This Is My Life and You Can Have It

Yes, I will have a few more posts left for Here On This Island so please sit tight. Thanks for the support and interest in the blog everyone. So I have yet another new blog and it is called This Is My Life and You Can Have It. With this blog I am essentially sharing vinyl. tapes and cds from my personal collection that I have been building since my teenage years. With this blog I am generally focusing on sharing indie rock, indie pop, lo fi, shoegaze and post punk. Dig in!

Portal "Portal" cd-r (self released/2002)

Back in January I posted the sophomore effort from Portal, Lost in The Translation and I was pleasantly surprised to hear from folks how much they liked it or were looking for it for years, lost their copy or whatever.  So without further delay I happy to finally share the debut release from Portal. For those who missed that first post, Portal was a experimental home recording project by Contra/Church of the Rowdy guitarist Stephe Cooper. In these home experiments Cooper employed various genres-prog rock, art rock, kraut rock, midi/electronic music, ambient and even lo fi garage punk. I think Lost in The Translation is a much more calculated, though out work thus to my ears being a bit more enjoyable than the debut, however this disc is certainly enjoyable and firmly lays the groundwork of what was to come. Honestly, it is a shame that Cooper only released two Portal cds because both are so damn good. This debut cd-r features a Jane's Addiction cover.

Portal track listing
1. Frogball
2. A Call to Arms in Defense of Mother Earth
3. Shifting
4. Dry Lake
5. Summertime Rolls

Download Here

End I "s/t" 7 inch (Rok Lok Records/2001)

Here is a quick little morning post for y'all! For those unaware End I was a solo moniker used by On the Might of Princes guitarist Lou Fontana however this was the only material ever recorded/released. The music is droning guitar/vocal based, lo fi basement emo and it is eerie as it is beautiful. Jagged guitars mixed with elegant melodies is what one can expect when spinning the two songs that make up this 7 inch. Originally, this release was planned as a four way split between End I, my own Stars Are Insane, I'd Rather Be Flying (Jason from OTMOP's solo name) and a solo song from Tommy Orza also of OTMOP but Jason didn't seem into the idea and after Tommy recorded his song he got a little shy about releasing it. Not sure why, I heard (as well as have a copy of it) and it is awesome. So I decided to scrap my contribution and make the 7 inch just 100% Lou since he already had a second song stashed away. I pressed up 300 of these all on green vinyl, 100 came with lyric inserts and they are long out of print. However, for you completists out there who need the physical record there are two distros that I know of that have copies- Interpunk and Vinyl Junkie Distro.

End I s/t 7 inch track listing
1. The Wishing Flower
2. Schiavo

Download Here

Screen House Music "Positive" cd-r (Life On an Island/2006)

It is late and I have to work tomorrow (errr today) so why am I still up? Well to share this awesome album with all of you that is what. This will be the last Screen House Music album that I will be uploading as I do not own physical copies of Conscious or On the Roof. I do have the files so if anyone would like them feel free to email as I have no qualms about sharing great music but for the sake of blogging I only upload stuff I actually own. And if anyone has any physical copies of either of those releases I'd be down to purchase them or trade. In any event Positive is the third release from Nicky Marino's (For Serious This Time) Screen House Music. Positive continues to build on the minimal folk/drone   home recordings that the previous two releases established while growing and maturing with the sound. The music that appears on Positive was originally conceived as one twenty minute track and later on broken up into eight short songs as Marino states on the back sleeve of the release. Once again it is a Screen House Music release that is more of a private press than a full on release, for a lack of better words, as my copy is numbered 2 out of 18 copies. It really is a shame that this great music didn't get shared with more people. I can't recommend the sounds of Screen House Music enough.

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Bo Coach "The Mustard Tape" cassette (Rok Lok Records/2000)

I know there is some very clear bias here because this is a release that came out on my own  record label but the reality is a good portion of the bands featured on this blog have done a release with me at some point so why should I exclude something I did release? Especially when it is the only release by one of my favorite bands that I experienced in the local community. Bo Coach were a band that came from my neck of the woods of eastern Long Island, the Shoreham-Wading River area to be exact and they concocted quite the racket for a few years right around the time I was getting started with Rok Lok Records and my own music projects. They played fuzzy, indie rock that could best be described as a mix between The Pixies, The Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, and Man or Astroman. I wrote about them previously on this blog but this time I'd like to go more in depth about the band, my personal experience with the band and in particular their lone release The Mustard Tape.


