PROJECT KATE TEST PRESS

Even though I'm generally pretty miserable, there are rare occasions when something special happens that really touches me and makes me realise that there are still some nice people out there after all. This is a story about one of those times...

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Equal Vision Records. If you're reading this then you're probably familiar with their output. From the early days of krishna-core bands like Shelter, 108 & Prema, to the mid 90s post-hardcore rock bands like Shift, Copper & Understand, and the straight edge revival bands of the late 90s like Hands Tied, Ten Yard Fight & Floorpunch, Equal Vision was a label that I could trust. I could buy anything they released and know, even before I dropped the needle, that it was going to be good. By 1998-2001, many other people had figured this out too, and EVR had become one of most important hardcore labels in the world, releasing albums that have since gone on to become hailed as modern classics, by bands such as Floorpunch, Converge, and American Nightmare, which will (I am sure) remain important and influential for many years to come.

In May 2006 I went on tour around the UK with my friends Bane. The biggest show of the tour was at the Underworld in Camden. The show was sold out. Bane were playing with Betrayed and Fearless Vampire Killers. But despite this line-up, my main interest in the show was not the bands. I had been told on the way to the show by Dalbec that Steve Reddy, owner of Equal Vision Records, was going to be in attendance, and I was stoked on this news. In an indirect way, Steve was responsible for so many of the records that had made such a positive impact on my life that I just wanted to meet him. And maybe say thank you and get some stories. Oh yeah - and ask about why EVR had stopped putting out hardcore bands and making vinyl!

I was introduced to Steve by Aram (vocalist for Betrayed, guitarist for Champion, owner of React! Records and all-round good dude), who told me that Steve had sent him a white Floorpunch LP for his birthday. With an introduction like this, I figured that Steve must surely be the nice guy I was hoping for. And I was not let down. We talked about all kind of things, like how under-rated the Prema LP was (and still is), how so many people never knew that Understand were a UK band, why he made a Bane TV commercial, and how EVR had become a business that employed several people. I was keen to let him know that several of the earlier EVR records still mean a lot to me, despite being forgotten by a lot of people, like the Shift records and the Project Kate LP. I like to think this made him realise that I wasn't some young kid and that I was genuinely interested in the EVR history, although I'm sure my questions had already made this obvious. And although I felt like I was bothering Steve at times by asking stupid questions about things that were probably ancient history to him, he remained polite and talkative throughout.

At the end of the night I said farewell and jokingly threw in a comment like "Don't forget to send me that Project Kate test press". He gave me his business card & told me to email him my address. Naturally, I figured he was joking, but a week or so later I emailed anyway, just in case he was serious. To my disappointment, he never replied.

Fast forward to 2008. I was tidying some stuff at home and stumbled across the business card Steve had given me. I realised that 2 years had passed. Even though I had never seriously expected to get anything, I also figured that if there was even a remote chance, then I should explore it. So I decided to send a brief email. I sent something short that was supposed to be funny like "Steve - I just realised it's been 2 years and no sign of the record. Maybe you should contact the post office?". I figured this might make him laugh if nothing else. But no reply. So I forgot all about it.

Three months later I got an email completely out of the blue from a girl at EVR. She told me that she was Steve's assistant, and that she needed my address to send me a record. A few weeks passed, a few emails were exchanged, and today I received a package in the mail.

EVR 28 - Project Kate "The Way Birds Fly" LP Test Press

This makes me happy in so many ways. I loved this album when it came out. I still love it today. I love this test press. And I love the story of how I came to own it. You can't buy stories like this on eBay.

Steve & Kate - You made my day. THANK YOU XXX