It's Always Sunny from Portlandia
I have to thank David Blunk for recently sending me a
cassette and his new band's LP & 7" single by Down Gown (review in
progress). The aforementioned cassette was from Bad Animal Studios in Seattle,
WA and was the final mix of Thirty Ought Six's "Hag Seed." This
cassette was dated from May 27th, 1995 and even the J-card was
labeled from that studio with the tracklisting and signature colored animals from
that era of Microsoft Paint. Of course the case was aged 23 years old, but boy
you should’ve seen the grin on my face to hold this cassette in the palm of my
hands.
For me, "Hag Seed" is a seminal album that from
the instant of listening to it, I knew something was unique and great about all
12 tracks. I fell in love with every single song on it—I was one of those who
would listen to an album from start to finish and not skip a track. Ah, to
go into detail of why I love this album so much is Sean’s approach to writing a
bassline intertwined with Davids’ guitars and Ryan’s drumming are unmatched—I mean
unlike no other band is there a bass so defined that it cannot be ignored but be
brought very strong in the mix. Sean’s bass tone is his own and I get chills
when he pick scrapes the strings live or on record—pick scrapes on a distorted
bass as if it was a guitar on ‘roids but with fewer strings. I mean, think
about it, Sean pretty much was the only bass player I can think of who does
this and it’s goddamned tasteful.
Additionally, their live set was absolutely amazing because
of such delivery from this intense power-trio was soul crushingly good. I'll
always remember the first time I saw them at the Dragonfly in Los Angeles and
will also have to thank San Francisco band, MIRV, for flaking that night. I
recall them opening with "Cotillion," but it was their second song,
"Tike," that reeled me and my buddy, Tyrone, into Thirty Ought Six.
After their set, I can't recall exact details, but I'm pretty sure that I was
ever-so-grateful for hearing them live and let them knew that I was floored by
their music. I mean I was totally caught off guard... almost like a suckerpunch
and not expecting that incredible left hook.
The title track I tried to cover with the help of Josh
Klinghoffer (ex-Bicycle Thief, Red Hot Chili Peppers) who played drums for a
few takes while recording on my Tascam 4 track recorder. Of course my take on
the lyrics at the time was an innocent stab at what Sean was singing, I still
have the slightest clue of some of the words during the bombastic movements of
this song.
Upon listening to the digital transfer I was curious to
learn about the whole process of recording “Hag Seed” and learn what was their
approach of writing for Thirty Ought Six’s sophomore release. As I type this
out, I’m beginning to get inspired to reach out to David possibly and do a
podcast to interview him and remember our old friend, Sean D. Roberts.
320kbps mp3s:
V0 kbps mp3s:
HO-LY-SH*T! This is a gem! I've been slackin' in keeping up to date with what you have going on in your corner of the internet. These mixes sound even louder and more open than the official CD. And as a bonus a (for me) unknown take of Jack Lord. So this one was from the actual Hag Seed session? Too bad it doesn't have any vocals, but musically it's a tremendous upgrade compared to the other take with guide-vocals that I have.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes! You should do a podcast. David is such a nice guy, and willing to feed us fanboys with information and demo & ratities materials he had lying around. I have a couple of tapes he sent me years and years ago. Must have been '98 or '99.6
Anyway, thanks for sharing and I'll be busy with combing through your new blog the rest of the evening :-)
Cheers,
Arjan
Arjan, nice to hear from you again. You sent me mp3s a long time ago of 4-song demo with Tike. Hope you're well. Stay in touch!
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