Tag: beachwood sparks

I know you, and I know that you know me too.

Posted on by Joey Gantner

Ahoy there! Anytime that I get to post a tommy oeffling update, I know it’s gonna be a great day. Mr. Prolific himself is back with his latest and greatest album, reliance – it’ll be out very, very soon – digital release is April 26th and the tape will be out shortly after. The pre-order will launch on release day and we’ve been putting together some bonus goodies to make this special album feel a little extra special-er. 

In the lead-up to reliance, tom will release two 2-song digital singles every Friday, starting today. You can hear “telstar drugs” and “frown-off” on all the services. More to come next week, check back then!

Yep, there’s lots coming up! I’ve been steadily doing around 2 tapes a month, and it’s been paying off. I am confident that this year I will be fully caught up on the backlog of projects that’s been building up, and I’ll be ready for an unknown future at long last. It’s gonna be great. Also great? The 3 pre-orders running RIGHT NOW! They’re with three of my favorite bands – three HOLY FUCKING SHIT projects.

The Pains of Being Heart‘s legendary self-titled debut is currently at press and will be shipping early next month! This is my third project with the band and the omg factor of it all has yet to wear off for me. Thanks to Kip for giving me a shot at reissuing this tape – I did everything I can to make it as special as possible (beyond the usual care I put into every project, of course) – lyrics, a fancy white matte shell (our first one!) dubbed on RTM Tape, plus I designed a very tasteful o-card which was limited to the first 50 copies (I’ll show that off once they arrive). Those are sold out, as are all pre-order copies, but any spares will be sent to Merchtable and available there. I’ll try give y’all as much notice as possible, but FYI I’m also about to start a new job so it may be tough to set aside time for this stuff initially.


This one has been a loooooooonnnnngggg time coming, but at long last The Doubble Donkey Disc is ready for ordering. It’s always a huge honor/pleasure to collaborate with Ozma, aka the world’s nicest band, who P.S. deserve many kudos for hanging on to their art files from 20+ years ago.  No one had that kind of hindsight in those days (myself included), which has been a hurdle for a lot of reissues. I can only imagine that struggle for any labels doing vinyl.

The j-card design for this ranks amongst my all-time favorites: I used all of the art that we love, plus some other gems that I found in those old folders. Copies are running low, but you can still get one while supplies last. DDD is expected to start shipping in early June – fingers crossed for sooner. 🤞

And last and not even close to least, Beachwood Sparks are BACK with their first album in 12 years!! Can you believe it?? It’s my favorite album of the year so far (maybe their finest effort ever), and I cannot wait for you to experience Across the River of Stars, coming July 19th on pink cassette from myself, and on LP/CD from my pals at Curation Records. Thanks to Brent for letting me have another crack at BWS on tape! I got to do their first album a few years back and it was a dream come true. It’s still my favorite SLUDGE PEOPLE tape, though this one could easily overtake it because the record really is that amazing. Pre-orders are up now, and will ship in early July! Check out the first single if you haven’t already:

 

This concludes our business for the evening. Have a great weekend, and I’ll be back to hype the next oeffling double single next week, plus these 2 tapes from The New Trust will going live soon. I adore TNT, but I’ll save that gushing for later.

Freshness lasts

Posted on by Joey Gantner

Let’s kick things off with some good news:

The co-ed tapes are HERE! I’m so psyched about this collection of songs that the band put together, it’s been a privilege to be involved with them. I was also lucky enough to design this one, so opening the box of these was quite thrilling. More co-ed news on the way – videos, gigs, new songs, etc. I just started a mailing list (something that had been requested and of course I’d been taking my time to bring to fruition) so please sign up if you want to hear about such happenings – it’s on the home page or at the bottom of this one. Snag a copy of the ep here or from the band on their Bandcamp. Good news if your walls are hungry: there’s a limited supply of posters that will be included with ep orders.

I’ve had four other releases come out since we last spoke (pictured above, L-R: Ozma Rock and Roll Part Three, L’Resorts Bad Love, Sanglorians Odalisque and Beachwood Sparks Beachwood Sparks). Each one came out like a total dream, thanks to all who have got a copy so far. The Ozma tapes sold out lightning quick, that ruled.

