The Slab is an independent record label and, in a sense, a collective. Founded in 2000 and based out of Mount Prospect, IL, the label was originally intended to be an outlet for releasing the often-goofy musical projects of a small group of friends, with acts like Riot Gear , White Suburban Trash , and Varsity Club USA filling out the earliest roster. As time went on, however, we began to become painfully aware of the shortcomings of the local music scene - the focus on image and scene status, the lack of musical uniqueness, the fear of experimentation, the avoidance of any real difference in genre, approach, message, etc. Things just weren't open and fun, and as far as we were (and are) concerned, it should not - and does not - have to be that way.

With these things in mind, our self-appointed mission became to house and release interesting, distinctive expressions from within our community. We hope to offer people the opportunity and means to explore their creativity fully - to freely share things that the more self-important and self-righteous members of the locale may turn away from. We don't need to change the world with our label's activities. We simply want to have fun and be uninhibited in our creativity. That's more than enough.

We embrace any and all styles, as is reflected in our catalogue: sound collage/experimental, pop, punk, dance, rock and roll, death metal, spoken word, and so on. The unifying element within all of these disparate genres, if anything, is that they are creative expressions, often based on a foundation of some kind of experimentation, that we think are interesting, unique, and worth your attention.

Our cause is a pure one. Profit is not our primary motivation - in fact, we would rather give you our music for free than have it go unheard. Nor is our work geared towards attaining a high position in the "scene." Scenes imply exclusivity and division, whereas ours is an ideal of connection and community. Put simply, Porkslab is dedicated to engaging in projects that are a) completely controlled by the artists, their freedom and vision always uncontested, and b) interesting or unusual, distinct from the music you would often find in the local scene right now.

Aspiring musicians and artists from our area, we fear, have been groomed to be afraid of taking roads less traveled. Without variety, however, music becomes stale, boring, and therefore unenjoyable. We work our hardest to avoid these trappings.

We are always open to hearing new music. We will try to find a way to get that music out for the wider community to experience and, hopefully, come to enjoy. Check our contact info if you'd like to send us demos, let us know about shows/events/questions/concerns/ anything you wish!


If you actually read this entire statement, we are a) surprised and b) grateful.