.gay Community Spotlight on Kill Rock Stars

May 9

For this week’s .gay Community Spotlight, we caught up with our friends at legendary indie record label Kill Rock Stars, who were also one of the first-ever .gay domains to go live online!

Join KRS and thousands of others who have registered their .gay domain names by finding yours and registering FREE HERE.

Visit www.KillRockStars.gay and read our chat below for more!

How would you describe the label’s mission?

The label started with Slim Moon releasing his friends' and his own spoken word recordings. Then there was a band he became so enamored with [Unwound], and he decided he had to release music too because the world needed to hear this. This is how the label started in 1991 and the core behind this story is what still drives KRS in 2023 - music and musicians and missions of the artists the staff is all enamored with, feeling and knowing the world needs to hear this.

Tell us about how that mission is brought to life through your work?

We are lucky enough to be in the position where artists from all demographics are inclined to contact us. And each of us at Kill Rock Stars obsess over musical diggings and discoveries. We're exposed to a lot, but like our current roster shows, queer voices really stand out to us. Not only do we absolutely admire the talents coming from these artists, these stories and voices behind the music are what we know the world needs.

Why does LGBTQ+ visibility matter to you?

Some folks have this idea that a relevant perspective can still be given even if totally an outsider to the subject. There are a few exceptions, but that's not the case. The LGBTQ+ community needs people IN the LGBTQ+ community to listen to, reference, draw inspiration from, etc. Relating to stories, lyrics, imagery is a lifesource. As a queer, that's really hard / not entirely fulfilling to do with straight cis content all the time. And on a different limb, there are also plenty of artists that latch onto the LGBTQ+ community and try to identify with it while doing no sort of action to distinguish themselves as queer or an advocate. That's confusing to see as someone trying to find themselves. It's frustrating to see. We wear our queer heart on our sleeve and are lucky to work with so many artists who do too.

In your own words, what does “LGBTQ+ safety and support” mean specifically?

This means a safe space to be exactly who you are. Heart on your sleeve. And this safe space is created by loyal and dependable people who show up for the LGBTQ+ community and make it a priority to listen to one another.

Who are some of your LGBTQ+ heroes?

I could ramble on about this. But I'm going to keep the words short so people's eyes go right to bell hooks. Gertrude Stein is a huge influence for the label. Our experimental imprint label, 5 Rue Christine, aka 5RC, is named after the street where she and Alice B.Toklas resided. Slim says Billie Jean King.

If you could give LGBTQ+ youth one message, what would it be?

It's helped me immensely to finally accept the painful truth that the world's norms were not made for us, or largely by us. Accepting this has helped me in a large amount of ways because what I am absolutely sure of, and this is the most important message to relay is, people who love you unconditionally and fully are out there. When you feel alone, trust in this. Your people and your community are absolutely out there. And it will feel like home.

Tell us about a time when you felt like the work you do at KRS really mattered or made a difference?

The artists we get to work with should get most of the recognition here. Reading comments on YouTube videos or artist's Instagram posts, seeing what impact the work / the outspokenness has had on people - people will comment that it's saved their life, it's made them realize they are not alone, there are people who understand them and hear them--being able to share these messages and voices with the world is something we value beyond belief and treat with revered attention. And, the last two years at SXSW, our showcase attendance has been queer as hell. Love to see it.

Anything else you would like to share with the .gay audience?

Stay gay.