Note that these are high-resolution scans (300 dpi), which means that they will be gigantic on your screen. When MS Internet Explorer displays a JPEG in its own window, it's set up by default to shrink it to screen size (unless you've changed the settings). I believe Netscape does the same thing. Also note that the download package contains more pictures and at higher resolution than either the scans that were available with the previous postings or which are shown to the left.
Some random things that occurred to me while looking these over:
On The Viper's Drag:- In the late '80s, Refraze was the place you recorded on a decent budget, as opposed to Cro-Magnon, which is where you went when you had no budget. Great records came out of both studios though. And although there were other places to record (Cybertechnics, Hidden Music), these two seemed to dominate until about 1993.
- Michelle Saez took the cover photo and some of the others. My intention here was to write a brief comment on her. But the more I typed, the more I started remembering, and now the brief comment is long enough to merit its own entry (which will probably go up in the next couple weeks). For now, suffice to say she was a photographer/poet/artist/etc. who was attending WSU in the late '80s. She was also a key figure in the Alternative Fashion Show fiasco of 1988.
- Gail tells me that Skyp Krantz, who is in the thanks list "for 'Crunchy,'" designed the little Tooba Dude logo (which I guess is named "Crunchy," although everyone I knew just called him the "Tooba Dude"). Skyp also used to work the door at Canal Street Tavern and played drums in THE JITTERS and HANG'N PRIDE (I'll be sharing some HANG'N PRIDE soon).
- Gary "Beatbox" King apparently still works at Refraze and has since 1984.
- Note the superimposed head of Rod over the old drummer on the photo taken with the Clearwater Police.
On Plasma Boy:- Notice how Brian thanks a lot of people on this record but conspicuously omits my other band at the time, COLAVISION? Where's the love? Hey, BRIAN! Put the fucking coffee down, pigfucker! Coffee is for closers!
- George Bradley later played in THE JACKALOPES and, until recently, THE STORY CHANGES.
- John Shough is a great engineer and musician. He recorded a couple of bands I was in during the late '90s and tons of others. You can find a good summary of his career here.
- I assume that the Tod Weidner who did the artwork for this is the same Tod Weidner from SHRUG, but I can't be completely certain.
- Psionic Graphekwerkes (which did the layout) is really the multi-talented Chris Wright: guitar player, singer, songwriter, artist, web designer, and overall creative brain. The only other credit I can find for Psionic Graphekwerkes is a layout for a 1996 SWEARING AT MOTORISTS cassette, but Chris has done various graphic and web type services for plenty of bands and clubs around Dayton over the years. In the '90s, he played with Chuck Pietrzcak in the art/math/emo rock band NOSTROMO (from whom I'll be sharing something in the future). Later, he was in THE WEIRD NOW. He's still playing and doing stuff around Dayton, but I'm not sure what his current band is.
On Essential U-Dog Poop:- For obvious reasons, I didn't rip the other side of this cassette.
- Ben's handwriting sucks.
- Do you have any idea what those arrows are supposed to mean?
Thanks to Gail for loaning me the SOURBELLY vinyl and Grog for the U-DOGS cassette.
These downloads are now located with the records that the graphics come from.
take care
---Jones
