Liz Phair- Whitechocolatespaceegg Sessions

 

 I used to consider myself not much of a reader, sure, I read the newspaper everyday and read articles in magazines and on the computer, but when I really think about it a lot of my day is spent reading (in some form). We read more than we give ourselves credit for, you need to have at least basic skills of literacy to survive day to day life and our mind is busy processing information all the time. To sit back and open a book to read for pleasure has become a enjoyable leisure activity to allow ourselves to imagine other peoples lives or fictional accounts of experiences we wish we can participate in...or not. I prefer non-fiction, but I have been trying to balance my palate as I seem to alternate between biographies of athletes and musicians, graphic novels (and comics), pop culture (music, art, film etc.) and classic novels. Biographies (and auto biographies) fascinate me to explore the story behind the music and the game and this usually leads to more respect for the subject. 

 

 

 

I checked Liz Phair's memoir, Horror Stories out the library back in July and finally finished it last week. I read the first couple chapters, and at first found it a difficult to read as memoirs are different from straight-up auto biographies. I renewed the book four times and finally connected with the narrative and cruised through the rest of the book and found it an enjoyable read. This wasn't an ordinary story that bios cover, but she shares stories and experiences of uncomfortable, awkward and dis-empowering moments in her life that most authors avoid when they write about themselves. The writing is honest and unpretentious and a very intimate and unique self-portrait of her life.

 

(quote from Horror Stories) Horror stories is my effort to slow everything down and take a look at how we really become who we are. It's more than just my personal story. It's about the small indignities we all suffer daily, the silent insult to our system, the callous gestures that we make toward one another. Horror isn't necessarily the big, ghoulish waiting to pounce on you in the dark. Horror can be found in brief interactions that are as cumulatively powerful as the splashy heart-stoppers because that's where we live most of lives.

The stories are interesting, no real order, both chronologically or of importance. Each chapter is a glimpse of a certain episode in her life such as, navigating through a blizzard in NYC, going into labor, blackout in NYC, a crush on a guy that worked at Trader Joe's (who later killed himself) and her #metoo moment. The #metoo chapter is especially interesting because the accused was to produced her next album at the time. They were working on what would have become a double album and then the New York Times published an article about his inappropriate interactions with young female artists, sexual harassment and communicating with an underage girl online. Phair doesn't name him, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out who it is (click to NY Times link). Obviously, the project was scrapped and the album wasn't released. 

  Since this isn't a book review blog, I'm posting tracks from her Whitechocolatespaceegg sessions. Apparently, there were a lot of tracks recorded and these demos were uncovered by sheer luck with the discovery by a former roommate of some original studio tapes left behind by Jason Chasko, who produced some of the songs on WCSE. (read the notes for a full breakdown of all the tracks in the file). This turned out to be 7 cassettes that the poster purchased and converted the tracks to two CD's. The tracks are fascinating, some are rough mixes, early versions, alternative mixes and unreleased. If you're a fan of demo and session tracks, like I am, this is the holy grail of Liz Phair unreleased tracks. I had earlier posted the original version of WCSE that was rejected by the record label that had to be re-recorded and mixed, so this is a nice companion piece. Extra bonus, these tracks are all lossless!

Enjoy!

 

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!

Do NOT convert to lossy formats, except for personal use

Please share!

 

LIZ PHAIR

WCSE Sessions (1996-1997)

Disc One
1996 Studio Recordings (taken from tape 7)

  1. Oh My God
  2. Headache
  3. Desperado Theme
  4. Ride
  5. Hurricane Cindy
  6. Rocket Boy
  7. Perfect World
  8. Fantasize
  9. Russian Girl
10. Stuck On An Island
11. Tell Me You Like Me
12. Girls' Room
13. I'm Like That
14. Waiting For The Bird (White Bird Of Texas)
15. Freak Of Nature

Sidenote 1: I only used the Studio Recordings
portion of this tape.  If you are interested
in the Demos portion...

