US East Coast Trip, Part 2 - New Jersey Trade

Day 2 and I met with a good friend before the Into Another show in Asbury Park, New Jersey. We had two things to do - get some food, and exchange records. And even though it didn't really hit me at the time, with hindsight it occurs to me that New Jersey was the perfect location for this trade.

So I ended up with this record:

And whilst the writing on the label looks like it reads 'Euro54' or possibly 'Euros4', I can reveal that it actually reads 'EVR54'. In other words, Equal Vision 54.

If you're still confused then this picture will probably help:

I should say straight away that the cover shown above was made by the person who traded this to me. It isn't an official cover, but I'm keeping it as I really like it.

'Through Being Cool' will be 20 years old in November of this year (2019). That seems absolutely insane. I remember this coming out, because it came out on the same day as the first Bane LP, and I got both in the mail in a package direct from Equal Vision. I also remember that the moment the needle dropped on the Bane record, no other record mattered for a couple of months. And then something else must have come out that grabbed my attention in early 2000, because I distinctly remember not getting around to listening to 'Through Being Cool' properly for about a year after its release. I remember this because I remember playing it after an exam I had on a bus on the way to a breakdance lesson (which is probably one of the most fucked up sentences I have ever written). And I didn't start those exams until November 2000. So somehow I put this Saves The Day album to one side for a year. Hardly surprising for me to do that kind of thing these days (although these days being only a year behind would definitely count as being 'up to date' for me). But that was definitely a strange thing for me to do back then. Anyway, when I finally got around to playing it, I loved it... like pretty much everyone under the age of 25 who heard it back then. The rest is history I guess. The band blew up, got signed to a major (albeit a pretend indy subsidiary), blew up more, got dropped, and then somehow carried on going for a further 20 years in one form or another. And even though I've loved every Saves The Day record (except maybe that grapefruit one from a couple of years back), I would still say that this is probably their best moment, so I am stoked as hell to add this to my collection.

Thanks!