Bo Coach originally consisted of Adam Conover on vocals and acoustic guitar and Noah Strevralia on electric guitar with Mr Korg (who later appeared on Stars Are Insane's Justin Age 8) providing the pre-programmed drum beats. The one performance I saw in this incarnation was a beautiful noisy, ramshackle of mess. Underneath the hissy guitars and the uncooperative synthetic drum beats there was an undeniable suburban garage pop sensibility to Bo Coach's songs. Some months later they played again this time with my band at the time and two new members entered the fray, Adam Schultheiss (aka Skulltheiss) on bass and Ed Guldi on violin and electric guitar. Schultheiss brought a minimal warm low end that helped anchor the madness while Guldi's violin drones made the songs sound more ominous. This set up allowed the band who was without a drummer to write songs that were full without percussion, something that to this day I marvel at. And I guess in this respect this is where the similarity to how the Velvet Undergound structured their songs became very apparent. Their music was hypnotically sprawling and was off kilter and out of tune at times but in a manner that was aesthetically endearing. And above all their was just a great sense of melody driven by Conover's fantastic vocals which against Strevralia's noisy, skronk punk guitar ramblings epitomized in my ears the term "beautiful mess".

Also around this time Bo Coach bid farewell to Mr Korg and brought in Casio RX-1 as well as Denise Y whom handled Casio RX-1 in shows as well as providing vocals and sound effects. Right around this time the band started to put together The Mustard Tape. In true lo fi indie rock fashion, over the span of several weekends, and various basements the songs that made up The Mustard Tape were recorded. In fact most songs on this release were recorded in a different room and on a different date. Originally the core of what was to make up The Mustard Tape were recorded by myself and the band on my old Fostex 4 track at Chris Grant's old house one drunken weekend while his parent's were out of town. Originally recorded that night were "Mannequin", "Welcome Citizens", "Fast One", and "Head On"" as well as a cover of The Velvet Underound's "Heroin" which was recored well past the inebriated state. Of those songs the only recordings that were kept for release on The Mustard Tape were "Fast One" and "Head On" as well as all of the out takes that feature Ed playing a guitar nowhere near in tune and somehow playing the melody backwards. Still to this day I can't for the life of me fathom what was wrong with the recordings of "Mannequin" and "Welcome Citizens" that we did that night. Honestly, they sounded beautiful. Especially "Mannequin" the way the violin melody and Conover's vocals so wondrously meshed together. If I recall correctly Noah quipped that they "sounded too pretty, not dirty enough" or something to that effect. And hence that is why the version of "Mannequin" that does appear on The Mustard Tape is as lo fi as possible. "Welcome Citizens" was re- worked when the band combined it with the Half Japanese-esque rambling oddity of"Uncle Roy" and performed (and subsequently recorded) it as "Uncle Roy/Welcome Citizens" at Coffee House which was like a talent show held at Shoreham Wading River High School. You were only supposed to play one song so the figured "heck with that let's make two songs one". I love that you can hear my good old buddy and band mate Mark Gill yell "Yeah Uncle Roy" in the song. It cracks me up every time.

After all the songs were done a master tape was created,  Noah and Adam  photocopied tape covers whose artwork was just as hodge podge as the music they created- I loved it. I bought like 70 blank cassettes and we all took turns home dubbing the bastards. We sold them at shows and I even traded some copies to distros back in the day who truthfully most have been absolutely perplexed when they heard this fuzzy, lo fi racket. I feel sometimes I am the only person that got the band and felt as intensely as I did about them. But then I talk to other folks from eastern Long Island who felt the same way, so perhaps it is just a eastern Suffolk thang.

