Porcelain Decay "s/t" 7 inch (Sot Records/2000)

Okay folks... I am back. As promised I shall start to finish up the remaining uploads I have planned before unveiling my new blog (which I am very excited about). And I suppose you should be too if you like obscure indie rock/lo fi and shoegaze because I'll uploading plenty. Today's upload comes courtesy of a melodic DIY punk rock band called Porcelain Decay which featured current/ex members of Fellow Project, Bridge & Tunnel, Contra, Church of the Rowdy, and 3 Mylile. They played catchy, politically charged DIY punk rock and outside of this 7 inch the only other thing the band released to my knowledge was a track and in my opinion their best one to the "Who Has Two Thumbs and Loves Long Island Punk and Hardcore" 7 inch compilation on Traffic Violation Records. Porcelain Decay were a ton of fun live and you can guarantee that vocalist "Lord Snake" (Adam from Contra) would put his fingers in a gun formation to his head mid song at least five times a set every time they played. I know right now somewhere my good buds Joe and Tia are wondering "why is Mike posting this" but the fact remains that Porcelain Decay were an integral part of what was going in the late  90s Long Island DIY scene so I'd be completely remiss if I were to not share it. Personally speaking I feel the music does have a rather dated quality to it but that is just fine with me. This vintage Long Island Y2K DIY punk rock! Enjoy!

Porcelain Decay "s/t" 7 inch track listing
1. DIY Revolution
2. Punk Rock High Pt 2
3. Down In It
4. Porcelain Decay

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Fellow Project "Where's the Wire?" 10 inch (Make Or Break Records/2004)

Okay. I lied this is the last Fellow Project I will upload. Well maybe that is a lie too. It is just that all of the other releases are still readily available. As far as I can tell Where's the Wire? is pretty much only available from the band. So after you download this awesome album be sure to go see them live and buy the 10 inch from them (as well as all of their other available awesome music) so you can spin this great record on your turntable. Where's the Wire? is still beginning to end probably my favorite Fellow Project record. It is the last overtly folk rock influenced record that the band did as everything since has been more rock/post punk influenced which still certainly rules but definitely the sound on the first three Fellow Project records is what I love most about the band's ever growing discography. The band's releases always have great vocals and lyrics and for my money Where's the Wire? is coming up aces in both of those categories.  This is also the last album that original drummer Adam Kuhn played on. Where's the Wire? is wonderful 10 inch record that comes with a bonus cd that includes a song that is not on the record. And because I am such I good sport I am sharing that track with everyone as well.

If for some reason you missed my previous two entries about the first two Fellow Project albums Watch It! and If We Were Mariachis I highly recommend you go back and download those two albums. Especially if you like listening to great music there is no reason why you shouldn't download all the Fellow Project albums I have made available here. And do yourself, the band, and the labels who have released their music over the years by adding their available releases to your record collection. In recent years they have released music on Dead Broke Records, Kiss of Death and even my own Rok Lok Records.

Fellow Project Where's the Wire? track listing
1. Doom?
2. Vamanos
3. Papillion
4. Songs Are Like Bugs
5. The Pace
6. Scrap
7. Races
8. Where's the Wire?
9. Sunrise* (cd bonus track)

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Fellow Project "If We Were Mariachis" cd-r (Burn It Down Rebuild/ 2002)

This isn't the first time that I have posted about Fellow Project and it most likely won't be the last, though I probably won't share much more because I don't want to be sharing titles that are still readily available. The Watch It and this album If We Were Mariachis represent the bulk of the rarities in the band's discography mainly due to the limited nature of the "pressings". And since it is the season of giving I implore you or any lover of good music to head to a few of the links I shall provide below and pick up some of Fellow Project's available records for a loved one or even as a gift for yourself. Like, I mentioned in my previous post about Fellow Project, they are essentially the only band that I have written about that is still active so be a sport and support their music as well as the labels who continue to support them.

On Fellow Project's sophomore effort If We Were Mariachis the trio continued to explore the anthemic folk tinged indie rock but this time around some "mathy", more dynamic tinges were thrown into the mix hinting at would the band would later (and currently) be known for. Watch It! was a solid start for the band as it showed that; yes a band with a acoustic guitar can rock but overall If We Were Mariachis is a far stronger record as it really documents a band get settled into its niche groove. The songwriting is top notch and honestly, I am amazed at how well the bulk of this album holds up. To me, one of Fellow Project's greatest strength as a band has been the lyrics and vocal arrangements but also the seamless juxtaposition of more straight forward, anthem rockers next to more in depth, introspective dare I say "musician's rock". Fellow Project has always had a knack for writing really smart music that has been able to still be fun and not take itself to seriously. They are one of those bands whom I feel really fortunate to have seen play live many times (at least 100 times at this point) and watch them develop over the years with new recording after new recording.

Quite honestly, I don't think I have ever heard them write a bad song. There maybe the odd track or two that won't hit me as hard as others but still the songs and ideas are always of high quality. Stand outs on If We Were Mariachis for me get going right away with the opening track "3 Left Turns Created a Monster" with it is insanely catchy chorus with the lines "Let Me Die Quick/Let Me Die Quick/ And Painless" always makes me want to sing along. "Dangerous" is a great folky indie rock romp. "The End" has one of the most beautifully haunting guitar melodies I have heard come from a Long Island band that out of nowhere picks up temp and goes in a unexpected direction. And the way the flute and vocal harmonies are weaved in are just wonderful. "Perfectly Subtle" is a morose acoustic ballad that reminds me so much of Simon Joyner- and when has that ever been a bad thing?? And easily, the curve ball of the album is the closer "Give Me More" that with its driving rhythm and picked note guitar playing and then the unexpected frantic scream towards the end is a tune that has always stuck with me.

