(From LRS Records)

Mark Turley and Nicholas Oliver have a passion for the Syracuse music scene that comes from making art their own way. Do It Yourself, or DIY, as the acronymists of the world like to say.

For almost 20 years, Turley has played in bands and Oliver has taken pictures, created art and collected vinyl albums.

Two years ago, they put their minds and hearts together to start L.R.S. Records.

“The idea was hatched to release a 7-inch record that would be a split between my band Bridge Under Fire and our friends from Albany, The Slaughterhouse Chorus. The split 7-inch was released in January of 2013 and the label began to snowball from there,” Turley says.

They’ll celebrate the label’s anniversary with a party at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, at the Roji Tea Lounge, 108 E. Washington St., Syracuse. It’s an all-ages party, with a cover charge of $7.

Here’s what they’ll be celebrating: 11 releases that include four 7-inch records, a 10-inch record, a 12-inch record, three CDs, a cassette tape, and digital download that also came with a T-shirt.

“And (we) have another year’s worth of releases slated for 2015,” Turley says. “We have worked mostly with Syracuse-based artists, but have also released music by bands across the U.S. and beyond, and host shows for those bands when they pass through town.

“In December of 2013 we began hosting a monthly open mic series the third Monday of every month at Roji Tea Lounge. This has allowed us to see and meet tons of new local artists. We even recorded one month’s performances and released them as their own Open Mic Night Compilation last summer,” he says.

“The two-year anniversary Show is a celebration of what we started, but it’s also an invitation for musicians and music fans to come meet and ask questions and see what L.R.S. is all about. The show is at Roji Tea Lounge, which is great because they have become our second home due to the Open Mic Series. It will feature our newest band we’ve released, Ithaca’s Shore Acre Drive, as well as my band Operation Hennessey, a singer/songwriter we met at our open mic series who has begun playing more and more solo shows and we will be releasing this year Dave Mallon, and our longtime friend and Syracuse music veteran Mike Watson playing under the name Watson and Son,” Turley says.

And, yes, those of you whose eyes got to the art, co-founder Oliver’ work will be on display.

“He has designed most of the artwork for the label including album covers, posters, flyers and more,” Turley says. “We will have tons of L.R.S. merch there as well as some exclusive shirts and mystery boxes. We will be giving away prizes and gifts, and Nick will be DJ between bands under the name DJ L.R.S.”

Here’s the link to the L.R.S. Records site.

Here’s a YouTube clip of Operation Hennessey performing at Roji Tea Lounge.

What interests you more about L.R.S. Records, the music or the art? Vinyl, CD, cassette tape, digital download or T-shirt? What is the latest Do It Yourself project that you successfully completed?