Here's To The Losers: A Store Room Comp.

(The Store Room, 605 Eastlake Ave E #1, Seattle WA 98109)

Kevin: The Store Room is a bar in Seattle that used to have lots of rock shows.
Derek: So are they just a label now?
Kevin: No, they're still a bar, they just don't do any rock shows. It's a really tiny place, I can't imagine what it was like with a loud band in there.
Derek: All the liner notes are written by the bartender.
Kevin: It's a pretty cool place, like if "Cheers" were a punk bar.
Kevin: The quality of the recordings varies wildly.
Derek: These are all from '91 to '93, the copyright notice says '93-'94
Kevin: Most of these bands are long gone. The only ones that are still around are Monster Truck Driver, and Bone Cellar.

Kevin gets a phone call, Derek takes the batteries out of his remote control and puts them back in. The cat knocks some stuff off the table.

Derek: so half the record is over, well it's only the 8th song.
Kevin: how many songs are there?
Derek: there are 33.

Kevin gets another call. Derek knocks some stuff off the desk.

Derek: shall we comment on the music?
Kevin: umm... It's ok...this is sort of standard Seattle sound songs.
Derek: I guess I wouldn't mind going to a bar and hearing this all in a row. There's enough variety and they're short enough so that I wouldn't get tired of it like I might if I heard a whole set from one of these bands.
Kevin: Well, we're about to hear two CDs from one of them, Bone Cellar. Actually, Dave Nothing from Bone Cellar was also in Nothing which is also on this CD.
Kevin: What track is this?
Derek: Number 14, it's Monster Truck Driver.
Kevin: Do you like it?
Derek: I guess so.
Kevin: I almost lived in the same apartment building as them.
Kevin: Most of these bands I know from seeing their stickers in the bathrooms of clubs in Seattle, although most of them have been broken up for a while.
Kevin: Oh Yab Yum, we got their cassette to review, but I forgot to bring it. It doesn't matter, I heard they broke up. This track is good though.

...

Kevin: I'm trying to think who Sourpuss remind me of. Not Tribe 8.
Derek: They sound more sing-a-longy.
Kevin: Lectra Shave isn't bad.
Derek: I'm feeling better about this CD.

....

Derek: Seems to be the motorhead-esque section of the CD

....

Kevin: Who's this?
Derek: Petchouli Sewer.
Kevin: Well, now I can dislike them for more than their dumb name. This song lacks quality.
Kevin: Even the volume fluctuates wildly.

Derek skips rapidly through the rest of the CD

Derek: In conclusion, I would probably only buy this CD if I had fond memories of this bar or some of these bands.
Kevin: I think this is a pretty ok, but not amazing Punk/Grunge compilation. It has some possible historic value, but it's just ok.

Black Atmosphere - "Black Atmosphere"

(Global Inception)

Kevin: There is no address in the booklet. Supposedly, there are from LA and moved up to Seattle.

Kevin and Derek mellow out through the first song without speaking a word

Derek: Have you seen them live?
Kevin: Yeah, I saw them for the first time last week. They were pretty good, kinda of a weird look for a gothic-type band. The lead singer and keyboardist (who's not on this recording) were very gothic-looking and the bassist and drummer were very normal-looking.
Kevin: The first track was super mellow, but I think that they have a strong Bauhaus influence.
Derek: Well they cover a Bauhaus song, don't they?
Kevin: Yeah, Muscle in Plastic.
Kevin: Their bassist is actually a very funky player live. You can sort of pick out his Funky lines on some of the songs.
Kevin: Hey Nicole, what do you know about these guys except that they're from LA?
Nicole: They left LA because they felt that the Goth scene there was insincere and the lead Singer Christof thinks of Goth more like theatre than music.
Kevin: Yeah, when I saw them live they had two dancers on the floor who lit a bunch of candles and were coated in paint.

Muscle in Plastic comes on

Derek: This (sound) is unexpected. I don't know the original song, but this is pretty uptempo.
Kevin: When I saw them, they were a lot more uptempo than the first couple tracks on this disk would lead you to believe.

Kevin gets another phone call. Derek bobs his head to the music.

Kevin has a minor personal emergency

Kevin: So...what are your final thoughts on Black Atmosphere?
Derek: I like them a lot, I noticed the funk component a lot more in the last few tracks we listened to, it made a nice departure from other Goth I've heard.
Kevin: Yeah, they're pretty good.

Bone Cellar - "Lost in the Light of Day"

({your name here} Records, 15600 NE 8th Street, Suite B1 #515)

Kevin: Well, we're on track 5. What do you think so far?
Derek: I don't know, I haven't heard anything unique enough yet.
Kevin: I like this album. Actually, I like Bone Cellar, they're good.
Derek: I liked that track (Useless).
Kevin: You'll notice that they thank Vassily in the liner notes.
Derek: They have a home page, http://www.amz.com/bands/BoneCellar/.
Kevin: Actually, I should disqualify myself from reviewing them, since I know Dave Nothing, but fuck, if his songs sucked, I'd tell him so.
Kevin: "Words" has a country feel at times that I don't like. There, I said something bad about the record.
Derek: I like the more melodic parts better.
Kevin: This is actually a pretty good driving album. It's great to have on in the car when you're on the highway.

Derek shrugs

Kevin: Dave Nothing solos too much.
Derek: Is this him now?
Kevin: Yeah, I'm pretty sure. Bands in Seattle have a lot more guitar solos then they should. I like this "drowning in my sleep" song in spite of that though. It has good lyrics.
Derek: What ever happened to the drum solo (in general)?
Kevin: Or the bass solo? I think that the preponderence of Guitar Solos in Seattle is due partially to the popularity of 70s heavy metal until very recently there.
Kevin: I heard that this CD is supposed to be like a 3-sided record. There's a side one, side two and side chaff on the case.
Derek: I wonder who the first person was to realize that the inside of the CD case didn't have to be black? (this CD has a clear backing)
Kevin: I should have read the liner notes more carefully. Bone Cellar thanks Voodoo Gearshift, Yab Yum and Vassily, all of whom are now broken up. Also it talks about the CD's three philosophical "sides."
Kevin: Oh this is a good song, "Lost in the Light of Day."
Kevin: The last track was recorded at KAOS in Olympia, they improvised it, it's pretty funny.
Kevin: so?
Derek: They seem like a nice band to go and see, but I don't know how many times I would listen to this CD.

Voodoo Gearshift - "It's About Time"

({your name here} Records, 15600 NE 8th Street, Suite B1 #515)

Kevin: The first time I heard this disc, I wasn't that impressed, but when I went to see them live, I thought that they were pretty great and I like the disc a lot better now.
Derek: Sounds pretty good, pretty rocking.
Derek: I don't like it when they put the lyrics to the songs in a different order than the songs appear on the record.
Kevin: I really like this song (Stainmaster). This might be my favorite song on the disc.
Derek: They seem much tighter and more assertive than Bone Cellar.
Kevin: Yeah, when I saw them they reminded me of King Crimson for some reason, I think mostly because of how tight they were on some intricate lines.
Kevin: I think you can hear some King Crimson influence in "Juice"
Derek: I think the singer does better on the louder songs.
Kevin: I'm getting sleepy.
Derek: This (Toady) is pretty good.
Kevin: Yeah, it takes a lot of guts to put out an instrumental track on a rock album these days.

Everyone falls asleep. This is not a reflection on this particular record. It's just late