Kill Rock Stars: The DIY Origins of Olympia's Legendary Indie Label

In the early 1990s, Matthew "Slim" Moon started the independent label Kill Rock Stars in Olympia, Washington, with a motive he later summed up simply: "I just wanted to put out records for my friends because nobody else would." What began as a pure DIY operation would go on to help incubate the riot grrrl movement and become a key outlet for artists like Elliott Smith and Sleater-Kinney. The following is drawn from a Far Out Magazine account of the label's founding.

From spoken word to rock records: how the label started

Moon moved from Seattle to Olympia in 1986 to attend Evergreen State College. He told KEXP that Seattle's rock scene in the 1980s felt too self-serious, while Olympia's "South Sound" music community was livelier and non-violent, built on playful interaction. Moon quickly became a fixture of the local scene — booking shows, playing in bands, performing spoken word — before co-founding Kill Rock Stars with his partner Tinuviel Sampson.

The label's first release was a spoken word 7-inch, Wordcore: Volume 1, featuring Moon and Kathleen Hanna. Moon later decided to expand into rock releases after watching his high school-era band Unwound struggle to find a label willing to put them out.

The International Pop Underground Convention compilation and a home for riot grrrl

In 1991, Calvin Johnson and Candice Pedersen of the label K Records organized the International Pop Underground Convention festival. Moon put out a compilation capturing the festival's lineup, featuring Unwound, Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Melvins, Nirvana, and Heavens to Betsy, with cover art handmade by Sampson; the two sold the compilation themselves.

The festival's "Girl Night" segment gave Heavens to Betsy — fronted by Corin Tucker, who would go on to co-found Sleater-Kinney — their first-ever show, alongside an all-female lineup of punk and queercore bands. Three months later, Hanna, Bratmobile's Molly Neuman and Allison Wolfe, and Jen Smith started the Riot Grrrl fanzine, formally launching the movement. Kill Rock Stars became one of its central labels: Bikini Kill's self-titled EP had its first release there in 1993, and Sleater-Kinney's third album, Dig Me Out (1997), was also released on the label.

Moon summed up the label's philosophy to The Guardian: "It's about putting out bands that matter." He also said he tried to stay "as invisible as possible," helping artists realize their own vision rather than imposing his own direction.