Dirt Merchants

Another two records scratched from my wants list are these two 7"s by Dirt Merchants. They were a Boston band active circa 1992-97. I first heard of them about 5 or 6 years after they broke up. Somewhere around 2003 I started a mild obsession with a band called 27, mainly due to the enchanting vocal talents of Maria Christopher, and Dirt Merchants was her previous band. They released one album on a major label, before which there were a couple of indepently released 7"s. So I stuck them on my wants list and they just never seemed to appear. Well, until this year when I thought to look for them on Discogs, where both were sitting for pretty much no money at all.

The first is apparently self titled, and features two songs - 'Beware Of Dog' and 'Mindfuck'.

The second also features two songs - 'Love Apnea' and 'Purple Barrel'.

There isn't really too much to say about these two. But I wish the rest of my wants list was available this easily and cheaply. Although, if that were the case, things would pretty boring I guess.

Teenagers

Here's a pretty minor record that has been on my wants list for way too long. This one sided, one song Mind Eraser 7" was originally only available to people who ordered the 'Glacial Reign' LP direct from the label back when it came out. I was not one of those people, unfortunately, so a year or so later I added it to my want list, and then a few more years went by. Oops.

This record looks pretty cool, with a stamped label and also a screen printed obi strip. The only thing missing is a sexy colour of vinyl.

I still want the limited cover versions of the 'Cave' LP, although for some reason I didn't even bother putting them on my want list in the first place. Which means i keep forgetting that I want them. Hardly surprising that I haven't managed to find them yet then, is it?

That Time Of Year

At the start of the year I decided to make a conscious effort to reduce the size of my want list. To be honest, it hasn't gone too well. I don't feel that I have really crossed too many things off. I certainly haven't made any significant impact. But I have crossed a couple of longstanding items from the list, and here's one that I've been wanting for a long time...

Rain 'La Vache Qui Rit' 12" on Peterbilt Records. I'm not exactly sure how many copies were made, but this has always seemed rare to me, especially one in good condition. This band were from DC in the Revolution Summer era, slightly after Embrace, and this record features one of the earliest examples of a sleeve made from a manilla envelope.

There's no lyric sheet. The only insert is a postcard size piece of card with some names on. I included it in both photos as it somehow helped the camera capture the colour/light.

This band sounds very reminiscent of Rites of Spring, One Last Wish and Embrace. These six songs are really good and make me wonder what could have happened if they had gone on to do more. Even though this record is a tough find, the songs themselves are easy to get as Dischord released this on CD back in 2007. If you've not heard this before then it's worth a few minutes of your time.

Guess It's OK

Here's one that I needed to fill a critical gap in my Cave In collection. The split 7" with Piebald came out in 1996 when neither band were particularly well known anywhere but their native Boston. It was released by Moo Cow Records, and I can distinctly remember ordering a copy of this back when it came out, although that copy was white vinyl. This pink vinyl copy was a fourth press, and I never felt like I needed one originally as back then one copy was enough. As time as rolled on, however, I have realised that pink is by far the best colour for records and found it increasingly difficult to not have one of these in my life.

Some of my memories are funny. I remember back when this came out I emailed the label from work to reserve a copy. At that time, there was only one computer in my office that was connected to the internet, and my role was to log in every morning and check the email. I took the opportunity to use it to email record labels, ask them to hold records for me, and then send money in an envelope. I also remember getting in trouble because the dude who was the manager of my team found out I used email and thought that it was like phone calls, where the cost was per email sent, and I got told off and told not to use it again. Ha! It was worth it though, because those first press white vinyl copies have always been pretty tough to find.

More Integrity 7"s

The life of an Integrity collector is never quiet. It seems like for every record I pick up, there are five more that I miss. So recently I made an effort to pick up some pieces of the puzzle that, for one reason or another, passed me by when they came out.

Let's kick things off with a test press, and one with a badass cover. This is a test press of the 'March Of The Damned' 7". This was put out by A389 Records in 2010 as an extra for those who pre-ordered the 'To Die For' 10". This 7" is a vinyl pressing of an old cassette called 'Grace Of The Unholy'.

The crazy thing about this one is that I already have a test of this 7", but it has a different cover. I'm not really sure why two covers exist, nor how many of each there are. But what I do know is that when you're into collecting test press variations, you know you have a problem.

And on a similar note, next up is another test, this time for the '7th Revelation Beyond The Realm Of The VVitch 7". This one came out on A389 Records, and was given away as part of the special double LP repress of 'Systems Overload' which was made for the A389 bash in January 2014. The 'Systems Overload' lineup reformed for that show, and in advance got together and recorded a new song, which was released as this 7".

The next one is a test press of a flexi disc. The 'Piss Off You Bloody Wankers' flexi 7" was given as a bonus to anyone who pre-ordered the 'Den Of Iniquity' double LP last year. Well, even flexi discs need a test press, and here it is.