1997 Studio Recordings
16. White Chocolate Space Egg (tape 1)
17. Big Tall Man (tape 1)
18. Tell Me You Like Me (tape 2)
19. What Makes You Happy (tape 2)
20. Bars Of The Bed (tape 3)
21. Blood Keeper (tape 4)
22. What Makes You Happy (tape 5)
23. Big Tall Man (tape 5)

1998 whitechocolatespaceegg Rough Mixes
24. Johnny Feelgood
25. What Makes You Happy

Disc Two
1997 whitechocolatespaceegg Running Order (tape 6)
1. White Chocolate Space Egg
2. Fantasize
3. Headache
4. Big Tall Man
5. Baby Got Going
6. Only Son
7. Bars Of The Bed
8. Oh My God
9. Ride
10. Waiting For The Bird
11. Perfect World
12. Desperado Theme
13. Tell Me You Like Me
14. What Makes You Happy
15. Freak Of Nature
16. Girls' Room
17. Russian Girl

Bonus Tracks
18. Blood Keeper (tape 4 - same as disc 1 track 21)
19. Greased Lightning (from Japanese Polyester Bride CD EP)
20. Hurricane Cindy (from Japanese whitechocolatespaceegg CD)

(Tracks 19 & 20 are not included because they were "officially" released and were removed...sorry)

LIZ PHAIR- '96-'97 WCSE Sessions FLAC. rar

The Refreshments- APC Studios, Atlanta 1996

Since the last post was in Atlanta, let's stay there. I have another show also at APC Studios in Atlanta recorded roughly a month after the Westerberg show. Similarly to the Westerberg show, this concert was an in-studio live broadcast with a studio audience. The sound quality is excellent and the band performs a short, but powerful set of songs from their major label debut album, Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy. As far as debut albums go, Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy is as good as any debut record from the 90's. This album had a lot of airplay at home as I made sure my kids grew up with good music and this one was a popular choice. It was infectious, funny and there wasn't a bad song on the record, a very important album (in my opinion) from 1996. Their follow-up album, The Bottle & Fresh Horse was released in the fall of 1997 and it suffered from a lack of promotion (the band parted with Mercury Records a couple months after the album was released) and a lack of great material. The band broke up shortly after which is too bad because the record still had some really good songs on it and if they had the label support they could taken it so much further. Fortunately, for Refreshment fans, the songs have lived on with Roger Clyne's band he formed after the Refreshments, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers who are continuing on and have released 8 studio albums and 2 live records. They perform many of the Refreshments song live and there have been a few Refreshments reunion shows since.

A good place to start if you're interested in the Refreshments is a documentary released in 2017, Here's To Life!- The Story of the Refreshments which documents the rise of the band, the issues within the band and the crush of the music industry (boo major labels!!). Sounds very interesting and I will get around to watching this soon.

Note: The band actually self-released a CD in 1994 called Wheelie with most of the songs that would later appear on Fizzy Fuzzy. The songs were re-worked and re-recorded probably with higher production values and released on a major label. I still have the mp3 version posted from 2009 available for download so you want to hear the "original" versions.
Enjoy!

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!
Do NOT convert to lossy format (except for personal use)
Please share!


THE REFRESHMENTS
APC Studios
99X Live X
Atlanta, GA
July 23, 1996

FM> ANA> Tascam 424 mkII> Echo Gina> CEP 2.0> FLAC> rar

01. Intro
02. Blue Collar Suicide
03. Mexico
04. Down Together
05. Mekong
06. Roger tuning up
07. Story: If You Ain't A Cowboy
08. Interstate
09. Yahoos & Triangles (Just Like A Rodeo Only Different)
10. Banditos

THE REFRESHMENTS- 1996-07-23 APC Studios, Atlanta, GA FLAC. rar

Paul Westerberg- APC Studios, Live In Atlanta 1996

I've been listening to a lot of Paul Westerberg recently brought on because someone on Dime has been posting and asking for contributions for recordings from Westerberg's 2002 solo tour through the States (and Toronto). That tour was broken into two parts, the Spring featured performances at record stores, split with a three night run in his hometown of Minneapolis in late June/July, then the tour proceeded in August at concert halls and theatres. I attended and recorded one of the shows in Minneapolis at the Guthrie Theatre and I have several of the shows from both tours, so the Dime revisit/flood was a way to fill in shows I didn't have. I posted one of the record store shows back in 2012,  Happy Record Store Day- Paul Westerberg @ Amoeba Records 2002-04-25 (click HRSD for link to original blog post/ click PW @Amoeba Records...for direct link to show download).

