Lookout Records was first founded in Laytonville, California in the spring of 1987 as a device to put out the first album by The Lookouts, a punk rock band featuring Larry Livermore (née Lawrence Hayes). Following the release of the LP the label would remain dormant for the rest of 1987. The year was an exciting one in the East Bay, however, with the explosion of a vibrant musical scene around the Gilman Street Project, closely associated with the influential monthly punk fanzine "Maximumrocknroll (MRR)."