Moving on to some non test press records, my next pickup was a limited sleeve version of the Japanese pressing of the split 7" with Creepout. This originally came out back in 2009 for some Japanese tour. There were only 340 copies of this 7" made in Japan, yet three different sleeves. This third one has taken me since then to track down. It's a tough find for sure.

There were only 52 of these, and they are hand numbered and signed by someone or other. I believe it may be the pre-order version, although I could be wrong on that.

Next is a clear vinyl copy of the split with Gehenna. I think this is my 5th copy of this record. I still need the blue vinyl with plain label version.

Next, a baby blue vinyl copy of the 'In Contrast Of Sin' 7". This is the second press limited colour on Organized Crime Records. I already have one of these, but got this copy with an LP that I also picked up (post on that coming later). This one is numbered out of 116 copies. I have a spare which I have put up for sale on Discogs as I don't need two.

And finally, another copy of the split 7" with Mayday. A couple of months ago I picked up a blue one, although it was actually a greyish colour. So when I saw a very blue copy appear I decided to grab that too.

Here's the new blue with the first blue copy. I think they're different enough to warrant keeping both... despite what I just said about not needing two of blue Integrity 7"s.

This post now means that I have over 100 Integrity 7"s. If you'd have asked me how many I thought I had I would have said 'about 50'. Somehow i have double what I thought I had, which seems ridiculous. I mean, seriously, how did I acquire a hundred???

I've Heard It Before

It's been a little over a year since I added a Black Flag record to my collection. The last one was a gold vinyl copy of the 'Six Pack' 7". And my latest is another copyof the same record, but this one is on baby blue vinyl.

This one was a tough find. I started trying to collect the colour vinyl Flag 7"s in 2013 after (pretty much) completing the colour vinyl 12" collection and this copy was the first I saw for sale in two and a half years. It was worth the wait too, as this copy is in really great condition.

I'm now only one 7" away from a complete colour 7" collection. The last one I need, however, seems to be stupidly rare. I only know that it exists as a fellow collector emailed me a picture which he had grabbed from popsike. It's the 'Six Pack' 7" (again!) on clear blue. It looks like this:

I know it's a long shot, but if anyone reading this has one of these and would sell or trade it then please get in touch. I'm sure we can work out a deal.

Horns Lay Silent

Here's another 7" that has been on my wants list for a while. Admiral's first 7" on Soul Force Records. This came out in 1990 and this is the first time that I have either owned or heard it. Yup... there's nothing like being up to date... and I'm nothing like up to date.

In all honesty I mainly wanted this because it's on Soul Force Records. The label that released some great records at the tail end of the 80s, and I had always wanted to pick up this 7" after passing on one YEARS ago for £2 because I didn't know the band and I didn't like the look of the cover. Little did I know that it would take me half my life to finally get around to picking one up.

It's kinda funny listening to something for the first time 25 years after it came out. Especially when I could have listened to it at any time via the magic of the internet. But I have this weird rule that I'm not allowed to listen to something until I own the record. Even though, when I get the record, I don't play it, but download the songs from the internet. What a fool.

More Of The Same

This one took a lot longer than it should have. I don't know why. It's one of those that used to seem not too rare, but when I actually started to want one it then became impossible to find. I was offered one of these for the pathetic sum of £5 about circa 2010, but it was part of a bigger deal that never went down in the end, although I cant remember why. And then five years went by.

This is the third press of Faith's 'Subject To Change' LP on red vinyl. I have no idea how many were made nor in which year it came out.

The first press was on blue, and seems to be the most common colour. Or at least, it does in the current day and age. The second colour press was a lovely pink colour, and then the red followed at some point later. Interestingly, on the back cover the 'pay no more than' price has increased to $5 on the red vinyl copy, where it was previously $4 on the blue and pink copies, which clearly show that the red was later.

There were also a few copies on clear vinyl. Nobody really knows how many, although I have heard suggestion of 20-50. And also, apparently, there was a ridiculously low number of white vinyl copies. I'd never even heard of a white one before, but someone on instagram said that they had heard that there were only 5, one for each member of the band. Something tells me my collection will end here...

No Forgivance

A few years ago I traded away my Statement 7". I think it was on grey vinyl, although It may have been red. To be honest I struggle to remember now. But it always sat in the back of my mind that I needed to replace it at some point. Finally I have gotten around to it, although this copy is on blue vinyl.

I was struggling to remember when I traded my previous copy away. But then I thought that maybe I don't need to remember. Maybe my blog will tell me... and it did! I traded it away in August 2008 for an Engine Kid test press. Has it really been 7 years? Jesus...

