Five Days Late "A Few Words For Thought" cassette (Ruckus Records/1999)

This is going to be a real short one today. But all you need to know are two words: pre Latterman. 'Nuff said

Hey Latterman fans here is one more piece to the puzzle in your collections. And no I am not selling this... Here we have the only release from Five Days Late which was three fourths of what went on to become the original line up of Latterman. Five Days Late consisted of future Latterman members Matt Canino (bass/vocals), Phil Douglas (guitar/vocals) and Dan Sposato (guitar), with George Dehaven playing drums. A Few Words for Thought isn't too far off from what early Latterman sounded like with a heavy influence coming from bands like No Use For a Name and Face to Face. Even lyrically it touches on some of the same things that Latterman did in those early years. I know right now somewhere if they hear about this post, both Canino and Douglas are putting their hands to their faces wondering when I'll be done bringing  dusty nuggets out of the past. I think this is it. Or is it...............

Five Days Late A Few Words for Thought track listing
1. Explanation
2. Falling Back
3. How Many Days
4. Starting Point
5. They Are Gone

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Life Rocks "Ours Minds Are Made Up-There's Going to Be Trouble" CD (Burn It Down Rebuild/2004)

I think I have been pretty clear before about how much I despise folk punk. I never got it. I never understood the fascination with early Against Me or any period of Against Me for that matter...so I imagine it is a bit of a surprise to be sharing this album because Life Rocks and their lone release Our Minds Are Made Up-There's Going to Be Trouble is definitely a folk a punk album, make no mistake about it. Perhaps I give my friends a pass? Or perhaps there are actually some good tunes on the release? I am not known for just liking a friend's project just to be a nice guy because really how is that being supportive of their art by just just being a yes man or a body in audience. There enough pairs of deaf ears to go around why be another.

For those unaware Life Rocks was a project that consisted of Matt Canino (Latterman, Rvivr) and Ian Campbell (Bent Outta Shape) and it was a folk punk project where most of the tunes were focused around two acoustic and two sets of vocals, though there were a few numbers that involve more of traditional electric indie rock set up which are ironically some of the strongest offerings on the album. The songs generally feature poorly tuned acoustic guitars with shouting vocals that at times struggle to stay in key but that is pretty much what the whole charm about folk punk was right? The lyrics are generally focused around a very idealistic, youthful Peter Pan kind of thinking that I have hard time relating to any longer. Out of all of the releases I have shared thus far this is the one that I don't think has aged well as with me as a whole where I can spin it in any regularity BUT with that being said I do certainly believe there is still merit to be found. And more importantly, I know there a fans of both Matt and Ian's related bands who have never heard this and may appreciate it so that in itself is more than enough reason to share. Our Minds Are Made Up-There's Going to Be Trouble is a very honest document and proclamation from two young artists at a time where these songs and the ideas shared were very much alive not only in themselves but the people around them. The Long Island that is sung about in these songs seems like a world away and is just a very different place son in that regards it is hard to relate to. That isn't say that Long Island today doesn't have its own brand of dreamers and scene makers or what have you but there is no arguing that it is totally different. 

Life Rocks "Our Minds Are Made Up-There's Going to Be Trouble" track listing
1. Platt River Vs Long Island Sound
2. Stay Warm, Sweet Dreams
3. Expressways and Empty Skies
4. Smile Real Big
5. Dear Friends
6. North Shore Blues
7. Peanut Butter Garlic Hot Sauce
8. Mountains & The Beach
9. South Shore Blues
10. Keepers of the Fabled City
11. It Takes a Little Bit of Skill and A Little Bit of Not Giving a Fuck


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Latterman "Tour Demo" cd-r (self released/2001)

For the Latterman completists out there here is rare little piece of the band's history. I know guitarist Phil Douglas  dreads knowing that I have this cd in my possession still. Every now and then to get a reaction out of him I'll pull it off my shelf. I think it has something to do with it being one of his earliest recording efforts. It definitely doesn't sound bad at all and it in terms of recording and song writing quality it is leaps and bounds over the band's previous offerings. What more could I possibly say about Latterman that hasn't already been said here or anywhere else for that matter? For those that really need more info, to put things as simply as possible next to On the Might of Princes-Latterman was one of the main reasons that the DIY scene on Long Island thrived so much in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It could certainly be argued that Latterman was met with even greater "success" with their later albums on Deep Elm.

This demo was put together for a US tour in 2001 and it served as a preview of what becoming on their first full length Turn Up the Punk We'll Be Singing as the four songs presented here were all re-recorded for the album which would be released later that year. As a tour demo it certainly does its job in documenting Latterman at that point in time and sharing that folks they encountered on tour.

Latterman "Tour Demo!" track listing
1. Rebellion Vs The Alarm Clock
2. There's No Wrong Way to Do Punk (You Clown Doctor)
3. King Tough is My New Idol
4. For Someone Easy Going You Sure Do Seem to Wear Pants A lot


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Latterman "None of These Songs Are About Girls" cd-r (self released/2000)

Today's post will be a quickie due to being a bit short on time but also because I also recently profiled Latterman when I uploaded their demo which hopefully everyone has enjoyed. Oddly enough even though this self released ep came out after the demo only one of the five tracks here were later re-recorded, unlike the songs on the demo, which I suppose makes the tunes here a bit more of a rarity. I'd wager that most Latterman fans never even heard of this ep much less the songs on it.

None of These Songs Are About Girls starts off with the song "There's Never a Reason Not to Party" which to me is "the" Latterman song. It was later re-recorded for their first full length album, Turn Up the Punk We'll Be Singing but I think I prefer the version presented here. I generally don't like re-recorded versions of songs, as there is usually a spark missing that made the original version great. The other tunes on this ep are pretty solid as well, with "Matt Galante's Got It Right" and "Saving Private B" being the stand outs aside from the opening track. "Matt Galante's Got It Right" was also released on volume 2 of the Waggy Fanzine comp CD which if you are looking for physical copies of these tunes will be easier to track down than a copy of None of These Songs Are Bout Girls. I am not sure how many were made but I'd wager no more than 100 and maybe that is even a stretch. Latterman fans fear not I have a few more pretty rare barely known releases that I will be uploading soon.

Latterman None of These Songs Are About Girls track listing
1. "There's Never a Reason Not to Party"
2. "We're Not Having This Argument"
3. "So, It Was a Drag huh?"
4. "Matt Galante's Got It Right"
5. "Saving Private B"


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