 I will get around to posting another show from the 2002 later, but I remembered I uploaded another Westerberg show about 7 years ago that I have since forgot to post. It's a in-studio radio mini-concert at APC Studios in Atlanta, I believe he played a club show later that evening. Recently I had a listen and the sound quality and the performance is excellent. I know generally fans and critics weren't that enthusiastic for Paul's second album, Eventually, but I have to come to appreciate this record has some really good songs on it. Maybe it's because they were hidden behind the slicker production on the album, but live these songs shine much brighter. I actually think this is one of his better solo albums. It's an underrated era in his career where he had a fair bit of mainstream exposure including making several live TV appearances and maybe his last real attempt for mainstream success. Since then (well, maybe after Suicaine Gratification), he has made music more on his terms with less production values and even less commercial appeal and success. Which isn't a bad thing? Anyways, this show from 1996 features a tight band, songs from Eventually, one from 14 Songs as well as three Replacements songs. Well worth a listen!
Enjoy!

Please do NOT sell or profit from this recording!
Do NOT convert to lossy formats (except for personal use)
Please share!


PAUL WESTERBERG
APC Studios
Atlanta, GA
June 28, 1996

FM Broadcast> trade cdr> FreeRip> FLAC> rar

01. These Are The Days
02. Once Around The weekend
03. Ain't Got Me
04. MamaDaddyDid
05. BlackEyed Susan
06. Swingin' Party
07. Love Untold
08. Alex Chilton
09. Nevermind

PAUL WESTERBERG- 1996-06-28 APC Studios, Atlanta, GA FLAC. rar

Chixdiggit- Live In Winnipeg August 26, 1996

Photo by Peter Ellenby

There are some concerts when you reflect back and think, "I'm glad I actually went to see this band". This was the case over 22 years ago when I saw the band, Chixdiggit who were touring in support of their debut album, Chixdiggit. I bought their CD on a whim, I think after I heard their song, (I Feel Like) Gerry Cheevers on late night CBC radio and instantly became a fan. At the time I was listening to a lot of like-minded pop-punk bands from Lookout Records and Mint, so their short, sweet melodic songs with their immature adolescent sense of humour was really appealing. And hey, when you write a song about Bruins goalie, Gerry Cheevers that combines my two favourite things, hockey and rock music, they must be worth checking out. And they definitely were! They are just regular guys, not long hard rocker wannabees or punks with attitude, but down to earth guys you'd have no problem sharing a beer with. Their live show is driven by front man, KJ Jansen with his Tony Esposito split-crouch stance (with the microphone really low) is the smart-ass of the band and his banter keeps the flow going as most of their songs are really short (their CD is only 27 minutes long). A fun band to see live and I liked them so much I saw them two more times in the 90's, but haven't seen them since. They celebrated their 25th year with a tour a couple years ago that came to town, but I wasn't able to attend. They are joining the Smugglers for their 30th anniversary show later this month, November 24th at Amigos in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. If you make the drive, hopefully not through a blizzard, it will be a worthwhile roadtrip to see two great Canadian bands.

I was lucky enough to make a live recording of the Chixdiggit show on my Walkman recorder. I've had the master cassette on my shelf for years and I thought it was about time to transfer it to my hard drive before the tape deteriorates too much. I have to admit it is one of my favourite early shows I recorded and despite the not perfect sound quality, the show is a very enjoyable listen. It's a good capture from the middle of the floor at the Pyramid with the usual crowd noise, but it really has that "been there" quality I love. As I write this I'm listening to the other live Chixdiggit tapes from 1998 and 1999, (I can't remember the last time I had a listen) and the sound quality is much better. If there's a request to hear them I'll transfer the tapes and upload them.
Enjoy!

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CHIXDIGGIT
Pyramid Cabaret
Winnipeg, MB
August 26, 1996
AUD Master

Sony mic> Sony WM-GX35 Recording Walkman> Maxell XLII 90 Cassette> Aiwa tape deck> ADS Instant music> usb> Nero SoundTrax> WAV> Direct WAV splitter> FLAC> rar

01. Toilet's Seat Coming Down
02. 323
03. Where's Your Mom?
04. Hemp Hemp Hooray
05. Henry Rollins Is No Fun
06. (I Feel Like) Gerry Cheevers
07. Van Horne
08. I Drove The Coquihalla
09. Great Legs
10. Haven't Got Time For
11. You May Be Right
12. Nobody (w/Levi Stubbs' Tears teaser)
13. I Should Have Played Football In High School
14. Stacked Like That
15. Song For "R"
16. I Wanna Hump You

Encore
17. Chupacabras
18. Pathetic
19. Lonely Nights (w/ Live Forever teaser)
20. Mila, Caroline And Me

