I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this, but it just has to happen: The next 4 singles in the club (AKE, Steeples, Unnatural Helpers, Blowtops) will have smaller pressings; instead of pressing 600 of each, I will only press 300.

I want to put out more records and pressing 600 of each record is making that more difficult by being so expensive, as well as taking up the little room I have in my apartment. At some point I’d like to press all the records at amounts that don’t make them so “exclusive,” but at this point it’s just not possible.

I’m also going to shore up the number of possible subscriptions, from 475 to 210, so if you haven’t subscribed yet, you should do so now. I’m guessing that since we’re already close to reaching 210 that it won’t be long until I’m announcing that there are no more subscriptions.

You can still subscribe using the payment plan — you only need to put down $12 initially — and now I will send all those who pay off their plans with one big payment the next two records (Terrible Twos and Butcher Cover.) That means you won’t have to wait until June, when they would be sent to you. Awesome!

To sign up, click here: http://www.lemon-session.com/releases/

And remember, if you are on the payment plan and don’t know when to send in the next payment: now would be good. Again, the next package goes out in June, unless you A. Are on plan #1 or B. Pay off the plan with a big ‘ol payment. If you’re in either of these categories, you’ll get records in May.

I’d also like the add that the Bundle Of Fags bonus still stands (the cover is above): if you’re one of the 200 wait, 210 subscribers, you’ll get the Bundle Of Fags single too. Basically the club is now 9 records instead of 8 FOR ALL SUBSCRIBERS.

And for those of you who have received promo copies of the first 4 records — because the pressings are being cut in half, I won’t necessarily be sending you the next 5. Please sign up for the club if you really want those records.

If you haven’t signed up for the email group, please do so by entering your email address into the little Yahoo thing on the left.

Thanks again for coming on the site. For an added bonus, below is an attempt at a music video for the Intelligence’s “Boyfriends And Girlfriends,” where I took a bunch of shaky video from a 2002 show (with the almighty Dean of the Unnatural Helpers on drums) and make it much more exciting. I plan to do a post on the Intelligence sometime in the near future as I am sitting on a bunch of recordings from this era.

From this idea’s inception it took me 11 months to get to this point. Personally, I don’t think that’s too long of a time to get eight records ready to sell, but if it is, I would love to know.

In theory it shouldn’t be that hard to send a CDR to someone in a different part of the country and have them turn it into a record. Yet it is, because:

A. You actually have to talk to two or three people;
B. You have to have the grip of money that’s required to be sent with it.

Oh, and one quick note: I’m doing this so I can start a label and put out more records you’d want. So, to make yourself feel better when you’re buying this, you can tell yourself you’re helping start a non-profit.

Lemon Session Singles Club 2010

Subscription options

Option 1 - 8 Shipments $65.00 Option 2 - 4 Shipments $55.00 Option 3 - Local $45.00 Option 4 - Payment plan $12.00

Email list

After months of compiling this, here it is, the Lemon Session Singles Club 2010. Only eight records, but all previously unreleased material.

The 2010 lineup:
Rib Cages
Teenage Nightwar
Terrible Twos
Butcher Cover
Unnatural Helpers
Blowtops
Steeples
Aluminum Knot Eye

Cover art provided by the most talented Rob Vertigo, singer for Butcher Cover.

There are no real restrictions, but for those outside the US will have to pay the difference in shipping costs.

Option 1: 8 Packages:
For $65, you’ll receive a single every month of 2010, except for January, April, July and October.

Option 2: 4 Packages:
For $55, you’ll receive two singles each package, mailed out in February, May, August and November.

Option 3: Local pickup (for Bay Area residents only):
For $45, you’ll be able to pickup records on an almost monthly basis at 1234 Go! Records.

419 40th Street
Oakland, CA 94609-2508
(510) 985-0325

You’ll need to sign up for the mailing list above to find out when the new records have been dropped off.

NEW Option 4: Payment Plan:
For 5 payments of $12, you get all the records, but the packages only come after you pay.

So you won’t feel surprised or gypped by what you receive, here’s a sampler of all the bands, including 3 songs that will be on three of the singles in the club.

Noise Pop is a bunch of bullshit. The company behind this stupid festival, Noise Pop Industries, makes a big event of having a few good shows, which should be happening all the time anyway. No, wait, what am I saying? It already does. A lot of these bands play the San Francisco Bay Area already, and pretty frequently — the show I went to featured two S.F. bands on the bill, one of which, the Oh Sees, was the headliner.

The show was my first Noise Pop show. I had two spots on the guest list because I wrote a preview for what-shall-be-an unnamed publication. I was forwarded an email from the publicist, or more specifically from a co-worker of the publicist (important later on) saying I had a +1 on the list for the show.

