I Am The Avalanche – Dive

I Am The Avalanche released their fourth album in 2020, their first effort in six years. I didn’t think it could get much worse than Wolverines, but Dive is the band’s worst album to date in my opinion. They set the bar pretty high with their first two albums, and while Dive is not a far departure musically speaking, I’m left desiring more from the album. Maybe it’s because it’s not as fast paced as their early albums, or maybe it’s because Vinnie’s vocals are not quite as good.  I’ve also never been a big fan of gang vocals, and Dive heavily utilizes them throughout the album, not just on a couple songs sprinkled here and there.

Apparently Dive went through two pressings despite the album never actually being released prior to the records themselves shipping. In my book this is simply one giant pressing. Some may draw the line at when a label or band places an order from the plant, which is valid. But considering the supposed two separate pressings wound up shipping pretty damn close to one another; it’s another check in my quasi argument. To further complicate matters; there is in fact separate pressing because there are a legit U.S. and a UK pressings.

The album was released by I Surrender Records, who the band has been signed to ever since leaving Drive-Thru Records, and who have handled their previous two albums. Dive was then licensed out to Big Scary Monsters (BSM) in the UK to do a UK pressing, which was done on two variants; “mellow” yellow limited to 200 copies and black limited to 300 copies. The “mellow” yellow was a BSM exclusive and is a done on opaque vinyl in pastel/baby/”Easter” yellow hue. In a nice move, BSM recognizes lots of people stateside buy their releases, and they have U.S. web store, which is in U.S. dollars and shipping is cheaper too. The UK pressing is long sold out as of posting this.

The U.S. pressing is where the idea of a second pressing comes into play. When the record was first put up for pre-order literally the second day of October at midnight, only two variants were available; coke bottle clear w/ gold glitter limited to 200 copies and “opaque” white w/ black swirl. Saying white is opaque is one of the dumbest things ever, because if you have “clear” white guess what you have… a clear record. The glitter variant sold out in a matter of hours, with the splatter quickly following the next day. These two variants are part of the supposed first pressing.

Because the first U.S. pressing sold out so quickly, the label acted fast and put up more variants for pre-order a few weeks later. These new variants, which are part of the apparent second pressing, are clear with “opaque” green swirl limited to 200 copies and opaque green w/ white swirl limited to 300 copies. Again, saying opaque for something that has to be opaque, in this case the green swirl in the /200 variant, is redundant. But that is how the label lists the color

And here in lies the issue. You’re telling me the label placed an order for the glitter and splatter variants, had them sold out, and then almost immediately went and placed another, second order with the plant, and they both wound up shipping at the same time. Coincidence, simply lucky, or complete BS? We all know vinyl turnarounds have always been long, and the pandemic wrecked havoc on it, turning already absurd wait times into literally six months quoted  turnaround time as of posting this. Then throw in this little gem, that the test pressings were initially rejected according to Vinnie, and then the label throws the plant under the bus for the shipping delay saying they had microorganisms growing in their water supply used to power to their presses.

The white w/ black swirl variant turned out literally being grey with white and black swirl. The base color is grey, and there is far more white in the swirl than black. The glitter variant turned out being 95% coke bottle green with tiny elements of glitter splattered around the record, with the bulk of it being found around the dead wax. The opaque “red” with “yellow” swirl turned out to be orange with red swirl. Zero elements of yellow found anywhere, unless you count the yellow blended with the red to make orange. But then how do you account for the red splatter?

Oh and one more kicker to this, there is a retail exclusive variant, which part of the supposed first pressing. It’s pressed on opaque red w/ yellow swirl according to the hype sticker, and is limited to 500 copies (also according to the hype sticker). But the opaque “red: turned out being more orange and the “yellow” swirl turned out being more red. You will see what I mean in the gallery below. All copies of the U.S. pressing come with a non full size insert. Which I guess is something I need to start mentioning in all my posts now; the fact that not every record comes with a full size (or at least scaled to the format- 7″, 10″, LP) insert.

All copies of the U.S. pressing come with a white circle hype sticker that says both the color of the record and how many copies it’s limited to. And it’s important to note that none of the hype stickers differentiate between a first and second pressing…

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Peace’d Out – Feelings Blade

Vinnie Caruana continues to be one of the busiest guys in the scene (or whatever’s left of it). He released new music one one of his many side projects, Peace’d Out this year. And that is on top of releasing a new EP with another one of his side projects, Constant Elevation, and a new album with I Am The Avalanche. Granted almost everyone on the planet suddenly had nothing but free time on their hands during the pandemic, but boy was Vinnie buys in 2020.

