CT's Souvenirs and Evidence, Volume Two

All photos by Kate Munn. Many thanks to her! Check out her flickr page here

As of the last entry where I tell the tale of the Cheap Tragedies LP, we find our friends having just recorded a massive LP whose recording seems to have taken its collective toll on the band, resulted in a near-break-up, and probably left madman Erba wielding a knife more than once in studio shenanigans.

By that point in time though, regardless of where the band stood, Cheap Tragedies had already agreed to come up to Canada to play some shows in Toronto and Montreal with Omegas in May of '08. By the time spring rolled around, I was eagerly anticipating these shows for a number of reasons: killer LP in the bag I was eager to get out, uncertain future (so who knows how many times I'd get to see these dudes play), and a steadily growing live reputation. (As a matter of fact, my friend Wendy Eager of Guillotine fanzine and Sexual Suicide fame, not knowing we were already slated to put out their record, called me after see the band's set at Cake Shop in NYC saying, "I saw a band I think you'd love. The singer stripped half naked, bled all over the place, and attacked the crowd.")



Omegas roadtrips are typical little adventures in and of themselves and getting everything coordinated is always a little dramatic. In any event, we rented a van, piled more people into it than should legally have been there, and headed out to Ontario. The "Toronto" show was actually at a house in Burlington, a suburb about 45 minutes outside of Toronto, and on the way there, someone decided it was a bright idea to buy a bunch of fire crackers. At the end of the 7 hour drive and a trip to the liquor store, we arrive at the house in Burlington, home to the bass player of Eating Glass, Spencer. It was nothing at all what we had expected; Burlington was a pretty nice neighborhood right on Lake Ontario so the houses on the block were all pretty upscale, and moreover real close together. Was this really where we were playing? The neighbors won't care? The owners of the house won't care?? Really!?!?? We got were soon reassured that this was the place; they had shows in the foyer right next to a laundry alcove, and there was to be a BBQ in the back, and moreover, dude's mom generally hangs out. Was a little bit of an unusual scene, but it sounded good to us, and those members of our little group that partake in the drink quickly took to imbibing, and hung out by the lake, and get back to the house for some BBQ. Cheap Tragedies showed up in the meantime; said hi to Tony, and met the other guys for the first time, and chatted about this and that. They seemed a bit tired from the trip and I let them eat and get situated.

Omegas played a set complete with Ryan jumping off the banister, splitting his head open on Spoiler's bass in mid set, and having to get his wound superglued shut to stop the bleeding, but it was all good. Cheap Tragedies went on, and at this point in time they had nothing out by a few songs on a demo that we just distributed over the internet. But when they hit the first note in that foyer between the extra bathroom and washer & dryer, you'd have thought they were a band for ages already. Tony was in top form and the band right behind him didn't miss a beat throughout. Any doubt I'd had as to whether or not these guys would stick around was gone. I'm sure these guys could argue amongst each other about song parts, lyrics, shows, layouts, and recordings like the best of them, but when they hit the stage, they were a unit. This was a fuckin' band. And of course, Tony managed to knock a few folks down during the set, snag a few drinks from folks in the crowd, roll around on the floor in various states of undress, and hit on the mom of the dude's house we were staying at-- all over the course of the set.

As can be imagined, the rest of the night turned into a bit of a blur, but the party went well into the wee hours of night, with fireworks going off in the front yard, Discharge-karaoke over the PA courtesy of Hoagie Skank, Mike the Mosher, and other dudes who joined in the festivities, and acoustic sing-alongs in the back yard. Keep in mind, this is while we tried to convince the gracious hosts of letting us crash in the house. We wound up staying the night, and I passed out underneath a drop cloth. The next morning, after I peeled myself off the floor and got myself standing upright, I caught a ride back to Montreal with CT in the Erba-van, and had to spend all 7 hung-over hours without a head-rest. The Montreal show went off without much of a hitch, even though the late, great Black Dot had just gotten shut down and the show had to moved at the 11th hour, footage of which now appears on youtube courtesy of hardtimes.ca. All said and done, it was such an impressionable time, before it was all over, we already started talking about doing it again next year, and I was more psyched than ever to get this LP out. Now that this one is out, hopefully we'll be seeing another one soon!