Around the same time, Dean, drummer for the Unnatural Helpers, gave me permission to record his band at the show. I’ve acquired more recording equipment over the years and this was a great opportunity to try it out so I planned on bringing my equivalent of a mobile studio to the show. (Thank god I had a +1, though I don’t think Rob, my guest, appreciated having to carry two 10-pound microphone stands around Market St.)

This led to me making my first mistake — actually looking forward to going to Noise Pop.

From what I understand from other music writers is that when it comes to guest list spots for Noise Pop shows, nothing is guaranteed. (It sounds like an administration problem at Noise Pop Industries* and I wouldn’t expect them to fix it any time soon.)

So, it’s the night of the show, and Rob and I are hauling armloads of my equipment through the Castro after taking 10-15 minutes looking for a parking space. We arrive at the front door of Cafe du Nord just as the doormen started taking tickets. I walked up to the doorman with the guest list and told him that I was here to record the band the Unnatural Helpers, hence why I had tons of equipment, and would it be alright if I walked in now so I could start setting up.

“You’re not on the guest list,” the bouncer with a fisherman’s hat informed me.

Soon after that wonderful announcement, some short indie kid in with cropped blonde hair and a t-shirt walks up to me and says, “You’re hear to record the show? Oh, there already is someone recording the show, so you can’t do it. Sorry. You can still come in and watch the show, if you’re on the guest list.” This jerk then ducked under the velvet rope and went inside, never to be seen again (which was lucky for him.)

I called up my middleman for this ordeal and he yells at me for not printing out the email. So I head over to the internet cafe next door and print out my email, the one item of physical evidence I have that shows I’m supposed to be on the list. With my equipment still shoved under my arms, I walk over to the doorman again, who at this point stood by a skinny blonde that dressed like a demented peasant with a cell phone in one hand and a cigarette in the other. I handed the man my email and he passed it over to the peasant.

“She’s the one you have to talk to,” said the doorman as he handed her the paper.

She scanned the email a little bit and then asked, “So what is this?”

“This is the email that shows that I’m supposed to be on the guest list.”

She scanned over the email again, this time pointing at it. “So Grace gave you permission? I don’t know Grace. She doesn’t have anything to do with the show.”

“So you don’t even know the company she works for?”

“Well yeah, Tell All Your Friends is who we hired to do our publicity. And I see on here Kip’s name, the person who we hired, but still, just look at this. Anybody could have written it. It’s just not good enough for me.”

“But Kip’s name is on there,; doesn’t that mean anything?”

“No. But if you want to, you can get a hold of Kip and he knows how to get a hold of me,” and then she handed back the paper, turned around, put out her cigarette and walked up the stairs of the Swedish American Hall.

(Before I continue on, I have to ask: does anyone ever actually sit down in front of a computer and a fake forwarded email, full of sideways carrots and email addresses, just to get into a show for free? Also, the show was sold out — tickets were $12. The show already made thousands of dollars — are two people getting in for free going to make a dent in their profits? Not to mention the fact by keeping us out, she’s preventing potential profits from reaching the bands (merchandise) and the club (alcohol.) Smart lady.)

Rob and I continued to stand outside the club with the equipment as we waited to see if someone contacted the publicist. Thanks to Kimberly of the Unnatural Helpers, we had Annie, the talent buyer for show, trying to get a hold of Kip too, which boded well for us. So as we waited to hear our fate, we caught up with old friends from Seattle.

We were not only at the show to see bands — we were also there to buy their records. Tyvek sold all of their copies of their Sub Pop Singles Club 7″, but the Unnatural Helpers still had plenty of theirs. Mitch Cardwell was awesome for he went inside and bought the 7″s for us.

Lo and behold, on the cover the record was a picture I took of the band playing in Seattle (you can see the picture [url=http://www.lemon-session.com/more.php?id=36_0_1_0_M]here.[/url] My picture is on a Sub Pop record, the label that revolutionized popular music for a decade. Awesome.

Then I turned around the record to find the photo credited to someone else.

After we heard the first band, the Fresh and Only’s, finish their set, I saw super bitch standing outside again, smoking and talking on her cell phone. I walked over to her and waited for her to finish her call.

“Should we give up all hope?” I asked in a gentle tone.

“What?”

“I’m just wondering if we should give up all hope. I don’t want to be standing her all night.”

“Well, I haven’t heard anything back from Kip. And what are you from again?”

I told her the name and about how we wrote a huge write-up for the entire festival. I added the fact that my co-worker does a ton of work for Kip and that she could talk to my “Kip connection” if she wanted to.

“I don’t NEED to talk to your “connection, I need to talk to Kip,” she said before turning around and walking off again.

Maybe a minute or two afterward, Annie came up to inform me and the doormen that I am on the list. When I ask about Rob, she informs me that they could only squeeze me in.