This new Peace’d Out album, Feelings Blade, features 10 songs, and in typical hardcore fashion clocks in under 30 minutes. If you want my opinion, this album is not as good as the band’s debut self-titled EP release back in 2012. I’m glad all the guys got back together in the studio to record, but this album is a bit of a disappointment. Even more so when you listen to the new EP Constant Elevation has put out.

Umbrella Man Records released Feelings Blade, and smartly did a small run on vinyl on only one color. Initially advertised as being limited to 250 copies, once the records arrived they accounted for the overrun and amended the pressing info to be 269 copies. Which is nice to see; a label being completely straight forward with pressing info. Especially since all copies were being hand numbered, it would be tough to explain why and/or how you can still say there are only 250 copies when someone has a copy numbered higher than that. But the label took the right path and numbered all copies /269 on the back of the jacket. All copies are pressed on clear w/ black smoke, which looks black until you hold it up to the light.

The album is mastered at 45 RPM and comes in a single pocket jacket. The record itself comes in a printed dust sleeve on glossy paper. It’s a little thicker than the glossy paper used for most records, but it’s not quite card stock. A download card/code is not included, but you be e-mailed a download for high quality 320 kbps MP3s from the label upon ordering. And since the label is the only place to buy this record it’s a moot point that no physical download card/code is included. Price on this is on the high side; $24 before shipping.

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Constant Elevation – Freedom Beach 7″

Vinnie Caruana continues to be one of the busiest guys in the scene (or whatever’s left of it). He released new music one one of his many side projects, Constant Elevation in 2020. And that is on top of releasing a new EP with another one of his side projects, Peace’d, and a new album with I Am The Avalanche. Granted almost everyone on the planet suddenly had nothing but free time on their hands during the pandemic, but boy was Vinnie busy in 2020.

Constant Elevation harkens back to Vinnie’s roots in the New York hardcore scene. Not that he’s strayed terribly far from that, but he screams on these Constant Elevation EPs. Freedom Beach is the groups second EP, following quickly on the heels of their debut self-titled 7″. This is another 7”, which was released by Revelation Records (Rev). There are three variants for it, with only two being available to the general public. The third of which is semi available to the general public, but not entirely.

In similar fashion to the band’s debut 7”, Rev gave an exclusive variant to two indie record stores; Generation Records in New York City and CoreTex Records in Germany. This exclusive is on white vinyl limited to 200 copies, with 100 copies going to each store. If you want to get even more technical, there are variants within this exclusive variant, as each store hand numbered their copies. Generation stamps the white paper dust sleeve with their logo, and then does the hand numbering in a different spot on the dust sleeve. CoreTex opts to go the sticker route, placing a sticker on the back on the record jacket that has the hand numbering on it, while also placing a hype sticker on the cover of jacket advertising that it’s a CoreTex and Generation exclusive.

The other two variants are lilac and grey “splatter” limited to 400 copies, and lilac and white “sunburst” limited to 800 copies. The “splatter” is a Rev exclusive, with the “sunburst” going out to distros along with being sold by Rev as well. The mock up had the “sunburst” looking more like a marble swirl, but the finished product leaves A LOT to be desired. They turned out more like an A/B side split, with the a-side being at least 95% solid white, with the b-side being predominantly lilac. The “splatter” actually turned out more like the “sunburst” mock up. It’s not a splatter at all, and it’s more pink than lilac. It actually looks like someone smudged grey ink around. Think what happens when you read a newspaper (yes, they still do exist, at least for now) and they touch something else and get the ink smudges on it. That is what the “splatter” variant actually turned out looking like.

All copies come with a double sided insert, which has the lyrics printed on one side with the liner notes printed on the reverse side. A download card/code is included, which takes you to Bandcamp where you can choose the quality of the MP3 files you download, with high quality 320 kbps being an option. No copies come sealed; they don’t even come in a protective poly sleeve.

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Vinnie Caruana – Live At The Black Heart

Vinnie Caruana is no stranger to live releases, but this is his first released on vinyl. Live At The Black Heart was recorded at the venue of the same name in London on December 15, 2019. It was one of the last shows on the last tour he was able to finish due to the Covid pandemic, as the world slowly came to a standstill. The 15 track album features song from The Movielife, I Am The Avalanche and his solo efforts. It’s pretty much just Vinnie and a guitar. You can hear the crowd sing a long, but for once it’s not overbearing like most UK live shows and festivals are. Sorry UK folks, but you guys tend to ruin shows by singing louder than the band.

