(Abortive record mogul Kevin Chanel heralds the post-Internet return of his label with two releases into the brave new world of online media.)
“Why now?”
Been asking that myself. After 15 years of somewhat complete dormancy, Scheming Intelligentsia Records is back with a line of retro classics and unfinished tchotchkes of historical whatnot.
“But why?”
If you recall, back in ’95 we didn’t have no MP3 technology or iZunes being given away with a ten-pak of ramen. You wanted music, you had to buy it on cassette, vinyl or CD. For us instant-gratification enthusiasts, this is a great time to be human.
We are celebrating with the first two releases in our exhumation process: 1987’s PERSONAL CONFLICT album “Rest In Peace” and the previously unreleased, half-baked SOUL BROTHERS masterwerk, “Find My Keys And We’ll Drive Out Of Here.”
How I threw away my youth: The Scheming Intelligentsia Records story!
For those of us mired in SD around 1984, PERSONAL CONFLICT was an institution. If an out-of-town band of some repute came through town, you knew you had at least a 30 percent chance that Lloyd, Dave, Dan and Sheri were on the bill. They always brought a straight-ahead punk rock sound and never disappointed.
“Rest In Peace” was recorded in 1984 but not released until 1987, as a cassette-only S.I.R. low-budget job. I thought it was important to make it part of the first wave of re-releases, in the iTunes/Amazon/Rhapsody/etc. mp3 download format. This is the best possible version of the recording I could muster. Personally I think it holds up quite well, outliving a lot of the standard crap going around back in the day. Still sounds fresh.
Get Personal Conflict’s “Rest in Peace” now!
In 1988, The SOUL BROTHERS were in the midst of a marathon recording, pot-smoking, mushrooming and cat allergy-session in the burgeoning hellhole of Vista, Calif., at Ken Wait’s/Tony Davis’ White Glove House. Recording what was to be their first release — a compendium of re-recorded hits and new lysergicalities — for Independent Project Records offshoot Nate Starkman & Sons. Around halfway through the scheduled 2-album set, rug and plug were pulled, leaving Los Bros. with a handful of half-finished popsicles and abstract treats. What is presented on “Find My Keys …” is the best of the semi-finished gems. There is some oddball sound tweakeries here and there, but overall it is a worthy snapshot, albeit in a Hipstamatic kinda way.
Get the Soul Brothers’ “Find My Keys … ” now!
Stay tuned to your Amazons, as soon both albums (as is 2009’s LEMON-LIMES “Profiles In Carnage”) will be available as fully artwork-realized, Amazon CD-on-demand releases. The scheduling is weird, but just keep checking; they’ll turn up.
So there you have it; the first two in what we hope to be an ongoing unfurling of red-carpet bombings of sound. In the coming months we hope to unload the collected works of THE FRONT, more SOUL BROTHERS, SAVAGE REPUBLIC and who knows what else. If we still have the masters, you bet we’ll keep hammering.
Mangia!
— Kevin Chanel
In case you are interested, The Front will be back on stage after a 23-year break. 1/28 at the Casbah with Deadbolt and the Dragons.
Hope to see you all there.
Nearly the original lineup of Personal Conflict will be somewhere in San Diego in late January 2011. 😉