For all the noise and shenningans where the scuzzy recordings may hide it, at the heart of it all, Bo Coach knew how to write really good songs that were smart yet playful. When you remove the fuzz and actually be able to discern the melodies and structure, "Mannequin" is a brilliant song. And perhaps I have an advantage because I was able to hear them perform this live sans poor production values. But even songs like "Construction Paper Princess" is an absolutely marvelous song that nearly brings me to tears every time. "Uncle Roy" is smart, playful, and is certainly unique. And "Fast One" is a quintessential suburban indie rock ripper. One of my biggest regrets in my life is misplacing the original master tapes of the original recordings of "Mannequin" and "Welcome Citizens" as I would've love to share those with everyone today. Heck, just one more listen would do me right. I don't think anyone back then ever thought myself or anyone would ever archive this stuff.

After The Mustard Tape Bo Coach played more shows wrote another tune or two which were never recorded as well as a really awesome reworking of the song "99 Red Balloons".  They even let me include "Fast One" on The Hope Machine. My old house mate had an awesome video of a set where they played it and I wish I had that video to rip. Towards the end of the band, the started playing with a live drummer, Jaime Hamilton. She was untrained as a drummer but certainly musically inclined so it kept a minimal flavor. Not too long after that Strevralia and Hamilton focused on their other project The London Six which basically signaled the end of Bo Coach. Close to a year after the demise of Bo Coach they played a impromptu reunion show in my garage and it ruled. It felt so good to sing along to all those songs again. I understand at first listen or two Bo Coach and The Mustard Tape maybe hard on the ears due to the ultra lo fi nature of the recordings but once you peel away the layers it reveals itself to be a wonderful collection of brilliant indie rock songs. Out of now 49 releases (and counting)The Mustard Tape to this date remains one of my favorite releases in the entire Rok Lok discography and I constantly toy with the idea of repressing it.

Bo Coach The Mustard Tape track listing
1. Mannequin
2. Uncle Roy/Welcome Citizens
3. Fast One
4. Most in the World
5. Construction Paper Princess
6. Eta Carinae
7. Rose Song
8. Head On
9. Head On (Outtakes)

Download Here

The Story of Man "The Story of Man" cassette (Life On an Island/2006)

I absolutely love just about everything the Life On an Island folks release and this early release is certainly one of my favorites. Here is a cassette release that I was very happy to finally rip and share. Everything about this release is just exceptional from the minimal handmade packaging, the music and just the over all concept. Or least the concept on how I perceive it. The Story of Man is a unique compilation of sorts that chronicles solo, home recordings of various different genre styles and techniques by each of the four artists on this release. The album closes with a collaboration between three of the four artists. The Story of Man documents recordings by Mike Naideau (Giant Peach, Blood Soda), Alex Gentile (For Serious This Time), Nicky Marino (For Serious This Time, Screen House Music) and J. Shelton.  The music for is all instrumental and resides in the folk/experimental folk and bedroom pop genres and if you have listened to any of the Screen House Music releases I have shared in the past you will certainly enjoy this cassette. Once again I just think the idea of four individuals who could've easily just easily recorded and released this songs under their own but opted to release under a banner compilation project is just a fantastic one. It lends a cohesiveness that you wouldn't expected from a compilation. The final outcome is absolutely marvelous and personally I'd like to see more projects of this nature come to fruition. Only 75 of these cassette were made and I feel very fortunate to own one. This is certainly a very special release made by some of Long Island's most gifted song writers.

The Story of Man The Story of Man track listing
1. Staub2 (A.Gentile)
2. Ocean (M.Naideau)
3. Dreads (N.Marino
4. End (A.Gentile)
5. Peanuts (N.Marino)
6. Rain (M.Naideau)
7. Autumn (A. Gentile)
8. IV T (J.Shelton)
9. Ode to Tzantza (M.Naideau/A.Gentile/N.Marino)

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Left Left "Left Left 1" cd-r (self releasd/ 2005)

