Burger Records
Independent label known for cassette releases and garage rock.
Burger Records was an independent record label and store in Fullerton, California. Sean Bohrman and Lee Rickard, who played together in the power pop band Thee Makeout Party, started the label in 2007. Two years later, Bohrman and Brian Flores opened a combined record and video store. The label shut down in July 2020, after numerous sexual assault accusations were made against its artists and staff.
The label put out most of its music on cassette. Its roster included hundreds of artists, among them The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Devon Williams, Hunx and His Punx, Bell Gardens, Enjoy, and The Go. As OC Weekly described it, Burger was known for “its growing catalog of sugary, eccentric power pop and audacious garage rock, extolling a carefree message of love, music and DIY attitude.”
Bohrman and Rickard met in the late 1990s at an Anaheim high school. They bonded over rock and pop, made zines and newsletters, and played in bands together. Their first band, The Noise, was described as “a song-less, almost-music-less band” that earned them the label “punk pranksters.” They later formed Thee Makeout Party. Rickard doodled the Burger logo while bored at work, and the pair began stamping it on everything they did. They became friends with the lo-fi Fullerton punk band Audacity and toured the country with them. Bohrman earned a journalism degree from Humboldt State in 2004.
In 2006, Bohrman and Rickard self-released several 7-inch records for Thee Makeout Party under the name Burger Productions. They officially started the label the next year, putting out a Thee Makeout Party release and an LP for Audacity. While on tour, Bohrman got hold of a cassette by another band and decided cassettes were a practical format. In a Kansas parking lot, he and Rickard emailed bands they knew, asking if they wanted to release old or new material on cassette. The Go and Nobunny agreed; labels like Vice and Sub Pop supported the idea because they had no interest in cassettes themselves. Burger focused on $6 cassettes, occasionally pressed vinyl, and rarely released CDs. From the start, the label never signed bands, letting artists keep full control of their music.
Early releases by Audacity, Thee Makeout Party, The Go, Traditional Fools, and Apache built the label’s reputation. The cassette trend took off when NoBunny’s *Raw Romance* sold 500 copies in a week and a half.
Quick Facts
- Defunct
- 2020-07-22
- Founder
- Sean Bohrman, Lee Rickard
- Genre
- Rock, punk rock, garage rock, power pop
- Country
- U.S.
- Location
- Fullerton, California
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Founders Sean Bohrman and Lee Rickard became friends in the late 1990s while attending high school in Anaheim, California. They began collaborating on zines and newsletters, then played in a band called The Noise, described as 'a song-less, almost-music-less band' for which they were dubbed 'punk pranksters.' They later started the power pop band Thee Makeout Party. Bohrman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Humboldt State in 2004. The duo self-released several 7-inch vinyl records for Thee Makeout Party in 2006 under the name Burger Productions, and the label itself was started in 2007, releasing material from Thee Makeout Party and an LP for Audacity. After getting hold of a cassette tape by another band while on tour, Bohrman decided to try cassettes as a practical way to release music. While in a parking lot in Kansas, Bohrman and Rickard emailed bands they'd befriended and asked if they'd like to release material on the label. Bands such as The Go and Nobunny agreed, while labels like Vice and Sub Pop supported rereleases on Burger, as cassette was a format they had no interest in. The label began to primarily release $6 cassettes, occasionally pressing vinyl and rarely releasing CDs. From the beginning, Burger never signed bands, instead allowing artists to retain complete control of their music.
Reader's Guide
Burger Records played a crucial role in the revival of the cassette tape and in the promotion of the thriving Orange County garage scene. The label's business model involved releasing numerous bands at low cost and building an audience that wanted to live in its universe, taking '90s DIY culture and giving it a '60s teen-pop makeover. By August 2012, the label had sold over 100,000 cassettes and had well over 300 releases, growing to over 500 releases and later over 1200 unique titles by 2018, making it one of the fastest growing independent record labels of all time. The label also organized festivals such as Burger Boogaloo (starting in 2009) and Burgerama (starting in 2012), and launched an international promotion campaign called the Burger Revolution in early 2013. Its record store, opened in 2009, was described by the Los Angeles Times as 'kind of a post-apocalyptic Apple Store.' The label's legacy is complicated by the sexual assault allegations that led to its shutdown in July 2020, after which the company began removing its releases from digital music services, with artists retaining ownership of their music.
Did You Know?
- Burger Records released most of its material on cassette, with a Ryan Adams tape selling all 400 copies within three hours.
- The label's record store was co-owned by Sean Bohrman and Brian Flores, who had helped put out the first Burger release.
- Burger Records never signed bands, allowing artists to retain complete control of their music.
- The label's final shutdown in July 2020 followed failed plans to rebrand after sexual assault allegations.
More in Punk record labels 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced