The new KRS logo by Sarah Utter on a KRS sweatshirt.
Kill Rock Stars is a record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and based in Olympia, Washington, United States. Moon initially started the label with the intention of releasing spoken word 7" single records. KRS-101 (The label's first release) was in fact a split 7" spoken-word record with Kathleen Hanna and Slim Moon and other "Wordcore" releases followed. The first major release was a compilation of Olympia-area bands simply titled Kill Rock Stars (Stars Kill Rock and Rock Stars Kill would follow in the same compilation series) and featured Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Unwound, and The Melvins. Because of the press attention riot grrl bands like Bikini Kill were receiving at the time, KRS was most notable for releasing this work during the mid-90's although the label's music never reflected a single genre or underground music movement. The label also continued its tradition of spoken word by releasing their first full-length spoken word LP Big Broad by Juliana Luecking in 1995. This was also the year that Elliott Smith released his self-titled solo LP on the label. Another milestone was the 1997 release of Sleater-Kinney's third LP (and first on KRS) Dig Me Out, which garnered national press attention in Spin and Rolling Stone magazine. In 1997/98, the 5RC label was formed as a sister label to Kill Rock Stars and releases generally harsher-sounding and more challenging indie rock than KRS. Their roster includes Xiu Xiu, Deerhoof, Need New Body, The Mae Shi and Metalux among others. 1998 also marked the first-ever Mailorder Freak Singles Club and featured Quasi, Small Stars and Rock-A-Teens among others. Another popular band on KRS was The Decemberists, who left the label in 2005 after signing to Capitol Records. The label has shown a marked trend in becoming more commerical, and L.A. based major label artist and producer Linda Perry of 4 non-blonds reissued her solo album on KRS in 2005, a move which called into question the label's past strictly punk rock ethos and history of skirting outright major recording industry affiliations.
