Anti- (record label)

Lore & Background

Andy Kaulkin began working for the Epitaph label, looking after its data management system. In 1995, he was head of marketing. He eventually worked his way up to become president for the label, and worked there until 1998. Later he founded Anti-. Under Kaulkin's stewardship, the label began with the release of Mule Variations by Tom Waits, which was met with success. Other artists signed by Kaulkin include Mavis Staples, who came to the label as a result of a meeting between Kaulkin and her manager, and Jade Jackson, whose vivid storytelling attracted Kaulkin. As a musician, Kaulkin played piano on "Haggard (Like I've Never Been Before)", the title track of Merle Haggard's album Like Never Before. He had multiple roles as composer, musician and producer on the Blues Got Soul album by King Ernest.

Reader's Guide

The label's roster includes Mose Allison, Alfa Mist, Antibalas, Arc Iris, The Beths, Buju Banton, Blackalicious, Billy Bragg, Book of Knots, Booker T., Solomon Burke, Busdriver, Kate Bush (US), Cadence Weapon, Calexico, Neko Case, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Coup, Christopher Paul Stelling, Christian Lee Hutson, Dead Man's Bones, Deafheaven, Death Cab for Cutie, Delicate Steve, Dr. Dog, DeVotchKa, Doe Paoro, The Dream Syndicate, The Drums, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Roky Erickson, Marianne Faithfull, Tim Fite, Fleet Foxes, The Frames, Sage Francis, Michael Franti, Galactic, A Girl Called Eddy, Girlpool, Glitterer, Greg Graffin, Grinderman, Petra Haden, Merle Haggard, Curtis Harding, Jade Jackson, Japandroids, John K. Samson, Joe Henry, Kelly Hogan, Katy Kirby, Jolie Holland, Islands, Eddie Izzard, Daniel Lanois, Bettye LaVette, MJ Lenderman, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, Lido Pimienta, The Locust, Lost in the Trees, Jason Lytle (ex-Grandaddy), Man Man, Cass McCombs, The Milk Carton Kids, Bob Mould, Muggs, Os Mutantes, N.A.S.A., One Day as a Lion (until 2011), Beth Orton, Alec Ounsworth, Pete Philly & Perquisite, Plains, The Promise Ring, Purr, Rain Machine, The Robocop Kraus, Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys, Saintseneca, The Tallest Man on Earth, Xavier Rudd, Xenia Rubinos, Andy Shauf, Simian Mobile Disco, Slow Pulp, Elliott Smith (posthumously), Solillaquists of Sound, Spoon (Europe only), Mavis Staples, Son Little, The Swell Season, Yann Tiersen, Title Fight (inactive), Tricky, Porter Wagoner, Tom Waits, Waxahatchee, William Elliott Whitmore, The Weakerthans, Chuck E. Weiss, Wilco, Wynonna & the Big Noise, Youth Group.

Did You Know?

• Tom Waits's Mule Variations won a Grammy Award, though the source does not specify the year or category.
• Andy Kaulkin played piano on Merle Haggard's title track 'Haggard (Like I've Never Been Before)'.

From Data Clerk to Label Founder

Andy Kaulkin's path to founding Anti- was a steady climb through the operational hierarchy of Epitaph Records. He first took on responsibility for the label's data management system, a behind-the-scenes role that embedded him in the day-to-day workings of the business. By 1995, his duties had broadened to heading the marketing department, exposing him to the promotional and audience-facing side of record distribution. His career continued to rise until he assumed the presidency of Epitaph, a position he occupied until 1998. After stepping away from that leadership role, Kaulkin directed his accumulated industry expertise toward a new enterprise. In 1999, he established Anti- as a sister label to Epitaph, creating a separate imprint under the same corporate umbrella. The new label carried the benefit of its founder's years of hands-on experience in data, marketing, and executive management, giving it a foundation built on operational know-how rather than mere enthusiasm. Kaulkin's progression from a technical back-office position to the helm of an established label, and then to the creation of an entirely new one, speaks to a career defined by steady, upward movement through the music industry's ranks.

The Debut That Announced a Name

Anti-'s first major release set the tone for the label's ambitions. In 1999, the imprint put out Mule Variations, an album by the veteran singer-songwriter Tom Waits. The record went on to win a Grammy Award, a level of critical and commercial recognition that immediately elevated a brand-new label into the national conversation. For a label that had not yet existed for a full year, landing a Grammy-winning project as its inaugural high-profile release was a remarkable statement of intent. It signaled that Anti- was not merely a subsidiary tacking on additional artists to an existing roster, but a serious entity capable of attracting and championing major names in recorded music. The success of Mule Variations under Kaulkin's stewardship gave the fledgling imprint credibility and momentum, establishing a benchmark against which future signings would be measured. That early triumph also demonstrated the label's willingness to work with established, genre-defying artists rather than limiting itself to a single sound or demographic, a flexibility that would characterize its roster in the years that followed.

A Home for Veteran Voices

One of Anti-'s most defining characteristics was its attraction of seasoned recording artists who had departed from other labels. Rhythm and blues singers Solomon Burke, Bettye LaVette, and Mavis Staples all signed with the imprint after leaving previous record companies, bringing decades of musical heritage into the Anti- family. Marianne Faithfull, the celebrated singer and songwriter, also joined the roster following her departure from another label. The pattern was clear: Anti- positioned itself as a welcoming destination for artists at later stages of their careers who were seeking a new home for their creative output. Mavis Staples' arrival, for instance, came about through a personal meeting between Kaulkin and her manager, underscoring the label's relationship-driven approach to signings. Jade Jackson was another artist whose vivid storytelling quality caught Kaulkin's attention and led to her joining the roster. This collection of veteran voices gave Anti- a distinctive identity, one rooted in experience, genre depth, and the kind of artistic gravitas that trend-driven labels might overlook.

The Founder's Own Musical Life

Beyond his executive and entrepreneurial roles, Andy Kaulkin maintained an active presence as a performing musician and composer. He played piano on "Haggard (Like I've Never Been Before)," the title track from Merle Haggard's album Like Never Before, contributing his instrumental skills to a project by one of country music's most iconic figures. His involvement with King Ernest's album Blues Got Soul was even more extensive, as he wore multiple hats across the recording, serving simultaneously as composer, musician, and producer. These musical engagements reveal a side of Kaulkin that existed alongside his label-presidency and founding work: a hands-on practitioner who still picked up an instrument and shaped recordings from the ground up. His work on projects spanning country and blues underscores the genre breadth that would later define Anti-'s roster. Rather than remaining a purely administrative figure, Kaulkin kept his creative instincts engaged, contributing directly to the sound of albums by artists he admired, and demonstrating that the boundary between label executive and working musician was, for him, deliberately porous.