Straighter Than You Crew

Usually when I see an Indecision cassette on ebay I will pass over it or just give it a quick look since I'm at the point where I'm only missing one demo (New Restraints demotape, someone make this happen, im still bitter i got outbid on it last time it was on ebay). I dont know what caught my eye about this one but it prompted me to bust out the copy I had to make sure they were the same.

So I check my copy and i see that the actual labels are different! On the one I have the label is "Side X" and on the one on ebay its "Side A".  Also the one on ebay has what looks like a record label's company logo on it to the right side "Real Time CO2" whereas on the one I have that spot is blank. Anyway I was intrgued as to why the label are almost exactly the same, but since there was a different I needed to have it. So I bid and won it for about 15 bucks. Here's a shot of both of them together, top one is the new one, bottom is the one i had.

The one I won only came with the cassette, no case or insert. Unlike the one i already had, however the case on my first copy looks like it was a blank case that someone just wrote the title of the CS on when they got it.

Still no idea why there is the difference in labels, maybe one day I'll find someone who knows why.

The Heist or Scraps and Heart Attacks?

So my morning pre-work ritual has changed to involve drinking coffee and basically browsing ebay for a half hour before i exercise and get ready for work. Last week I came upon a record release copy of The Heist 7" "Scraps and Heart Attacks".   I like Scraps but had never really listened to anything they put out before they changed their name from The Heist to Scraps and Heart Attacks. So i figured id grab this.  Ended up winning it for less than 7 bucks!  its got a silkscreened cover on heavy cardstock, white vinyl and was sold at the NJ record release show.  Limited to 155.

When i went to pay for it, I noticed by looking at the sellers email address that it was Darren Nanos.  Darren runs LI label Just a Audial with Dave Vibert. JAA put out the Capital 7" "Blind Faith".  Over the past few years I've been in contact with Darren and Dave trying to get a copy of the test press for that record, as it is the LAST record i need to have a complete Capital collection.  So right when I saw it was Darren I figured i hadnt bothered him in a while about it so might as well ask again.  Previously they both had said they were going to put their copies on ebay when it came time to put out the next release.  I emailed Darren and made an offer.  I didnt get a response til I got the Heist record with a written note on the inside of the mailer...

Look like a Blind Faith test press might be in my future! Thanks Darren!

New Age

The more I read record collecting blogs, the more I end up searching ebay for random records that I don't have.  These 2 records from New Age are a result of this. I picked both up from the same seller for less than 12 bucks.

First up we got the Mouthpiece "Face Tomorrow" 7".  This record has Cinder on it, which is arguably the best Mouthpiece song there is.  When i saw them at Santos last fall and they played it you know i was climbing and singing along. Nothing crazy about the vinyl itself.  The insert flips open to be double long which is cool.

Next i got the Mean Season "bleed to me" 7".  I don't really know anything about Mean Season besides the fact that they are a 90's hardcore band and are fucking awesome.  This record is clear vinyl out of 400, first pressing! Actually, the record has a little bit of that coke bottle coloring to it so its somewhere in between.

The insert on this one also folds out,  I think it looks much better than the Mouthpiece one.

LI heavy hitter

Lately I've been really choosy about what shows I go to. So choosy that I hadnt gone to a hardcore show for 6 months til Indecision played in the city. After that I decided to go to the Bottom Out record release show, with Incendiary and Shipwreck!   I, like an idiot, didnt go to the merch table til after the show and they had sold out of the record release cover, so i got this light/milky blue out of 200. It looks great and its clear Harvcore cares about vinyl quality.  I need to get the other 2 colors and the record release cover now.

The show was awesome and people went nuts for Bottom Out, which is to be expected since it was their record release show. Incendiary had probably the best reaction I've seen yet, seriously I've been seeing that band since almost day 1 and their reactions get better and better. Finally the almighty Shipwreck played.  They hadn't been on LI since maybe 07 or 08, and I hadn't seen then since the last Have Heart show in 09, so I was most excited for their set as they were one of the first hardcore bands I really got into.  Their set ripped and i felt like it was 2006 again.  Sadly, Shipwreck brought no merch with them.  I guess since they rarely play anymore it doesnt make sense to have merch made.

Academy records trip last weekend

So last Sunday I had nothing to do so I took the train the NYC by myself to hit up some stores and walk around and enjoy the city.  Whenever I go to the city I have to go to Academy Records in Brooklyn and try to find something awesome.