There were only 300 copies pressed, all of which are on black vinyl. Why such a low run is anyone’s guess. It didn’t take too long to sell out, but it didn’t sell out through the pre-order phase. The price point on this double LP is a bit ridiculous, even after Big Scary Monsters (the label releasing this album) finally got a U.S. based web store to ship U.S. orders. It cost $28 before shipping, which is the main reason I held on buying this for as long as I could. I monitored the stock levels before finally buying it over a month after its release.

As of posting this the, the label’s two stores (U.S. and UK) are sold out of copies, so for U.S. folks the only option is to import a copy from the UK, with Banquet Records, who were allotted some stock. Not sure how many copies they received let alone how many they have left. It’s a bit pricier from them; 25 pounds (little over $31 USD) before shipping. People are already started to flip these, so if you want a copy better snatch one up from Banquet before paying upwards of $45 for a copy.

For what it’s worth, I think this release is overpriced. It’s just a double LP on standard weight black vinyl stuffed into an oversized single pocket jacket. There is no insert, or any other frills for that matter, but there is a download card/code. But that is moot as the label is giving away digital downloads for free on Bandcamp. I understand this is an import release, but I’ve bought plenty of imports that cost less. Maybe a larger run would’ve brought down the cost. It would’ve been nice if this cost a bit less, or at least have more substance than just records in a cheap jacket.

Vinnie Caruana – Aging Frontman

Vinnie Caruana has never slowed down it seems like. He’s consistently released music over the past 23 odd years. That number is hard to grasp. It’s just another sign of how old I am, as if hearing songs off Dookie on the classic rock radio station wasn’t a big enough sign.

In 2019 Vinnie released his third solo release; Aging Frontman. Now you kind of get all the age references I was just making. The EP was released by Know Hope Records, which is owned and operated by former Valencia band mates Shawn Dorsey and JD Perry. The relatively unknown (no pun intended) label takes a play out of more established labels’ playbooks; opting to go with no less than seven variants. Before I go deeper into that number, I should clarify that of those seven, three were licensed out to UK indie label Big Scary Monsters (BSM), whom Vinnie has worked with a handful of times before.

The U.S. exclusive variants are green inside clear limited to 100(later changed to 115) copies, “candy floss” limited to 200 (later changed to 215) copies, “smog” limited to 200 (later changed to 216) copies and coke bottle clear limited to 250 copies. The coke bottle is/was a tour exclusive and was hand numbered. The numbers in parentheses are what was announced by the label after the pressing was in hand, accounting for the overrun majority of pressings for every album have. They didn’t lie about anything, they ordered 100 or 200 and received roughly 10% more copies; the typical overrun. At least they were forthcoming with the actual numbers in the end. All the U.S. variants have an etched b-side.

The UK variants are black w/ pink stripe limited to 100 copies, clear w/ black marble limited to 200 copies and black limited to 200 copies. All the UK variants have a screen printed b-sided. The clear w/ black marble is/was a tour exclusive, the stripe variant is/was a BSM exclusive and the black is a UK/Euro exclusive (hold on to that thought).

The six song, roughly 19 minute long Aging Frontman was pressed as a single-sided 12”, which explains why there can be either an etching or screen print on the b-side. Why each label did something different on the b-side is anyone’s guess. It’s one of the oddest differences between pressings/variants I’ve come across. The differences don’t stop there, as U.S. variants come with an insert and the UK variants come with either an insert or printed dust sleeve (I’m not sure because I’ve never seen clear photos of it), but either way the designs/layout are different between the two nations.

All the U.S variants come with a hype sticker that denotes the color of the record. The etching is of the album artwork; Vinnie’s face as a youngster. The “candy floss” is a white base with pink splatter/haze, and the “smog” variant is rather interestingly. At first it appears to be opaque black with white splatter/haze, along with elements of grey, brown and shades of red and pink mixed in it too. But when you hold it up to the light it suddenly appears translucent. See the photo gallery below for the perfect example of the smog variant.

The screen print on the UK variants are of Vinnie’s initials. I’m not sure if the screen print is done in the same color on all the variants, or if it’s color coded to each variant. Don’t know because I’ve only seen photos of the stripe variant. I also don’t know if the UK variants come with a hype sticker denoting color, let alone sealed to begin with.

