New Alliance Records was an independent record label founded by American musicians D. Boon and Mike Watt (of The Minutemen) and longtime friend and associate Martin Tamburovich. They were inspired by the example of their friends in southern California, Black Flag, who had earlier formed SST Records. The existence of SST led Watt to understand, according to a 1987 interview he gave to Musician magazine, how easy it was to get a record made: "All you had to do was pay the record plant man."

The label's first release was the 1980 various-artist compilation Cracks in the Sidewalk, which included tracks by the Minutemen, Black Flag, and Saccharine Trust. Other early releases on New Alliance included Hüsker Dü's first album Land Speed Record and the Minutemen's second-ever release, the seven-inch EP Joy. Eventually the label grew to nurture the early career of the Descendents, issue additional compilation albums (Chunks and Mighty Feeble) and release other recordings by the Minutemen (The Politics of Time), Secret Hate (Vegetables Dancing), and Hüsker Dü (In a Free Land EP). The label also showcased a number of post-punk bands from the South Bay area of southern California, notably Slovenly, Phantom Opera, and Invisiblechains.

After D. Boon's death in 1985 due to a car-accident and the increasingly busier schedule of Watt's post-Minutemen band Firehose, Watt and Tamburovich sold New Alliance to SST in 1987. Greg Ginn, SST's owner and Black Flag's guitarist, proceeded to transfer all of the Minutemen and Descendents back catalog and Hüsker Dü's Land Speed Record to SST and turned New Alliance into a subsidiary label of SST that concentrated on more adventurous and non-mainstream records, including jazz, instrumental, poetry, and spoken-word releases. New Alliance also released the debut single of Ciccone Youth and material from The Coachmen, both of which were Sonic Youth-related projects.

New Alliance ceased its operations in 1998 in order to save money. Its back-catalog has been deleted, its releases are no longer available through SST Records, and there is no mention of the label or its artists on SST's website.

Label co-founder Tamburovich died of a bacterial infection in 2003.

