Here's another U.K. fave of mine... I've been a huge fan of
Sofa Head since a buddy in high school made me a tape of their first Lp soon after the U.S. edition on Profane Existence came out 20 some-odd years ago. I picked up this live Lp from Blacklist mailorder a year or two after that introduction and though I think it doesn't quite represent the band at the height of their powers, I've always had a soft spot for this recording. "More..." came out on a very short-lived U.S. label called
Shazbat! out of Colorado and appeared shortly after the release of their third and final album. It documents a gig recorded several months prior and consequently there's a good mixture of songs from their entire repertoire, including decent versions of songs from their final record (Acres of Geeses), a record that I always thought suffered from a muddy mix in the studio. Anyways, the great
Boss Tuneage reissued the first two Sofa Head albums on
CD a while back and I've heard rumors that they are in the process of revamping the final album for reissue as well. Fingers crossed. Regardless, enjoy this glimpse into their live presence...
Sofa Head - More is Not A Word in Our Vocabulary
It was nice to find this. I was the person who produced the More is Not a Word in Our Vocabulary album. I started a record label when I was 18 and scrimped and saved my money to produce that album. I got the pink and purple splatter vinyl at a discount from the manufacturer. I had no idea what I was doing, hence the short-lived label, but I was just a kid and produced about 2,000 of the "More..." albums for around 3K.
ReplyDeleteThe best things I got out of it were experience, AND I got to tour England with Sofahead and got to meet the guys from Snuff and Wat Tyler and a few from Leatherface.
That was a lifetime ago for me, but it's nice to see some of that vinyl went around. I ended up selling my stock to a friend of mine who was also doing a label. (We collaborated on a compilation album that included a rare Citizen Fish track.)
Anyway! I was the girl who did Shazbat for a brief stint between the ages of 18 and 22 years old. I kinda ended the endeavor with a trip to England and did the merch for Sofahead during that tour. I believe that was about '93.
Ian Armstrong and I used to communicate by phone and email because internet was not ubiquitous yet!! :-P
I agree the album is a lesser representation of the band, and to be honest, I was disappointed when I got the master for it, but I had already lined up the vinyl and the cover prints and paid for it, so...
Invaluable life experience though. Your posting on this made my day. I imagine this album is not easy to find, and I only have about 5 of them myself because I fobbed off several thousand of them on my friend who was more motivated than I was.
All in all, I did not make money or lose money. I broke even and gained invaluable experience.
Hi Chrissie !
DeleteWhat a story ! Glad to find another Sofa Head fan ! By chance, do you sell some copies you have of this live album ? This is the only one I miss for my SH vinyl collection and can't find anywhere ! If you do you can write me at teenagesintaste_at_gmail_dot_com
Thanks !
Wil
PS: I also produced a 45 for a band called RAN who were buddies of Ian's and also lived in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and I liked their work. They broke up right after I produced the 45. I might be able to find a few copies of this 45 in my storage. (I hope!!)
ReplyDeleteGet in touch with me. If I find an extra copy of the RAN 45, I'll send it to you for free. :-D
One more thing..."fobbed off several thousand.." that is an exaggeration. If I remember correctly there were only 2,000. So I fobbed off 1,500 or so on my buddy. I shipped about two boxes to England for the tour, and then I also put an ad in Maximum Rock N' Roll for the albums. I was getting orders from Japan and all over the world, but they weren't adding enough money for postage to the payments. :-(
ReplyDeleteThat's where I failed. I was just a kid and did not expect international orders. The postage on international orders was killing me, so I folded. (I worked at a deli for 8 bucks an hour + tips (about 15 bucks/day)--I have no idea how I even managed to save the money to produce albums, but, hey, gas was 75 cents/gallon back then and cigs were $1.50/pack. ;-)
Goddamit--I meant MAIL, as in snail mail, not email in my original post. :-D
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