The Sophomore Lounge, established in the Fall of 2000, was an athletic storage space in the Assembly Room of Louisville Collegiate High School. Having been prohibited by the powers that be from entering the Senior Lounge, and shunned from the Junior's, being that they were an applause-worthy collection of douche bags, we decided to take matters into our own hands by claiming a territory that could exist as our own. The Lounge was our home, before, during, and after school, to do with what we pleased. We supplied it with a couch to sit on in addition to the piles of bags that were there before us, musical instruments to perform with during recesses or snack breaks, and even a cooking supply or two, amongst other things. Not only had we provided ourselves with a place in which we could spend some quality tenth-grade time together, singing along to tunes by kids that have gone on to be involved with the project as it exists today, but also we had given ourselves a place to which we could run, a place to hide, turning the lights off only to be poorly hidden beneath a pile of field hockey sticks and a calender when the principal turned them back on to find us. The Sophomore Lounge, in its physical form, was far from a permanent thing, and soon became more of a threat to our status as students of the institution than a celebration of our independence. But here we are today, keeping the goddamn spirit alive. Every chord of every song, every arm-around-the-shoulder sing-a-long of every show, has a place in that closet. Whether you were there for it or not is of no importance. This is a group of friends strummin' and yellin' for our friends, and our friends' friends, and whoever has time to shake our fuckin' hands. It ain't a country club and it sure ain't the big leagues. The Lounge was just a room, hardly big enough for ten of us... but the drive, the attitude, the unending willingness to flick off naysayers remains strong within every band that plays a part in helping this record label unfold before us. So sit back, plug in, and get your shin guards on. Its gonna be a long night.
