Intangible and Smiling

The Warm Thoughts full collection continues. As it stands, I am one (readily available - but balls to US shipping) variant away from a full collection. Well, there is also the question of test presses; but a little bit more on that later right? 

Warm Thoughts - Intangible - Asian Man Records - 1sr Press - Random Mix /500 

From what I've seen, most of these ended up some kind of take on a grey mix? There's definitely a few flecks of red and blue in this copy and that's cool by me. 

Back Cover // B-Side 

With this record, there is no insert so everything here is about all you have. The B-Side is a Yo La Tengo cover. Elliot Babin has been raving on about these for a while, and they're a great band. This cover is one of a few performed under the Dad Punchers / Warm Thoughts moniker(s - anyone heard the 'Do You Wanna Dance?' cover?). From a design perspective, these oversized A and B labels look super cool against the fairly sparse background. Looking at the cover, it looks like it was taken from a van window too. This song sounds like it was written on tour, so it all kind of fits in. 

Warm Thoughts - Intangible - Asian Man Records - Test Press - Black - 1/10 

Asian Man is ran by Mike Park; one of the nicest guys in music. I heard wind of this coming up for sale, I emailed Mike Park about it. He asked me to email a few weeks later as he was away on tour; and sure as his word I emailed a few weeks later, we worked out a price and that was that. 

B-Side 

As this came in a dust cover and poly sleeve, there is not an awful lot to say. Getting number 1/10 is pretty cool though right? Rainbo also did the Mar Vista test which I managed to get a copy of which you can read about here: http://23rotations.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/sea-view.html

Certificate of Authenticity 

All Asian Man test presses come with this. It's a pretty neat little extra and shows that all of these tests pass through Mike Park's hands before reaching you. The numbering also matches up, which is sweet! 

And finally, here's a group shot, though it is more than likely that I will end up with another copy of this before too long... 

Just as a parting note, this record has a really cool matrix etching. Something along the lines of Warm Thoughts being better than Dad Punchers and Dad Punchers not being better than Warm Thoughts. 

One of my favourite bands doing it right all over again. 

Cheers!

Sea View

When you find out your favourite album of 2012 is getting a re-press, you get pretty excited. When you find out that it isn't just a re-press; but a complete re-issue with a name change, bonus tracks and released through a new label, you start to get really excited. We've all been there, you lurk the web-store furiously and as soon as it goes up you are on it so fast. And then we wait... 

A few weeks later this pops up on my door step. The one on the left; a lot of you probably know all about it. The one on the right - we'll get on to that a little later. 

Warm Thoughts is the new name for Dad Punchers, and 'Mar Vista' is the new name for the Self Titled LP that has had a spangly new re-issue from a great label. 

Warm Thoughs - Mar Vista - Asian Man Records - 1st Press - Clear Blue /500. 

I did a post on the S/T Dad Punchers LP on here if you want some comparison: 

http://23rotations.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/dad-punctures.html

Most things have been changed up from the original pressings. New name, new font. The colour of the sleeve is different, the centre labels are different and the Asian Man logo is dotted around here and there. 

Back Cover // B-Side. 

I really do love the colour of this record. This is the first time it has been pressed on a clear colour way. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not to do this, but I think it makes a nice statement. 

For anyone interested, 'Mar Vista' is Spanish for 'Sea View' I believe. It is also a neighbourhood in Los Angeles. Both seem appropriate in a sense for this band / album, so I'm not sure where the reference lies. Either way I'm cool with it.

Close up of the Back Cover. 

Here you can see the A // B Side track-listing. Also, I think that the front and back photos have been edited to be lighter on the re-release. Either that or the darker background colour brings out the photo a little more? 

Here we get on to probably the most important part about this re-issue, the bonus tracks. 3 acoustic re-workings of Dad Punchers songs, and all home recorded (I believe) by Elliot Babin. In most cases this would seem like a cop-out for a re-issue right? Wrong. These songs have been messed with a little; there's new lyrics here and there, new instrumentation and even structure changes. I adore album closer 'Rivets', a re-working of 'Tire Swing'. The album closes where it begins, and still manages to feel like a completely different song. 

Insert. Single sheet double-sided deal; and this is done in favour of the printed inner sleeves we have seen previously. This hasn't changed up at all since the Dad Punchers layout, and it really doesn't need to be.

Second side of the insert. 

