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Mr. Lady Archive

Call Number

MSS.362

Date

1992-2005, inclusive

Creator

Wilson, Kaia
Carland, Tammy Rae, 1965-

Extent

7.5 Linear Feet in 4 record cartons, 2 flat boxes, 1 manuscript box, and 1 oversize flat box.)

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Abstract

Mr. Lady Records was an independent record label founded in 1996 by Tammy Rae Carland and Kaia Wilson with the intention of supporting lesbian and feminist musicians and artists. The collection includes a wide range of material documenting the record label's operations between the years of 1996-2005. This includes press, promotional material, business records, correspondence, photographs, audiovisual material, and more.

Biographical / Historical

Mr. Lady Records (also known as Mr. Lady Records and Videos) was founded in 1996 by Tammy Rae Carland and Kaia Wilson as an independent record label and video art distributor specifically committed to lesbian and feminist cultural productions. Through most of its existence, Mr. Lady Records was located in Durham, North Carolina. The label moved to San Francisco in 2002. Between 1996 and 2005, Mr. Lady released nearly thirty albums and also oversaw the distribution of a dozen video artists. This included the works of Tami Hart, Sarah Dougher, the Butchies, and Le Tigre.

Co-founder Tammy Rae Carland was born in Portland, Maine in 1965. She received her BA from The Evergreen State College and MFA from UC Irvine. While running Mr. Lady, Carland was also employed as an Assistant Professor of Photography at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In 2002, she accepted a post at California College of the Arts in San Francisco, where she is now an Associate Professor of Fine Arts and Photography and as well as the chair of the Photography Department. Carland primarily works with photography, experimental video, and small-run publications. Her zine I (heart) Amy Carter was influential in the Riot Grrrl Movement of the early 1990s.

Kaia Wilson was born in 1974 and is originally from Oregon. Her first band, Adickdid, was formed when she was fifteen years old. She subsequently went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist as well as the frontwoman of queercore punk bands Team Dresch (primarily 1993-1998) and the Butchies (1998-2005). Tammy Rae Carland and Kaia Wilson were partners during the years they ran Mr. Lady together.

Works Cited:

Tammy Rae Carland

Arrangement

Folders in series I-VI are arranged alphabetically within the series. The Audio and Vinyl Access Copies are kept in their original order by release date.

Scope and Contents

The Mr. Lady Archive consists of a wide range of material documenting the operation of the record label between the years of 1996-2005. This includes press, promotional material, business records, correspondence, photographs, audio-visual material, and more. The collection also includes some material that predates the establishment of the label, specifically including press clippings from the Riot Grrrl Movement circa 1992-1996.

This material is divided into eight series:

Series I: Production: This series contains material relating to the production of Mr. Lady merchandise. This specifically includes mock-ups of posters, cover art, and stickers for the label and its artists, particularly Le Tigre.

Series II: Correspondence: The correspondence in this series primarily consists of fan mail.There is also a limited amount of business related correspondence.

Series III: Office Files: This series, in part, consists of business contacts with Mr. Lady's distribution company Mordam. It also contains ephemeral material "from the walls" of Mr. Lady's office.

Series IV: Press: This series includes press generated by the label, Kaia Wilson and Tammy Rae Carland, or the record label's bands.The bulk of this series consists of complete copies of magazines with post-it notes indicating the article's location. (The post-it notes were photocopied and removed during processing. They are now clipped to the back page of each magazine.) The series also contains some clippings detailing Kathleen Hanna's career and involvement in the Riot Grrrl Movement, which predated the foundation of the label.

Series V: Promotional: This series consists of ads, posters, and other promotional material advertising Mr. Lady and its bands.

Series VI: Photographs: This series consists of personal and candid tour photographs.

Series VII: Media: This series includes both audio and visual recordings some of which were commercially released by Mr. Lady. Formats include VHS, DAT, CD, vinyl records, and audio cassette tapes. This series also includes data storage disks.

Subseries A: Video- Originals Subseries B: Video- Access Copies Subseries C: Audio- Originals Subseries D: Audio- Access Copies Subseries E: Data Storage- Originals Subseries F: Vinyl Access Copies

Series VIII: Objects: The final series of this collection consists of unique objects. This includes merchandise, such as T-Shirts and a Tote Bag, as well as handmade crafts, including sock puppets of Kaia Wilson and Tammy Rae Carland. There are also some objects (i.e. the miniature replica of the Titanic and a CD opener) that were removed from "Small Stuff from the walls of MLR."

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open to researchers. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:

Identification of item, date (if known); Mr. Lady Archive; MSS 362; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.

Provenance

The Mr. Lady Archive was donated to NYU's Fales Library and Special Collections by Tammy Rae Carland, a cofounder of Mr. Lady Records, in 2012.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Audiovisual and born-digital materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers.

Related Materials

Tammy Rae Carland "I (heart) Amy Carter" Riot Grrrl Collection (MSS.290)

Tammy Rae Carland Riot Grrrl Zine Collection (MSS.320)

Johanna Fateman Riot Grrrl Collection (MSS.258)

Kathleen Hanna Papers (MSS.271)

Kelly Marie Martin Riot Grrrl Collection (MSS.349)

Collection processed by

Rachel Corbman, 2013.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 17:13:25 -0400.
Language: Description is in English

Repository

Fales Library and Special Collections
Fales Library and Special Collections
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012