Emily's Sassy Lime "Summer Vacation EP" 7 inch (Christmas Records

This is a record that I have been wanting to share for sometime now for sometime for several reasons, primarily because of the little talk I have seen of Emily's Sassy Lime on the internet I generally only ever see their Kill Rock Stars material being discussed or shared. And I guess building on the post the other day I made about Villa Villakula and the riot grrrl movement I felt it was an appropriate time as ever to share Emily's Sassy Lime "Summer Vacation EP". Emily's Sassy Lime were an all Asian female riot grrrl band who were formed in 1993 by Wendy and Amy Yao and Emily Ryan. They hailed from Southern California who according to legend formed after sneaking out of their respective homes to see a Bikini Kill/Bratmobile show. And in my opinion they were another one of those riot grrrl bands that never got the same level of hype, exposure or what have you that bands like Bikini Kill or Bratmobile received. And maybe because perhaps their lyrics weren't as abrasive, I don't know, but regardless it was a shame because Emily's Sassy Lime were a really fun and awesome band. I am going to repeat that word FUN, as it seems to get lost at times in music.


Summer Vacation EP is a quick reminder in pure, simple fun as Emily's Sassy Lime certainly take the Do It Yourself aesthetic and absolutely run with it. As far as I am concerned Summer Vacation EP captures the whole fun, unlearned musical playfulness, sincerity and exuberance of the whole lo fi, DIY spirit better than any other record from that era. The six song is a wonderful hodge podge, patch work collage of lo fi pop gems that captures every moment of a group of friends having fun. One of my favorite moments on Summer Vacation EP is during the first chorus it is sung with a noticeable laughter and how perfect is it that was kept.

After the Summer Vacation EP they released their first full length Right is Here which was also released on Christmas Records. All but one track from Summer Vacation EP was included on Right is Here . "Teenage Superstar" was renamed "Teenage Heart Attack" while "Killer Pie Super Spy" was reworked and re-recorded as "Viscosity Breakdown" which is followed by a lengthy series of field recordings and noise. In 1996 they released their second full length effort Desperate, Scared But Social on Kill Rock Stars who also released their final effort, Dippity Do Nut 7 inch in 1996 before disbanding all together in 1997.

Emily's Sassy Lime Summer Vacation EP track listing
1. Pineapple Boys Need Not Apply
2. Low Rider
3. Killer Pie Super Spy
4. Teenage Superstar
5. Cola Boy
6. Soda Jerk

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lowercase "Mail Order Freaks Singles Club" (Kill Rock Stars/1998)

Just recently I was having a discussion about Unwound with some folks on Facebook  and a friend wisely recommended that anyone who likes Unwound should certainly check out a band that called lowercase that touched upon some of the same things that Unwound did sonically. And considering I was going to be sharing some lowercase on this blog as I have some rare-ish singles of theirs I figured why not get rolling. So today the first single that I will be sharing from lowercase is their entry in the Mail Order Freak Singles Club series from Kill Rock Stars- a label that should need no introduction. lowercase was a two piece post punk/slo core band featuring Imaad Wasif on guitar and vocals and Brian Girgus on drums. The duo formed in Palm Desert, CA before relocating to San Francisco. Their music shifted from being dark and dirgy 'ala Unwound and bands on the Amphetamine Reptile label whom issued a single and two full lengths for the band- All Destructive Urges...Seem So Perfect and Kill the Lights. Sonically, lowercase also touched upon sounds that would generally go hand in hand with bands that are generally affiliated with "slo core" such as Seam, Codiene, Radar Bros, and early Karate. At times lowercase dipped into more "pop" realms 'ala Built to Spill and early Modest Mouse. As a rule lowercase juxtaposed loud bombastic, noise inducing romps with serene, moody head shakers. It is also rather how impressive the duo was able to create such an expansive sound with their limited palette to work from. In their short history lowercase from 1994 to 1999 were rather prolific releasing five singles, three full length albums and a handful of compilation tracks. Wasif himself has continued this tradition of being prolific as he has gone on to play in Alaska!, The New Folk Implosion, as well as pen three critically acclaimed solo albums under his own name. Additionally, he has been playing guitar live with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for several years now as well. So go ahead download some lowercase and I assure you there will be more from them in this space in the near future.


lowercase Mail Order Freaks Singles Club track listing
1. The Open Sea
2. Don't Cry No Tears


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