Moon Socket "It's the End of the Trip" 7 inch (Little Mafia Records/1997)

During their tenure as a band Eric's Trip was quite the prolific band and the same could be said about all of their off shoot side projects at the time and since. In the mid to late 90s under the name Moon Socket, Guitartist/bassist Chris Thompson served up super lo fi, sappy bedroom pop that for the most part sounded like the acoustic tracks found on Eric's Trip releases-go figure! Much like Eric's Trip, the Moon Socket project in the early go around released several cassettes, singles and compilation appearances. From what I can gather the Moon Socket cassettes are even harder to come by than the Eric's Trip tapes, which is a shame but fortunately a lot of those songs have found home elsewhere including the 7 inch which I am sharing with you today. According to the sleeve of It's the End of The Trip, the first four songs are from a cassette from 1992. Something that one certainly be of interest to Eric's Trip fans in general is that a few of the Chris Thompson songs in the Eric's Trip catalog first appeared as Moon Socket songs or even appeared after the fact at times. That list of songs include: "Alone and Annoyed",  "Now A Friend", "Always There", and "Feeling Around". It's the End of the Trip and the full length album Take the Mountain  (also released in 1997) were the last releases from Moon Socket. Thompson now has a new band called Memories Attack. So if you are a fan of lo fi acoustic stuff, Eric's Trip and early Sebadoh/Sentridoh then I think you'll love Moon Socket. And if anyone is interested this is a record that I DO currently carry in my distro.

Moon Socket It's the End of The Trip track listing
1. I Want Now
2. Stupid Shyness
3. Hard Feelings
4. Swing
5. Brand New Friend
6. Clowds

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Tugboat 3001ad "First Tell Me Your Name" 7 inch (Little Mafia/1996)

Anyone who knows me well knows that this was bound to happen...a Further related post! Next to Sonic Youth who will always  be numero uno in my book, the 90s indie rock band Further is one of my favorite bands. I have been listening to them since high school and feverishly collecting all of their records. As if that dive into obscurity isn't enough I have also devoured just about every note unleashed by the Rademaker brothers (Darren and Brent). From The Summer Hits, Beachwood Sparks, The Tyde, Frausdots and even the pre Further outfits Shadowland and A New Personality. But it doesn't stop there as almost on cue with other bands from the 90s- a home recording solo project was a must and Further's Darren Rademaker was no exception. In the lo fi 4 track home recording spirit Darren gave the world Tugboat 3001ad. In what I usually refer to as the "Shrimper style" Tugboat 3001ad released several cassettes, vinyl and compilation appearances throughout the 90s that explored lo fi sound collage, bedroom pop and folk. Fans of Further, specially the Sometimes Chimes era of the band, should absolutely love the sounds of Tugboat 3001ad.

This 5 song 7 inch single, First Tell Me Your Name on Little Mafia Records was released in 1996 and as far as I know is still available from the label so I strongly recommend if you like what you hear to drop them a line. I have been regularly stocking the record in my distro for the last two maybe three years. Gianni is a super nice dude and I am sure would love to hear from you! I generally sway from sharing releases that may still be available but for documentation's sake I think that it is important as I don't believe most Further fans are even aware of Tugboat 3001ad. So Further fans get on it! A few notes about this 7 inch is that there is an earlier version of the song "The Fakers and The Takers" which was on the last Further ep. And also there is a "joke" song if you will dedicated to John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats called "I Was Almost a Mountain Goats Song" which is an absolute gem.

Information about Further on the internet has increased over the last few years which is great because it is indeed exposing a great band and great music to a whole new generation of fans. On the flip side information about Tugboat 3001ad is nearly non existent so with that being said here is my attempt at putting together a complete Tugboat 3001ad discography. Obviously if anyone has any input feel free to share.

Discography:

Beyond the Solar System Beyond the Stars cassette (Ecto Tapes/1992)

How Long Has Rock Got? cassette (X-Mas Records/1993)
Get Offerman EP cassette (X-Mas Records/1993)

Pacific Splashdown cassette (Flannel Banjo/1995)
First Tell Me Your Name 7 inch (Little Mafia Records/1996)

Compilations appearances:
Ow! Quit It: Volume 2 double 7 inch (Volvolo Records/1994)
Belly Up and Down For Davey Jones cassette (Flannel Banjo/1995)
The Pleasure Fair Volume 1 7 inch (Motorway Records/1997)

First Tell Me Your Name  7 inch track listing
1. First Tell Me Your Name
2. Indian Rocks
3. The Fakers and The Takers
4. Teenage Boys Need Revolution Too
5. I Was Almost a Mountain Goats Song


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Edith Presler "Drag" 7 inch (Little Mafia Records/Cactus Gum/1996)

I am so excited to share this gem of a 7 inch with you all today. Influenced by the lo fi home recording explosion of a few years prior from the mid to late 90s Denver based Edith Presler took the ball and ran with as the lo fi bedroom pop trio churned out song after song. They appeared on countless compilations, many of which came out via the cassette format but also were able to release two solo efforts- a full length cassette For the Love of a Texas Cheerleader on the legendary cult tape label Cactus Gum and this 5 song 7 inch called Drag which I am sharing with you today. Edith Presler possessed all of the novice charm that drew so many people to the whole lo fi movement of the 90s. Musically they were a cross between early Pavement and Guided By Voices as well as Silver Jews and even stuff like Crayon.

Back then it felt like bands like this and tape labels were starting up everyday though it wasn't as easy to identify as it is these days with the ease of technology allowing to spread the word in seconds. Back then it took a little bit longer to find out about stuff. And when I first was exposed to the whole 4 track/home recording/tape label culture it blew my mind that kids all over the country where making an awful racket just like I was in my bedroom and putting out on their own tapes, distributing and trading them all over the world. I was first exposed to the world via Lou Barlow and Shrimper Records and from there I found out that really personal, home recorded music that spoke to my interests was being released on a countless number of  tape labels like Cactus Gum, Catsup Plate, Flannel Banjo, Sonic Enemy, Car in Car Disco Product,  Sing Eunuchs!, etc. For me it was a very influential period that sticks with me to this day.

But back to Edith Presler-good luck tracking down the actual releases since most of their songs were released on cassette comps or 7 inches that are long gone. You can still order the Drag 7 inch from Little Mafia  so I implore you to buy the dang thing if you like it. Also I actually have a copy or two still in the Rok Lok distro. And you can actually download the full length cassette For the Love of a Texas Cheerleader at Dial Square Tapes, which is a new-ish private press tape label run by the fine fella who used to do Cactus Gum. Download and enjoy!

Also for more information on some tape labels/bands from the 90s (and even current) I'd highly recommend you check out this site that is pretty much the only resource online for this stuff called I Hear Strange Music. There you can find a complete discography for Edith Presler as well as many of the tape labels I mentioned here.

Edith Presler Drag 7 inch track listing
1. Drag
2. Alcan
3. Seconds
4. For the Love of a Texas Cheerleader
5. Midfall

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