CT's Souvenirs and Evidence, Volume One

I have to admit there's an awful lot I rather hate about putting out records. I hate filling out all the forms, coordinating with multiple companies and suppliers, trying to get everything shipped to the appropriate places (which has been made even more complicated when I moved up to Montreal). But getting the records in my hand finally is a treat and probably the most satisfying aspect of the whole endeavor. I wouldn't say it "makes it all worth it" because that other nonsense still is a pain. But being able to put a record you worked on on your record shelf next to other favorites is definitely a trip.

Pressing records has gotten progressively more expensive and we've had to raise some of our prices (both wholesale and retail) recently in order to stay afloat, which I still hate doing, but it's necessary. With this Cheap Tragedies LP, I wanted to spare no expense because I knew the recording would come out awesome. (Well, almost no expense; I had to nix the idea of a million different colored vinyl versions since we couldn't afford that.) All told, the damn thing cost me about a year's worth of rent, and I dare say it was worth it. I just want to share a few stories on how to came about. Below will be part 1 of my musings.

I hadn't known Tony Erba was in a new band when he sent me an email on myspace about it. I guess he was hitting people up he had worked with previously in other bands and MATW put out a 9 Shocks disc after we met when they played the house I was living at in NJ in '01 (Step Sister played there in '02 as well.) Now, I rather hate myspace communications because myspace has a knack for crashing my browser and just taking a long time to get anything done, so I'm often very late in responding to messages there. I guess Tony was eager to get the ball rolling, and he's an impatient mofo, so 2-3 days later I get another message basically saying "Thanks for not listening to my band's demo, asshole!" So I told emailed him told him about my email woes and asked him to take it easy. Funny thing is, I definitely wanted to hear this, if only because it was Tony's new band, he's back on vocals, and also because the last "ex-9 Shocks" band that asked us to do something was the Homostupids, which I wish we would have jumped on (that's another funny story though).

When I did listen to the Cheap Tragedies demo, I was taken aback. I didn't know what I was expecting, but it was nothing like what I was expecting. Much more tuneful than Tony's immediately preceding hardcore efforts, and Erba even carries a tune! On first listen I kind of pegged it a more melodic, late 80's hardcore affair, which was well executed, but not typically something I get terribly excited about. On repeated listens though, there was definitely a lot going on there-- tight musicianship, creative song structures, interesting leads, and a definite rust-belt rock influence beaming through the songs. Yeah, I did want to do something with these dudes....

Tony and I spent some time going back and forth brainstorming-- seems he wanted us to do their LP. OK, but LPs are expensive-- can I afford this? MATW certainly couldn't, but with a little saving on my part, I could probably front the money. "Cool, now we've got this great deal to record at Mars studio, could you front the money for this?" "Uhhh....." So I did. Things were quiet for a while, and recording updates seemed to indicate things were going smooth--- except they needed just a little bit more dough. Fine.

Then one day I'm relaxing at home on a weekend on the eve of Cheap Tragedies finishing up laying down all the tracks in the studio, and I get a soul-bearing email from Tony about how he loves his bands, can't stop playing music, totally wants to do right by us for helping out his band (which is pretty much what I've experienced from the guy, so it was kind of known already, but it was touching to see it in print), BUT-- he's absolutely fed up with those dudes and can't take it anymore. He's leaving! DOH! Needless to say I was quite bummed. I put together a quick response-- "don't sweat it, we'll figure something out," but I can't help but feel super bummed about CT's potential demise. I stewed on it for a little bit, crunched some numbers, and figured I could still break even on the whole thing on the strength of the band's members' reputation and whatnot, and decided not to stress too much.



Then I actually heard the record. Even as a rough mix, it was a monster. To say "epic" didn't even do it justice. The guitars were loud, the drumming fierce, rumbling bass, screeching leads, and Tony laid down an absolutely intense vocal performance. He wasn't lying when he said it was his best. The lyrics (what I could make out of them) were totally on point as well. In spite of the fact that there was some precision musicianship on those tracks, the songs could barely contain the energy. So much going on on this record, and it was still a hardcore record from top to bottom. I was totally floored, and listened to the damn thing 5 times in a row when I finally got it. No wonder dude was so stressed out; from the sound of it, these guys must have fuckin' labored in the studio like nobody's business. I composed a lengthy email to Tony expressing my thoughts about the record: they wrote and recorded one hell of a record. Not only was it a good-- nay, great-- record, but I'd go so far as to say they went above and beyond and recorded an important record. As in, one that would be listened to and sought after years from now. I wrote that a lot of bands who reach that caliber probably couldn't stand each other but that somehow it just works. I thought it would be worthwhile for them to stay together, and listening to the thing, I'm not surprised they didn't come close to murdering each other. (Ian later confided in me, for example, that on one particular day, he was recording drum tracks for 10 hours straight.) But if it really was the end of the road, it would still be a great record and one I'd be proud to put out. The response: he'd try not to stab the other members of the band, so they stayed together.

