Jul 26, 2012 The Ultimate Package - Part 3

Well here it is. The culmination of nearly a year of conversations with a man on the other side of the planet. This is part 3, and I've saved the best for last.

The year was 1992 and Mind Over Matter was still trying to find their sound. They hadn't moved into that progressive music genre that you'd later hear on Automanipulation. They were still in that melodic hardcore world. They hooked up with a small unknown label called Wreck-age, and they released a 7". Here's two songs from that 7". Note the difference in sound between these 2 songs.

So how many copies of this 7" came out? 200 on gold and 3100 on black. An absurd pressing for a little unknown band out of Long Island. Yet to this day, the gold variation is one of the hardest Wreck-age releases to find. There's 2 other variations of this record. Here's the lesser rare of the two.

Quickly after the ST release, Mind Over Matter released another 7" on Wreck-age called Hectic Thinking. Their sound was evolving. It was a little more chaotic, but they started to turn chaotic into a structure.

So how many copies of this 7" came out? 250 on pink and 2750 on black. And I guess however many were made of this version!

To have these test presses means so much to me. Mind Over Matter was one of the first influential bands from Long Island. In fact, I would call them the most influential Long Island band from the 90s, that influenced the 90s. I think Silent Majority influenced a lot of bands in the 2000s, but Mind Over Matter was the definitive early 90s band. They were loved by so many bands, that I grew up listening to. One of the main reasons was Eddie Reyes. He started MOM with 4 others, but went on to start or play in so many other bands that shaped Long Island like, The Movielife, Clockwise, Taking Back Sunday, Inside, and others. He's probably the most underrated Long Islander in the scene. Most non vocalists never get their due. What's interesting is, MOM had another extremely underrated member as well. Arthur Shephard. You might remember a post I did a while back about meeting up with him at his work to buy some records from him. My girlfriend at the time was like, so who is this guy again? I'm like this is freaking Arthur Shephard god damnit! Are you serious?! Mind Over Matter? Errortype 11? He produced Life of a Spectator? He sang backup vocals on Famous Monsters for christ sakes. Your wifi password is WeAre138. Come on! But there's really nothing I could do to make it click. These are unknowns. In my world though, they shaped what I grew up listening too. Before Hardcore and Punk, I didn't love music. I wasn't really interested in it. I didn't understand it. You know the easiest way to tell if someone doesn't understand music? They buy singles. 2 songs on a tape, that's what I bought back when I was 11 and 12. I didn't buy albums. When you only buy the hits from an album, you don't understand music, and you don't understand how an artist wants you to listen to their music. But when I first heard Green Day Kerplunk, Dead Kennedys Fresh Fruit, Quicksand Slip, etc, I just got it. And once I got it, I never looked back. Almost 20 years later and look at me. I built companies to help bands and labels sell independent music. I still listen to the bands I grew up on. I'm still discovering new bands. I'm still buying vinyl. I still get pissed when I don't win an auction. I still get pissed when someone has a record that I want, and they won't trade or sell it to me. I still get excited when I buy a record that I've always wanted. I still love coming on here and writing about them. And I still have that drive to go on searching.

So you all might be wondering why I said that there were 2 other variations of the self titled 7", and the test press was only the second rarest. Well sit back and let me explain how I found out about the rarest Mind Over Matter record of all time.

When I got this box from Pavlos, I was really freaking excited (Obv.). It felt heavy, which made me even more excited (Obv.). When I opened it, the first thing that caught my eye was there were two 12"s and three 7"s. The three 7"s were in the original sleeves, as you can see from the above pictures, and from yesterday's part 2 post. But the 12"s, weren't. The first one I looked at was the Necracedia test, which I recognized right away cause of the matrix inscribed with war-002. Then I started to look at the other 12". It was ridiculously heavy, which confused me at first. I pulled it out of the sleeve and realized it wasn't a test press at all, it was a plate. If you don't know what a plate is, it's a piece of aluminum, dipped in lacquer, which the grooves get cut into. Pressing plants use this to press records. You can watch this 10 minute below to understand the full process.

