Archives:
Triple Fast Action – “Mooner”
Triple Fast Action formed in 1993 and disbanded a mere five years later. In that brief period of time, they established a reputation for their engaging live performances and dynamic musicianship. They would eventually sign with Capitol Records, joining other prominent Chicago-area acts who also partnered with major labels around the same time, (Smashing Pumpkins, Smoking Popes, Veruca Salt, Hum, Urge Overkill and others).
On April 21st, they’ll release a self-titled collection of 37 rare and unreleased songs. It will be available from Forge Again Records as a triple LP, double CD and digitally. Twenty of these tracks were recorded by the band in their practice space in 1994 and have now been remixed by John Agnello, (Dinosaur Jr., Redd Kross, Sonic Youth). The remaining songs are from various studio sessions or radio appearances, and the entire album was mastered by Carl Saff.
When asked about the origins of this project, drummer Brian St. Clair said “It was something that came up after Justin from Forge Again Records released the reissue of our album Cattlemen Don’t. We had all these songs sitting around that had never seen the light of day and we all thought, ‘Why not share them as long as there was favorable interest in the band after all these years?’ It honestly surprised us as a band.”
One of the record’s most notable tracks is “Mooner,” which the band recorded themselves back in ’94. When recalling the recording process for this song, bassist Kevin Tihista said “It was one of those songs that I knew was something special from the audience response when we’d play it. I can’t say I remember recording this particular song at the practice space, but as far as recording all of these songs, my memory is that we didn’t sleep for maybe 36 hours because we recorded them all in like a day, and then another half day mixing them. We did it all ourselves and we didn’t really know what we were doing, except for Ronnie, (guitarist Ronnie Schneider) who owned the 16-track reel to reel we used.”
Check out the video for “Mooner” below and don’t forget to pre-order the album here.
Sludgeworth – “To Be the Same”
We recently caught up with some of the band members and discussed this seminal record. When asked about their impressions when they listen to these songs now, drummer Brian Vermin said “A lot of years went by before I revisited it. Once my son showed an interest in music and wanted to know more about the bands I was in, I played him Losers of the Year. His response was ‘these songs could still be popular today,’ so obviously the young boy has great taste. The songs are a timestamp in my life.” Singer Dan Schafer added “I also went years without listening to Sludgeworth and forgot that I used to intentionally sing a little gruffer. Honestly, I might have subconsciously imitated James Hetfield from Metallica, although I never would have admitted it then, (laughs).”
We’re sharing the video for one of the unreleased songs below, called “To Be the Same”. When recalling what inspired the creation of this song, Schafer said “I can remember playing bass with Brian and Dave, (guitarist Dave McClean). Strat, (bassist Mike Hootenstrat) was running late to practice and we started playing the parts via improvising. I thought about the idea of turning a blind eye to what is clearly wrong for fear of not fitting into the group. The words ‘To Be the Same’ came out and I rolled with the concept.” Guitarist Adam White shared his thoughts from a stylistic standpoint and said “I feel like we found a groove and went with it. I hear a lot of Fugazi influence in this song and love that. I liked that Sludgeworth kept experimenting with different stuff and did not fall into any simple formula like a Ramones-type band.”
When speaking about how the two unreleased songs complement the rest of the album, White said “I was actually surprised how well they fit in as far as the production and sound quality, but I always felt that these songs needed to be released. They’re definitely a good representation of our music and style.” Schafer was also pleased with their inclusion and said “I always liked how the record was sequenced, but was encouraged to find some unreleased tracks. These two were the obvious choices. I thought they were lost forever, but they were somehow thankfully retrieved.” Check out the video below and be sure to pre-order the record here.
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