CHIXDIGGIT- 1996-08-26 Pyramid Cabaret, Winnipeg, MB FLAC Master. rar

Lemonheads- Tramps, NYC, October 28, 1996

For a live recording from over (almost exactly, one day late) 22 years ago, this one holds up quite well. First, the recording is outstanding mainly because it's a professionally mixed board recording that according to the notes may have been intended for a future  live release in some form. Secondly, the performance by Evan Dando and band is solid despite the fact Evan was known to be inconsistent around this period, he put together a really tight band that included John Strohm of the Blake Babies and Murph from Dinosaur Jr. The playing is energetic and overall it's a fun, kinda cool set that even covers Dinosaur Jr's, Freak Scene. Though, many critics and fans weren't big fans of Car Button Cloth, this album has grown on me through the years. The trio of Lemonheads albums from the 90's (It's a Shame About Ray, Come On Feel The Lemonheads, Car Button Cloth) are actually great records, that have stood the test of time. Sure, there was some filler, but Dando knew how to write a good, catchy pop-rock song.

This is the first of a several "outtakes" from the #12daysoftrouble series in August that I had originally intended to post. I had so many ideas of shows I wanted to post, but due to time restrictions and continuity reasons I held back some posts. I hope to get back on track with regular postings, as my work life is back to my boring, "regular" job. I'm feeling physically and mentally stronger (movie set dressing is definitely hard work!) which is a good thing, but I might revisit the film biz in the new year. Anyways, more to come soon and listen to this Lemonheads show because it's a very fine fine recording.
Enjoy!

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THE LEMONHEADS
Tramps
New York, NY
October 28, 1996
Mixed Soundboard
JEMS Archive

JEMS 2017 Transfer: in-house reference cassette > Nakamichi CR-7A azimuth-adjusted playback > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity 2.0 16/44.1 capture to .wav > iZotope RX6 > TLH > FLAC

1. It’s All True
2. If I Could Talk I’d Tell You
3. It’s A Shame About Ray
4. Tenderfoot (Smudge)
5. Hospital
6. My Drug Buddy
7. Break Me
8. The Outdoor Type (Smudge)
9. Losing Your Mind
10. Something’s Missing
11. Confetti > Supernaut (Black Sabbath) snippet
12. Secular Rockulidge
13. Rudderless
14. Hannah & Gabi
15. Outdoor Miner (Wire)
16. Being Around
17. Style
18. -band intros-
19. Freak Scene (Dinosaur Jr.)
20. It’s About Time
21. Into Your Arms (Love Positions)
22. -Evan announces upcoming shows-

notes: tracks 14-16 are Evan solo
band: Evan Dando/John Strohm/Bill Gibson/Patrick "Murph" Murphy

Notes from original poster: It would appear this sprightly Lemonheads performance was professionally recorded for potential use as a source of live tracks or a mini live album to be sent out to radio and aired later as a live Lemonheads broadcast. This recording of the full set was transferred from an in-house reference cassette likely used to approve the mix/sound quality and to select which tracks to use later.

LEMONHEADS- 1996-10-28 Tramps FLAC. rar

Day 5: "This Is A Song About A Girl" Mr. T Experience- Live in Winnipeg 1996

The Smugglers/Mr. T Experience tour came through Winnipeg in the spring of 1996 in thanks to a new distribution deal between Canadian (Vancouver) label, Mint Records and U.S. (Berkeley) label Lookout! Records. The labels co-released their line-ups artist's to get better distribution in the States for the Canadian bands and vice-versa for the American bands. Before this time, I bought albums from the Lookout label as an import, which meant steeper prices for Mr. T Experience or Screeching Weasel albums. This also meant label-mate band tours such as MTX and the Smugglers, otherwise we might not have had the opportunity to see bands like Mr. T tour to Canada as often, especially Winnipeg. As a result I saw Mr. T two years later at the same venue, but not since or before the Mint-Lookout hookup. This resulted in the Mint bands such as Cub, Duotang and the Smugglers getting much needed exposure in the States. For this tour, the Smugglers headlined the dates in Canada while the Mr. T Experience headlined the shows in the U.S.

In Grant Lawrence's book, Dirty Windshields, he chronologically writes about the various tour-mates the band shared stages with around the world. In chapter 29, Selling The Sizzle, Grant details the positive relationship with their label mates from Lookout and Mint and touring with MTX. "On the sold-out Mr. T Experience tour, the Smugglers got tighter and tighter and with rapturous crowds every night, our confidence grew". My relationship and love for the band began with their first album, Everybody's Entitled To Their Own Opinion when I heard the song, Danny Partridge on a late night CBC program, Brave New Waves which I would periodically listen to while drawing or painting. It was a great program to discover new and different music especially music that didn't fit the mainstream of commercial radio. I took note and eventually tracked down the album, of course I paid import prices. They were definitely one of my favourite bands during the late 80's/early 90's, their music had a sense of humour and a driving melodic punk sound that I could relate to. Yes, thank you Dr. Frank for some great records, hopefully he can bring a version of the Mr. T Experience to town again someday.