Now here's where the story gets interesting. When I looked for the matrix, there was none. Then I looked at how the songs were laid out on the plate. It wasn't a full length album. It was an EP. So I immediately thought this was the Die 116 ep plate. But I wasn't sure. And one of the reasons I wasn't sure was because there was a Mind Over Matter sticker on the sleeve. This confused me, but since I was fairly certain it was the Die 116 ep, it really didn't register. So I decided to just make sure, and drop it on the turntable. Something that you really shouldn't do. Lacquer is not meant to be played very often. This is why they make test presses. So when I dropped it on there, I heard that clip from Full Metal Jacket. Tom is like, "That's Full Metal Jacket." I'm like, yeah, which means it's not Die 116. Now remember, my brain is spinning right now. I've literally had this box open for less than 3 minutes. I've had a gigantic smile on my face since I opened the mailbox. My mind is completely frozen and I have no idea what I'm listening to. Then before the clip is even over, I flip to the B side. For the next 30 seconds I'm baffled. Then it hits me. This song is God Hates Me. This is a plate for the Mind Over Matter ST 7". Then I pause and say, "But that got pressed on a 7"." Apparently, it wasn't allows suppose to be a 7", because here's a 12" lacquer of Mind Over Matter's Self Titled ep.

This might be the most amazing record I've ever owned, that isn't even a record. My first lacquer too. This thing is so god damn heavy. Look at the 2 holes. They must have drilled it wrong the first time. Or maybe their machine needed two holes, but I doubt it. They also didn't put the matrix on yet. Pavlos must have called it off before they had a chance. What an incredible piece of Long Island history. This band started it all. This band made all the bands I grew up on want to make music. I have to do something with this. I'm not sure what, but I need to figure something out. Maybe I can get it framed with the 7" test below it. I'll look into it.

So there it is. The final part to the greatest package I've ever received. It was really a tough call on the best package because one time I received tests of Indecision Unorthodox, Indecision Most Precious Blood, Milhouse Obscenity, and Sons of Abraham Termites, in the same box. But I knew it was coming. Plus I paid a freaking fortune for them ahahah. This package was a gift from around the world, and I didn't know what was in it. And because of that, it means so much more to me. To thank Pavlos I sent him back the only unique piece of history I had from Wreck-age, before the plate. Something I figure will mean more to him than me. I gave him the promo sheet from the Gulag release. The one with his hand written note on it. This was the first record he put out, so I hope he enjoys it. Either way Gulag was a Greek punk band that a lot of people still love out there, so that's where it belongs. If you think about, that's what I'm doing with Exit and Wreck-age. I'm doing my best to bring these records back home. Maybe one day I'll be able to show off all my stuff in a LIHC exhibit. That would be a lot of fun.

Ok people, I'm wasted right now. 11 posts in 11 days. Actually 12 days cause I waited a day to post this one. I'm not caught up, but I'm caught up enough to slow down the pace a hair. Till next time.

Jul 24, 2012 The Ultimate Package - Part 2

About a year ago a Neglect - Pull The Plug test press popped up on eBay. I was obviously going to bid on it, because Neglect is a great band, and of course, because it came out on Wreck-age. I did however, email the seller and ask for the matrix. While I was waiting for an email back from the seller, Marcus dropped me an email to double check that I had seen the auction. In this email he asked if I recognized the label, which looked nothing like a US label. He made a good point, it didn't, but I've seen weird labels on Wreck-age tests before. Just look at the label on my Necracedia post from yesterday. So that wasn't a deal breaker for me, but it was something to consider. Then the seller emailed me back with the matrix. Marcus's instincts were correct. This was not a US test press of Pull The Plug. Once that became obvious, I started to doubt that this was even a foreign test of Pull The Plug. I didn't remember an overseas pressing of this record. So the seller and I went back and forth a little bit, and while we did that, the price of this auction kept going up. Marcus and I were also trying to figure out what the record actually was, if it wasn't a Pull The Plug test. He had this weird feeling it was a live 7", but he couldn't remember the name. Then I remembered a Neglect test press auction that was up 2 years earlier. I didn't bid on it, but I did save all the info. Let me explain. Sometimes when I see a record from a band I like, but aren't really interested in buying it, I save all the info just in case I decide I want to track it down in the future. And when I say I save all the info, I mean I save everything. Even the pictures. It's a weird habit that I don't usually talk about on here because it makes me sound a little mental. Annnnyyyywaayyyy, I went through all my stuff and found that auction info, and what do you know, the record looked exactly the same.