Today's upload is one of the more recent acquisitions in my collection as it was given to me as part of a care package back around Thanksgiving when Risk was recording in my basement. Left Left is a project that Jay Melli of Risk and formerly of Sometimes Walking Sometimes Running, Scent of Human History, United States, Jan Cux, etc. gave me to show what he been up to for the last few years since we spoke. It is crazy how time passes and you realize how long it has been since you have spoken to a good friend. Anyhow, in the care package he gave me two finished releases from his project Left Left as well as a disc of unfinished material. Joining Melli in this home recording project was his buddy Dan. The best way to describe what Left Left sounds like is to think of it like a mix tape as there is no set genre adhered to. Stylistically, the music switches from shoegaze/post rock/ambient/drone/collage kind of stuff to full blown bedroom pop with distorted drums and all. There are even some acoustic crooners to be found. Essentially take early Sebadoh and mix it with Refrigerator and shoegaze/ambient stuff like lovesliescrushing and Jen Paul/No Lakes and that should give you an idea. And in the excess overload that is common with lo fi and home recording projects this cd-r is fully loaded with twenty tracks but the diversity of sounds really keeps things fresh all the while still having some cohesiveness as an album. Seriously, the best music is made by people in their bedrooms.

Left Left Left Left 1 track listing
1. Makes Like Clocks
2. Happily Ever After
3. I Watched Movies
4. Take 2
5. Tunnel Time
6. Acid Face Bagel
7. Magentalude
8. Ga Lonons
9. Robot Pudding Yummy
10. Daisy
11.This Could Be The First Hour
12. Can Not Keep
13. Let's Get a Malted
14. Gack Attack
15. Sittin In My Room (Wussies)
16. Piss Off
17. Come Kin
18. Late For Church
19. Three Then One
20. Skin Flix...Then Stop

Download Here

Power-Lloyd "Live From Bluffington; Live From the Honker Burger" cassette (self released/2000)

Here is a rare slice of eastern Long Island tuneage courtesy of lo fi collage/noise pop trio Power-Lloyd. And God help you if you forget the damn hyphen! I am not sure if it was the water we drank, growing up near a nuclear power plant that never opened or just digging on the finest fuzz box happy indie/alternative rock that the 90s had to offer that caused a bunch of the bands in eastern Long Island to make so much darn noise in the late 90s/early 2000s. Armed with a four track (my old Fostex I believe) and a lineup of instruments that defy convention (seriously seeing Mark Gill play a vacuum cleaner is one of the best things I have ever seen) Power-Lloyd played lo fi collage/noise pop that was just the sound of three friends having a good time. No pretentions or anything like that. Like I said just three friends getting in front of a 4 track and saying "Go". What came out was a mystery to even them I presume much less listeners. But for you folks who need reference points to click "download here" to put things simply Power-Lloyd reminds me of a combination of the snippets of sound collage on Olivia Tremor Control records, Beck's Stereopathetic Soul Manure, Edith Presler and God is My Co-Pilot. In addition to jangly guitar chords, bass, and vocals added to the arsenal of sound were various children's toys that produced sounds, drum machine, various percussion, whistles, and various sound makers. Oh yeah did I mention a vacuum? I did but I like that so much that I'll mention it again.

Power-Lloyd consisted of Jason Cassara, who collaborated with me on the Stars Are Insane album Justin Age 8 and Chris Grant and Mark Gill both of whom were in my first band Pale Marble Movie. Gill was briefly the bassist of Prescott C and recorded the Low Flying Planes EP with them. Anyhow back to Power-Lloyd... They recorded their lone release which was packaged in a fun grab bag of goodies (which I have lost. Shame on me...) Live From Bluffington; Live From the Honker Burger for the most part on 4 track in various spaces in the Rocky Point/Shoreham area but two tracks I believe were recorded at the North Shore Public Library from the same show that Stars Are Insane performed. (See this post to download the Stars Are Insane set if you missed it.) And if you are wondering if Live From Bluffington; Live From the Honker Burger is a Doug reference, the answer is most certainly yes. In fact check out Power-Lloyd's re-imagining of The Beets' "One Little Voice" for further Doug references.

Power-Lloyd were a ton of fun the few times they played and so is Live From Bluffington; Live From the Honker Burger. Anyhow Power-Lloyd certainly isn't for everyone because quite simply most people don't know how to have fun. Somehow I have to convince Mark to make a guest appearance playing some vacuum on the next Stars Are Insane album...

