The Past - Cassette EP [2000]

I wanted to include this with my previous post for The Past's full-length, but several sets of equipment refused to comply. Not to be deterred, I eventually got this 5-song cassette transferred to my computer. I've been listening to it a lot, and remembering the first time I heard it. I'm not from Everett, but had recently befriended an Everett dude who'd moved down to Bothell, where I went to school. He'd just gotten a copy of this tape, and during theater class he put it on the stage's sound system and turned it up loud. We heard about 20 seconds before the teacher yelled something like, "WHAT is THAT?!". Confused, and seeking to prevent whatever illness could be caused by the relentless repetition of oddly tuned guitar riffs and noise, he literally ran over to the console and turned it off, hastily pulling the tape out of the machine, so that it could not infect any further. Now, I'd known this teacher my entire life. My parents were best friends with he and his wife. I knew him better than any non-family adult in my life. To a high school kid, seeing music cause such a negative gut reaction from a parent-like figure can only mean that you're on to something great. And we were. 

All the copies of this tape were recorded over existing tapes. Mine was taped over a lecture from a motivational speaker. I've included a minute of so of his speech, as I feel it contributes to the experience of listening to this tape. 

Worth noting is that I feel this tape has the definitive version of "Psychosis" (called "Seen and Not Seen" here, though), especially in how it ends with an  Echoplex loop. 

Download the 5-song tape with artwork here.

Jeff and Keeg - "The Gold Tape" [1999]

A longtime favorite for the kids of the late 90s Everett scene, Jeff and Keeg was the short-lived duo of Keegan Douglas and Jeff Scott, formed after Keeg's band Luner Lander broke up. I believe this was their only release, a 4-song tape, spray-painted gold (I hear there were some silver ones, too). Straightforward guitar-based pop songs about girls, with Brian Wilson-inspired falsetto vocals and the occasional Phil Spector drum beat. I went to the Old Fire House one night with a friend, and Keeg, who I didn't know but who knew my friend, was walking around with a grocery bag of the the new tape, handing them out. I saw he and Jeff play a few times, the set consisting of these four songs played by just the two of them, Keeg on guitar and Jeff on bass, both with matching blue Fenders, holding them in shifting coordinated positions with the song, as if the garage was American Bandstand in 1964. A cassette in a boombox filled out the band with keyboard and drums.

A short while later, Jeff and Keeg recruited a couple other guys, and were Jeff and Keeg and John and Jim, then simply The New Avenues. See here for my post on them, which features a redone version of the tape's classic closer, "No November", a song which I've heard multiple girls swear is about them. Whatever the truth may be, it's a great little pop song, and I'm very happy to share this tape with you. Enjoy.

Download the 4-song tape with artwork scans here.

Mocket - Un-man 7"

Mocket's Un-man 7" was released as a part of the Kill Rock Stars Mailorder Freak 7" Singles Club in 1999. The a-side is a track off of their then-current album Pro Forma and the b-side is a remix of a track off of their previous record Fanfare. New wave-y punk rock weirdness at it's finest:

Un-man 7"

The Past - Imperfect (2000)

The Past were a mostly instrumental and entirely arty trio from Everett, two-thirds of which went on to form Display. With their giant Sunn amp cabinets and arsenal of vintage effects pedals, Jim Paschall and Jeremy Cooper unleashed waves of moody Sonic Youth and Krautrock-inspired riffs over Matt McLemore's spare but highly specific (and a bit funky, in a DJ Shadow sort of way) motorik drumming. One of my favorite memories of any show I've ever been to was at a house where The Past opened for FCS North. When their final song ("Agneta") ended, Jeremy tapped on his Echoplex, which then replayed his entire guitar part from the beginning. He and Jim peeled back the grillcloth of their amps, shoved their instruments completely inside, and as effects filtered feedback accompanied the ghost guitar, the band joined the crowd in watching the end of their set. Fantastic.
After a couple years and one short tape, they released this full-length self-released CD-R.  It was limited to 100, but I think only a few dozen were actually made, as they broke up just they put this out (my copy is number 1, by the way). I also have their cassette ep and a live video, both of which I intend to transfer soon, but keep encountering uncooperative equipment.

Download the full album with scans here.

Shoplifting - Cassette EP

Arthur has already posted some Shoplifting material in the past, but to get you up to speed, they were an art-drenched post-punk influenced band that was basically a rebranding of the original Chromatics. As Adam Miller took the reins of what had been his side project while in Soiled Doves, Devin Welch, Hannah Blilie, and Michelle Nolan recruited Chris Pugmire for vocals and some occasional bass work for the songs Michelle sang on. This is the CD-R "reissue" that was briefly available at shows. The original cassette, which announced their arrival, was passed around before their first show, and maybe available at that first show, in a Georgetown warehouse. I was at their second show, and many after that. They were instantly my second favorite band in town, moving up to the top spot when Display split up. 

Formed in 2002, the unpredictable nature of Shoplifting's early shows always kept them exciting. Once they passed out [optional] blindfolds to everyone, once they were joined by the local punk marching band The Infernal Noise Brigade. One time at the Vera, they didn't play any of their songs, but instead performed a Glenn-Branca-like improv set, where Hannah's drum kit was in the middle of the room, and everyone else, plus Jim Paschall and Jeremy Cooper from Display, played guitar from a different corner of the room, creating different blends of sound as you walked through the space. 

Eventually, Michelle moved out of town, and was replaced by Melissa Lock, who came up all the way from Australia. The band split up in (I think) 2006, when Hannah was asked to join the Gossip, then Chris and Mel moved to Australia, where they've started a family and a new band, New War. Devin has kept busy, starting now-defunct Past Lives with his old Blood Brothers buddies, as well as the not-defunct experimental dub project Flexions. Now a card-carrying Portlandian, he recently joined Vice Device.

Download the full EP with front and back scans here.

The Cripples / Aaiiee/ Toy Train / Eternal 13 - Split 7"

This 4-way split 7" was came out in the Spring of 1999, with a record release show occurring in May at The Velvet Elvis. Toy Train, which featured a pre A-frames/The Intelligence Lars Finberg, start things off with a burst of hyperactive shouty organ-driven hybrid of both punk and hip hop. Next up is Eternal 13 with a cut of almost radio friendly skate-rock. Next up are The Cripples with a blast of their trademarked lo-fi/high energy synth punk, which contains backing vocals that make the song sound an awful lot like the mutant offspring of a Cripples/Blood Brothers sexual encounter. Finishing up the disc are Aaiiee with a song that sounds awful lot like some of the mid to late 70's New York CBGB's rock bands (eg. The Shirts).

4-way Split 7"

Say 10 Hail Marys

Say 10 Hail Marys were a very short lived side project between Brandon of Teen Cthulhu, Jeff McNulty of Blöödhag and Brad of Burning Witch. They played three local shows, released one demo of experimental drone/sludge metal in 2004 and were never heard from again.

Say 10 Hail Marys demo