New Alliance Records

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.