Check'd

Political hip hop is not quite an accurate description of the sophisticated, whimsical lyrics of this troupe. The term gives no sense of the intricate musicality that Check’d weaves into its tracks. One of my personal favorites, “Imaginary Riot,” incorporates a feet-movin’, body-groovin’ trumpet solo melded together with a contagious clapping underlay, combined with a beat-popping keyboard and riot-inspiring vocals. “There’s gonna be a riot/A stampede/Throw your hands up/If you do agree with me/There’s no justice/No peace/No security/’Cause freedom ain’t free,” shouts the troupe, and frankly, I’m already on my feet.
Each song on this album seems to have come from my ADD-driven dreams: unique and ending on a different riff every time. “Non-Violent Fist,” “Wal-Mart on Fire,” and “Welcome to America” are excellent examples of Check’d mixing the musical equivalents of ranch and BBQ sauce, then dipping their deliciously crispy lyric-nuggets into their new creamy-sweet condiment. In “Wal-Mart on Fire,” Onegin puts it simply, “There’s famine and kids/Who would kill for a piece of/Jammin’ up bread/There’s workers in other countries /Who are better off dead/You know this country’s so wrecked/You know, if you ask me/ Earth should get itself Check’d.” I couldn’t agree more.
True to nonconformity, Check’d is a local gem that shouts out from beautiful Portland, OR. Icing on the cake? Their album’s cover is made from 100% recycled paper. For its mind-buzzing mellifluousness, powerful messages, and pleasing use of environmentally –friendly packaging, Check’d gets eight scrumptious nuggets out of ten. - Oregon Voice

Boo! Local Label Turns Two
The voices lead the way
by Jeremy Ohmes


Chris Uehlein says he heard voices growing up. They spoke outside of his bedroom; they sang from the attic. “Oh, my house was definitely haunted,” asserts the 20-year-old music student. He doesn’t know exactly what the ghosts were saying, but they must have howled some encouragement his way. A musician since his salad days, Uehlein had always aspired to support himself with his art, but he didn’t know how to break into the music industry. “So I decided to make the industry myself,” says the enterprising UO sophomore. With his friend Bryan Oliver and the motto “Fuck man, we can do that,” he started Haunted House Records, a fiercely independent label that holds radical politics and social consciousness near and dear to its DIY heart.

Initially, Haunted House revolved around Check’d, a politically driven experimental hip-hop group, and Spring Project, a metal band, of both of which Uehlein is a member. But what began as little more than a vanity project has evolved into a legitimate, up-and-coming label. In the last two years, Uehlein has doubled the roster (from two to four bands) and expanded his vision of Haunted House’s business model. “It’s not just music we want to put out,” says Uehlein. “It’s more of an art collective … I want to put out the stuff from the people I believe in, from graphic novels to poetry books to paintings.” Recently, the label has promoted a status quo-skewering collage artist named Fritz as well as “signed” (more mutual agreement than a contract) Testament, an MC out of Brooklyn, and the Alder St. All Stars, a radical bluegrass/honky-tonk group based out of the student-run Campbell Club co-op.

At the core of Haunted House Records is a subversive, DIY spirit that not only unites the label’s artists but also just makes sense financially. Uehlein cuts down on costs by making and producing nearly everything in-house. He records, mixes and masters most of the bands at his home studio, and he hand-makes all the packaging and promotional materials (from 100 percent recycled material, of course). It’s this self-sustainability and business savvy that has Uehlein thinking he could do this full-time for a very long time. Maybe those voices from his childhood home keep giving him good ideas, but he’s already planning to buy property in Portland and transform the label into an autarkic artist’s co-op. Hopefully, that house will be
haunted, too.

Haunted House Records Two-Year Anniversary with Check’d,the Alder St. All Stars and Testament. 9 pm Friday, June 6, Campbell Club, 1670 Alder $4 or whatever you can donate

- Eugene Weekly

DIVERSE HIP-HOP] If you haven't heard from Braille lately, it's not because he's sitting on his hands. The Lightheaded alumnus has been spreading his hip-hop/gospel throughout the U.S. and Europe, and judging from the pictures he brought back, he packed some stadium-sized venues along the way. The Hawthorne Theatre might feel a little cramped by comparison. The Portland-based sci-fi/revolution nerds in Check'd aren't the most lyrically refined openers on the block (with the notable exception of Onegin Offegan, who is actually pretty quick and original on the mic), but they have a certain Soul Sonic Force-meets-Rapping Rodney charm, and fight valiantly for the title of "most meta hip-hop outfit in Portland." CASEY JARMAN. - Willamette Week