What's also cool about this is, I knew the name of the record too. Marcus was right again. This was in fact, the Hang In There live 7" test. So it looked like the seller bought this on eBay 2 years prior, and then decided he didn't want it anymore. Unfortunately though, by the time Marcus and I figured all this shit out, the auction was going for an absurd amount of dough. Needless to say, I was pissed. I didn't like that this seller might have been trying to scam bidders. I also didn't like the fact that I told the seller multiple times, that he needed to change the title or take the auction down, and he didn't. And I especially didn't like that this thing wasn't the Pull The Plug test! I was psyched for this auction. I was absolutely freaking out when I saw it. I wanted this damn thing sooooooooo bad. But it wasn't meant to be. So I decided to contact eBay and get them to take it down. Which they did. About a month later he put it up again. So I contacted eBay again, and they took it down, AGAIN. THHHHEEEENNNN another month went by, and this dude put it up a 3rd time. This time with the right name though. So I let it go and it sold for 20 bucks.

So if the picture above is what a Neglect - Pull The Plug test press, doesn't look like. Then what does an actual Pull The Plug test press look like? Well it just so happens that I have one right here!

HEYO! Pavlos comes through with a monster! That makes 9 Exit/Wreck-age test presses!! Or does it? Dum Dum Duummmmm.

Jul 23, 2012 The Ultimate Package - Part 1

No, unfortunately this is not part 1 of a new porn I will be starring in. It is, in fact, part 1 of a 3 part blog post I will be doing in celebration of my new blog layout, and a box that recently came in the mail from one, Pavlos Ioanidis, aka the owner of Wreck-age and Exit records. Here's a little background for you...

A while back I contacted Pavlos in order to beg him for the remaining records I needed to complete my color Wreck-age and Exit collection. We were both busy, so communication was slow at first. During that time, I actually started to pick up a few records that I needed. Then one day, I was done. I was still waiting to hear back from Pavlos about the list, but I figured when I did, I would just let him know that I thought I was good, and the color collection was complete. So about a month went by and I heard back from him. I let him know I found every color release, and I was preparing to put together a full post showing the entire collection off. Then he said that he still had some stuff that he wanted to send me. This stuff was test presses! Exit/Wreck-age records are hard enough to find as it is, but test presses are just impossible. I've been very lucky over the years to collect a whole bunch of them, but I'm not even relatively close to the entire test press collection. Pavlos did get me a few steps closer though. Let's look at one of those steps.

Necracedia was a Pittsburgh punk band from the late 80s to early 90s. Their LP Now I See Clearly was Wreck-age's 2nd release...or 3rd if you want to count Gulag. I obtained the color version of this record in the late 90s I think, so you wouldn't have seen it on my blog. You can read about it on Marcus's blog though. Here's my copy.

And here's my test press!

HEYO! So now I have 002 and 003. 003 being the SFA So What? full length I wrote about a while back. Now if you'll notice, Pavlos went to Aligned for this record as well. I wonder if he did Bad Trip Positively Bad their too.

Part 1 is complete and I'll be doing parts 2 and 3 this week too. It only gets better from here.

P.S. What do we think of the new layout? I wanted to combine it with my personal site cause having 2 blogs was pretty dumb. I still have 2, but now it seems like 1.

