31G Records, or Three One G, is a San Diego, California-based independent record label, started by musician Justin Pearson in 1994 and focusing on punk and experimental music. The label has released a number of albums and compilations in what has been described as "freak punk"[1] and "spaz-rock."[2] Musicians on the label frequently collaborate, creating supergroups such as Holy Molar, Some Girls, and Head Wound City.[1] Three One G's roster has featured many noise rock bands.
History
31G Records was founded by Justin Pearson in San Diego, California in 1994.[3] The name comes from the chorus of a Joy Division song "Warsaw", a song covered by Pearson's then-band, Swing Kids. The reference for '3-1-G' in the original song was to Rudolf Hess's prisoner number.[4] The first album released on the new label was the 1994 single "And / Fall On Proverb" by metalcore band Unbroken. The second release was a reissue of the new debut album from hardcore punk and noise rock band Swing Kids, a band consisting of both the Unbroken guitarist Eric Allen and Pearson on vocals.[5]
The following few releases also involved the same community of musicians, with a split between Swing Kids and Spanakorzo coming out in 1995, and the second released recording by Pearson's new band The Locust coming out as a split EP with Jenny Piccolo in 1996.[5]
In 1998 Allysia Edwards joined with Pearson as a partner at the label, and their annual output began to increase.[5] By January 2011, the label had put out approximately 60 releases total.[3] Staff as of 2011 include Sal Gallego of Some Girls, Marcus D’Camp, Brandon McMinn, Mike McGuire, Becky DiGiglio, and Pearson.[6]
According to Pearson, the label's best selling releases have been Discography by Swing Kids, as well as March on Electric Children by The Blood Brothers.[3]
Three One G has released a compilation of Queen covers by their artists called Dynamite With a Laserbeam: Queen as Heard Through the Meat Grinder of Three One G, as well as a similar tribute to The Birthday Party titled Release The Bats. There has also been a DVD documentary, This is Circumstantial Evidence, made about Three One G.[5] In 2020 the label released a tribute album to The Cramps called Really Bad Music For Really Bad People: The Cramps As Heard Through The Meat Grinder Of Three One G and featured artists such as METZ, Chelsea Wolfe, and Mike Patton.
Collaborations
Reviewers have described the Three One G community of musicians under the umbrella term "freak punk"[1] or "spaz-rock,"[2] saying "the intense, the slightly frightening, and the brutal all find a place for themselves and their music in Three One G Records."[2]
Most of the label's bands have shared members or interact within the same musical community, and according to Pearson,
"[The label] quickly developed into a family of artists who were all intertwined or on the same page as one another. We could all conceivably tour together, even sometimes collaborate and share members. To me, this is interesting, bringing so many new avenues of creativity, which are things that the music industry in general has since forgotten."[6]
According to SSG Music, "It seems that members of San Diego label Three One G decide to form new supergroups at least once a year."[1] Three One G bands Holy Molar, Ground Unicorn Horn, and Head Wound City were all formed with earlier musicians on the label. The label's supergroup Retox included Gabe Serbian and Pearson of The Locust,[1] and many of the bands such as The Crimson Curse and Cattle Decapitation[5] are connected to The Locust as well.[6]
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