Not an awful lot has changed here, but there are some changes: 

1. There is an Asian Man Records logo in the bottom right corner, in the place of the Sssealegs logo. 
2. There are the extra credits added in the second paragraph for the bonus tracks. Here it states that these were recorded by Elliot Babin. The songs' original titles are: Everything Must Grow // Redwoods // Tire Swing. 
3. Lastly (well as far as I can see) is the additional thanks tacked on to the end of the original list of thanks. Mike Park (owner of Asian Man) and Bob Vielma (I think he guests on the new Smith Street Band LP, but I may be wrong. Aside from that I have no clue!) 

Now we get on to the fun bit. The mystery bit...

It's a test press. Obviously it was going to be a test press. With the bonus tracks and new label, new plates needed to be made and a new run of tests. I reached out to Sssealegs a bunch of times about getting a 1st press test, but I never got a reply. Thankfully, Mike Park was happy to sell one of these to me, and I was super happy to have one. Seriously one of the nicest guys I have ever done this kind of deal with, and really gives you the time of day. 

B-Side. 

In order to not bend the record or sleeve in transit; this Firestone Brewing Company box was cut up and put in a poly-sleeve for support. Curiously enough though, I like it so I am keeping it in there for the time being. It's a little funny and definitely better than having a record just sat in a poly-sleeve on the shelf. It gives it a little more bulk too. 

Close up of the test press label. These were done at Rainbo Records, and so was the SsseaLegs press. I don't have a test from this plant, so it was something a bit different on both counts. 

Not the easiest thing to photograph but the matrix etching reads 'Dad Punchers - Side A' and 'Dad Punchers - Side B' on the respective sides. I do like that despite the name change, the old name is still sticking in some form or another. Obviously this turns up on the standard variants too. 

The dust cover is numbered 10/10. Nothing too fancy, but a nice touch all the same. 

What is a nice change however, is the Certificate of Authenticity you get with any Asian Man test press. 

Warm Thoughts - Mar Vista - Asian Man Records - Test Press - Black - 10/10

These are numbered, designated and signed by Mike Park. I know some labels used to do this back in the day, but it's not exactly common practice anymore. I really like it though, and it's the only test I own with something like this. To be fair, I don't own that many tests, but this one really is special. 

Finally. Money Shot. 

This was a single colour press, but I can guarantee you that if and when it gets re-pressed I will definitely be snatching up whatever I can. 

This was a bit of a long one. Sorry not sorry. 

I said this last time, no words I ever write will do this record or this band justice. But I'll do my best. Now just to hunt down The Exquisites split re-press and I'll be back up to date with this collection. In the meantime I'll be chasing whatever tests I can too. As always, I'll keep you posted. 

I Just Wasn't Made For These Times

I've already waxed lyrical on this blog about how much I love the band Warm Thoughts (formerly known as Dad Punchers), but I'm going to go ahead and do it again. I sometimes feel a little alienated on this blog. Other record nerd blogs are looking towards seeking out OG War Zone 7''s, Wishingwell presses of Break Down the Walls and all the rest of it. Whilst I love that aspect of collecting old school hardcore gems, it just isn't for me as that stuff goes for what I would consider crazy money. So here we are today, writing about a 7'' that came out a year or so ago. I was missing a colour, now I'm not. 4 variants in and around £30 spent. Not too bad. 

So I'm just going to dive straight into the variants, and we'll chat about the good stuff a little later on. 

Quick catch up: Dad Punchers (Warm Thoughts) is Elliot Babin of Touche Amore fame, and a revolving host of guest musicians for tour. This record was released through Jeremy Bolm's (Touche Amore vocalist) label, Secret Voice. Oh, and Nick Steinhardt did the design. And Clayton who plays guitar in Touche Amore handles live bass duties for Dad Punchers. It's all a family affair right? 

This was the only colour I was missing, and scored it from a seller on Deadformat. Buying on DF is becoming few and far between for me, so this was a nice experience. 

Dad Punchers - These Times Weren't Made For You - Secret Voice - 1st Press - Milky Clear /200

The other three colours of this I got at distro from Dog Knights Productions here in the UK, so I saved a bunch on shipping and got to buy records from a great label and distro. Also, you can tell this is Secret Voice a mile off from the design of the centre label. 

Dad Punchers - These Times Weren't Made For You - Secret Voice - 1st Press - Aqua Blue /300

And this is the most common colour of the 1st press. Also, this is probably the one I grab more than most when it comes to spinning this 7''. I think the colours work well together, and I've probably had this one the longest. 

Dad Punchers - These Times Weren't Made For You - Secret Voice - 1st Press - Coke Bottle Green /500. 

This makes the 1st press total of 1000. The 1st press of the Dad Punchers LP was also 1000, so points on consistency I suppose? Also, I have taken photos of both the A and B labels in these photos if you look closely.

