Originally from Baltimore, Attorney Matthew Kaufman was a member of Emerson’s Old Timey Custard-Suckin’ Band, and a producer including a record by Ron Price.
Matthew traveled to San Francisco to manage a promising young band called Earth Quake, securing a contract with A&M Records, where he was also able to sign Jonathan Richman. Although their records failed to chart in the U.S., Kaufman eventually founded Beserkley Records in Berkeley, California (1974-1984) with A&R man Allan Mason, and produced records by Earth Quake, Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers (“Road Runner”), The Rubinoos, and Greg Kihn (see bio) who was the label’s most successful artist releasing a string of albums including three U.S. Top-40 albums, and two U.S. Top-40 singles.
Beserkely folded in the mid-‘80s and the catalog was licensed to Rhino Records. Kaufman went on to produce records by Kihn on EMI Records as well as many other releases by Kihn, Richman, and others thru the 2020’s. He also produced documentary films with Eastern Light Productions and in 2008 founded the label Fun Fun Fun Recordings.
