The First Nine Years chronicles the modest beginning of the Bridge Nine record label. Launched in 1995 in a college dormitory as a way for its 19 year old founder, Chris Wrenn, to stay connected to his hometown hardcore music scene, the Bridge Nine label is now in its third decade of releasing 7 inch singles and albums for his favorite bands.
Chris has shared the story of how he managed to fund the first 7 inch for American Nightmare...
In the spring of 2000, I was living with members of American Nightmare, who had just released their demo tape and had entered the studio with Kurt Ballou to record their self titled debut. Bridge Nine had released 6 records, all local bands who didn't tour.
I started working at Big Wheel Recreation, at the time, one of Boston's most diverse and active indie labels. My monthly pay was a $1000 credit at a pressing plant that had terms with Lumberjack Distribution. I found myself with a band that wanted to work hard, with label guidance at BWR from Rama Mayo who had released a lot more records than I had, and a built in distribution deal with Lumberjack that I didn't deserve on the merits of my label, but more as a perk of my low $ employment. All I needed was money to help fund American Nightmare's EP.
This was pre-crowd funding, you either had money or were loaned it by family or a bank. None of which were options for me so I had to improvise. I painted signs, sold random novelty bumper stickers to stores, and curated a small collection of B9 merch that I'd sell at shows.
Over the winter, a friend (at the time) asked me to sell t-shirts outside of Fenway Park during Red Sox games. There was a random crew of guys who had started selling Yankees Suck t-shirts in 1999 that we later referred to as "The 21'ers", because of their use of Roger Clemens' # on the back of their navy blue tees, and he wanted a piece of the action. We spoke about it briefly but I was passed over for another roommate whose love of poker greatly outweighed mine. I'd already seen the opportunity to make the much needed money to fund AN's record, so I decided to make the smaller stuff that they didn't want to bother with.
For the first three years until the 21'ers gave up and vacated Kenmore Square (and I stepped up to take their place, forming Sullys Brand, I sold anti-NY and pro-Boston bumper stickers, patches, enamel pins and flags. I pulled together a crew of friends and roommates to help peddle the merch, and while the hardcore kids of Boston's Mission Hill formed two groups of vendors, our crews shared friends, band and roommates.
In June of 2000, after pressure from Boston's code enforcement threatened to disrupt our sales, I was the first in the crew to obtain a city issued "Hawker & Pedler" permit. A week later at my urging, my roommate in the other crew followed suit. We worked, schemed and fought side by side, as I earned what I could to help cover the bills to release and promote American Nightmare's first EP. These stories and more are part of The First Nine Years, a five 7" box set and 128 book up for pre-order now at www.B9Store.com/b950
Pictured below is a young Chris and Wes from American Nightmare selling merch.
The First Nine Years release collects 29 songs from the labels earliest period, circa 1995 until 2004. Spread over five 7 inch records, these 29 bands become the soundtrack to the 128 page companion book packed with many never before seen photos, telling the story of how the label got its start, how relationships forged in high school lead to its earliest releases, and how each band was connected to the next by a single degree of separation as Bridge Nine’s reach expanded from a few local bands to having one of the most actively touring rosters in the underground, building awareness for the label worldwide.
Growth came fast as the label found itself not only in the middle of a burgeoning music scene, but with little competition as the larger indie labels that Chris had followed as a fan, no longer actively pursued the fast and heavy bands that would come to call Bridge Nine home and define its sound. To support that growth without the benefit of loans and years before online crowdfunding became a go-to for creatives, Chris headed over to Fenway Park and peddled stickers and t-shirts to sports fans as they left the stadium after Red Sox games. Over the next few years, a swelling collective of hawkers and pedlers (comprised of roommates, interns and members of bands on the label) helped fuel one of the largest sports rivalries while earning the money needed to invest into the brand, as its discography continued to grow.
The First Nine Years details the many opportunities and obstacles that the label faced during its earliest era, while building a foundation to support the over one hundred artists who have called Bridge Nine home, and the over two hundred and fifty releases that they’ve recorded for the label in the years since.
The five 7 inch collection and 128 page book are housed inside of a handsome 8 inch x 8 inch x 1.5" box with a magnet seal cover, and limited to a one time pressing of 1,000 sets.