I went through all the newly received LPs and 7's and found nothing I wanted. Then I went through all the backstock of LP's and still came up short. Finally I went to the 7"'s which I had discovered had been alphabetized, previously they had just been thrown in boxes all crazy like. First thing I found was a Skarhead / 25 Ta Life split. I dont really like either band, but it was only 5 bucks and I thought it was kind of funny so i bought it. The record itself is great looking blue vinyl, but the vinyl itself is flimsy and cheap. The sleeve is also cheap as fuck, but whatever it was 5 bucks.

Then I found some NJ shore style hardcore, The Little Rascals 7" Wig out at Asa's. The shore bands are some of the funnest bands around and are always a great time to see.  I never saw the Little Rascals but I've heard only good things so i grabbed the record. The orange vinyl looks great and is nice and heavy. The insert is heavy cardstock and folds out to be way bigger than needed. I love how the first song is a Fast Times at Ridgemont High reference. 

Great Reversals

So I've got a bunch of records sitting next to me and im gonna try to bust out a few posts and get through them. Great Reversals is a band I never heard of until Stuck in the Past did a few write ups about them, first that the 10" was coming out, and then when it was out and a link to their bigcartel (run by their drummer). They were described as sounding like Bane, so I had to check them out.

This is the 10" To the ends of the earth. Blue vinyl limited to 200.  The vinyl itself is really thick and heavy.  The sleeve is also heavy duty, which is great because a lot of the time with 10"s the sleeve tend to be flimsly.  On the insert there's a paragraph about one of the bandmembers struggle with raising a deaf and autistic child, which seems to be the main theme of the record. I can't even imagine how difficult it must be for him. Anyway, this record absolutely rips and you can really feel the emotion the band is putting into it. It definitely has the Bane vibe but with a little mid 90's feel to it also. This is what hardcore is missing right now, true emotion.

I also ordered their split 7" with They come in Waves.  I haven't listened to the record yet, but the layout is EASILY my favorte layout of any record ever. The front of the sleeve has a white line going across it with the band names in it and it looks like it could be part of the front cover image.  But, the white line isnt a white line at all, the sleeve opens up around it and reveals the insert to be a opaque/clear plastic thing.  I was totally not expecting that when I opened it, so cool. The record itself is a great color and limited to 80.

Here's what the record and insert look like when held up to the window.

Finally, the drummer Eric Scobie included a free copy of the demo cd! Awesome, In one fell swoop I now have all of this bands music on hard copy.  Scobie even wrote out a handwritten thank you for the order, I love when bands do this as it adds a more personal touch to it. 

Hand of Hope

So first off, I love the 90's. Everything about the 90's even non hc related stuff.  I can't really figure out why, just something about it feels right to me and makes sense. So clearly, this means that 90's hardcore is going to rank right up there for me. Especially Morning Again.  This record is so damn good i cant even begin to describe. I got this off ebay a few weeks ago for SIX FUCKING DOLLARS. Which was a steal. I dont know anything about the pressing info on this record besides it being on euro label Goodlife. The sleeve is a great matte finish and almost looks like its entirely screenprinted, but its not.

 

Now lets talk about the back cover. All I have to say is CABAL JERSEY. I love cabal, I love 90's hardcore. 

Don't Bother Angel.....

Taking Back Sunday are one of the 2 bands that opened up the floodgates of alternative music and punk/hardcore/emo for me. I first heard of them when I had bought tickets to see Thursday play at an LI venue called the Sahara.  This was my first real show and I was super excited, so I set out to check out every band before the show.  Those including Ensign and From Autumn to Ashes. I was able to find a few random demo songs off Kazaa in late 2001 and I loved it.  Seeing them live for the first time was amazing.  Unfortunately when I hit their merch table, they had no music for sale which was a total bummer, I ended up settling for the FATA cd (of which i only ever listened to the song w/ the girl singing on it).

 

Over 10 years after it came out it dawned on me that I did not own of my favorite all time records on vinyl. I went over to Victory's webstore and was able to pick up a copy of the 5TH press of Tell All Your Friends.  The color is "grey putty" and limited to 449.

 

I was actually at the record release show of this album, well CD release, held at Looney Tunes. Myself and 3 friends waited on line for a few hours and it never moved. Finally being confused as fuck I went inside and was told I would have had to preordered a copy of the cd to gain entry into the show. I explained to them that this wasnt listed on any of the fliers nor on Looney Tunes or TBS's website, so how was I to know. They didn't care and wouldn't let us in. I finally gave up and said can I at least buy a TBS cd or shirt and be on my way?  I was answered with a stern NO and left empty handed.  This incident caused me to boycott Looney Tunes til after it burned to the ground about 7 years late, only then did I feel justice served and began to patronize their store.