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title: Plan-It-X Records created: 2026-04-07 updated: 2026-04-07 type: label tags: [label, diy, folk-punk, era-1990s, era-2000s, era-2010s] sources: [raw/articles/plan-it-x-history.md]

Plan-It-X Records

Bloomington, Indiana. Founded 1994 by Chris Clavin and Samantha Dorsett. DIY label and community hub for the folk-punk and acoustic-punk scenes. One of the most purely DIY operations in punk history — $3 tapes, hand-distributed, community-run. Ceased operations ~2012.

Philosophy

Plan-It-X embodied a specific strain of DIY punk:

  • Records priced at $3-5 (tapes and CDs)
  • Sold at shows, through mail order, and later Bandcamp
  • No professional distribution
  • Community over commerce
  • Associated with bike touring (bands literally toured on bicycles)
  • Connected to anarchist/activist networks

Key Artists

  • Ghost Mice — Chris Clavin’s main band. Acoustic punk duet with Hannah Jones.
  • Defiance, Ohio — Acoustic punk with violin. The Great Depression (2006). The biggest “breakout” from the PIX world.
  • Andrew Jackson Jihad / AJJ — Started in the PIX orbit, later grew beyond it.
  • Ramshackle Glory — Pat “the Bunny” Schneeweis. Live the Dream (2011).
  • This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb — Folk punk from Pensacola.
  • Against Me! — Early material connected to PIX circles.
  • Captain Chaos — Chris Clavin solo.
  • One Reason — Bloomington punk.

Plan-It-X Fest

The label organized a multi-day festival in Bloomington (2004, 2006, 2012, and briefly revived). “Punk Rock Summer Camp” — bands playing every night, workshops during the day. The 2012 fest was the “last” PIX Fest, but was briefly revived.

Why It Matters

Plan-It-X proved that DIY punk could operate at an extreme scale of anti-commercialism — not just independent of major labels, but independent of the independent label infrastructure. $3 tapes mailed in hand-decorated envelopes. Bands touring on bicycles playing house shows. No press kits, no PR, no industry at all.

The label’s influence ripples through Bandcamp-era DIY, house show culture, and the ongoing folk-punk scene.