Velvet Blue Music is an independent record label founded in 1996 by Jeff Cloud (formerly of Joy Electric, Starflyer 59, and other independent bands - as well as leader of his own band Pony Express).

Cloud basically started Velvet Blue Music because he wanted to have records in the store along with his favorite bands. He wanted to have four releases at first so that it looked legitimate and not just like some guy putting out some random bands. Those first four bands would be Rainbow Rider, Pony Express, Bon Voyage, and Jupiter James. Cloud was part of Rainbow Rider and Pony Express, while being friends with members of Jupiter James and Bon Voyage.

Cloud also wanted to have a color scheme for each band, where each band had a color associated with their covers (Rainbow Rider = orange, Pony Express = blue, Bon Voyage = pink, Jupiter James = green). This idea came from a discussion he had with Jason Martin about monochrome color covers. However, The Lassie Foundation broke this system by insisting on a full color cover for California.

VBM is still very active in releasing new music to this day.

• Bon Voyage
• Jupiter James
• The Lassie Foundation
• Rainbow Rider
• Pony Express
• Starflyer 59
• (…to be continued…)

(…to be continued…)

• Velvet Blue Music website
• Velvet Blue Podcast Interview with Jeff Cloud