Rapp Records founder Rad Ramsey and Martin Tamburovich reactivated New Alliance in 2000 as a Rapp Records sublabel. It also brought back its back catalog. This time it specialized in rap, rock and Reissuing its old material. However, in 2006, SST filed a case against Rapp and forced Ramsey to close down New Alliance. Catalogue Catalogue number Year ArtistTitleNAR 001 1980 Various Cracks in the Sidewalk NAR 002 1981 Slivers Restraint for Style NAR 003 1981 Various Chunks NAR 004 1981 Minutemen Joy NAR 005 1981 Descendents Fat NAR 006 1981 The Salvation Army Mind Gardens NAR 007 1982 Hüsker Dü Land Speed Record NAR 008 1982 Various Feeble Efforts NAR 009 Unreleased Peer Group Rhetoric and Hands NAR 010 1982 Hüsker Dü In a Free Land NAR 011 1982 Plebs A Collection of Question Marks NAR 012 1982 Descendents Milo Goes to College NAR 013 1983 Various Mighty Feeble NAR 014 1983Tragicomedy Homage to Nada NAR 015 1984 Blood on the Saddle Blood on the Saddle NAR 016 1983 Secret Hate Vegetables Dancing NAR 017 1984 Minutemen The Politics of Time NAR 018 1984 Nip Drivers Destroy Whitey NAR 019 1984 Slovenly Even So NAR 020 1984 Slovenly After the Original Style NAR 021 1985 Invisible Chains Invisible Chains NAR 022 1986 Phantom Opera Phantom Opera NAR 023 1986 Steve Stain The Brain Feels No Pain NAR 024 1986 Michael C. Ford Language Commando NAR 025 1985 Descendents Bonus Fat NAR 026 1985 Descendents I Don't Want to Grow Up NAR 027 1986 Slovenly Peter NAR 028 1986 What Makes Donna Twirl? Amber Skin NAR 029 1986 Descendents Enjoy! NAR 030 1986 Ciccone Youth Burnin' Up NAR 031 1988 Michelle T. Clinton & Wanda Coleman Black Angeles NAR 032 1986 Dos Dos NAR 033 1986 Crimony Reverence NAR 034 1988 Phantom Opera Lives of Violence NAR 035 1988 The Coachmen Failure to Thrive NAR 036 1988 Rudolph Grey Transfixed NAR 037 1988 Yanomamos Quizas NAR 038 1988 Crimony The Crimony EP NAR 039 1990 Jack Brewer Band Rockin' Ethereal NAR 040 1988 Martin Bisi Creole Mass NAR 041 1990 GobbleHoof GobbleHoof NAR 042 1989 Office Ladies Brains in Bed Brains and Boots No Boots in BedNAR 043 1989 No Man / No Man's Band Damage the Enemy NAR 044 1989 Dos Numero Dos NAR 045 1989 Various Taste Test #1 NAR 046 1989 Bootstrappers Bootstrappers NAR 047 1989 The Death Folk Deathfolk NAR 048 1990 Wanda Coleman High Priestess of Word NAR 049 1990 Solomon Grundy Solomon Grundy NAR 050 1991 Rudolph Grey Mask of Light NAR 051 1990 Roger Miller Presents: Xylyl and a Woman in Half NAR 052 1990 The Purple Outside Mystery Lane NAR 053 1993 Various Eternal Voices (Traditional Vietnamese Music in the United States) NAR 054 1991 Various JazzSpeak: a Word Collection NAR 055 1991 Sproton Layer With Magnetic Fields Disrupted NAR 056 1991 Blackmadrid Atlantic Crossing: the People's Journey NAR 057 1993 M-3 Roger Miller, Ben Miller, Larry Miller NAR 058 Unreleased Unknown Unknown NAR 059 1991 Wanda Coleman, Marv Evans Berserk on Hollywood Blvd. NAR 060 Unreleased Unknown Unknown NAR 061 1991 Dos Uno con Dos NAR 062 1991 Marisela Norte Norte/word NAR 063 1991 Jack Brewer Band Harsh World NAR 064 1992 Scott Richardson Tornado Souvenirs NAR 065 1991 Danny Weizmann The Wet Dog Shakes NAR 066 1993 Michelle T. Clinton Blood as a Bright Color NAR 067 1992 Various DisClosure: Voices of Women NAR 068 1993 Louie Lista To Sleep with the Lights On (Blues Theater) NAR 069 1992 Various Innings & Quarters NAR 070 1993 Joel Lipman Down Your Street NAR 071 1993 Linda J. Albertano Skin NAR 072 1993 Harry E. Northup Personal Crime NAR 073 1996 John Sinclair Thelonious: a Book of Monk Volume 1 NAR 074 1993 Tommy Swerdlow Prisoner of the Gifted Sleep NAR 075 1993 Martin Bisi All Will Be Won NAR 076 1992 The Death Folk Deathfolk II NAR 077 1992 The Blue Humans featuring Rudolph Grey Clear to Higher Time NAR 078 1995 Jack Brewer Rhythm or Suicide (Poems and Writings) NAR 079 Unreleased Unknown Unknown NAR 080 1992 GobbleHoof FreezerBurn NAR 081 1995 Deborah Patino Nocturnal NAR 082 1994 Michael C. Ford Fire Escapes NAR 083 1993 Holly Prado Word Rituals NAR 084 1994 Various Internal Journal NAR 085 1993 Bill Mohr Vehemence NAR 086 1993 Pleasant Gehman Ruined NAR 087 1992 Steve AbeeJerusalem Donuts NAR 088 Unreleased Unknown Unknown NAR 089 1994 Luis Campos Poetry! NAR 090 1993 Paul Body Love Is Like Rasputin NAR 091 1994 Miles Ciletti Long Days and Monster Nights NAR 092 1994 Mick Vranich & Wordban'd Cloak of Skin NAR 093 1994 Lynn Manning Clarity of Vision NAR 094 1994 Chuck Dukowski, Paul Cutler, Bill Stinson United Gang Members NAR 095 1993 Luis Alfaro Down Town NAR 096 Unreleased Unknown Unknown NAR 097 1994 Roger Miller Oh NAR 098 1993 Mick VranichIdols of Fear NAR 099 Unreleased Unknown Unknown NAR 100 1997 Danny Weizmann Hollywoodland NAR 101 1995 Louie Lista, David CrittendonWalkin' & Talkin' NAR 102 1994 Michael Lally What You Find There NAR 103 1993 Eloise Klein Healy Artemis in Echo Park / The Women's Studies Chronicles NAR 104 1993 The Blue Humans featuring Rudolph Grey To Higher Time NAR 105 1993 Overpass Overpass NAR 106 1994 Jack Brewer and BazookaSaved from Death in the Dream World NAR 107 Unreleased Unknown Unknown NAR 108 1995 Iris Berry Life on the Edge in Stilettos NAR 109 1995 Quincy Troupe Root Doctor NAR 110 1994 Dingle Red Dog NAR 111 1994 Elisabeth BelileYour Only Other Option Is Surgery NAR 112 1994 Henry J. Morro Somoza's Teeth NAR 113 1994 Willie Sims Story Yeller NAR 114 Unreleased Unknown Unknown NAR 115 1994 Various Internal Journal, Vol. II NAR 116 1994 Lisa FreemanRough Roads NAR 117 1994 Dr. Noah Young Freaks: No Fear of Contagion NAR 118 Unreleased Unknown Unknown NAR 119 1996 Kathi Martin Rocky Road NAR 120 1995 Harry E. Northup Homes NAR 121 Unreleased Unknown Unknown NAR 122 1995 Julie Ritter Medicine Show NAR 123 1995 Martin Bisi y las Cochinas See Ya in Tia Juana NAR 124 1996 Martin Bisi y las Cochinas Dear Papi, I'm in Jail NAR 125 1997 Jack Brewer and Bazooka Elysian Intervals NAR 126 1997 The Reluctant Toby The Ultimate Hobby

See also List of record labels

References

External links Discogs.com (partial discography)