It’s been a while

I guess I am going to start updating this again.

Collection I

Every Misfits 12″ has been pressed on some color or has some sort of rare variation of it.  Except for Collection I.  While the songs on the record are great, it doesn’t leave a whole lot for the “collector”.  This was first pressed on vinyl in 1988. S  ure you can find a first press copy that is still in the shrink and has the sticker on it.  There are slightly different shades of white and gloss on the center labels.  But that is next level kind of nerdary.   I guess some other differences you can look for is translucent vs opaque vinyl.  Origianl copies have plain white inner sleeves, where more recent have brown/cardboard inner sleeves.  But you really should own this just for the songs.  Get the 12″ because the cover art looks better and cooler than on the cd.  There were 3 test presses made.  Here is one of them.

Stabbed in the Back!

I was sitting here thinking of what record I wanted to do an entry for today.  While going through photos, Stabbed in the Back come on my ipod.  Now I love Break Down the Walls.  I own many, many different copies of the record.  Over time, I will revisit this record with photos of the different pressings, but today I am just going to focus on the Posi Numbers press.

This record is limited to 60 copies, and was sold at the 2002 Positive Numbers Festival.  I was sitting with Donny Mutt selling One Up merch, along with Start Today Fanzine and Cut The Tension Fanzine shirts and zines.  I saw a kid walk past with the record and I nearly jumped out of my skin to talk to him.  I asked where it came from, he mumbled something about outside and pointed to the door.  I rushed outside and tried to locate the records.  I saw someone selling them from the trunk of a car (possibly Greg Bacon, but I am not 100% sure.)  I kinda weaseled my way in and to my surprise, found out the record did not sell out yet!  I gave my $8 (maybe $10) and headed back to our table with my major score.  Later that weekend I picked up a copy of What Holds Us Apart on clear for $20.

The story behind the record goes something like this.  There were 60 copies on white that the covers were REALLY beat up sitting at the Rev warehouse.  Instead of totally scrapping them, someone had an idea to do a special cover for it.  They are silk screened covers on a weird felt-like paper.  Rev also made matching t-shirts, which I did not pick up.  So if someone has a large they want to trade or sell, please get in touch.

Those days are gone man

There are a few awesome record collecting blogs going on right now, and that has inspired me to do a quick update.  I really really want to update this blog more frequently, but to be honest my life has been beyond crazy the past few months.  I’m going to keep this entry short and sweet.  Today’s record is the Revelation Records pressing of JUDGE- NEW YORK CREW.  After 3 presses on Schism Records, Rev took over on this.  I believe they even used the same plates as the Skiz version, as the Kellogs matrix is the same.  There were 1000 presses on blue vinyl.  What sets this copy apart is heavy black swirls.  This came from Double Decker records a few years ago.  I guess some guy brought some old Rev colored vinyl in (maybe he had a store at one point) including a sealed Bringing It Down on green and this copy.  It is dead mint, and never been played.  It is one of the coolest looking records I own.  I know of one other copy with black swirls, but I am sure there are more.

We’re Back!

You’d think with a title like that, I’d post about We’re Not in This Alone.  But I am not.  It’s been quite sometime since I added anything to this blog.  My 13 days of Halloween didn’t go as planned.  Of course I will post more Misfits stuff as well as some Samhain.  To get things rolling again, time to break out one of the record that is on a lot of want lists, Judge- Chung King Can Suck It.  Like many people, this record was on the top of my list for years.  The thing was hard to get a hold of from the day it was pressed, and always got top dollar for the time.  Sometimes I go through old classified sections of MRR and see people selling, trading, or begging for a copy of this.  I kept my eyes and ears open for years in hopes of getting my very own copy.  I also made it known that I wanted a Chung King because maybe someday somone would sell not on ebay and I’d have a fair crack at it.  Then it happened.  I checked my email and there was an email asking if I was still looking for a Chung King.  I instantly replied that I was and checked my email about every 10 minutes for the next couple hours waiting for more info.  A few months prior, the guy who had emailed me was getting rid of a Floorpunch 7″ on gold and I set the sale up for him.  I finally got a reply stating that a friend of his is thinking about selling.  I told him to get me a price and I will make it happen.  I gave some numbers I was willing to toss at it and hoped for the best.  Late that night, I got another email with a final price and I was fine with it.  I couldn’t believe I was finally going to get a Chung King.  The best part was I lived in Philly at the time and the record was in Philly so I did not have to worry it getting lost or broken in the mail. 