Power-Lloyd Live From Bluffington; Live From the Honker Burger track listing
1. Jelly Belly Blues
2. Israeli Sub Machine Gun
3. Math Camp
4. Vegetable Bitch (A Chorus of Boris)
5. One Little Voice
6. Upwelling

Download Here

Stars Are Insane "Live Reading" (unreleased live recording/2000)

For those unaware Stars Are Insane is a home recording "solo" project that  I have been doing since 1998. The bulk of the material has been recorded by myself via four track but I have had accompaniment and collaboration at times on the recordings and for live performances. Through the six albums (as well as whole slew of unreleased stuff) I have done under the name I have channeled the influences of shoegaze, lo fi, Shrimper Records, tape labels, Sebadoh/Sentridoh, My Bloody Valentine and Dump amongst others. From 1999 to 2001 is when I was most active with the project mainly because of the laid back and secluded living situation I had at the time. In those years I released four full length cassette tapes as well recorded a unreleased album. At this point Stars Are Insane only existed in a live forum on a limited basis doing a few acoustic shows. But for the most part the Stars Are Insane project was mainly just a home recording project  to do the things that I felt I couldn't do with a band.

For the third Stars Are Insane album Justin Age 8 I collaborated with my friend Jason Cassara. After we finished recording the album we decided to test the material out live and the album I present to you here today is a recording of the first show that he and I did. Live Reading, is a name I devised to formally document our inaugural non solo performance at North Shore Public Library on July 7th 2000. Personally, I couldn't think of another venue back then that would have be as inviting for a project like this to exist in a live forum. A few of the songs "Big Circles, Moons and Stars" as well as "Gravity" were included on the So. I Dreamed of Noise four cd-r set that collected the first four albums as well as unreleased and live material. Additionally, the version of "Fuck Lando and His Gambling Problem" that appears here is the same that appears on Justin Age 8. Cassara and I  did a few more shows together and later on even did a couple with Dave Armone involved in the fray when the fourth cassette, Gay came out.

I don't want to rant on to much about my project but just the same I would like people to check out the music. Most of the releases are out of print, though I have a brand new cd-r called A Plan...A Perfect Disaster out now, though half the pressing is already gone. A "selected works" cd-r called Partial History  will be coming out soon. I shall post the complete discography below with links to the Bandcamp so you can at least stream everything. All the albums are on Last FM as well. I'll be working on music for new releases for later this year. If anyone out there is doing a compilation please let me know as I'd love to contribute something.

One last thing before I go...I didn't have any photos of Stars Are Insane shows so I posted a photo that I believe Jon Kaplan took at a show at The North Shore Library that Book Store and Bo Coach played. I was playing Velvet Underground's "Heroin" with Bo Coach and at the end I believe I ran into the audience and tackled Joey from Book Store to close it out in chaotic fashion.

Stars Are Insane Discography:

• Gracias cassette (Rok Lok Records)(September 1999) (out of print) Listen on Bandcamp
• Anonymously Yours cassette (Rok Lok Records) (February 2000) (out of print) Listen on Bandcamp
• Justin Age 8 cassette (Rok Lok Records) (July 2000) (out of print) Listen on Bandcamp
• Gay cassette (Rok Lok Records) (October 2000) (out of print) Listen on Last FM
• 9 Untitled Songs cd-r (Rok Lok Records) (August 2005) (out of print) Listen on Bandcamp
• So. I Dreamed of Noise four cd-r set (Rok Lok Records)(January 2006) (out of print) Listen on Bandcamp
• "I Said It" on I Know Why They Call It Pop cassette compilation (Rok Lok Records) (December 2010)
• A Plan...A Perfect Disaster cd-r (Rok Lok Records) (February 2011) Listen on Bandcamp

Stars Are Insane Live Reading 7/7/2000  track listing

1.The Admiral

2. Big Circles, Moons and Stars

3. Gravity

4. Those Are the Most Deadliest Scorpions I Have Ever Seen

5. I Stayed Up All Night Thinking of You (New Wave Reprise)

6. I Hereby Make An Anatomical Gift

7. Fuck Lando and His Gambling Problem

Download Here

Backspace "Backspace" cassette (self released/2002)

Between my neighbor sawing and hammering away at building a deck at 8 AM, house mates talking in the kitchen which is adjacent to my room and the dog freaking out I have been awoken prematurely from my slumber. 8 AM isn't very early but considering I haven't been able to fall asleep until 3 or 4 every morning that leaves my body craving (and needing) more rest. So why not fight fire with molten lava?