I was about to just say, “fuck it” and drive Rob home when Kimberly came up the stairs with a guy who had an unused +1. Huzzah!

We got our stamps and wristbands, walked downstairs and saw that the club was far from being full. Big surprise — it was all bullshit!

Unnatural Helpers
The Helpers have two new members since last time I saw them — Brian Standeford and Leo Gebhart from the Catheters and Tall Birds. These guys are serious shredders and have brought more of a garage meets stoner rock sound to the band. They also play more covers now, including She Must Be A Witch by Lollipop Shoppe (and the Lost Sounds.)

Along with my camera, I brought in a hand held recorder, a device I grabbed just in case they didn’t let me record. It records stereo 24-bit WAV files and the mic uses a U87 emulator. Sadly, I stood to close to the stage when the Helpers played, so my mic barely picked up the vocals.

Tyvek
I had heard that Tyvek hired a new bassist and she doesn’t look older than 15. But I don’t think there’s any gross reason for why she’s in the band.

This time I was lucky and stood at the perfect spot to pick up the vocals. I thought they played and sounded 20x better than the last time I saw them. I also enjoy the fact that they are willing to experiment on stage now, letting three minute pop songs turn into 10 minute jams. Good stuff.

*Industries? Really? What the fuck. You want to be corporate? So then this is much more about the money than the music. Wow, I really want to support that.

So I’ve been waiting to put up this video and these songs u on the site for a while now but they’ve been pushed aside because of my busy schedule. But Unnatural Helpers are coming down to S.F. again, this time to play Noisepop. They play Thursday, Feb. 26, with the Oh Sees at Cafe Du Nord.

I, with the help of my friend James Buck, filmed this video the same night we filmed Kinski, all the way back in 2007. It’s kinda sad how lazy I’ve been.

So, I don’t know where the reverb sound in the video came from — Adobe Premiere just made it this way. But I’m leaving it in anyway because I like it.

I tried to use my computer to record their set but for some reason it just didn’t record. These songs are a mix of what the camera mics picked up. They’re really distorted and might be hard to listen to for some, but people also the recording on the first Hospitals record, and I think this is comparable.

This post is a long time coming. Basically I slacked on making a video of this show for more than a year after Kinski and the Unnatural Helpers gave me permission to film them. Sure, I have excuses, but who cares? My selfish butt denied you, faithful readers, this wonderful material from two totally outta sight Seattle bands.

Kinski was around the entire time I lived in Seattle — the picture above is one of their first promo pics, which I received when I was the arts editor for the University of Washington’s newspaper, the Daily. Yet, this show was the first time I ever saw them, but I’m so glad I did. They were touring for their fourth album, “Down Below It’s Chaos,” which, in my humble opinion, is their best work to date. Though I still thoroughly enjoy their first album “Be Gentle With the Warm Turtle” and it’s perfect Neu! meets My Bloody Valentine mix, “Down” is just a undeniable rock force from the get-go. The album’s opening track, which they play in the video below, contains one of the best punk riffs I’ve ever heard.

Since I received permission to film the band, the sound guy also let me record the set from the board. Though I hooked up and recorded on nine tracks, it seems like I only recorded two, hence why you can’t really hear the the second guitarist clearly but Chris’s guitar and singing are crystal clear (along with the drums.) I recorded it with Cubase, which is lame and unintuitive. Still, the songs are worth a download… for free!

PS — Thanks so much to James, who worked the second camera (his all the shots that don’t have a mic stand directly in the middle of the shot.)

I have loved this band since their first lineup, which featured Dean (the main songwriter) on drums and vocals, Lars (the brains behind the Intelligence) on guitar, and Jed (former guitarist of the Ninja Boners) on bass. Funny enough, at this same time, this was also the lineup of the Intelligence, the era when they recorded the songs for the Popular Shapes split 7″on Dirtnap. This lineup of the Unnatural Helpers can be heard on Babyhead comp on SS records.

Many lineups later, the Unnatural Helpers are still totally kicking the shit out of any other rock band out there today. The current lineup, which must be something like six or seventh, now features guitarist Chris from Kinski, Kimberley from the Fallouts on Bass, Mike from Dean’s old band Double Fudge on guitar, and of course, Dean on drums and vocals. With a lineup like that and with Dean at the helm, it’s no wonder they kick out the jams full force-style.

Even though their set was delayed because of technical difficulties and the vocals needed to be turned up, the Unnatural Helpers did not disappoint. Just listen:

The Helpers have a new 7″ on Dirty Knobby records, which can be ordered from Dean; just email him at deangullberry@hotmail.com And you haven’t got it already, order the s/t album as well. They’ll also be touring with Kinski in the beginning of September; check their myspace page for more details.