Prices on this record depend more than ever on where you buy this. It doesn’t have wide distribution, which kind of hurts the consumer in terms of getting a deal on this. Know Hope Records is charging $18 for the three variants they are selling; green inside clear, “candy floss” and “smog.” But you save a whopping $4 if you buy all three in a bundle for $50! BSM is charging 19 USD (or 14 GBP), and as of posting this the only variant still available for purchase is black. The thing with exchange rates is that they fluctuate, and depending on the day it may actually be cheaper to par in certain currencies rather than your domestic one. For example, on the day I wrote this entry, the GBP price exchange to a little over 18 USD instead of 19. But with that said, the conversion fees on Paypal and/or your credit card may negate any savings.

I mentioned earlier about the lackluster distribution of this record. Oddly enough, my go to U.S. based distro somehow only got copies of the supposed UK/Euro exclusive on black vinyl. And because it’s an import the price was too high for my liking, even after any and all sales and/or discount codes they routinely offer. I wound up buying a copy on eBay for a little over $13 shipped. It wouldn’t surprise me if some copies of the smog variant made their way to vinyl subscription service VNYL, as the seller sent it to me in a used VNYL mailer. I don’t have concrete proof of this, I’m basing it off the fact of the mailer and that eBay was suddenly flooded with copies of Aging Frontman on the smog variant when next to no copies of any variant were listed previously. And not only that, were listing them with starting bids/prices below retail price. Which could signify that VNYL subscribers were trying to unload a record they had zero interest in, which is something I’ve taken advantage of before (literally won an LP for $5 shipped). And possibly that the VNYL service seemingly dumped all of their copies of Aging Frontman at the same time on some of their subscribers.

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Constant Elevation – s/t 7″

Vinnie Caruana has been very busy. He hasn’t really taken too much time off from the music scene. The Movielife broke up, he formed I Am The Avalanche, they went on hiatus, he started releasing solo material, started touring for said solo material, and now he has a new project with its roots in hardcore; Constant Elevation.

This three song 7” features Vinnie along with Sammy Siegler, most notably from Rival Schools. Both musicians have been involved in the Long Island music scene for a long time, and this is the first time the two have joined forces. Sammy wrote the music and Vinnie wrote the lyrics.

The 7” was released by Revelation Records and pressed on three variants. Red limited to 300 copies, orange limited to 700 copies and green limited to 150 copies. Don’t listen to Discogs, which says this is limited to 165 despite the back of the sleeve being hand numbered out of 150, and the label this variant is exclusive to; German label Coretex Records, web store saying it’s limited to 150. See what I keep saying about how Discogs is to be taken with a grain of salt.

The red variant is exclusive to Revelation, and I just mentioned the green being exclusive to Coretex Records. They are charging 12 Euros for the green, while only charging 10 Euros for the orange. The orange I’m not quite sure about, but odds are it’s not a formal exclusive. Revelation is selling copies, as is Coretex, but indie record stores also received copies of this 7” on orange vinyl.  And about the orange, it’s one of those records advertised and called orange, but the actual record is yellow.

An insert is included, which has the lyrics printed on one side and a one sheet of promo photos on the reverse side. No download card/code is included with this record. This 7” costs around $10, at least stateside.

V/A – Romance In The Digital Age Soundtrack

Sometimes waiting to buy something pays off, in more ways than one. Take this soundtrack for example. Not only did I get to use a 25% off code when I placed the order, but by waiting around two years to buy it, I was able to get the previously excusive to a bundle variant limited to 100 copies, outside of the bundle.

The soundtrack for the film Romance In The Digital Age was pressed as a single LP spread across two variants, both with a Christmas theme. Given the premise of the movie circulates around a Christmas wedding, that choice begins to make a bit more sense. The variants are “X-MAS tri-color stripe” and “snowflake splatter”. The “X-MAS tri-color stripe” is comprised of red, clear and green and limited to 200 copies, with the “snowflake splatter” being clear with white splatter limited to 100 copies. Before being broken down and sold outside a bundle, the “snowflake splatter” variant was only available in a bundle including a DVD copy of the film that cost $30 before shipping.

All copies come hand numbered on the back of the jacket, with the jacket featuring a die-cut. One side of the insert doubles as part of the cover art, which once slid into the jacket shows through the die-cut portion. A download card/code is also included, which nets you all the tracks in WAV form.