This recording was recorded the same night as the Smugglers set (duh!) and my only petty complaint is I wish the Mr. T Experience would have played a longer set. Of course, if they were the headliner they would have, but I was just happy to finally see them live. I even got to meet the band after the show, I bought a shirt and CD that they graciously signed. The recording sounds pretty good considering this was over 20 years ago and I used a cheap mic and tape recorder. It's another show I've never shared or traded, so this is the exclusive premiere post of the show. A Very enjoyable show and highly recommended for fans of great Berkeley based power pop-punk rock that isn't Green Day.
Enjoy!
#12daysoftrouble

Please do NOT sell or convert to lossy format (except for personal use)
Please share!

MR. T EXPERIENCE
Wellington's
Winnipeg, MB
May 22, 1996
AUD Master

Sony mic> Sony WM-GX35 Recording Walkman> Maxell XLII 90 Cassette> Aiwa tape deck> ADS Instant music> usb> Nero SoundTrax> WAV> Direct WAV splitter> FLAC> rar

01. Sackcloth And Ashes
02. Last Time I Listened To You
03. Tapin' Up My Heart
04. I Just Wanna Do It With You
05. New Girlfriend
06. Another Yesterday
07. Semi-OK
08. Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba
09. Two-Minute Itch
10. Alternative Is Here To Stay!
11. The Future Ain't What It Used To Be
12. Disconnection
13. I Fell For You
14. Even Hitler Had A Girlfriend
15. Dumb Little Band
16. We Are the Future People Of Tomorrow

MR. T EXPERIENCE- 1996-05-22 Wellington's, Winnipeg, MB FLAC. rar

Day 4: The Smugglers Live In Winnipeg "No-Hit Rock 'n' Roll!"

This summer I spent two relaxing weeks up at the cottage and as in past years I caught up on my reading for the year. I typically don't have time or more realistically don't make time to read books while I'm in the city, more specifically when I have internet access. Our cottage can't get a TV signal, barely receives a cell phone signal and definitely do not have wi-fi. We do have electricity, running water and a phone line, but for the most part we have to make our own fun, like board/card games, handheld and phone video games, DVDs, swimming, hiking and reading. The cabin is jam packed with shelves of vintage books (mainly sci-fi), but I choose to bring a selection of books and magazines I've been stockpiling the rest of the year since I have loads of time on my hands. This year, by coincidence the books and mags were all music related, mainly non-fiction (plus one fiction re-read, High Fidelity). I finished a book I started earlier in the year, How Music Got Free- A Story of Obsession and Invention by Stephen Witt. I found this book very fascinating, as it follows the birth of the mp3 and how it revolutionized the music business and how it changed how we access music either through buying CD's, pirating music, downloading and streaming. It's a behind the scenes look through the vantage points of some of the players in the industry, the inventors of the mp3, a top music executive, a worker at a CD manufacturing plant, a leaker and the creators of many music pirating download sites. It intrigued me because I lived this life, I saw and participated in many of these practices seeking leaked  pre-releases, and shared music through many p2p sites uploading and downloading a lot of music. Personally, it brought back a lot of memories and it was a game changer for me because it increased my interest (and obsession) like nothing else and opened the door to music I wouldn't have otherwise sampled. I still buy a tremendous amount of vinyl, CDs and tapes and I subscribe to one music streaming site, but I still get a lot of music through file sharing and downloading. Anyways, this book is an interesting read, it's both entertaining and educational for the music fan and for anyone interested in the business of the music industry.