This record did a fairly good job of selling out quickly. It wasn't long after the 1st press was out physically that it started to disappear from the Deathwish estore (where Secret Voice set up shop), and then distro copies were soon being snatched up. So this 2nd press was made up, and this is the colour still available. I do like it when a 2nd press comes out in a singular colour. I love variant collecting; but it can be defeating to shell out on another 3 copies of a release, barely a month or two past the 1st press coming out. 

Dad Punchers - These Times Weren't Made For You - Secret Voice - 2nd Press - White /1000

So here we are, on to the story and design of this record. 

The record is 4 tracks long, and was recorded during downtime between Touche Amore tours. The whole approach to the release feels very DIY. Most of the instrumentation was performed by Elliot Babin. All of the recording was handled by Elliot too, in the living room of his father's house. Some lyrical content here deals with personal growth, and I suppose the whole approach encapsulated those themes too. It's pretty cool. I believe the title of the 7'' is loosely based on a Beach Boys song too. 

Nick Steinhardt handled the design and layout on this release, and is quite far removed from his normal scope of work. I like it all the same, and it shows that he's a diverse dude. That head perched on the sofa kind of reminds me of the Quicksand S/T too. 

Back Cover. All of the art and design is kept the same throughout the 2 pressings, and the back cover is quite minimal. You get what you need to though: A/B Side track-listing, barcode and label name.

On to the insert. Much the same with how Nick handled the S/T art and layout; we are treated to hand-written lyrics and thanks. On the LP however, the insert acts as a dust sleeve and that is not the case here. I'm happy about that mind; as glossy // printed dust sleeves on a 7'' can sometimes be a nightmare with static and stuff. 

Other side of the insert. These are the rest of the lyrics, thanks and credits. It's a cool little insert and I do like the fact that it's not typed; it works way better with the aesthetic of the release this way. 

Oh and finally. Money shot. 

Thanks for reading!

Warm Thoughts

So, Dad Punchers are changing their name to Warm Thoughts. I'm not sure whether this is good news or bad news. I don't mind the name Warm Thoughts at all, but I also dug the name Dad Punchers quite a lot and thought it was cool. But Elliot Babin (Dad Punchers/ Warm Thoughts songwriter/ main duder) changed the name and the dude writes great songs so I guess that's what it is all about. 

Here is the first release Elliot Babin put out under the moniker of Dad Punchers, and from about 10 seconds into track 1 (Tire Swing) I fell in love completely and utterly. My band cover that song. I learned to ride a bike to that song on repeat. I had no idea what to expect from a dude that spends his time as Touche Amore's rhythmic backbone, and it's certainly different if you haven't heard them yet. But, it's perfect in my opinion. From hearing this release on Bandcamp, I knew I had to grab a physical. Long story short, tapes were made for a show. Leftover tapes went up on Bigcartel. Bigcartel was not set to ship to the UK. I spent a day frantically contacting Elliot Babin via any available means and holding this tape in my cart, and refreshing every 15 minutes so it wouldn't sell. By the time I got a response, this was sold out, but thankfully Elliot said he had more tapes to sell. So a few days and a  Paypal payment later, I had a tape and shirt on the way. Super nice guy too, and really humbled by the fact that people seemed into the project in such an early stage. 

And then it arrived. The Bedroom Demos, probably my favourite demo of all time. Plain black shell, no A/B side markings. Pretty simple, very DIY and it's the perfect design and format for the tracks presented. 

The bandcamp download contains the first three tracks, and the final track was a cassette only bonus. All of these songs were recorded for the S/T LP that came out on Sea Legs, and i'll probably do a post on that at some point. 

I heard these tapes were /25, but this is numbered 1/31. Whether the internet was wrong or whether this was a second press is unknown to me. I would really like to know though, as I have what I consider to be a full Dad Punchers collection (minus tests) and if there are two variants of this kicking around I would really love to know/ buy one. Yup, numbers are important. Suck it. 

These songs are really what they say on the tin, demos recorded in a bedroom. They're a little rough around the edges, and the versions on the LP are probably a bit easier on the ears. But there is such a wonderful charm to these early recordings, and I am truly attached to how these versions sound. I'm pretty sure this is deleted from the Dad Punchers/ Warm Thoughts Bandcamp now too, and that's a shame. But I caught up with Elliot Babin for a quick minute after a Touche/ Dad Punchers show and he seemed a little dismissive over these recordings. I love them, but I guess there are newer representations of the songs out there now. I look forward to the changes that Warm Thoughts will bring, and will definitely do my best to remain up to speed on the whole variant collecting thing. I would love some tests from this band too. That S/T record is beautiful, i'll definitely be talking about that one.