Sunday 20 June 2010

Burners - Low Tech/High Torque (1988)





We'd like to thank Spider Bishop for this great tape, even though it caused us a world of anguish. We hadn't yet hit a tape that we had to disassemble to get it to play until this one.

Of course, the work was worth it. This is slice of late 80's Americana features Tim Leacock and Ross Watson, who would go on to play with the producer of this tape - the late, great Billy Cowsill - in the Co-Dependents. We suspect - but can't confirm - that Cowsill's production of this is somehow linked to his landing in Calgary after his work with the Blue Shadows.

Get it here. Especially since we went through all that trouble.

Thursday 17 June 2010

Placebo - Don't Drink the Bathwater (1996)



When Stuart slipped a few tapes, he also included a rip of this CD from the now-celebrated Leslie Feist. We don't have too much to say about this, especially after watching this:



Wow. That's really all we can say.

Tuesday 15 June 2010

Eight Miles High - Animal (1990)



A few weeks ago, we met up with former Drench drummer Stuart de Vries, who passed us a couple notable little things, including this. We're not sure exactly who all of the folks in this little pop band are - with the exception of Corey Worsnop, who went on to play in the superbly named Toledo Speedway. This is jangly, early-90's alt-pop.

Thursday 10 June 2010

Quitters - Live in Toronto (1991)



There's only one thing that's going to pull us out of this rain-induced funk, and that's sharing this great little gem that Christopher Truch passed our way last year. Proof that not only did the Quitters venture outside of this fair city, but they also - apparently - had a pretty reasonable reception. The version of "Good Thing" on here reminds us how amazing these guys were live.

Let's pretend we're earthworms!


Friday 4 June 2010

Funeral Factory - Nerves

The story of the Funeral Factory ends here (we think), with this odd demo. So odd, we thought Greg had sent us a mis-labelled tape, until we read his notes:

Mary Lynn and Greg oddly got big into Guns’n’Roses and tried to become a metal band. The “Nerves” demo dates from this time. Then they broke up. Mary Lynn later fronted the god-awful Mother Theresa (featuring James Muretich on drums); dunno what happened to Greg. I have no idea what the titles are on this tape.

Greg is maybe being a bit unfair here. To us, this sounds more like the Cult than Guns'n'Roses.

Thursday 3 June 2010

Funeral Factory - Nursery Rhymes for Children

We're not sure of the exact year of this Funeral Factory recording, but Greg Kushner tells us that it predates their 12" (which is over at Golden Rock - and parts of which are repeated on the tape we've posted previously). Greg tells the full story (well, not the full story, but certainly more than we know):

The Funeral Factory were two BFFs who eventually fell out. They played in a cover band called the Wait and meanwhile created “Nursery Rhymes for Children” on a 4-track. Mary-Lynn (Religion White) was voice and keyboards and Greg (Religion Darc) was voice and guitar. “Nursery Rhymes for Children” predates the “Living With Ghosts” EP. They recorded it for themselves, and I was grateful to receive a copy. Why did I? They sent a demo to CJSW and I carted it, but couldn’t remember the song title so called it “Existence/Decay” because I remembered there was a slash in the title. Mary Lynn called me and said she loved the new title (phew!) and sent me this tape plus the lyrics.

Mike Bezzeg took them under his wing and they produced the EP and a CD; both are really good prog goth rock. Their CD release show at the Westward was incredible – the highlight for me was the opera singer in full clown regalia singing an aria (without a mike) at the end of “Abduction” then sadly walking offstage and out the door of the club. Absolutely surreal!

Wednesday 2 June 2010

Jonathan MC - DSM IV (1998)



To be fully honest, we're not sure if this tape is by Jonathan MC or DSM IV. We're hoping it's the former, because naming your band after that thing we kind of learned about (we weren't really paying attention, and we're too lazy to Google it to confirm if it's a scale or a text or what) in first year Pysc is, well, questionable.

Anyways, this tape is a bit more band-oriented that the thing we posted yesterday. It's still a pretty cool slab of indie rock, recorded in the Rat's Nest Studio, which we seem to remember was kind of collective recording space. Maybe.

Tuesday 1 June 2010

Jonathan MC - Shelf Rot (1997)



This is one from the big box of tapes Conrad Montana passed our way a few weeks ago. We're not sure who Jonathan MC is, but we dig this low-fi sprawl. And not only because it features the assistance of two Shinolas.