(Part 2 coming soon. Not to worry, the story has a happy ending, and these dudes obviously don't hate each other.)

Cheap Tragedies LP shipping!

So of course it took a little bit longer than expected/ hoped, but 1) still not so bad in hardcore time, and 2) everything turned out awesome. The Cheap Tragedies LPs are starting to ship now, and the pre-orders will be the first to go out. (If you pre-ordered, you'll get e-mail notification this week as well.) Below you'll find a picture of the clear vinyl (limited to 300), and the gatefold cover with the nice mug of Jane Fonda. And if you needed to still hear them by now, here's how:

http://www.myspace.com/cheaptragedieshc
http://www.matwrecords.com/graphics/11Ain'tDeadYet.mp3

http://www.matwrecords.com/catalog/




The screened covers the band made for their record release show were sold in a heartbeat. The band is getting their copies shortly (in transit now) and will have them for the next show in February for sure. Speaking of their record release show, here it was:

Cheap Tragedies record release covers

Cheap Tragedies played a record release show last week. As with many things in hardcore, there were some delays that caused the records not to be ready. We knew better than to assume everything would go smoothly, so we had some additional test presses made up in the first batch. Since the initial plates turned out great, the band screened some covers for those test presses and made a special record release party version. Came out quite awesome as well, as you can see below. There's only 35 of these floating around, so consider yourself lucky if you got one! LP covers are shipping tomorrow, so the real thing will follow soon!

Cheap Tragedies LP coming soon!!

All right people, it's coming soon. Here's a little sneak peak at the cover and a nice little description for you. Heads will roll....

Cheap Tragedies- Volume 1: Souvenirs and Evidence LP COMING SOON
Following hot on the heels of 7"s on Livewire Records and High Anxiety 416/ No Idea Records, Cheap Tragedies wastes no time in dropping an absolute rager of an LP. Comprised of some well-seasoned clevo vets, including a maniacal Tony Erba delivering his best vocal performance ever, they tear through 12 tracks of amped up, hardcore punk rock n roll on their debut Volume 1: Souvenirs and Evidence the way only Cleveland miscreants can. Recorded by Bill Korecky at Mars Studio (Face Value, Integrity, 9 Shocks Terror, Terror, etc), the sound is incendiary and justifies their reputation as "hardcore arena rock destroyers". First press packaged in a gatefold sleeve, 300 on clear wax through mailorder or select stores.

Podcast # 4!

It's been a while, so we were in order for a new podcast. Well here it is, starting off with some classics by the way of Krakdown and Madball. I still haven't found the time/ inclination/ appropriate method to transfer my vinyl to mp3, so I'm still only able to use tracks I have access to mp3 or CDs of. Nonetheless, a couple interesting tracks find their way into the podcast this time around:

First of all, Raw Deal's "Fear in the Streets" from a tape that circulated around that seems alternately labeled a practice tape and as "demo 2". I first heard this track on WSOU's Hardcore Reality show back in around '95. It was very obviously Raw Deal, but I had never was able to figure out what song or where it was from. It didn't wind up with the bonus demo tracks on the "Brightside" reissue Victory Records released some time later, and most people I asked didn't know what the song was. I managed to record the show on cassette so for a while I had a copy of it, but a few moves later I couldn't find that tape either. Fast forward some years later and the Omegas are in a van heading somewhere to Ontario and I see the song on Spoiler's iPod. I confirm this is the song I had been searching for, and he schools me on where it came from. I suppose nowadays I could have just asked folks on the Livewire Board where it was from, but alas, years ago this was not possible.

