X-Claim had a theme going with band names all being acronyms SSD, FU’s DYS…. damn Jerrys Kids came along and ruined everything!!
X-Claim # 2 The FU’s ‘Kill for Christ’ from 1982
– great record, amazing band, Pushead album cover art! I was never a huge fan of The Straw Dogs, but I love me some FU’s. I have My America, but its the 1989 Classy Records version. Alas, no X-Claim vinyl for me.
X-Claim # 3 SS Decontrol ‘Get It Away’ from 1983
– the band that started it in Boston, the original Boston Crew, probably SSD at their best, there is no denying what a great song ‘Glue’ is! As much as I would love to get to hear these songs live I’m glad that the history of SSD was not tainted by the ‘Springa Sings Decontrol’ tour that was suposed to happen a couple of years ago.
X-Claim #4 DYS ‘Brotherhood’ from 1983
– Wolfpack was my favorite straight edge record when I was in 10th grade so by default I think this is my favorite X-Claim release plus its got cover art drawn by a young Dickey Barret! I will admit that it doesnt feature D. Christian Smalley with a lizard on his shoulder the way the 2nd DYS record does, but Jon Anastas does have his own Wikipedia page that lists him as “Punk Rock Musician/Hardcore Pioneer”.
call me crazy but ‘My America’ is probably the hardest X-Claim! record to find. took me about a year (10 years ago) and was the last piece in my X-Claim! puzzle.
oh, and… only $60 BIN for the DYS? i thought it coulda gone for more. am i wrong?
Someone got a deal on that DYS!
DYS is the fewest pressed and is definitely the hardest one to find around town. I’ve seen all the LPs a ton of times in stores over the years except for that one, I think I’ve only ever seen 3-4 copies in the past 15 years.
interesting. in my experience, the Jerry’s Kids was most common, and then ‘get it away’. and as i stated before, the ‘my america’ was just impossible to find. what are the pressing #s for X-Claim! releases? i’m remembering 1000 each but i’m sure i’m wrong.
The only ones I know for sure are SSD Kids (2000, mentioned in an old issue of Conflict) and Get It Away (I heard 4700 from a reliable source). There are two pressings of FU’s Kill For Christ, so presumably 2000+ of those. The rest… your guess is as good as mine.
Over the past 16 years of living in Boston, I’ve had at least 5-8 copies of all except DYS, which I’ve only ever had 2 of, and the old timers always say that one was the rarest. It’s anyone’s guess though… I asked Al SSD once about the pressing numbers, and he just said it was “classified information.”
PS I think the ultimate X-Claim rarity is finding a sealed/in-the-shrink copy of My America, that thing gets worn so easy due to crappy cover printing.
you’re right about the ‘My America’ cover. i don’t think i’ve seen one without any shelf wear.
hi veterans,
i have one question. i recently got a bootleg version of SSD KIDS WILL HAVE THEIR SAY, and GET IT AWAY. im just curious, as to how many of these bootleg version are around/pressed? there is no way i can get the original pressing, so bootleg is the best i can do. so, any idea guys?
thanks.
I dont have any X-Claim records (yet?) but I did recently get an almost pristin unused sleeve for The Kids Will Have Their Say from Choke. When the record was pressed they had some extra sleeves and Al gave it to Choke because he was in the picture on the cover.
Pretty awesome even though there is no vinyl.
i’ve heard a rumor that Porcell was the source of that ‘kids will have…’ Ex-Claim! bootleg.
fyi there are a lot of kids lp covers floating around less the vinyl. I have come across a bunch myself. One time Malcolm Tent put one on his head like a hat for a while before he tossed it into the trash. Lulz.
-C, i have seen the “porcell” version of SSD KWHTS lp. in fact its on sale in ebay now. so are those really the only bootleg version of KWHTS? and how many is pressed really? anyone knows?
this is a good piece of educational material: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kids_Will_Have_Their_Say
a few years back they were selling those extra covers on ebay…every time one sold, another one came up. i wanted to get one just to frame and never did.