Bridge Nine Records Founder Chris Wrenn Speaks On The Gravestones of Salem, "LEGO, Let's Go!" Bridge Nine's 25th Anniversary & Much (The Witzard Interview)
Chris Wrenn founded Bridge Nine Records in 1995 and started sporadically releasing 7-inches up until about 2000. It was at that point, Wrenn committed full-on and Bridge Nine seemed to grow full-force and quickly became one of the leading Punk/Hardcore imprints and distributors in the land. Bridge Nine Records' roster of bands and one-time affiliates includes the likes of American Nightmare/Give Up The Ghost, Good Riddance, SLAPSHOT, TERROR, Agnostic Front, H2O, CEREMONY, New Found Glory/The International Superheroes of Hardcore, Gallows, Dave Hause, and more. Their discography currently includes almost 300 releases and counting, all of which have been meticulously photographed, cataloged, and posted by Chris Wrenn himself on the official Bridge 9 DISCOGRAPHY page. In addition to Bridge Nine Records, Wrenn has managed sub-labels (or "collaborations with friends...") Violent Happy Records & Quiet Panic and runs Sully's Brand and The Gravestones of Salem, MA Instagram page, as well as his 9-year-old daughter's company, Georgia Made This. We recently reached out to Chris Wrenn, via social media, and he graciously accepted our interview request. We definitely wanted to chat with him about Bridge Nine and their currently in-progress 25th anniversary, but decided to focus on some lesser-known/non-Bridge Nine-related topics, as well. Such slightly off-kilter topics include a quasi-Punk/Hardcore "super-group" assembeled for LEGOClubTV's "LEGO, Let's Go!" music video, his aforementioned The Gravestones of Salem Instagram page, his vinyl and black-and-white photo assembled mosaics, and recent homage to @Doggface208, Fleetwood Mac & The Misfits/Crimson Ghost. So, cue up some tunes, delve into our interview with Bridge Nine Records Founder Chris Wrenn down below, and find out how you can help support Bridge Nine right here.
I. Would you mind explaining to us a bit about how your own viral homage to both @420doggface208/Doggface208's Fleetwood Mac "Dreams" TikTok and The Misfits/Crimson Ghost initially came to fruition?
I saw the @Doggface208 video and thought it was genius and perfect viral material: just a guy out there doing his thing and it resonated with so many people, it was the perfect "moment." Like a lot of people, I jumped on the chance to make my own version. So, my 9-year-old daughter and I went to the Halloween pop-up store near us, bought the costume, grabbed my skateboard, and headed to a local cemetery to film it. She was stoked because she got to buy a witch's broom and she filmed me filming myself and made her own little video, too. The response to my parody has been great; it hit over 100,000 views in a few days and has helped me increase the Follower count on my Gravestones of Salem page by over 50% in just over a week!
II. We read a little bit about it recently through your earliest posts, bit how did your The Gravestones of Salem, MA Instagram page (@thegravestonesofsalem) come to be?
I started that Instagram page to document the mosaic art I've been creating using gravestone photographs and seeing as how Salem has become a mecca for all things spooky, I thought it would be cool to contribute daily Salem cemetery photos to the page, so people into that sort of thing could Follow along. There are nine recognized burial grounds in Salem, half of them are close to my apartment and [on] the route to my office. So, it's pretty easy for me to stop by on the way to work and take some photos. It's, also, a good quiet time in my day. I enjoy doing it.
III. It all started with a tombstone-aided hand-cut mosaic of The Misfits' pseudo-mascot, The Crimson Ghost, between 1997-98, correct? Did we hear somewhere you're currently working on creating an updated mosaic?
It did! I created [a] mosaic of The Crimson Ghost in 1997. It was completely by hand, no computer involved. The mosaic was comprised of over 600 separate pieces of photo paper and I exposed each piece separately; using details of gravestones that I'd found that fit the particular mix of black and white. White gravestones get dark stains on them from weathering and it creates a really interesting texture. It was a nightmare to make, honestly, it was so labor-intensive. Fast-forward 20+ years, and I got the idea to do a new mosaic. Each square is still placed by hand, but I'm using digital photographs to help streamline the process. I made an image of a witch in front of a full moon and have been offering them to tourists as giclée prints and most recently, a 1,000-piece puzzle.
IV. If our memory serves us correctly, didn't Bridge 9 release a similarly-minded poster a few years back featuring The Crimson Ghost made out of 12-inches, 7-inches, etc.? Now, was that inspired by your original gravestone mosaic, as well?
It definitely was. As a big vinyl record fan and, specifically, one that likes to document every pressing detail and make that info available to collectors. I've taken photographs of every vinyl variant that we've released and post them on the discography page of our website. That has lead to having a huge image collection of vinyl. So, I've made other mosaics over the years to promote the label; like a red vinyl heart for Valentine's Day or a rainbow design for Pride Month, stuff like that. I made a Crimson Ghost mosaic out of black and white vinyl and had posters printed of it to toss in mail orders one October a couple of years ago.
V. We recently stumbled upon a post on Instagram briefly detailing your involvement within an unnamed one-off Hardcore band for LEGO Club TV/Music's "LEGO, Let's Go!" music video. So, would you mind expounding bit more on this project and who else was involved?