It was decided that the guy who emailed me would pick the record up and deliver it to my house.  Can’t beat that kind of service!  This was on a Tuesday.  I sat in my computer room because it was near my front door for hours that night, but he never did show up.  I jumped on AIM and he was on!!  I asked where he was and all that jazz and he said he was not able to pick the record up and would get it tomorrow.  I said that was fine and spent a painfully long day at work just waiting and hoping.  That night, I know this is sounding like a bad joke, the exact same thing happened.  I called him and he told me I was getting the record and not to worry.  He would pick it up on Thursday and I would get it on Friday.  I told him I would come pick it up, just tell me where to go.  The next day was Friday, December 10.  I worked out in the Philly suburbs and the record was a few towns over, so my friend Mike and I left straight from work to pick up the record.  It was cold and raining and traffic was horrible!  I called 2 or 3 times to say we were on the way and not to leave.  We finally reach our desitination and go into the warehouse (it housed a couple small hardcore labels.)  He came out of the back with the record still in the mailer that was sent to the owner before me.  With a shaky hand, I carefully took the record.  I was trying not to be too big of a dork and fought back a pretty big smile.  Money changed hands, I said my thank yous, and Mike and I were off to my house.  I couldn’t wait to listen to it.  Once in the privacy of my house, I got to take the time to examine every little detail from the insert to the cover.  I’m actually listening to it right now as I am typing this.

In case you do not know the sotry, Judge recorded thier first lp at Chung King Studios in NYC.  At first everyone liked it, but that changed once Mike Judge felt it could have been better.  Jordan Cooper decided in an attempt to recover some money that was going to be lost, there would be a very limited press of the original recording.  He orderd 100, but 110 copies showed up.  Some went to the band, some went to people who pre-ordered Bringing It Down, and some stayed at Revelation (where some still remain.)  This summer will be the 20 year anniversary of this record.  At this point, most are accounted for and very few will change hands.  There are also around 8 tests (there might be more than that) so if by chance you have one or know of one, let me know.  Now some pictures.

 

More Evilive

1987 saw the re-release of the Evilive 7″, but this time it was a 12″ with some extra songs.  There were 2000 on clear green vinyl and a ton on black.  The record has remained in print since the release, but only the 1st press is on color.  The sleeve on this press has the top “M” of the Misfits cut off, and there is a bar code on the back sleeve.  If you come across a sealed copy of this and are wondering if maybe it is on color, there should be a round sticker on the top right of the cover that says Colored Vinyl.  Oddly enough, there are some that are still sealed.  There are also difference in the center lables, the represses just have a big Caroline logo and no mention of Evilive Music.  This was the first Misfits record I heard.  Not exactly the best starting point because The Misfits were kinda sloppy live and this recording shows that.  But it is also full of random Danzig quotes, so I guess it is worthwhile.  The next Misfits release I got was Walk Among Us, which was in my opinion their best release until 12 Hits from Hell came out (sort of.)  My lunch break is almost over, so here are some pics.

Bloodfeast

Almost 20 years after the release of Collection I and around 6 months before the box set came out, Caroline finally released another compilation of Misfits recordings, in Collection II.  This is a weird mix because some of the weaker Misfits songs are on here, but on the other hand some of the really good Misfits songs found their way to this record.  I don’t know many people who like The Misfits who don’t have both Collections.  Around the time this came out I went on a road trip with my friend Mike to take his run away girlfriend from the Pittsburgh area down to Spartanburg, SC to where are parents recently moved to.  I had an idea that I would buy this somewhere on the trip and listen to it all the way back.  Sadly I was unable to find it anywhere.  I eventually got the cd, but did not get any copies on vinyl until a few years later, which would have saved me a few bucks.  The original black copies came with a lyric sheet dust sleeve, which has been replaced in later pressings with just a plain white dust sleeve.  There are 500 on clear, which are very difficult to find.  There are also 3,500 on green and 6,000 on red.