The soundtrack features original songs by the likes of Vinnie Caruana, John Nolan and James Dewees just to name a few. As of posting this both variants are still available from Enjoy The Ride Records, and the label is the only place to buy the soundtrack on vinyl. Price on it is $20 before shipping.

The Movielife – Cities In Search Of A Heart

The Movielife is back after 14 years with their fourth studio album; Cities In Search Of A Heart. I was excited when I heard that the band would be releasing a new album, but let me say they should have stayed broken up. It goes to show just how bad the new album is when Brandon Reilly, Vinnie Caruana and the band’s twitter accounts incessantly retweet and favorite crowd videos from their most recent co-headlining tour that are all of older songs off 40 Hour Train Back To Penn.

The band signed with Rise Records, who seem to be yet another label snapping up old scene bands to bolster their roster. I always thought it was odd that a hardcore label went out and signed the likes of Acceptance, At The Drive-In, The Bouncing Souls and Drive-Thru Records castaways The Early November and Hidden In Plain View. Now you can add The Movielife to that list. Rise typically does a lot of variants for their releases, and Cities In Search Of A Heart is no different.

There are six variants, with all of them being exclusive to certain places. First there are the Rise Records/Merchnow (label’s web store host) exclusives. There are two of them; doublemint limited to 700 copies and “ultra” clear with white smoke limited to 300 copies. The “ultra” clear is a bundle exclusive, where the cheapest option to get it cost $37. This $37 bundle had a flask, promo poster (which only had the album artwork on it) and one t-shirt in your choice of two different colors, as each color shirt had the same design. There were two more bundles, which were more expensive. The next tier bundle cost $53.50, and had the same flask and promo poster, and a hoodie (same design as t-shirts) instead of a t-shirt. The most expensive bundle, costing $73, had everything from the $3.507 bundle, but included a t-shirt (only the white shirt out of the options from the $37 bundle).

There is a Smartpunk exclusive; yes Smartpunk is back in business and getting into the vinyl game, pressed on “Easter” yellow limited to 500 copies. Now, there is some discrepancy here, because Smartpunk’s website says “Easter” yellow is limited to 475 copies. The /500 number is straight from Rise Records. What likely happened is they ordered 500, and they either only gave Smartpunk 475 of them to sell or the pressing plant shorted Rise. The Smartpunk exclusive is also individually numbered, on a sticker that is placed on the top left corner on a outer poly sleeve placed over the shrinkwrapped record by Smartpunk. This sticker says /475. Banquet Records (UK indie record store) also has their own exclusive color, which is on oxblood red limited to 500 copies. So it’s not just a UK exclusive, it’s a Banquet exclusive.

It wouldn’t 2017 without a tour variant, and the tour exclusive for this record is limited to 400 copies on baby blue with white swirl (what the band calls it) or A Side B Side – baby blue with white (what the label calls it). Based on photos of the tour exclusive, it’s baby blue with white swirl. The last variant is a retail exclusive on gold vinyl limited to 3,000 copies. Despite the title, the retail exclusive was also available on tour. The “ultra” clear with white smoke was also available on tour as well. The gold “retail” exclusive is actually a gold color. It’s not that weird orange/yellow color labels sometimes get and call “gold.”

Rise Records never released the pressing info for this album. They have a ‘releases’ page where the put the pressing info for all of their releases, sometimes putting them up before an album is even released. But the never did for this Movielife record. I had to email them for the pressing info.

All copies come in a single pocket jacket with an insert and download card. The insert has the lyrics printed on both sides, along with the liner notes taking up a portion of one side. The download code nets you awful 160 kbps MP3s. Ridiculous Rise, ridiculous. Every copy has the same hype sticker, which is s small white circle affixed to the top right corner that simply says “limited edition first pressing on colored vinyl.” It doesn’t indicate color. So in order to ensure what variant you get you have to buy from a certain place. Buying a copy on tour might be a crapshoot though since they’re selling three different variants, not just the tour exclusive.

Retail price on this record ranges greatly. Rise/Merchnow is selling copies for $16.50 before shipping. But indie record stores are selling them for closer to $20. Other online retailers are also closer to $20 as well. I found this from one of my go to online distros, which had it for a few cents more than Merchnow, with free shipping and a discount code I used on it to bring it down to just under $13. Considering how bad this album is, the extremely high amount of copies pressed for this and how the /300 variant is still not sold out, there is no urgency to buy this record. You can wait till the price comes down, because it inevitably will.

