Besides Asides

While breaking a bit from the Fest theme I had going I thought I'd bring in some seasonal flavour in the from of the M*sfits (Jerry Only owns the rights to the band name so I can't print it here~~~~:D). 12 Hits from Hell was recorded in 1980, intended to be the first official M*sfits LP after the band failed to release the Static Age LP they recorded in 1978. It seems as though the fates were not kind to the 'fits and 12 Hits from Hell was scrapped as well. The reason it was scrapped was guitarist Bobby Steele was kicked out of the band in favour of bassist Jerry Only's brother Doyle who also recorded guitar tracks for most of the songs. Caroline Records went back to the masters for the recordings in 2001 to remaster and remix them to finally be released, in doing so the album has an interesting effect of having both Bobby and Doyle's guitar parts. However, the story goes Jerry was unhappy with Bobby Steele's guitar tracks being included and the album was once again shelved. All but one of the songs has been scattered across various compilation releases but this is the way the songs were meant to be heard. For me this is the definitive M*sfits album and a real crying shame it was never put out as it should be the album people think of when they think of the band. Enjoy!:

Keeping with the Fest formula and the Florida theme of the Freedom or Sort Of feature thus far, I bring you some donation/free music from Gainesville's own Kadets. Their sound is kind of like a mix between modern melodic punk forms of post-hardcore/pop punk with a distinct 90's indie/alterna rock/power pop flavour, I mean they unashamedly cover a Gin Blossoms tune. The vocal melodies and delivery are what really set the band apart from me on their recent EP/demo dealy, Get Up Get Down. It is available for donations as low as free on the great digital label Death To False Hope Records. Enjoy:

http://www.deathtofalsehoperecords.com/downloads/dtfh051.html

Given that Fest 9 happens in Gainesville is this week and I shall be attending, I figured I'd upload something for a band that is playing Fest this year with an out-of-print record from Smoke or Fire. When Smoke or Fire started out in 1998 they were known as Jericho and were located in Boston, in 2000 they released their debut When the Battery Dies. A few years later 80's Christian rock act Jericho forced them to change their name to Jericho RVA, and right around that time the band signed with Fat Wreck Chords. They further changed their name to Smoke or Fire because of mounting pressure from religious nuts or something. During this time the material they recorded as Jericho had largely gone out-of-print due to legal wrangling with their name, this includes When the Battery Dies. Red Scare Industries then announced they were going to issue a collection of the band's pre-Fat years but that idea was ultimately shelved when more legal troubles came up. So here you have it, a slice of blaspheme, the band sounds much different here, with Joe's voice being higher and the music having an early 2000's emo vibe in a few spots. Still a pretty neat record, wish I had the cover:

I was contacted with a request to remove the Brian Fallon collection I posted up because apparently he was off-put by it and collections like it because he intends to release a solo album in the future with some of those songs. When I posted it however Brian's "official" word was that he didn't want to do a solo album anymore and didn't want to be one of "those guys" so I thought they might be lost to the sands of time and deserved to be heard. So I've removed the post even though the request didn't come from him or his people, just a concerned citizen. I did it because I think Brian is a nice guy and I want people to go pick up those songs when he puts them out. $5 on the songs being completely different recordings when he releases them though thus eliminating the need for him to be offput by me posting them. Whatever, plenty more great music out there that would otherwise be left to languish in obscurity, Gaslight have a legions of adoring fans (read: a strong label, big management and a good PR firm) to prevent that.

I want to take the time now to thank bands that have said and done positive things on the interwebs about the blog like The Ergs! and cub who realize what I'm doing is out of sheer fandom not some greasy bootlegger desires.

This update was originally supposed to be a Dinosaur Jr. update but their b-side collection is so large it was taking me too much time to edit/make sure I had everything. Instead I bring you another band that walks the line between indie and punk except with a lot more cute and pop - Buffalo's Lemuria. I normally like to only do b-sides collections when a band is broken up that way the chances of them releasing something else to make my hard work incomplete less likely, but Lemuria just signed to hardcore label Bridge 9 Records so I figured it was time to close on a chapter of sorts. Lemuria has already released The First Collection which collects most of the band's non-LP material since their inception but there was one glaring exception: their split 7" with The Ergs!. That split is arguably some of each band's best work. That is the starting point from which I put this together. I did not include the band's Ozzy 7" because while it fits the era I think you'd agree that it really is a self-contained release not sounding a whole lot like that that came before it. So this is a small collection tying up loose ends with demos, unreleased stuff and live material making up the majority of what we have here. Enjoy!:

There are a lot of Hot Water Music boots floating around on the internet but I chose this one because it is a great setlist and the sound quality is great. It captures the band right before their jump to Epitaph Records right when they were in their prime. There is some funny banter about people comparing them to Avail and references to other shows on the same tour. This is a really essential live document for anyone that considers themselves a HWM fan. enjoy!:

I may be accused of hyperbole but Parasites are one of the most perfect pop-punk bands to ever grace the scene. With a million bands aping The Ramones currently out there and over the years, it is a good feeling when you can go and listen to a band that is definitely punk but who's melodies could give the Beach Boys in their prime a run for their money. Nikki Parasite has been doing this for 20 plus years and these statements can still apply to his songwriting today, as last year's wonderful Solitary proves. What I have here today is a completely different mix of the entire Solitary LP. I enjoy this way more than the retail version as it's grittiness reminds me a lot more of the band's 90's material. Anyways, here it is, no cover:

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