Kill Rock Stars

Pink and black text on a blue background and two pink stars

Kill Rock Stars (KRS), an independent record label which was founded in 1991 by Matthew "Slim" Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, was a reaction to the underground music scene of Olympia, WA in the early 90s. Moon and Sampson's effort to support local rock groups and spoken word artists through their label eventually played a major role in spawning the "riot grrrl" genre – a powerful movement for women in rock music that was a shoot off the "grunge" scene which was occurring at the time in Seattle. Although Moon claimed that he simply founded the label because no one else would bother putting out his friends' records, Kill Rock Stars went on to produce the work of many iconic 90s post-punk artists including Bikini Kill , Bratmobile , Sleater-Kinney , and Elliot Smith.