Evilive

As a thank you to the loyal members of the Fiend Club, Glenn pressed 800 copies as a thank you and sent them out for free.  Oddly enough, this is one of the few live records I can actually listen to.  The show took place at The Whisky in LA on 4/13/82.  There are some classic Glenn moments in between songs on here.  The 800 copies that were sent out for Fiend Club members have a different cover than the common press.  This cover is a live shot of Glenn, Jerry, and Doyle.  The back cover is also unique to this press.  The back cover also has a stamp of the crimson ghost and is hand numbered on the spine of the book.  There is a bootleg of this record and the number on the back is 512.  There were some extra records left, so Glenn made 3 different covers for these.  One cover has Glenn, one has Jerry, and one has Doyle.  There are 9 full sets and one with just one sleeve.  There is a little more to these sleeves, but to discourage bootlegs and people getting ripped off I won’t talk about that.  And just like the black Horror Business, if you think you have one of these, you don’t.  The Fiend Club press have yellow center labels.  There were an extra 200 records, which were sold with the regular press sleeve.  The regular press is also available with orange center labels, 1000 pressed.

They call us walking corpses

Spring of 1981 brought us the 3 Hits from Hell 7″.  The Misfits were in England to open some shows for The Damned.  Somehow, the band ended up not getting paid and bailed from the tour.  Glenn and Bobby went to see The Jam and there was some beef with local skins.  According to legend, Bobby took off and Glenn grabbed a piece of broken window glass for protection.  He ended up going to jail that night.  That night was the inspiration for London Dungeon.  The B side of this record is Horror Hotel and Ghouls Night Out.  Overall, this is another great 7″ by the band.  This is where Misfits collecting really began for me.  I was able to pick up a 1st press copy for $100 and I became hooked.  There was something about having the original recording in my hands that I can’t explain.  This wasn’t a digital reproduction or a repress from a year prior.  This was real, from the time the band existed.  When punk was a little different than it is now.  Not to sound like a snob (and I know there are exceptions) but things were real then.  It was fucked up kids supporting other fucked up kids.  I feel the same way about the Minor Threat- Filler 7″ as well.  Onto pressing info.

Supposedly the first press consisted of 10000 copies.  I don’t know, I find that number REALLY hard to believe.  But I will work with that number.  The more common version has grey center labels with a large hole.  There are 7000 of these.  The other 3000 have red/orange center labels, with a large hole.  The bulk of these have “R-10261” in the A side matrix and “R-10262″ on the B side.  However, there are copies without these matrix etchings, altough an actual number is unknown.

In 1986, there was talk about a 7” box set and Glenn ordered up another 800 copies.  400 on white vinyl, with red/orange center labels and a large hole.  The other 400 are on black vinyl, with red/orange center labels and a small hole.  I’ve pressed records before and this makes no sense to me.  The small hole records would have to come from different stampers, and 500 seems to make more sense pressing wise.  Maybe someone should look into this more.  Or maybe I am totally wrong.

Here are all 5 pressings.  Sadly one of the front covers has a Jerry Only signature.  Damn it.

Armies of the Hungry Ones

So I am slacking a bit on updates.  I’ve been super busy lately, and things will continue that way for a while.  But there WILL be 13 Misfits entries before Halloween is over.  Right now, it is time to look at the last 7″ to come out of the 70’s, Night of the Living Dead.

There was a one time pressing of 2000 copies.  The reason behind that is the production is really bad.  I mean really bad.  This sucks, because Night of the Living Dead is one of the best Misfits songs.  The other 2 tracks on this record are Where Eagles Dare and Rat Fink, which is the Misfits only recorded cover song.  When I would dream about collecting Misfits records, this was on the bottom of my list due to the poor quality and I am sick and tired of Where Eagles Dare.  I know that is a pretty unpopular opinion, but after listening to the band for over 20 years, there are some things I burned out on.  I do however love the line “Let’s test your threshold of pain, let’s see how long you last.”  The first time I saw this is a store, I argued with myself about buying it.  On one hand it was a Misfits 7″.  But on the other, the cover had seen better days and the price was kinda high.  So I passed.  Not too long after I picked up a clean copy.  A few months later I got a copy with an insert in part of a big trade.  But for real, how great of a song is NOTLD?