Small Stars (1997 - 1998)

 #4: Small Stars 

                                                                                                                                                                      

Veering way off the track of heavier music, here's some "violin emo". That's at least what a comment I read described it as. Not exactly my assessment but to each their own. Small Stars was from Seattle Washington and played a nice calm vein of indie rock. The comment I mentioned did get one thing right - violins. Violin features pretty heavily on both releases from Small Stars. Members played in quite a number of bands. Carissa's Wierd, 764-Hero, and Kill Sybil to name a few. Is this what you call a supergroup of sorts? They had 4 tracks to their name and then called it quits to all continue pursuing a ton of other bands. They were around from 1997 to 1998 which I confirmed with Mike from the band. I guess all 4 songs were recorded at the same time too. They had another 5-6 songs that they just couldn't fit into the studio time which unfortunately seem to be lost to time. Fun fact too! The photo on the back of the It's Getting Late 7" is very well the only photo ever taken of the band. These guys are realllyyy unknown. Fans of Carissa's Wierd will love this, two of the members played on CW's first album "Ugly But Honest". 

                                                                                                                                                                      

It's Getting Late / Santa Barbara 7" (1998)

1. It's Getting Late

2. Santa Barbara 

                                                                                                                                                                      

Mailorder Freak November 1998 (Kill Rock Stars Series) 7" (1998)

1. One Verse

2. Waste My Time

                                                                                                                                                                      

Lion Tamer (1995 - 1997)

 #3: Lion Tamer 

                                                                                                                                                                      

Back to back bands that I know very little about! Lion Tamer was 100% from Richmond Virginia and 100% kicked ass. Their run seems to have been from about 1995-1997. In that time, just two 7" were put out in an official capacity. It's pretty cut and dry Superchunk-esque indie-rock/alt-rock. West 64 is definitely the better 7" of the two. Shoes from that single is insanely good. From what I know, one of the members also played in Coral which is neat. If you dig the Chapel Hill scene from North Carolina this'll be right up your alley. They seemed to have played a lot in that area. I tried to get in contact with members but again, couldn't find any accounts that looked alive. I'll update if I get more info on these guys!

5/13/24 EDIT: 

Point and laugh! It came to my attention that there was some unreleased / semi-released material from these guys floating about. Luckily I got a few messages before this became a full blown career-ending scandal (thanks to Shasa, go check out his blog here). Matt from the band gave his blessing to these being shared on the blog so I've added an outtake from the Half Suckered 7" as well as the semi-released Luxuries full length tape. I guess the tape was given out to friends but it was never sold and has no cover art. It's a bit of a departure in sound from the first two 7" but very good in its own right! More of an emo-indie vein comparative to the two 7". 

*click on album names for download links, music is in .wav, images are in .jpg*

                                                                                                                                                                      

Half Suckered / Unconsolation 7" (1995)

1. Half Suckered

2. Unconsolation 

                             

Unreleased Outtake:

1. Get The Dozer

                                                                                                                                                                      

West 64 / Shoes 7" (1995)

1. West 64

2. Shoes

                                                                                                                                                                      

Luxuries Semi-released Tape (1997)

1. Luxuries

2. Spirit Of Rigging

3. Punch

4. Wooden Shampoo

5. .5 Hour Fade

6. State Fair

7. Our Town

                                                                                                                                                                      

Emission (1994 - 1995)

 #2: Emission 

                                                                                                                                                                      

Emission is a band seldom mentioned, seldom known. To be honest, I know very little about them. I've attempted to track down members before but have never had any luck. None of their releases credit with full names which has made it very difficult in that search. Eventually if I can get in contact with someone with more deets I'll add some more info. What I do know is that these guys were from Scranton, California and the band (or one of the members) ran the Crash Recordings label. All of their releases were put out on Crash. The only other release besides the Emission ones on Crash was The Killingtons demo (featured a member of Jealous Sound and Bloomsday). It looks like they existed from about 1994 to the end of 1995 but obviously, very little sourcing to work with here. On the topic of music, these guys are fantastic. They put out two 7" and a demo tape (possibly promotional). Both 7" have a slightly different sound to the demo. I would describe the tape as more of a pre-Diary Sunny Day sound and the 7" are more in the indie-emo realm. The 7" are a bit better in my opinion, its a slightly softer sound. That being said the demo still has some bangers on it. Definitely give these guys a listen - about as underground as it comes. A personal favorite too!