Today's upload comes from Backspace which is Jay, Ren and Robbie from Sometimes Walking Sometimes Running giving us a two fiery blasts of instrumental drone/noise/power electronics. I received this tape in a care package from Ren back in 2005 which he sent along with a copy of the unreleased Scent of Human History album and a copy of what was then called United States Demo Tape Riots (see pic below), which ultimately became the band's 12 inch/cd/tape Divorce Songs. In the note that Ren sent me along with the goodies this is what he had to say about Backspace:

The Backspace tape is some stuff that Jay, Robbie and I did on 12/30/02. Bored, stoned and stuck indoors. side B is much better than side A, but it works better after you sit thru side a. I recommend listening to it in the car...loud. 


From what I can gather this Backspace tape wasn't formally distributed/released instead it was a private press kind of thing where only copies were made for friends and that sort of thing. I showed it to Jay a few months ago when his awesome new band Risk was recording in the basement and he was surprised to see I had a copy or that Ren even made copies of it. So needless to say I feel grateful that Ren decided I was worthy enough to receive a copy of this. And really I think that is how music is best shared- amongst friends. I know music of this kind definitely does not have a broad fan base and it takes a very specific pair of ears to appreciate it but once you do your ears lock into the sounds swirling around and hear something rather pleasurable and dare I say soothing. Maybe I am messed up but stuff like this does relax me quite a bit. The little dense,droning melodies that keep things moving along in time all the while hypnotic feedback, hiss and tape manipulation are occurring around it. In listening to this Backspace cassette  one can certainly hear how this type of music and experimentation seeped through into Scent of Human History's sound, particularly the unreleased album so with that being said I do firmly feel that fans of Scent of Human History who while themselves perhaps wouldn't identify themselves as noise/drone fans would certainly find value in listening to this. It is easy to connect the dots. So whether in your room on your stereo or as Ren suggests in your car, play this motherfucker LOUD.

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I'd Rather Be Flying "Standing On the Shore Watching You Drown" & "Shadow Of a Doubt" (1998)

So now that I am unemployed I have far more time than I know what to do with, which is of course is a lie because anyone who knows me is well aware that I am always working on some sort of project. My days are generally filled resume sending and filling out applications. When that is not being done I am going to move full speed ahead in cranking out the real rarities in my collection- the tapes and vinyl. Just today I have ripped  three cassette releases and here is the first batch. Like I told you in my previous On the Might of Princes post that I wasn't done posting rarities from the band or related projects. Here is a probably little known solo project from the band's guitarist/singer Jason Rosenthal called I'd Rather Be Flying. Heavily influenced by Lou Barlow/Sentridoh and lo fi tape label stuff he created this moniker to record music under. Recorded all to four track Rosenthal displayed the same type energy, emotion and sincerity that he did with On the Might of Princes only through a acoustic guitar and some tape loops/guitar noise. The first track called "Standing On the Shore Watching You Drown" is featured on a emo/indie tape compilation called Like Two Kites Flying. Volume 1 which came out  on the Sweden based Communication Records and Mandarin Fanzine. The interesting thing about this song is that it did get turned into a early On the Might of Princes song that was recorded on a unreleased demo via reel to reel so most likely this will be the only opportunity for On the Might of Princes fans to hear the original song that was reworked by the band but never released. Who knows maybe one day they'll let people hear that unreleased demo... The other track is a super lo fi cover of Sonic Youth's "Shadow of a Doubt". I am fairly certain this track was never released anywhere. Jason recorded it and gave me a copy.