A book I was itching to read for months was the rock biography about the Vancouver band, The Smugglers, Dirty Windshields- The Best and Worst of The Smugglers Tour Diaries written by lead singer, Grant Lawrence. I usually don't read rock bios, but it caught my attention because the Smugglers were a band I saw on several occasions back in the 90's and when I was flipping through the book in the bookstore, I found a chapter a about their Winnipeg incident, (sorta) opening for the Young Fresh Fellows and Hoodoo Gurus at the U of M campus. I won't go into details (you have to buy the book), but I was at that show (another life-changing moment, seeing the Fellows for the first time live!) and I didn't realize the circumstances of why the Smugglers were bumped from the bill. A funny story from earlier that day, I took off from work for a couple of hours because the Fellows were advertised to play a noon hour set at University Centre. Disappointingly, they weren't playing, but instead a galoshes wearing band was taking the stage. My disappointment was soothed a couple songs in, these guys were amazing! It was the Smugglers! They were energetic, jumping around on stage and they played some straight-up rock 'n' roll that impressed the crap out of me. I remember  very little response from the student crowd and I might have been the only one that watched their whole set. I was hooked! I saw them a few years later in 1995 at the Pyramid on a week night and once again the crowd was small and uninterested. In fact, I seated myself dead centre at the edge of the dance floor with no one in front or around me, seriously? One of the things I took notice from the book is how many great bands the Smugglers played with on tour. Apart from the Fellows, the Smuggs played with and/or toured with Cub, the Donnas, the Gruesomes, Mudhoney, the Posies, Fastbacks, the Queers, Supersnazz and the Mr. T Experience to name just some of the bands mentioned in the book. Though there is an official soundtrack (best of The Smugglers) for the book available (digital only), the next few posts will be an unofficial "tour" soundtrack featuring live recordings of some of the previously mentioned bands.

The live recording for this post is taken from a Smugglers show from 1996 at the non-defunct Wellington's bar in Winnipeg. Opening for the Smugglers was Duotang (from Winnipeg) and fellow Lookout recording artists, the Mr. T Experience. I went primarily because I love MTX and I've always wanted to see them live, but all three bands were excellent. The bar was jammed packed (it's not a large venue), but thinking back it wasn't a bad place to see a band. I recorded the show on my recording Walkman and I transferred the cassette to digital on my hard-drive. The fidelity isn't high and the crowd noise is definitely present, but it has that "I'm in the middle of a crowded bar" feel to it and after listening to the tape for the first time in years it sounds pretty good. This is the first time this show has been shared, I'm almost positive no one else taped it, so it's a nice historical document of the Smugglers on tour...in Winnipeg.
Enjoy!
#12daysoftrouble

Please do NOT sell or convert to lossy format (except for personal use)
Please share!

THE SMUGGLERS
Wellington's
Winnipeg, MB
May 22, 1996
AUD Master

Sony mic> Sony WM-GX35 Recording Walkman> Maxell XLII 90 Cassette> Aiwa tape deck> ADS Instant music> usb> Nero SoundTrax> WAV> Direct WAV splitter> FLAC> rar

01. Rock With The Smugglers
02. Smokin' Monkey
03. Make You Mine
04. Big Trouble
05. ??
06. Especially You
07. Keep On
08. She Ain't No Egyptian
09. The B'n'L
10. Bishy-Bishy!
11. Alan Thicke
12. Whiplash
13. Vancouver, BC
14. Stop! Look! Listen!
15. Kiss Like A Nun
16. Rock 'N' Roll Was Never This Fun
17. Rock with The Smugglers

Encore
18. To Serve, Protect And Entertain
19. Supercar

Not 100% sure about the song titles on the setlist, if you identify the missing song (s), let me know.

THE SMUGGLERS- 1996-05-22 Wellington's, Winnipeg, MB FLAC. rar

J Church- Pyramid Cabaret, Winnipeg, June 12, 1996

It will be 10 years ago this October 21th since J Church founder (guitarist/songwriter), Lance Hahn passed away. He left behind a legacy of great music, and according to Wikipedia, the group released an estimated 150 records which included an extensive discography of albums, singles and splits with other like-minded punk rock bands. He died October 21, 2007, at the way too early to die age of 40 following a collapse during dialysis after being in a coma since October 12th. I had previously wrote a blog posting in October of that year about Lance and J Church and my experience meeting Lance in person after shows in 1996 and 1997.

Since today is "Wequest Wednesday", I thought I would honour a request to repost a  J Church show from 1996 I shared on Dime 10 years ago. I only posted a small sample of songs from the show on the blog and the Dime link is long gone, but alas, I browsed through my hard drives and found the FLAC files I originally posted. The recording is from over 20 years ago and I originally recorded it on cassette, but it's transferred to digital and it's lossless. I'm listening to the recording as I write this and the sound is surprisingly good. Any muffled vocals and uneven sounds is clearly the Pyramid's fault and the chatter and idiot catcalls are all part of the charm and experience of standing in the middle of a packed  punk rock crowd. I will eventually post the J Church show I recorded in 1997 probably closer to the 20th anniversary of the show in the near future...stay tuned!
Enjoy!

