Raw Nite @ the Stork, Oakland, 9/13/2011

If you like what you download here, please buy records
Raw Nite live

As if life wanted to send me a message it knew I would ignore, I’m sad to report that my recording equipment has blown up.

My 16-track set up bit the dust during the Friday night of Budget Rock 10, so not only am I temporarily unable to use it, the last bands I attempted to record with it were Personal & the Pizzas, the re-united Statics, and the almighty Rip Offs, who played one of the most amazing sets I’ve ever witnessed. Yet none of what I captured will ever see the light of day because it all sounds like complete shit, and not the good kind (AKA “lo-fi”), but digital garbage.

It looks my equipment is repairable but it’s going to take awhile and require money I don’t have, now that I have a baby on the way as well as two new releases out Lemon Session (Von Zippers and Zulus). So, if you’ve been holding out on buying records from me but come to this site for the free downloads, please consider buying some records. You won’t be sorry if you do since they’re all rad.

Now onto what this post was supposed to be about: my recent recordings (pre-blow up) of Raw Nite.

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November 15, 2011 | | Tags: , , , , , | No Comments »

Zulus, Von Zippers Ready For Pre-Order

Records on the way, so pre-order now!
Zulus cover

It’s the week after my 31st birthday, so it’s time to get off my ass and start doing something responsible and doesn’t pay.

Though I’ve been side-tracked by big projects at work and baby-making at home, I have finished mixes on the recordings from the SS10 shows. Sadly, I can’t tell you what’s going to happen with them as I’m still in the dark, but you’ll be seeing some posted here soon.

I recently grabbed a decent recording of Raw Nite, which features members of Tractor Sex Fatality and the Lemon Session “Bromeos” known as Butcher Cover. The shit is pretty much ready-to-go, so you should be seeing some songs from their set at the Stork Club up here sooner than later.

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September 30, 2011 | | Tags: , , , , , | No Comments »

Little Queenie @ the Stork, Oakland, 3/5/2011

Can you die from exhaustion?
Little Queenie

It’s stupid how long it’s taken me to finally post this. A month ago I was so busy that I had to wait until I took a vacation to get back to this blog. But then after I mixed the tracks and wrote the majority of the post, I basically forgot to publish it for two weeks. It was dumb – I’d remember it early in my day, usually when I was nowhere near a computer; and then by the time I could’ve finished the post, I’d drink a bunch of beers and watch several episodes of “Storage Wars” instead.

Though work has sucked up the majority of my time and energy, label stuff has also been a part of why I’ve been so busy – mixing recordings for possible releases, getting everything squared away with the next two singles and even buying more equipment for live recording. So expect more content, both free and for purchase.

But I could be just wasting time and money as my wife is pregnant and according to every father I know, I won’t have a life after the baby arrives. Well, I guess it’s just trading one dream for another… But if you’re in the Bay Area and want to see how the record business works for little money, email me.

Let’s get to what you actually care about: free music.

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September 2, 2011 | | Tags: , , , , , | No Comments »

Liquorball, SS10, Live @ BOTH 5/20/2011

So so much in store for 2011Liquorball

If you haven’t noticed (and you probably haven’t), it’s been a long time since the last post; almost two months. But there have been good reasons for this, as I have not only been SUPER busy with the label, but I’ve actually been planning out upcoming posts.

The next two Lemon Session releases — Von Zippers and Zulus (ex-Battleship, Teenage Nightwar) — are on their way to the presses, so expect them to be available for purchase in about a month. Not only are the tracks on both records KILLER, but they will feature color sleeves that will be way too expensive for me. Of course, starting a record label is a bad financial decision, so there’s no reason for me to become thrifty all of a sudden.

This week’s post is the first in a series consisting of my recordings from the SS Records 10th Anniversary shows. Thanks to my good friend, recording genius Russ Arteaga, we have every set recorded…WELL. And what better way to show off our collaborative recording skills than with a excerpt from Liquorball’s ripping set.

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July 17, 2011 | | Tags: , , , , , | No Comments »

Cheap Time @ the Hemlock S.F., 3/10/2011

Slow recovery means perfectionCheap Time

The days of Percocets and popsicles are over. After two weeks of sitting around my house in sweatpants, pulling inch-long chunks of dried blood from my nose, I am back to sitting on my computer all day, pretending I’m a recording “professional.” Hopefully all the pain and sacrifice will mean better sleep, as the procedures I underwent were solutions to my horrible sleep apnea (now you don’t have to ask “what did you get done?”)

I’ll be at the SS Records 10th Anniversary shows this weekend if you wanna say “hi” or make arrangements to buy some records and not have to pay for shipping. I’ll be the bald guy with a spotty blonde beard doing nerdy crap like taking pictures or annoying the guys from the A-Frames.