As far as other I'd Rather By Flying releases the only one I am certain exists is the track "Satellite" which appears on the Next Year We'll Be Robots Volume 1 cassette on Robin Hood Records that also featured Silver Scooter, Soul Junk, Rop Style UFO, Nova Scotias and others. I know Jason spoke of tapes he made and perhaps some other comp appearances but I am not certain as to the details. I do have one other unnamed track in my possession but upon hearing the song it sounds like it was a personal gift for someone special not to be shared. And it is master cassette for a 4 track. How I came about it is most  likely a result of doing some 4 track stuff at Tommy Orza's (OTMOP bassist) house one day and the tape someone ended up in my box of tapes. Most likely Tommy and Jason were doing some 4 track stuff and the cassette was one the floor and yeah. We were young and unorganized. What I am getting at it doesn't feel right sharing that tune. Unless of course Jason says it is okay...

In any event if you dig the version of "Caboose" on The Making of a Conversation or the original version of "An Illusion to Italy" than you'll love these two tracks.

Download Here

For Serious This Time "I Hope It Pours" cd-r (Life On An Island/2007)

In spirit of recently having to unfortunately turn down the opportunity to take part in releasing music from this wonderful band, I feel compelled in some way to publicly show appreciation for the band For Serious This Time. I have mentioned them a few times here in this blog when posting about Screen House Music the side project of For Serious This Time's guitarist/vocalist Nicky Marino. The music found on I Hope It Pours is very different from the bouncy, note happy indie rock found on their current releases such as the outstanding When You're In It but that cd is still readily available from their own label Life On an Island so I can't as someone who runs a label in good confidence upload that album, which I must admit is the one I reach for most when I need a For Serious This Time fix. But with that being said I Hope It Pours while very different from the rest of the band's discography is still awesome in its own right and documents the humble beginnings of this band rather nicely.

In stark contrast to the Treepeople/Modest Mouse crossed with Capn' Jazz bouncy indie rock that For Serious This Time is known for I Hope It Pours for the most part is folk based indie rock with primarily acoustic guitars and vocals anchoring the songs though minimal percussion, field recordings and samples are thrown into the mix as well. This debut full length effort documents founding members Alex Gentile and Nicky Marino, and what they offer isn't too far off from Marino's Screen House Music project, Mountain Goats, early Bright Eyes and maybe even the Life Rocks album I posted awhile back. The music and lyrics are endearing with a youthful exuberance about that doesn't come off sounding silly to these old ears the way most music of this nature does. Perhaps it is the romantic imagery of Long Island and growing up here that they use in their songs that appeals to me so much. I can relate to that. I always loved growing up on this island and have positive memories of hanging out with friends and making our own brand of fun. For Serious This Time and pretty much all the music I hear coming from Life On an Island documents their own spin on growing up here but I can relate. And man I dig it.

Anyhow unlike previous Life On an Island releases that I have posted here where there were less than 20 copies made, 100 copies were made of I Hope It Pours though it is out of print. I am not sure if these tunes were included on the discography tape or not, I'll have to check. It really bums me out that I can't be a part of the release of their new 12 inch. Trust me folks the music is awesome and when it comes out later this year on Dead Broke Records and Life On an Island definitely pick it up. I will be carrying in the distro for sure. If real life wasn't so complicated right now and I already wasn't up to my neck in commitments on the label side of things I'd be all over it. In the mean time check out I Hope It Pours and also head on over to Life On an Island to pick up their other available releases.

I Hope It Pours track listing
1. September 4th 2005
2. New Things
3. Two trips
4. Want to Go Do Echoes?
5. Let's Go to the Cliff
6. Intermission
7. A Tin Within A Tin
8. Lucky 7's
9. Milk Bottle Mountain
10. Summer September
11. I Hope It Pours Tomorrow (This is the New Thing Pt 2)

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Smells Like.... Bo Coach!