*click on album names for download links, music is in .wav, images are in .jpg*

                                                                                                                                                                      

Rendered / Top For Time 7" (1994) 

1. Rendered

2. Top For Time

                                                                                                                                                                      

When A Junky Sound Rings 7" (1995)

1. Aftertaste

2. When A Junky Sound Rings

3. Five-Four Song

                                                                                                                                                                      

Emission S/T Demo Cassette (1994)

1. Fill Me

2. Black Inside

3. No Beginning

4. Grey Face

5. Breathe

6. You'll Never Stand

7. Wish

                                                                                                                                                                      

New Terror Class (1999 - 2001)

 #1: New Terror Class

                                                                                                                                                                      

Some of you may know Harriet The Spy, but do you know their crazy younger brother? NTC featured Jamie Stillman, Dave Neeson, and Joel McAdams and the band hailed from Kent, Ohio. All played in the aforementioned Harriet The Spy (these guys will eventually get a post too!). New Terror Class is weird - like really weird. In a good way though! It's an eclectic mix of hardcore and indie. In a way, it's sort of a fusion of Harriet The Spy and The Party Of Helicopters (another Kent band Jamie featured in). They had their run from 99 to 01 and put out a single 7" and a full length. Of the two, the 7" might be a bit better in my opinion. It features a great version of their standout song, "Routine Ecstasy". They re-recorded it for the full length and it just doesn't hit as hard. If you like experimentation though, the full length will be right up your alley. 

*click on album names for download links, music is in .wav, images are in .jpg*

                                                                                                                                                                      

Did You Hear That We Fucked...? CD (2001)

1. Give Me Your Email Address, I'll Send You Some Sick Shit

2. Nearly Named Bits Of Chick Tits

3. I Believe It's On

4. With An Uzi And A 40oz

5. Maintain Your Dragon

6. Flying Fuck For All

7. Pussy Survivor

8. Hunks... Did You Call Me A Fag?

9. Routine Ecstasy 

10. "True"

                                                                                                                                                                      

With An Uzi And A 40oz... 7" (1999)

1. With An Uzi And A 40oz...

2. Routine Ecstasy 

                                                                                                                                                                      

 #0: introduction...

Post number zero? Well, I figured I would take a short moment before I started making actual posts to quickly introduce myself and the purpose of this blog. 

...

I really hate introductions. Where to start... Like most I initially got into hardcore. The classics y'know, Minor Threat, Black Flag, Dead Kennedy's. Some would say I'm still into hardcore... Probably the first release that I can say turned me on to "emo" was Heroin's 1993 self titled. That Heroin record is so insanely powerful and has not aged at all for me. Not long after I discovered that album I decided to start "collecting". I have never viewed purchasing records as a collecting thing for me. Rather I view it as a facilitating new music type thing. Being a product of the online era a lot of the music I discovered in my formative years (and still discover to this day) is in an online setting. Usually online via the work of many others spreading it about. 

...

That brings me to the purpose of the blog (and overarching project). As I continue to build up my collection I'll share some stuff on here with pictures/files. The goal is to do my part in preserving this music. A sort of homage to other's past work. I am constantly listening to new bands myself. I would be lying to call myself some type of historian or something (yet...?). Hopefully you find something you'll enjoy on here. Sorry for screaming into the void, this'll be kept to a minimum in the future. 

...

-Nick