If this was a just world where quality musicianship was rewarded there isn't a doubt in my mind that Fellow Project would be enormously popular-however it seems that they are just left to a select group of music fans that have excellent taste. Such is this unjust world.  With that being said please check out the following links to help make the world a bit more just; well at least for Fellow Project.

Boots 7 inch (Rok Lok Records)
Rok Lok Records


Stream or purchase digitally Boots on Bandcamp

The Buried Life cd (Dead Broke Records)
Dead Broke Records

split 7 inch w/ Go Sell Drugs (Kiss of Death)
split 7inch w/ Thousandaires (Kiss of Death)
split 7 inch w/ Jonesin' (Kiss of Death)

Kiss of Death

If We Were Mariachis track listing
1. 3 Left Turns Created a Monster
2. Dangerous
3. Shoot the Latter But Save Your Face
4. The End
5. The Myth
6. The End and The Myth
7. Evelyn What?
8. Perfectly Subtle
9. We Do the Best We Can With What We Have
10. Picapatas
11. Give Me More

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Fellow Project "Watch It!" cd-r (self released/2001)

Unlike most of the bands I have posted so far, Fellow Project is still together and releasing one excellent record after another. Fellow Project originally started as a off shoot project from the Porcelain Decay to showcase the more folk/indie interests of guitarist Joe Jerkens and bassist Tia Meilinger. They recruited Adam Kuhn from Grid Iron/Fuck Cops and later Small Arms Dealer to play drums and quickly they started playing shows. And quickly they became one of my favorite bands to ever come from Long Island. Their songs were catchy, had great lyrics and there was that sing along type of energy without being juvenile. In their original three piece lineup the recorded three full length albums and the one I am sharing with you here today is their first album called Watch It! which was a self released cd-r. For my money Fellow Project have always been a real treat as they were so opposite of what every other band on the Island was doing. I mean Jerkens would rock out using an electric acoustic dobro! And maybe I am off my rocker but I truly sensed that there was/is a deep appreciation within the band of music that just isn't contemporary. Perhaps that is why they have stuck around for so long and why subsequently  their fans  have stuck around for the ride. Their songs resonate beyond any sort of temporary fad or trend, which is what happens when your music has roots. Sadly, I think Fellow Project tend to get lumped in with unfortunate folk punk movement of the early 2000s-speaking of fads.

Over the years Fellow Project have evolved so much sonically that their current incarnation bares very little resemblance to those humble, "folky" beginnings. The current lineup which includes Ryan Blecher (Yes Sensei/We Meet Under Tables/Firing Squad) on drums and Lou Fontana on guitar (On the Might of Princes, Small Arms Dealer, God's Gift to Women) has the band doing a more of post punk sound that resembles a cross between The Grifters, and Cursive. I also detect hints of Lou Reed, Bingo Trappers, Television and The Feelies in Fellow Project's music.

Watch It! and the following two albums were more rooted in the folk rock spectrum then their current recordings so it may take current fans by surprise but that doesn't mean the songs aren't as kick ass as their more current full on rock motif. I strongly feel that especially the first two albums have slipped away from most people's memory banks though maybe it would help if the band started playing these songs again (HINT! HINT!)


I have often said that Fellow Project are Long Island's most prolific band and here by listing their discography you can see for yourselves. Perhaps I am missing a compilation or two. And if anyone is interested a few of their releases in my distro including the Boots 7 inch which I released. Get into it. www.roklokrecords.com

discography:
-Watch It! cd-r (self released)
-If We Were Mariachis cd-r (Burn It Down/Rebuild)
-Where's the Wire? 10 inch/cd-r* (Make or Break Records) *has bonus track
-No Nucleus cd compilation (The Tone Library)
-Dead Broke Tape Comp: Volume 1 cassette compilation (Dead Broke Records)
-4 Way Split Series: Volume 1 7 inch compilation (Dead Broke Records)
-Dead Broke Tape Comp: Volume 2 cassette compilation (Dead Broke Records)
-The Buried Life cd (Dead Broke Records)
-split w/ Jonesin'  7 inch (Kiss of Death)
-split w/ Thousandaires 7 inch (Kiss of Death)
-Boots 7 inch (Rok Lok Records)
-split w/ Go Sell Drugs 7 inch (Kiss of Death)
-Life on a Island: Summer Compilation #2 cassette  (Life on a Island)

Fellow Project Watch It! track listing
1. "A Jolly Good Thing"
2. "Uncle Joe"
3. "What's the Matter"
4. "Silence is a B Flat"
5. "Tired Themes for Sorry People"
6. "Interlude in the Key of Housed"
7. "White Trees & Broken Bones"
8. "Ruthless"
9. "Papllon"
10. "My Way vs Your Way Means the Highway"
11. "Sample"
12. "Untitled" (track is unlisted on sleeve)


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