Another thing I was excited to get was mp3s of Full Fledged's demo. A NJ band around 1996, these guys were good friends of mine, and closely related to No Contest (drummer Ben Wiley was in both bands), these guys were unfortunately short lived and never wound up releasing anything. Even though the demo is essentially a practice tape, it's still a good piece of hardcore. I became friends with the crew of those two bands after seeing them at shows for a while in both NYC and NJ, and we got on pretty well. Although friendly with the MCYC, these guys totally had their own thing going on and were a bit wilder. I still have the demo, but I don't have a working tape player-- Amazingly enough Ben Pepin of Sherbrooke, QC had mp3s of this somehow, so I snagged it from him.

Two tracks from the SUB compilation are on the podcast. One by Ratos De Porao, Sao Paulo's best-known (internationally) and longest running hardcore band (if you look elsewhere on this blog, you'll find an interview with Boka of RDP), and another by Colera, one of Brazil's very first (??) punk bands. Really gritty and gruff hardcore, with more than a little touch of metal (albeit insanely raw) even for 1983, this compilation showcased the first vinyl outtings of some of the earliest Brazilian hardcore bands. I managed to get a copy of this on vinyl on Sao Paulo on a visit a few years back. I was record shopping, looking to see if I could snag some old Samba records, and came across a punk store named Cimex. This was off the beaten path a little bit; it wasn't in the famed "Galeria" and was a punk-run record store. The people working there were cool, we got to talking, and wound up hanging out there for a bit drinking. They had a copy of this for sale, and the rest is history. Also included in our little "Brazil block" are rippers by two newer bands: B.U.S.H., and Bandanos.

Finally, you're treated with the a preview of the very first track off the forthcoming Cheap Tragedies Record. By now, both of their 7"s on Livewire Records and High Anxiety 415 are out. They'll both rule. And the LP is sick. Get it in the fall.

Listen here: Dan Scheme's Fourth Podcast!

CHEAP TRAGEDIES in Canada

So Cheap Tragedies came on a little Canadian jaunt and played a show in Toronto (Burlington, actually) and Montreal with us screwballs, Omegas. Good times, plenty of hi-jinx, and a good amount of recuperating afterwards.

The good folks at Hardtimes.ca came out to the show at LBH in Montreal and interviewed Cheap Tragedies and put together a montage of some of the show footage, both of which you can find below:





LP is recorded and sounds incredible. Their 7" on High Anxiety 416 is supposed to come out this week (?) and their Livewire Records 7" will be out soon as well. Expect the LP to be out on MATW sometime this summer.

MATW news '08: Cheap Tragedies LP + new webstore

I generally try to keep label business separate from this blog, but for the time being our website is out of commission as far as substantial updates. But we've got some exciting news to share for 2008, and I figured here's as good a place to put it as any. As you can read below, we'll be working on a site re-design shortly and that, along with my tackling Dreamweaver will finally mean regular updates to the MATW site!
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First off, we're proud to announce that Cheap Tragedies will be releasing their debut LP on Mad at the World Records. Cleveland's troublemakers managed to start making a name for themselves on the basis of just a demo and the infamous Clevo-style ruckus which they already managed to bring to shows through-out the mid-west and east coast. With a CV that boasts some of the most respected hardcore bands of the last 2 decades (Face Value and 9 Shocks Terror to mention a few), it's not surprising. Their full length will follow up 7" releases on Livewire Records and High Anxiety 415 Records. CT start recording in the spring and the record is slated for a summer '08 release.
Cheap Tragedies on myspace

Mad at the World's webstore has greatly expanded to now include a full online mailorder, and carries releases from the likes of Grave Mistake, Criminal IQ, Deep Six, No Way, Profane Existence, Grand Theft Audio, Painkiller, and a whole number of international labels. Check out the store at www.matwrecords.com/catalog

We're hoping to have a complete site redesign sometime before the spring hits. The current site design makes it hard to update and expand, so a new one is on the way. When we put it up, we'll make sure to expand the pages dramatically and put up information on all the bands, including archival stuff we have from Major Conflict, Urban Waste, the Nihilistics, and the Misguided.

Battletorn's- Terminal Dawn record will be out on CD version in February 2008. The gatefold LP version from summer '07 sold out in a matter of 4 months and won't be re-pressed. The CD version will have the Terminal Dawn LP + a remastered version of their '06 Burn Fast 7". In continuing with the whole over-before-you-know-it approach, the CD was pressed in a quantity of 500, so pick it up fast.

More NYHC reissues in the works!