J CHURCH
Pyramid Cabaret
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
June 12, 1996

Audience MASTER
Sony clip-on mic> Sony WM-GX35 > Maxell XLII> Fisher CR-W911A Cassette Deck> ADS Instant Music> USB> Nero Soundtrax> Wav> Direct Wave MP3 Splitter> FLAC> Maketorrent> rar

01.
02.
03.
04.
05.  Ivy League College
06.  My Favourite Place
07. 
08.  Why I Liked Bikini Kill
09.  No Surprise
10.  Racked
11.  Tide Of Fate
12.
13.  Hope
14.
15.  Yellow, Red And Green
16.  Panama
17. 
18.

It's been a long time since I first listened to this recording. If your more of a fan than me and can identify the song titles, please let me know so I can fill in the rest of the setlist.
Thanks!

J CHURCH- 1996-06-12 FLAC. rar 

Perfect- Pachyderm Studios, July 7, 1996

Tommy Stinson's next band after Bash & Pop was Perfect, who formed in 1995. Their only official release during their brief existence was the near-perfect, when Squirrels Play Chicken EP, that (in my option) is the best collection of songs Stinson has recorded. A close second would be the follow-up full length the band recorded, but was shelved before it was release, Seven Days A Week. I received a "leaked" copy in a trade many years ago and it was a head shaker to why it didn't get released. Advance copies had been sent out (hence the leak), but because their label was bought out by another. Eventually, a remixed and re sequenced version of Seven Days A Week was released as, Once, Twice, Three Times A Maybe in 2004.

The recording below was recorded exactly 17 years ago at Pachyderm Studios in rural Minnesota. The recording has perfect sound as it was broadcast on the radio complete with a studio audience (contest winners?) and a live performance. The songs and performance are great with Tommy in good spirits and the band tight and crisp. An amazing cover of Elton John's, Crocodile Rock conclude this essential set.
Enjoy!

PERFECT
Pachyderm Studios
Cannon Falls, MN
July 7, 1996
FM Broadcast

01. Introduction
02. Makes Me Happy
03. Little Drum
04. Sometimes
05. talk
06. Don't Need To Know Where
07. Thing I Call My Life
08. Me
09. Yap Yap
10. talk/Negative Feedback
11. Alternative Monkey
12. Crocodile Rock
13. conclusion

PERFECT- 1996-07-07, Pachyderm Falls, MN FLAC. rar

The Odds- RealTime 1996

The Odds are a Canadian band that I somehow overlooked back in the 90's. I always liked the band, I saw their music videos on TV and heard their "hits" on the radio, but never dug deeper and bought any of their full length albums until a couple of weeks ago. The Odds are a band I should have listened to more, they have a great power pop sound with plenty of guitar, a sound that is kind of edgy, but poppy and melodic enough to get mainstream radio play in Canada. The band went on a hiatus from 1999 to 2007, when Craig Northey left the band to pursue other projects. One of Northey's projects was a collaboration with the Gin Blossom's, Jesse Valenzuela to co-write and perform the theme song, Not A Lot Goin On for the hugely popular CTV show, Corner Gas. Ironically enough, this song might be the most recognizable Odds-related song in their career. More recently, the Odds could be seen (or at least heard) at Vancouver Canuck playoff games as their "house band" performing high above the ice in a private box. Unfortunately, for Canucks and Odds fans their appearance has been limited due to the Canucks lame early exit from the playoffs the last two years.

I dug through my tapes to find this rare little gem that was recorded from my big blaster tape deck onto cassette from a live CBC broadcast in 1996. This was a live in-studio performance in the CBC studios for a program called, RealTime that was heard on Saturday nights on the national network up here in Canada. The Odds performed songs from their latest album, Nest that featured the song, Someone Who's Cool, their biggest hit and arguably the best song they ever wrote. At this time the band was at the height of their career and have yet to match that success. This live session is a good listen, the band is playing their instruments through mini battery-powered amps so the sound is raw and they were obviously have a fun time in the studio. I honestly haven't listened to this tape since I recorded it, but I'm glad I can share it now. On the flip-side of the tape is a Sloan show from 1996 that might have been aired on the same night and I probably recorded the Odds session since I was recording anyways. The sound is okay, but be forewarned there is some static on the first two tracks (I seem to have a lot of radio reception problems on my stereo).
Enjoy!

