From dusty grooves to ones and zeroes: Wolfie

Posted on 20 September 2008 | 1 Comment

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I only own one recording from the Champaign, Illinois based band Wolfie and it is their amazing debut 7” Don’t Turn It Off from 1997. It was that exact year (the ’96/‘97 term) that I remember seeing Joe (and probably the other members) of Wolfie regularly eating meals at the Champaign Residence Halls dining facilities just like I was. Sure, I was in a band (Allister) but we didn’t play our first show in C-U until the spring of 1997 and even then were never really embraced down there. But back to Wolfie. They were a band from 1996 to 2001 and I never really paid attention. They were indie rock before I knew what indie rock really was and they were always just there. Joe and Amanda from Wolfie formed The Like Young after Wolfie broke up and were pretty good, but there is something about this 7” that is just amazing. Simple indie rock songs directly and rawly recorded by Rick Valentin of the Poster Children. The artwork was done by Rachel Switzky who was the bass player for Sarge at the time. I recall watching Bunnygrunt with Rachel after seeing Sarge play at the Courtyard Cafe. She probably wouldn’t remember it though. So that’s my story of the Don’t Turn It Off 7”. It was released by the awesome folks at Grand Theft Autumn who only ever pressed 1000 of these. It’s long out of print but these songs are just too good to forget just yet.

MP3 | Wolfie – Don’t Turn It Off Don’t Turn It Off 7”
MP3 | Wolfie – VFW Don’t Turn It Off 7”
MP3 | Wolfie – Putting It Together Don’t Turn It Off 7”

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From dusty grooves to ones and zeroes: The Risers

Posted on 7 September 2008 | No Comments

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I first met my wife back in 1997 when she was trying to help her friends in a skate punk band from State College, Pennsylvania book a short tour. The band was called The Risers and they (like most punk bands) didn’t last very long. Ed now lives in Philly and and has been in a few other bands like Go For The Throat and Kill The Signal but now just deadlifts a lot. Joey played guitar and sang a little. He’s gone on to be in bands like No On 15 and The Deuces but now runs Housewrecker Clothing. He grew up in the same town as my wife so we see him every so often. George was the drummer and has since played in The Smiley Kids and The Scooterz outta Denver. Jared sang and played guitar for The Risers and skates for Worship Skateboards. There you have it.

Unfortunately for all of us, the only recorded document of the band was a tape of some songs they recorded with Arik from Creep Records. Four of those songs ended up a 7” record of which I think there are less than 100 in existence. “My Backyard” is a personal favorite of mine but don’t expect too much. The sounds quality is subpar, but even if you tweak and EQ shitty punk rock, it’s still shitty punk rock. Lovable but a bit on the grainy side.

MP3 | The Risers – My Backyard My Backyard 7”
MP3 | The Risers – Kickflip My Backyard 7”
MP3 | The Risers – Struck Out My Backyard 7”
MP3 | The Risers – Butterfly My Backyard 7”

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