IT'S A LIVING… BUT IT'S NOT A LIFE #14.1
J Church and Honey Bear Records – Where Did Winter Go? – Bow
To None
HEY
Yeah, so I've been fucking up lately. I couldn't get my shit together
to write a newsletter all last month (or the month before). Been busy.
Been crazy. Been really fucking sick with strep throat (still fucked up
a bit). I'll get to all of that. I'll also finish that Japan Tour Diary
soon. Anyway…
First of all, thanx to everyone that came out for our little tour in
November with the Urchin. All the shows were great. We got to make some
new pals and I even got some of that artwork I was hoping to find (cheers,
Chrissy Boobarella for that). It seems like the Urchin had a great time
which makes me happy. We've now had fun tours with them on three continents
and hope that there's more in the future.
RECORDS
Okay, so our split 7" with Minority Blues Band from Japan is here.
It's a pretty looking record on Underground
Communiqué. Our tracks are Aeroplane Angel and a cover
of Ex Lion Tamer from Wire. MBB do Speak Same Old News, Sing
Same Old Songs and a cover of My Death by the Newtown Neurotics.
It's pretty cool and I'm glad we got to do a second split record with
MBB before they split. You can get the record direct from me by Pay Pal-ing
me $3.50 to honeybearrecords@... or you can get it from the label at:
Underground Communique / 1220 West Hood Ave. #1 / Chicago, IL 60660. I
think we're meant to do another split 7" on this label with Chicago
band Hirudin. But that sort of hinges on me getting it together to send
them more stuff…
I also just got copies of the split record with the Plungers is out on
Chunksaah. We do
Who Killed Pasolini? and a cover of the Fall's Psycho Mafia
while the Plungers do Lost City Lover as well as a totally amazing
cover of Breakaway. Most people I guess think of that song as being
by Irma Thomas. But I love the Tracy Ullman version too! Great, great
song! You can also get this one from me for $3.50 or from the label at:
Chunksaah Records / PO Box 977 / Asbury Park, NJ 07712.
Our split 7" with Flamingo 50 is coming out soon on Grateful…
It might even be out by the time you read this.
We've got some other split records in the works. First of all, we are
supposed to be doing a split 7" on Itchy Korean (Kevin Gee's label)
with King Prawn but my screwy life has held me back from getting stuff
to him and he's only over in Houston. Sorry Kevin. I swear I'm getting
it together this week.
We are also meant to be doing a split 10" with the amazing Analena
from Croatia. If it all works out (and keep in mind I've been really lame
about sorting these things out) it should come out as vinyl and CD on
Nikt Nic Nie Wie out of Poland. I really hope this comes together as it's
a really fun project for us. I'll let you know when I know more.
SXSW
I'm an idiot. We played the No Idea showcase for South By last year and
it was fun. But it might have been a one time only thing as it really
is sort of a weird fest that I don't know if I like even a little.
Either way, the video store that I work at, Vulcan Video, is having a
little bar-b-que and show in the parking lot that Saturday. I've been
coerced into doing a short little solo set. It's not really going to be
Cilantro. It's mostly going to be me doing whatever songs I feel like
playing. It's all request. If you are there and you wanna hear it, I'll
play it. It doesn't even have to be one of my songs. If I know it, I'll
try it. Come on down as there will be free beer and I think food too.
Here are the details:
Vulcan Video (south store)
112 W. Elizabeth St.
SXSW – Saturday March 18th
Free
NOON SHARP (that's when I play anyway)
LIVE RECORDS AND NEW CILANTRO 7"
In all my insanity, I also got a note from the guy that presses my vinyl
in New Zealand saying that the masters for those records are fucked and
that's why I haven't gotten them back. Now I've gotta track down new masters.
Sorry for the ridiculous delay...
EBAY
Yeah, I've got a few things up on Ebay at the moment. Everything I do
there is under honeybearrecords@...
UNFUCKABLE CHAINSAW
I've also got this other little band with Stan from Signal Lost, Mike
who was in the Observers and Dave who has been in just about everything
in the Pacific Northwest. We've recorded four songs and may do more. The
working name for the band is Unfuckable Chainsaw… `80s punk/hardcore.
You know the drill.
IN THE J CHURCH LISTENING ROOM
SIGNAL LOST - You'll Never Get Us Down Again 7"
I feel like I've totally lost all perspective with Signal Lost. I don't
think there's a band I've seen more since moving to Austin. I love `em.
They're a big part of why this city has such a cool punkasaurus scene.
But they're my pals too and I dig `em. They're Liberty's favorite local
band. So I don't really know how to talk about them. I don't know exactly
how to describe their sound. Do they really sound like Post-Regiment?
I dunno. Not really.
Two years after their great first LP, these fuckers finally got their
shit together and came up with this little four-song EP. Four songs in
two years? Prolific they're not. But it's worth the wait and really interesting
to compare the two records. Signal Lost have moved away from the more
"straight" sound that perhaps was more in line with groups like
La Fraction. Now there is a lot more attack in the sound. You almost wanna
say Nausea (who I love, love, loved even after they stayed at my house
for a week and ate all my food). But if I were to really nerd out, they
are more like Insurgence with Ashley's tone more in the Alicia Non Grata
zone (pre-13 of course).
Stan is a really underrated guitar player and he is a lot of why this
band is so great. They could easily go all chugga-chugga or jug-jug or
whatever big-balls guitar sound the closet metalhead crusties are trying
to currently reinvent. Instead he plays with brighter tones, open chording
and interwoven picking. It's got more to do with AOF than anything else.
Even the cover art is really weird and different. It's cool.
(www.prankrecords.com)
TOBEY, ERIN - s/t CD
Oh, Plan-It-X, the less I understand, the more I am intrigued. Erin Tobey
is great. Nice too. I got to see her perform at the Fest last year in
Gainesville and I was dead into it. How does she do that trick where she
reaches over the neck of the guitar for a solitary note? How do you think
of stuff like that? It's great.
A new barrage of sorta sad bastard tunes that make a really sad bastard
take notice… It's pretty stuff with abstraction and nuance. But it's
also all the standard stuff you would expect from the "solo artist"
or "singer-songwriter" or whatever horrible label you wanna
stick on the poor girl. As a result, Secret Lettersis simultaneously
the corniest song and my favorite on the record…
It's self-conscious and it's deep. But it's not too much of either. It's
revealing but entertaining. Is this what the whole Plan-It-X thing is
all about. Okay, I'm in.
(www.plan-it-x.com)
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