Here is a set list that I nabbed from one of the last shows that one of my favorite Long Island bands ever played. Bo Coach were a lo fi indie rock band that was based out of the Shoreham/Wading River area of eastern Long Island, which was a town away from my home town of Rocky Point. Bo Coach shows were always great because you never knew what you were going to get or what members would show up. It was always on the brink of disaster which was part of the fun and I guess which is why when they were on (which was just about all the times) it was an absolute beautiful mess to witness. Smart pop with almost new wave sensibilities thrown in with fuzzy noise that wavered in and out was essentially what Bo Coach went for sonically. So if you put The Pixies, Man or Astroman?, The Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth in a blender it would come out sounding like Bo Coach. Simply put, it was quintessential suburban indie rock. My first band Pale Marble Movie played with them a lot, and even one time we joined them for a raucous rendition of The Velvet Underground's "Heroin". I released their only formal release, The Mustard Tape as a cassette on Rok Lok Records in early 2000 and it remains one of my favorite releases. It has been out of print for awhile now though I may do a small repress some point as I'd really love to share their great music with a new generation of music fans. Bo Coach allowed me to include their song "Fast One" on The Hope Machine compilation and I have attached that song here. Enjoy!

BO COACH "Fast One"

Screen House Music "Volume One" cd-r (self released/2006)

Even though it wasn't that long ago 2006, I definitely recall that as a year where I seriously thought that nothing in music could surprise or excite me any longer. Of course that was a narrow view because I was solely basing this opinion on that fact that it seemed as if I was getting at least a dozen crappy band friend requests a day on Myspace. And don't even get me started on the tons of the uninspired music I'd have to review for Under the Volcano or even get as demo submissions for Rok Lok. As awful as it sounds at some point I didn't even want to open up friend requests and I am not sure why one day I felt compelled to open up one of those said requests, but I am glad I did because that was the day I discovered the wonderful gem that is Screen House Music. Immediately, I was blown away by the sparse looseness of the songs. There was a lo fi folk/ambient/experimental thing that reminded me a lot of the stuff that I grew up listening to like the whole Shrimper Records cast of characters like Paste, Dump, Simon Joyner and Will Simmons. The one song that stood out and I proceeded to play another 8 or so times straight in that one sitting was the tune "On Our Cameras"-it just blew me away the way the song builds and doesn't get hooked into a specific phrasing or chord too long but just long enough to have it sink its melodic teeth into one's ears-just seriously smart and mature songwriting but very organic sounding. The arrangement of a field recording of friends party like chatter in the background and how it switches from a acoustic guitar progression to a reverb happy electric guitar and percussion as well some wavy background sounds is nothing short of sublime. As corny as it sounds something about this song makes me feel young and in a good way. But the reality is that there is something great about every song on Screen House Music's Volume One. My thought is someone from Long Island making this type of music and I am not aware, how can this be?

After listening to all the songs multiple times and specifically "On Our Cameras" and singing the praises of Screen House Music to just about everyone who was within a earshot of me for the next 48 hours or so, I decided to send a message directly. I soon learned that Screen House Music was the project of Northport's Nicky Marino and we started trading emails back and forth. Eventually, snail mail transactions took place where he'd send me more Screen House Music recordings as well as other stuff he and his friends would do while I'd send him label releases including stuff specifically from my own 4 track project Stars Are Insane which I felt was somewhat similar to what he was doing with Screen House Music. With each release of his I was blown away at the maturity of the compositions, level of looseness and just the overall aesthetic. And to me I was amazed at how all of this great music was being written by someone in high school.

I have remained intrigued with the project and over the years I have done my best to follow what Marino is up to creatively. He self released the sophomore cd-r SHM2 but Positive cd-r and The Story of Man cassette both came out on Life On a Island. A cassette (which sadly I have yet to hear/obtain) called On the Roof came out on Open Range Records. Last but not least I have finally been able to have the good fortune to be able to release some Screen House Music on my label with an upcoming appearance on the I Know Why They Call It Pop cassette. And from what I understand new material is being worked on which is just thrilling. Keep up with Screen House Music here. Additionally, Marino plays guitar and sings in the fantastic band For Serious This Time who I urge everyone to check out.

Screen House Music "Volume One" track listing
1. "Everyone's Unsure"
2. "Layer One"
3. "Layer Two"
4. "Layer Three"
5. "Next Season"
6. "On Our Cameras"
7. "At Friends Houses"
8. "Conclude"

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