Jul 22, 2012 Incendiary Split With Xibalba

Here's a split Incendiary, one of my favorite bands to come out of Long Island in while, did with a band called Xibalba. I had never heard this band before, but they seem alright. I don't exactly know how to say their name though. Which is good and bad, at the same time. Let me explain. There's a lot of bands out there with names that are tough to find on the internet, but are extremely easy to spell and say. For instance, a band that I've loved for a long time "Inside", is impossible to find. But Xibalba is super simple to find. The problem is, it's hard to spell. Now I don't think a band like Xibalba, who has a song named "Fuck You Pelon", is really that concerned with SEO, but to me it's interesting. I've always wondered what's better: A band/label name that's unique and maybe hard to spell, but is easily searched for; or a name that's easily said, but hard to search. Another good example is a band called RVIVR. Said like the word, "Reviver". So when you tell people the name of the band, you say Reviver, but you need a little clause at the end, "And it's spelled RVIVR." Which is something someone could forget. Now I think Xibalba has it a lot better, because that's an actual word, but like I said, I'm not sure how to pronounce the name. So that could throw a wrench in all my theories. Well let's move on, because talking about the search engine optimization of hardcore bands, is not exactly what I would call exciting journalism. OK! The split pics.

I think these are the only 3 colors made for this 7". It seems like they did a Clear and a Black, and this wine swirl color was a biproduct of not cleaning the tank between presses. If so, that's a smart move. Save a couple of bucks, and get another variation.

I'm loving this cover too. That angel statue is definitely cool. Plus I like the matte finish. Not many people go with the matte finish, but it works here, for sure. I also love folded covers. This is another thing people need to go with more. They're cheaper, and cooler in my opinion. Plus, there's no glue, so it's very difficult to rip them. They would have to rip at the fold, and there's not much chance of that. So I think Closed Casket Activities, did a pretty good job on this baby. Gotta check out some more stuff by them.

Jul 21, 2012 51st State Lines

State Lines is a young pop punk band from Long Island and they released a full length a year or so ago called Hoffman Manor. But recently they released a 7" on Tiny Engines. I actually didn't know this band until TE mentioned it on twitter that were putting out this release. Any time I hear of a band from LI, I gotta check them out, and when I did, I was really surprised. They were pretty damn good. So when the record went up for preorder, I grabbed them all.

I wonder where that beach shot was taken. I assume it's on LI, but I don't know where. I'll ask someone and update this when I can. You can stream the 7" below on SoundCloud.

Jul 20, 2012 The Days of Gloom and Doom

Here's probably my favorite release of the year so far. Daytrader's Twelve Years out on Rise Records. These guy released a 7" a while back that I included in my An Accumulation of Great Records post. Rise has really become a powerhouse label, with a whole bunch of bands I'm into. So I was super happy when I heard they gobbled up Daytrader as well.

Here's what they did with this release. Single LP in a gatefold across 2 colors, which they sold as a package, or separate. One is the Black 180g version out of 1200, which can be seen below:

The other version they did was on, what they call, Swamp and it's out of 300. The weird thing is, when I opened the record, I didn't think I got the Swamp version. It seemed like I got one half of, what I'd call, the Gloom and Doom color package. Doom being the black 180g, and the record below, being Gloom.

Sort of looks like the black version, right? Here's the record in the light

And this is what they show in their store. Strange right? I thought so at least. So I decided to crack open my brother's copy(shhh don't tell him), and see what he got. Gloom again. I also checked the weight on each, thinking maybe this was just a weird variant of the 180g version, but it wasn't. So I guess there might have been a mix up at the plant, or maybe in the artwork for the store.

I'm really hitting the Long Island bands lately.

Jul 19, 2012 Fuck Off All Nerds

A lot of people might not know what this is, or who it benefits. This is a compilation of live songs recorded at the final show of a band named My Heart To Joy. It's not just songs from this band though. They have other bands on the comp like Hostage Calm and Into It. Over It. The compilation was released by Topshelf Records, and it benefits the family of Mitch Dubey who played in a band called Swear Jar(and others). He was killed a little more than a year ago, by a home intruder. Pretty fucked up stuff. All the money made from this release goes to his family. Great job by Topshelf on the production quality of this release. They don't screw around. Take a look at this thing.

One thing I don't know about this release is, does that cool artwork come with it, or did the nice guys at Topshelf, toss that in because they love me? I suspect it came with it, but I hope they love me too.