THE ODDS
CBC "RealTime"
CBC Studio
Vancouver, BC
December 7, 1996

FM Master (cassette)

01. Someone Who's Cool
02. interview
03. Heard You Wrong
04. Nothing Beautiful
05. talk
06. Say You Mean It Wondergirl
07. interview


THE ODDS- 1996-12-07, CBC RealTime, Vancouver, BC, FLAC .rar

Fastbacks- Europe '96

By default, I'm a huge fan of the Seattle band, the Fastbacks. I first heard of the band when I was ordering Young Fresh Fellows albums and merch from the Popllama catalog back in the early 90's. The Fastbacks album, Very, Very Powerful Motor was released by Popllama and I realized Kurt Bloch from the Fastbacks was also in the Fellows. Bloch had formed the Fastbacks with Kim Warnick and Lulu Gargiulo back in 1979 and in 1989 joined the Fellows after guitarist Chuck Carroll left the group. Bloch played in both bands until the Fastbacks disbanded in 2002. The Fastbacks were important in my musical taste development because they one of the first female fronted bands I really enjoyed. Their songs have a punky edge with a poppy sensibility, but it was Kurt's guitar sound that sold me on the Fastbacks...and besides anything Kurt Bloch plays on or produces is amazing!

Good news for Fastback fans that missed them the first time, the band is reunited for one show on July 8th for the Annual West Seattle Fest!! The best thing is that it's free and all ages, but unless you live in Seattle or are travelling there, you're out of luck. Of course, I can't be there, but I would kill to hear a recording of their set, so if you hear (or see) anything posted, please let me know.

To tide you over, here's a tour compilation of the Fastbacks when they toured in Europe opening for Pearl Jam in 1996. The sound quality is outstanding, as it is soundboard recordings and the performances are top notch.
Enjoy!

FASTBACKS
Europe '96
Tour compilation,
November 1996

Source: Soundboard

01. No Information 2:30
02. Hung On A Bad Peg 1:43
03. Fortune's Misery 2:42
04. Which Has Not Been Written 0:57
05. I Found The Star 1:40
06. Gone To The Moon 1:41
07. All About Nothing 2:31
08. Impatience 3:37
09. On Your Hands 2:35
10. Stay At Home 5:43
11. Apologies 1:33
12. Just Say 2:29
13. Banner Year 2:43
14. Parts 1:46
15. Set Me Free 6:02 (w/ Mike McCready, guitar)
16. Leavin' Here 3:27 (w/ Eddie Vedder, vocal)

Kim Warnick: Vocals and Bass,
Kurt Bloch: Guitar and vocal,
Lulu Gargiulo: Guitar and vocal,
Mike Musburger: Drums (bass on 07)

Tracks 1, 2, 4-7 and 15 recorded 96.11.24 at Cascais Pavillion, Portugal.
Tracks 3, 9, 10, 14 and 16 recorded 96.11.25 at Cascais Pavillion, Portugal.
Tracks 8 qnd 13 recorded 96.11.03 at Deutschlandhalle, Berlin, Germany.
Tracks 11 and 12 recorded 96.11.22 at Anoeta Velodrome, Barcelona, Spain

Track 11 originally by Pointed Sticks

FASTBACKS- Europe '96. rar

Before They Was Famous- Emily Haines

Long before she fronted Metric or even before she was part of the Broken Social Scene, Emily Haines self-released a solo album called, Cut In Half And Also Double. Released in 1996, this album is rare and very hard to find and sells for big bucks on eBay, as there were only about 1,000 copies made. She wrote and recorded the songs while in university, UBC in Vancouver 1992-93, Toronto 1995 and Concordia University in Montreal 1995-96. This is actually a really strong sounding record, it has the foreshadowing of what's to come, as the influences and the pop rock sounds are evident even before she recorded Grow Up And Blow Away with Metric. Compared to her second solo project, Knives Don't Have Your Back, the acoustic guitar is foundation for the songs instead of piano, but that might be attributed to the fact it's easier (and more portable) to write songs on guitar than piano when changing locales every few years. A fine record worth a listen especially if you're a big Metric fan. Emily might be embarrassed to see this recording being traded and shared amongst her fans (she shouldn't be!), but this is a chance to hear Emily Haines before she was famous, or at least life before Metric. EMILY HAINES Cut In Half And Also Double (1996)

1. Dog

2. Bore

3. Eden

4. Pretty Head

5. Freak

6. The View

7. Eau De Toilette

8. Carpet

9. Pink

EMILY HAINES- Cut In Half And Also Double. rar