Here's a name that might ring a bell for some of you.
Chewy Marble were an L.A. area trio who did their thing not only when power pop in general was enjoying something of a renaissance, but were part and parcel of a primo local scene including the likes of the Wondermints, Baby Lemonade, The Sugarplastic and Cockeyed Ghost among several others. Chewy, helmed by singer/guitar slinger
Brian Kassan, never quite hit you over the head with anything intense or crazy, but they possessed a bevy of killer tunes, especially the ones populating their
1997 debut. I'm offering the contents of their '96 demo reel, which was generously passed along to me recently by a friend. All three songs were rerecorded or at least remixed for that subsequent first album, but the demos wield a bit more immediacy than the finished versions, so encountering this was a treat. "My Reaction" and "Peculiar" abound with a Posies and Jellyfish-like charm, while the piano-ballad, "Touch and Go" rolls some Badfinger-isms into the equation. Again, Chewy Marble weren't household names by any stretch, but in their three album lifespan they did pretty damn good.
01. My Reaction
02. Peculiar
03. Touch and Go
2 comments:
Great, Thanks!! Brian was nice enough to send me (early on) a few of the Wondermints 'colored' casettes, and I worked with him designing their 2008 cd artwork........
Ahhh, I remember getting a copy of this from Brian after my failed attempt to sign Wondermints the year before(hey, I wouldn't have signed to Not Lame Recordings during this time, either - just finding footing still)...Brian's work in the mid/late 90s is woefully overlooked and forgotten by power pop folks, imho...
Jim, brings up a very important point with regards to the infamous(rightfully) 'colored' WONDERMINTS cassettes...I know it won't happen at this stage(hope'n pray I'm wrong) but WHY, oh (freakin')WHY, STILL in 2023 have these tapes have not been formally memorialized at this juncture in our lives(uh, time is ticking on us all guys, right?! Fuck yeah, RIGHT.)....
I am not willing to take on any good artists excuses at this point. I'm 61. Seriously. Bury the hatchet or lose the affected artist, 'they really aren't that good...' stance. OR the people on the tapes don't like each other or can't speak up for themselves. OR whatever it is.
Gawd, (to the band) ask your friends who loved/love the band would tell you the same thing. (hint: they pretty much all, if not all, would say..._____)
These are important early high-water mark, influential legacy works of (truly great, highly inspirational)music, just not 'power pop' that should live in beyond all of years, very much including the artists who worked on them - including one, who is longer with us rocking on and discovering cool tunes on this mortal coil.
This needs to be sparked up - and happen. Stop it - and get going.
Not only will be praised and the music will have a huge and greater chance of 'living' beyond your years...but, it's something that will need to discovered by future music fans. Honor *those* young and unborn music geeks. (it's worth...thinking about, when you stop and...)
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