mordam Distribution on the Maximum Rocknroll Records label. The duo would soon join forces as co-founders of

2750-430: The process one of these individuals, said to be a man using the punk rock name "Cretin," knocked Biafra into a chair, with another rolling over his legs, causing serious damage to one knee and leg. Biafra is said to have yelled an epithet at the individual who crashed into him and demanded that he produce identification so that he could be billed for whatever hospital costs would ensue. A fight ensued, during which Biafra

2805-606: The road. One important contact was made in the person of 14-year-old Christopher "Chris" Appelgren , a resident of the small town of Garberville, California who worked as a volunteer at community radio station KMUD and who had learned of The Lookouts and the burgeoning East Bay punk rock scene through the pages of Lookout magazine, which was distributed in the area. Appelgren attended a show held at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California played by Lookout Records bands Operation Ivy, Crimpshrine, Isocracy, and The Lookouts and

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2860-409: The same beer and play the same guitar riffs, that somehow it'll be the glory days of punk all over again." Despite Yohannan's radical politics, Maximum had been revealed to be "simply another business," Livermore provocatively declared. In 1995, with the help of Green Day's "1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours" and "Kerplunk", Lookout Records made $ 10 million in sales. Co-founder Larry Livermore left

2915-400: Was convinced, after all, that they were just as good as, if not better than, most bands who did. But the moment I said anything like that, i risked incurring the wrath of MRR, 'the punks,' and, most of all, my partner. Although the winds of change had begun to blow even in 1988, David Hayes would remain very active with Lookout through the summer of 1989, albeit with dissatisfaction regarding

2970-409: Was launched a circulation magazine called Lookout, the first issue of which was typed and photocopied with a "press run" of just 50 copies. Opposition emerged to the controversial local topics upon which Livermore opined and so he turned to the theme punk rock , a form of music he had followed in the late 1970s. Livermore began to reacquaint himself with the ongoing punk music scene by listening to

3025-443: Was wowed by what he saw, meeting Livermore for the first time and making the acquaintance of Tim "Lint" Armstrong of Op Ivy — later a leading member of Rancid . Before long Appelgren would be traveling to Livermore's Laytonville home to help with the stuffing of 7-inch vinyl into sleeves and packaging records for mailorder, becoming the label's first paid employee. Livermore and Hayes began to become estranged from one another, and

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