It wasn't so much a "band" than just one random song… but the brother of Bridge Nine's former label manager worked at LEGO and his job was being the host and creating content for their YouTube television show. He asked Defeater guitarist Jay Maas (who owns a recording studio) to write and record a few songs for music videos they were animating out of LEGO's. [There] was a Sludgy Metal song, a Ska song, a Hardcore song called "LEGO, Let's Go!" and a few others. He asked me, if I wanted to sing on the Hardcore one and I said "sure." The reason I started the label was because I was the one friend that wasn't in a band, at the time, so I've never really sung on anything, but it turned out pretty good!
VI. How does it feel to have been owning and operating Bridge Nine Records for 25 years THIS YEAR? Any special plans lined up to help celebrate the label's 25th anniversary?
It's definitely wild. I've been doing this my entire adult life; I started the label when I was 19. I've seen so many people in my life bounce around all over the place. Some re-inventing themselves for the better, others not really getting anywhere and just making lateral moves. I've worked to grow and continue to challenge myself, but, also, maintaining a connection to something that has been important to me since I was a high school skateboarder. I've been working on ways to acknowledge the 25-year milestone: the biggest part was cancelled along with all other live events this year due to COVID. We were supposed to have a big showcase in Worcester, MA with about 15 bands from the label's history. I'm not sure, if or when that will be able to happen, so in the meantime, I've been working on some special re-issues and Mystery Merch items to commemorate the label's history. The most recent item was a 1,000-piece puzzle featuring Bridge Nine's entire discography. I used all of the vinyl images I've taken to create a giant record collage and it came out pretty cool!
VII. What would you personally deem some of the most "essential" Bridge Nine Records releases you suggest newfound fans of the label should immediately check out?
Off the top of my head, American Nightmare's Year One, Carry On's A Life Less Plagued, TERROR's Lowest of The Low, H2O's Nothing to Prove, Death Before Dishonor's Count Me In, Defeater's Empty Days & Sleepless Nights, CEREMONY's Rohnert Park, Polar Bear Club's Chasing Hamburg, Crime In Stereo's Is Dead, [and] No Warning's Ill Blood... just to name a few! There's a ton of other essential records, but that's a start.
VIII. How did you initially come to get involved in Holding These Moments: A Documentary About BANE, which is now available on most streaming services?
I've been a fan and friend of BANE since the 90's and was honored to have had the chance to talk a little about them in that documentary.
IX. What do you specifically look for when, potentially, adding new talent to the Bridge Nine roster 25 years in? What can you tell us about some of your freshest signers?
First, I want to work with a band that I like the sound of. Then, I want to make sure they're good people that have some connection to the other bands on the label. Have they toured together, shared members, or booked each other's bands in their hometowns? Friends work harder for each other and I want everyone to be invested in each other whenever possible. A label isn't just a brand that releases music, it is, also, a means to document a community/a music scene. I want as many connections as possible. That said, I've definitely signed bands that were outside-the-box and not really connected, but that's not very common.
X. Would you mind telling us a bit more about the "B9 Needs Your Help" item currently listed on the label's site and what can our readership do to help support?
This summer, I learned that the owner of the building I've been in for 13 years was planning to sell. They first offered to condo the floor that I'm on and sell it to me for an amount that would have, essentially, tripled my rent. Then, when I declined, they told me that they were going to raise my rent to "market value," if I didn't buy it and they've been actively bringing people by to look at the space, as recently as a couple of weeks ago. So, I've been working to nail down a new place for us to move. I've got one in-the-works, but I have a ton of hoops to jump through: I had to hire a lawyer, engineer, and architect, so far, and I've been spending a lot of money to even see, if the move is possible. So, we've been asking people to come by the online store (B9Store.com) and pick up whatever they can to help us raise some extra cash! We've been bringing out new label merch [and] have been selling off test pressings, anything to build up a cushion. So, if you've been meaning to pick something up or want to help us out, hit up the store and grab a few things!
XI. What type of involvement, if any, did you have in helping facilitate Buried Alive's first proper release in nearly 20 years, Death Will Find You? We recently spoke with Jesse "The Claw" Muscato for Polish publication IDIOTEQ.com and he was a phenomenal interview subject!
I've had a long history with vocalist Scott Vogel from our days having worked together on TERROR releases. He asked me, if I'd like to work on a new Buried Alive single and I told him, "absolutely, whatever or whenever!" It took a while for them to get into the studio, so it had been something we wanted to do for a while, but, [thankfully,] it all came together. They sound just as good as they ever did.
XII. Additionally, what specific releases would you recommend from Bridge Nine Records' sub-labels, Quiet Panic & Violent Happy Records, co-founded with Ryan Hoffman (Chain of Strength) and Chad Gilbert (New Found Glory) respectively?
These are less Bridge Nine "sub-labels" and more collaborations with friends who wanted to release records through their own imprints with us, but didn't have the infrastructure to do it themselves. It, also, gave us the chance to work with bands that might not fit the Bridge Nine "mold" as cleanly. For Quiet Panic, definitely check out Beach Slang's latest LP, as well as a cool three-song 7-inch that we did with Spiral Heads, which features Jim Carroll of American Nightmare. For Violently Happy, we did some fun New Found Glory fan releases, most notably their Kill It Live double-LP, but don't sleep on the 12-inch and LP that we did for Candy Hearts!
