Tags Matching: diy

BLACKTASK 12″

By cooch | Published 07/16/2010

Here’s one of the rarest American metal records, from Philly’s Blacktask. These guys started around ’84 and released a demo, this 4-song 12″, and a later lp. The demo and this self-released 12″ are killer proto-thrash metal, and are extremely raw and underproduced (in the best way possible). They eventually landed a deal with a French label and released a proper LP, which is more of a standard heavy metal fare. Not bad, but nowhere near as great as the demo and 12″.

This 12″ is an extremely DIY affair, housed in just a plain jacket with stickers on the front for the band logo and the back for the track listing. There’s also a version with a red cover with a smaller sticker, supposedly those were used as promo copies (though they seem to turn up more than the black cover). At any rate, I don’t think more than a few hundred of these were pressed total, as they don’t turn up much at all.

Fun facts: The band’s name is a combination of the word BLACK and the initials of each band member’s last initial (Trub/Appleby/Santiago/Kristiansen). The record release party for this 12″ was held at a Chuck E. Cheese in Philly. Not a show, just a metalhead get together at Chuck E. Cheese. How cool is that?

Also: I’ll be reissuing this record and the demo on an LP later this summer!

The Birth of D.I.Y. Punk Records

By Josh | Published 06/26/2010

buttonbilly is selling some pretty impressive stuff including this gem….

The debut of the Buzzcocks. Four tracks recorded and mixed in 5 hours in 1976 and released in January 29th 1977 on the New Hormones label as the ‘Spiral Scratch’ ep. The band, had record label support, had to borrow £500 from their friends and families to pay for the record’s production and pressing. Inspite of all the hurdles, the first pressing of 1000 copies immediatly sold out and the ep went on to sell 16,000 copies and reached number 31 in the UK Singles Chart when it was reissued in 1979.

With this release the Buzzcocks became one of the first punk bands to self-finance and release their own record and its also credited as only the 3rd release by a British punk band.

Punk Rock History!

DESPERATE BICYCLES – Medium Was Tedium 7″ buyitnow

By cooch | Published 02/06/2010

Second 7″ by the founding fathers of DIY punk, with a pretty decent Buy It Now price (doubly nice for Yanks that the seller is in the US and you don’t have to pay UK shipping rates.) The DBs’ singles have been climbing steady in price over the past year or two, and they ain’t getting reissued any time soon, so grab this one while you can. It’s not the cheapest but it’s easy so go and do it.