I don’t know why, but I’ve really had trouble keeping up with the fast paced world of website updating. There’s a lot of available excuses, but ultimately I’m aware I’m blowing it. Time had been getting away from me, but I think I’ve finally caught it. I’m also trying to do better with the delays, which aren’t entirely my fault but I’d like to try to build a better safety net if any arise. Thankfully you all have been so cool and patient. Big summer ahead with releases from Alien Nosejob‘s Once Again the Present Becomes the Past (pre-order up now, out in July) and The Freds Bedrock and Roll (August 13th, that pre-order up next). Filling a lot of holes in the catalog with these – The Freds is SPT3 aka a loooooonnng time coming. It has a fancy mastering job and everything, which I realized might be my favorite part of the record label process. Single dropping in June!

Okay, that’s it. That’s the update. Lots coming up, it’s practically exhausting. Stay cool.

A seed planeted: Ancient Trees

Posted on by Joey Gantner

Hey there. I’ve been working on this website off and on throughout the 2020 dystopia. It’s been a real “suck it up and keep going” operation here at Sludge Manor/America, ignoring how bonkers it has been releasing cassettes into a void. Live music is where most people find out our contributions exist and with that gone The Whiffs couldn’t do their planned SXSW tour for Another Whiff (with tapes in hand) and we couldn’t do a release show for Brian Mietz‘s Panzarotti album (it was in the early stages, but what was talked about what exciting). Big bummers, but thankfully everybody has been very supportive and I think every release found it’s desired listener, and the label gained an increasing audience in the process. 

Every draft I’ve done of the news has been a full rundown of everything that I put out so far in ’20, but I figure I can get into all of that at the end of the year if need be. It’s November, evil has been defeated after 4 looooooonnnnng years! Hope seems wearily possible and here are some more things to be excited for the future about… 

Ozma Rock and Roll Part Three preorders went live a few weeks back. This one has been brewing for a full year, so I’m extra glad to see this becoming a reality. Limited to 150 copies on computer shell, I’m really looking forward to how this one turns out.

Speaking of bands with Daniel Brummel in them, our tape of Sanglorians‘ Odalisque just launched for preorder! Clear shell, chrome tape and includes download code. Check it out if you haven’t, it’s a really really cool album.

I come from comic books. When a monthly title would reach the milestone of 25, 50, 75 or 100 (and so on) it would be a big deal and that mindset has stuck with me. I knew our 25th (!!) release had to be something incredible, but never in my wildest dreams could I ever picture that it would be one of my most treasured albums. Anyone I know who listens to Beachwood Sparks holds them high above all others and I feel the same way. The reality that this is happening will probably never kick in: SPT25 is Beachwood Sparks’ self-titled debut in a special 20th anniversary edition. Side A is the album with all of the bonus tracks on Side B, completely remastered. Get your copy here, out 1/27/21!

Thanks to Curation Records for the opportunity, make sure you snag the vinyl, cd or shirt from them here!

Brower tapes arrived finally and gosh if they weren’t worth the wait! This collects Buzzsaws on Side A and Little Big on the B Side – it’s the best sounding cassette I’ve put out so far, I’m beyond thrilled. Want one?

Thanks to DIG! Records for making this one happen, they’re the greatest!

Suddenly Everything Is Twice as Loud by Alien Nosejob has been out since August and is already half way sold out. Jake just released a new album called Once Again the Present Becomes the Past on Anti Fade/Iron Lung that everyone is raving about. Look for our tape of it in early 2021, plus I’ll be doing a cassette edition of his band Smarts‘ new one Who Needs Smarts, Anyway?, out as of a few weeks ago on Anti Fade/Feel It. It rules, ALL OF IT.

The Only Ghost in Town‘s Live at the Gradwell House is available on tape and digital (you can also now find Mirage and False Color Images on digital services for the first time). Mietz made a rad video for “Dead Houses” (above) and oh yeah ringer tees are still available!

co-ed!! Very excited to be working with this awesome band who are currently finishing up their debut ep. You can hear a track from it now: Look for “Error” wherever you stream. It looks like this:

I seriously love this band so much and am THRILLED to be involved in their magic in any shape or form. They will take over the new world next year after we’ve rebuild it.

That’s all for now, but there’s lots of cool things to come (maybe we’ll publish a comic finally?). We’ll meet again soon – do a kickflip!