Something Less

Did you ever end up with a record and wonder how on earth it happened? Well, I spotted someone selling a gold vinyl copy of the first Comeback Kid LP a while ago, which was the first press out of 100 copies. There are literally about 20 different versions of this LP out there, and I have no intention of collecting them, but way back when I decided to add the three first press colours (gold, white and red) to my want list. And they have stayed on there ever since. So I kinda decided to bag the gold one and then forget about the rest. Well, that was the plan, but somehow I ended up bidding on the gold copy and not winning it. So, feeling disappointed, I decided to go for the white copy that the same seller was also selling, which I did end up winning. This was, I believe, out of 200 copies.

After that, however, I started looking at what else the seller had and spotted another copy of the same record which was giong fairly cheap. I had no real intention of buying it, but figured that I would place a low-ish bid and be happy if I ended up winning. Well, wouldn't you know it I ended up winning it, but immediately felt the opposite of happy. I felt like an idiot who had been fished in to buying something that I had no intention of buying. Oops!

So now I'm not sure what to do. I'm gonna keep the white one, but not sure I want this other one. Oh, and I also have one on grey vinyl that I've owned for years. If you may be interested in either then get in touch.

Get In The Pit...

... You motherfuckers!

Life's Halt were one of my favourite early 00's bands. Great music, great lyrics, great artwork and some great record covers. But I never got around to picking up their 97 Demo 7". I think this came out after their other records. It was kind of an odd release - not on a record label and only 300 copies. I think.

This 7" has plain labels - one orange, the other blue. For some reason I really like these blank labels. I guess I'm just a sucker for nice colours.

This thing also comes with two separate inserts. One might be the inside of the cover, although I can't remember as I took this photo about three weeks ago now, and I can't be arsed to go check. It doesn't really matter anyway.

Kinda funny to think that this has been on my wants list for a few years. I added it and then never really went after one. I always figured the price would drop to like $3, but it never really did. Then lots of years rolled by. So I finally decided to cross this one off the list once and forget trying to save like ten bucks or whatever.

No Warning - Done

Now this one took me a long time to find. It's the No Warning 7" on purple vinyl. Only 100 were made in 2001. I remember this coming out quite vividly as I had traded records (via Revelation's trade board) a few times with each of the two dudes who ran the label. I remember them telling me that they were setting up a label and had this band called No Warning lined up for their first release. I also remember that when it came out I got in touch to then be told that the colour copies were sold out. And here we are fourteen years later with me finally getting around to picking one up.

In the end there isn't even an exciting climax to this long saga. This just appeared on eBay one day and I bid and won it. The only bonus was that it cost me quite a lot less than I would have paid.

This copy seems to have originally been owned by someone called Jim Connolly, who it would appear was 'the mk master'. If anyone knows who this dude is and what mk is then do please let me know as I'm intrigued.

Well as luck would have it, the same seller was also letting go of their copy of the same record with the Summer Tour 2001 sleeve, which I also didn't have. So I made a play for that one too. There were 400 copies of this, which seems like quite a lot for one tour to me.

And to round things off, I also picked up this 'Yeti Demo Sessions' 7". This came out last year as a freebie in the mystery boxes that Bridge Nine sold as a means of clearing out some old stock.

I think this pretty much wraps up No Warning for me. There's nothing else I need or want. I mean, I'd gladly take a test of the first 7" or the first LP, but realistically that ain't gonna happen, and I'm not gonna stress about it so I'm done here. Not often I say that, and it actually feels good. The only thing left to do is to go see them play live in London in October. Maybe see you there...

Jawbreaker

Now and again I get caught up in the hype. When it was announced that Jawbreaker's 1994 LP '24 Hour Revenge Therapy' as being repressed, with the first 300 copies on red vinyl, a virtual shitstorm ensued. It wasn't possible to select either a red or black vinyl option on the site. You just had to buy a copy and hope you got a colour one. People started posting what their order number was, assuming that an order number less than 300 meant that they had scored a red copy. And of course, when I read all of this stuff going on, I started to panic thinking I would miss out. So I placed an order. And in the end I got lucky.

I remember this coming out, and I remember seeing the band play live when they toured the record in 1994. It was the only time I ever saw them play.

The funny thing is that I have been trying to avoid buying reissues for the last couple of years. But this one fully sucked me in.

So on a slightly related note, there is one Jawbreaker record that has been on my wants list for years, and I have never had a single shot at owning it. It's the first Jawbreaker 7" on grey vinyl.

This was released by Very Small Records back in 1989. The first press was 500 copies on grey vinyl. The remaining 3000 copies came in a different colour sleeve and were on black vinyl.

I've had this on my wants list for a long time. I decided that I needed to cross it off, so spent a little more to get one.

And around the time that I picked this up, I also spotted a green vinyl copy of the Jawbreaker / Jawbox split 7", so figured I would grab that too.

And finally... I found the complete show that I attended in 1994 on youtube. The venue name is wrong, but it's undoubtedly the show I went to. Pretty cool that I can relive this 20 years on. Ah, the internet.