This week’s recording is from a young band of punk rockers from Memphis known as Cheap Time. If you haven’t picked up their albums on In The Red, get the hell off this site right now.

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May 16, 2011 | | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

Homostupids @ The Stork, Oakland CA, 3/5/2011

Finance my habitual promise making!Homostupids

Hey, great seeing you again! Thanks so much for coming by and grabbing some free stuff. This post is a real treat for those who love lo-fi live recordings of crazy punk bands — if it were the 90s, you’d be trading this shit on cassette.

But before you go running off to download the free songs posted below, make sure you take a second and check out the releases page. We got records in the can, ready to go and the only thing that’s stopping us is the money part. All that I ask is that if you like what you see and hear here, buy some records.

Anyway, I’m hours away from having huge chunks of my throat cut out, and adopting a diet of ice cream and
Percocet. This week’s recording is from the Homostupids, the best spastic punk band out there right now.

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April 26, 2011 | | Tags: , | 5 Comments »

Hank IV, Live @ Hemlock, 5/24/2010

Well, there went the momentumHank IV

Jesus christ where the hell does the time go?! And WHERE THE HELL ARE MY PRIORITIES?!!! When I should’ve been posting sweet live recordings *cough* and news about all the amazing shit going on at my label, I wasted my time looking at eBay for crap and listening to podcasts. (Disclaimer: listening to the Best Show On WFMU is not a waste of time. Exhibit A Click and hear.*)

To be honest, I’ve actually been working hard on future posts, in the hope of cranking out at least one a week for at least a few upcoming weeks, but we’ll see — being that I have no attention span whatsoever, any kind of regularity to this is something worth celebrating.

This week: a 2010 recording of SF’s oldest teenagers, Hank IV.

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April 8, 2011 | | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

Sex Church, Live In Oakland! 10/16/2010

Keeping up the momentum, kind ofSex Church

Well, I missed the weekly deadline I gave myself, but at least I made the second week! Yep, I’m staying alive and moving along, lining up a bunch more recordings to give away for free. Just last week I captured both Little Queenie and the almighty HOMOSTUPIDS, which I should be getting up sooner rather than later. (Sadly, my recording device corrupted the amazing 1/2-hour set from Butcher Cover and its proving to be impossible to salvage.)

By the way, thanks to everybody who started buying up singles from the Lemon Session Singles Club 2010 once they were made available for individual purchase. Note to all interested — the Aluminum Knot Eye records are being bought up a few at a time, so make sure to buy one before they’re gone.

This week’s free download? A live Sex Church recording from October 2010.

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March 8, 2011 | | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

A New Year, A Renewed Momentum

Free at last, at least for nowMy House

Well, it took a while but everyone got their records and I’m finally free of any deadlines for record releases. It’s kind of depressing how lazy I am and how easy it is for me to make promises that would be easy to keep if I could only keep my momentum going after a long week at work. But my love of television and researching cassette recording devices is fucking up my whole work flow. (No wonder I don’t have any friends.)

This time, I’m gonna do what I can to update this site at a regular pace with recordings, videos and a few somewhat-entertaining stories that I might sit down at a computer long enough to write.

Before we get into the first post of the year, take note: all of Lemon Session’s releases are now available for purchase from this very website. Click on the “releases” tab above and go crazy.

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February 25, 2011 | | Tags: , , , , | No Comments »

Singles Club Update — I’ve Moved!

Your records are on their wayMy House

I’m a lucky man. I can say that now, not just because I recently bought a house, but because a riot hasn’t started yet over the fact that I’ve been dragging on this month’s singles club records. For those who subscribed to plan #1, your record is on its way — it’s Aluminum Knot Eye’s entry, which features “Same Old Greasetrap,” the most downloaded song on the Lemon Session Sampler (available here.)

As for the Steeples 7", it’s been delayed — it needs to be re-plated, which will hopefully happen soon. I’ll probably be sending off the Blowtops record before the Steeples stuff is ready to go.

I should add that around the same time I bought the house, I was promoted at work, which means more money to sink into this label! Nothing like blowing thousands of dollars on thousands of records that will probably end up sitting in my moldy attic for the next 20 years — that is, until I chuck them into a landfill to triple their worth. (The ol’ “Man’s Ruin” scheme….)

And yes, I know I probably should be waiting until AFTER the rest of the singles club and Bundle of Fags singles are out to be talking about even newer stuff in the queue, but hey, I actually have the tracks and so I’m going to let my mouth start writing checks.

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September 17, 2010 | | Tags: , , , , , , | 3 Comments »
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