Jul 18, 2012 Cave In - Until I Finally Get This Record

This is a record I've been meaning to pick up for a long time, but never got around to it. Plus, they can be hard to find. Plus I wanted the color version, not the black version. PLUS I wanted the multi color version, not the double clear. The album is Cave In's Until Your Heart Stops. An album that I think was so far ahead of it's time when it came out in 1998. I can't name one album that had the feel of this one in the late 90s. Maybe Vision of Disorder's Imprint, which was another album that was completely different than what everyone else was doing at the time. Interestingly enough, both albums were released in 1998. Another interesting connection between these two releases, is the album they released right afterwards, sounded like a totally different band. It's almost like they tried to do something so different, that they burnt themselves out.

I'm really happy with this pick up. One of the few that's lived up to my own internal hype. Colors and quality of the jacket are top notch. Which is to be expected from a company like Hydra Head. They've always made beautiful records. Even back in the late 90s, they were on top of their game.

The damn labels look great too. This release would cost a fortune to make now. I'd love to know what this sold for new. Maybe 20 bucks plus shipping? This would be a $30 record now probably. Maybe I can find out from the Hydra Head dudes.

Jul 17, 2012 Operation Represses

Here's another repress that I picked up from Hot Topic a while back. Wait, are these represses? I know Energy came out on a 12", but wasn't Hectic on a 7"? Well either way, I never wrote about these cause I was just eh about them. I'm glad I have the albums, cause they're obviously awesome, but they're kinda bland to look at. Not sure why they didn't mix up the colors. I guess they were trying to keep the costs low. I'm pretty sure I got these for a good deal though. Maybe half off cause they were running some sort of a buy 1 get 1 free sale. I think I paid 20 or so plus shipping. They came with a download card. Which could be a better quality version. I have to download it and see.

I'm going to cut this one short cause these things are bumming me out.

Jul 16, 2012 In My Eyes Represses

Here's something I thought I'd see on Marcus's blog, way before mine. Maybe it was on there and I missed it. Not positive though. Well anyway, here's a repress of both The Difference Between and Nothing To Hide. They were sold exclusively through Interpunk a while back. This definitely surprised me, and if it wasn't for the Stuck in the Past Twitter account, I would have totally missed it.

Thanks a lot guys, I appreciate it. So here are the 2 copies. The post office did a pretty good mangle job on the corners, but no big deal I guess.

I can't remember which versions of these albums I have. I'm pretty sure I have color of both originals, but I'm not quiet sure.

UPDATE: Marcus says they weren't sold exclusively through Interpunk. Could have sworn they were. Weird.

Jul 15, 2012 Polar Bear Club of 4

The first time I heard about Polar Bear Club was on the Silent Majority Myspace page. I'm pretty sure they had them in their top 8 or something. I went to their page, and I thought they were ok, but I wasn't completely captivated by them. That was a long time ago though. Now I think they're incredible. Especially the albums you see below.

So you might be all wondering how I acquired these test presses. Well about a month ago I was searching "Test" on eBay, and I came across all 4 of these auctions up from one dude. Now like I said, I've started to really love this band over the last year or two, so I thought it would be really nice to have them in my collection. My only issues were total price, and the chance that I could win them all. Now everyone knows that when you sell things separately, they can cost a lot more than if you sold them as a bundle. But it's even more so with test presses, because people have their favorite album, and this is usually the rarest version of that album. Which, needless to say, makes people go a little bonkers. So I decided to do something, that lately, I've been doing more and more of. I contacted the seller and asked if I could make him an offer to take them all down for one price. We haggled a little, and finally we agreed on $200 shipped. Normally I don't like to talk about price, but this time I will. I might even start talking more about price. I think it helps make the story more interesting. If you don't know how much I paid, then you really don't know the ending of the story. Am I afraid that people will think I got ripped off? Eh, I don't know if I care too much about that. Anyway, I think I paid a decent price for these 4 tests. $50 each, and I got them all at once. Getting all 4 at once is worth a bunch of cash to me, because I have a limited amount of time that I can spend searching, now a days. As you can see, I have updated this blog in 2 freaking months! But that's about to change cause I finally got my service Limited Run out of beta and launched. It's a great weight off my shoulders and it's time to pay more attention to this blog.