I was a DJ at WRCT 88.3 fm at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh during my college years. I didn't play guitar or drums, the standard indie rock instruments of the day, but I wanted to be a part of the burgeoning local scene. My solution was to pool resources with several of my station alumni friends and help release records by some of our favorite local bands.Fiscally speaking, our independent record label failed horribly. It was a common story then and now, and it's not worth retelling. Suffice to say that our enthusiasm for the business did not match our enthusiasm for the music.
Musically speaking, however, I am pleased with our legacy. Among our releases were Hurl's The Bessemer Process 2x7" and Shale's Truth/Lie 12" EP. If memory serves, those were two of the three to be celebrated at the advertised "TRIPLE RECORD RELEASE PARTY!" on your left. Also included, mostly because of dumb luck and a wealth of photos archived at Hurl's MySpace page, is the third and final 7" release by local art damage no wave scoundrels Swob.
For the unfamiliar:
Hurl = midwestern indie rock a la Bitch Magnet, Don Caballero, Hum, Slint (fun fact - Hurl bassist/vocalist Matt Jencick has been Slint's bassist for their recent reunion performances)
Shale = heavy post-punk indie crossed with screamo/hardcore
Swob = psychopathic musings accompanied by atonal guitar splattered with tribal thuds.
(PS, if anyone reading has some good digital images of any of these records' artwork, please pass 'em on, eh?)
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7 comments:
nice blog Panzan.
nice to have these tracks in the 1s&0s without having to rip them myself.
i miss Peas Kor.
Screamo?
I've never been sure what screamo means. There was a lot of screaming in Shale. I am open to editing.
Screamo means avoid at all costs.
this is awesome. man, i would love more pgh stuff.
i have a few others in the grab bag. stay tuned.
What a find! I foolishly sold all of these records some time back in a fugue and have been longing to hear 'em again.
If you have more Swob -- particularly the Project A-Bomb record -- please share. Swob was incredible -- I remember seeing them live at CMU or Luciano's or somewhere and one of the guys doing something particularly awesome with a modified vacuum cleaner.
Anyway, thanks!
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