Mike Richards ran the Makeshift Music, etc. label beginning in high school from 1996 to 2003. He started releasing cassette albums recorded on a Yamaha MT50 4 track cassette recorder by himself and with close friends in Minonk, Illinois. This label later blossomed into Intangible Cat Musics and Arts as a collaborative effort with the Eeffoc & Maps label, based in Washburn, Illinois.