If they want to move this album, places selling it will have to mark it down a bit, because it’s clearly not selling well. In fact I probably should’ve waited till the price hit $10. I checked the stock level of the standalone /700 doublemint variant on MerchNow, and they barely sold 150 copies of it in the nine months since it was put up for pre-order at the end of May 2017. Rise severely overestimated the demand for a Movielife album in 2017, even more so when you consider their intentions to do a multiple pressings for it based on the “limited edition first pressing” they put on the hype sticker.

The Movielife – It’s Go Time

Back in 2015 The Movielife’s debut album It’s Go Time was pressed on vinyl, released by Fadeaway Records on four variants. Yes, you read right, four variants. Despite the label only making three publicized, there is a fourth variant, which was a tour exclusive. Despite the fact that band was not really touring much at the time. They weren’t even officially re-united at the point when this vinyl re-release came out. And since this is a Fadeaway Records release, that curiosity is not the first misstep with this release.

If you’re familiar with Fadeaway’s Friends triple LP comp released a handful of years ago, many of those same gripes arose with this Movielife re-issue; record being overpriced, shipping being a rip off, another charity release and flat out lies as “explanations” for the aforementioned gripes. This single LP cost $25, before shipping. With shipping being $6 for media mail, and a disgusting $9 to ship two records. It was actually initially doubled up, so for every record you ordered you were charged $6 per record for shipping. If you ordered two copies you were charged $12 shipping, if you ordered all three variants you were charged $15 for shipping.

But before you make final judgment on the price of this record, you have to take into account the etching on the b-side and the fact that it comes in a gatefold jacket. The fact that this record would have an etching was inexplicably kept a secret at the time the pre-order was announced and subsequently went live. It wasn’t announced until about a month after pre-orders were launched. That is by no means an excuse for overcharging for a single LP release, because even with those upgrades no single LP should ever cost more than $20. The price gets even more ludicrous when you consider that Fadeaway owns the rights to this album since they were the ones who originally released it back in 1999. Even with the re-mastering, which has to be done (or at least should be done) for every album that is getting pressed on vinyl, there is no legitimate reason for this record  to cost $25. Charity or not, which was the excuse the label gave, again, for overpricing this record.

I purposely waited, literally years, for this record to see a price cut. But it never happened. I wasn’t holding my breath for it, but I was still hoping that because the label didn’t sell out of any of the variants after three years that he would drop the price. So I used a good chunk of my higher than normal ebates check from Christmas shopping to buy this for a more reasonable price. Technically I could’ve paid $1 for this, but I opted to split the ebates check across two different records in order to lower my out of pocket cost on both of them.

Now to delve into the finer points of this record. This single LP has all nine, yes nine tracks on one side of the record. The b-side has an etching of the original cover art, which was changed for an unknown reason for the vinyl version. An interesting note about the new, alternate cover art for the vinyl version; it is Vinnie jumping off the cliff/bridge (not sure what it is). There was no reason given as to why the artwork was changed. Since I opted to order the clear base variant, it’s next to impossible to get a photo of the etching. So I’m including a photo taken from Fadeaway’s web store of a test pressing.

The gatefold jacket is nice and thick, but doesn’t really have any substance to it. It’s literally a collage of random photos of the band, a picture of a long retired WWF/WWE wrestler and a very long thank you section. But given the price, it’s better to have a pointless gatefold jacket than a traditional single pocket jacket, because Fadeaway would likely charge the same price for it. There is redundancy in the download code/card included with this record, as after you order you receive a download immediately (even those who pre-ordered back in 2015) along with a physical download card inside the jacket.

The track listing for this re-mastered vinyl version of the album was re-arranged for no logical reason. The jacket even has original track listing from the 1999 release printed on the back. The download card/code also has the correct track listing from the original 1999 release. But the record itself has some tracks switched around. So here is the track listing as it actually appears o the record itself:

1. Barefoot
2. Champ
3. Dead To The World
4. Except Me
5. Maybe It’s Nothing
6. One Way Ticket
7. Racer
8. Read My Lips
9. Speed Demon

Track 4 on the original 1999 release was “Speed Demon,” so that song moves to the final track, track 9, on the vinyl version. The original track 9 on the 1999 release was “Racer,” which is track 7 on the vinyl vesion. “Except Me” was track 7 on the original 1999 release, but it’s now track 4 on the vinyl version. Another difference is that track 5 on the original 1999 release was “Read My Lips,” which is now track 8 on the vinyl version. The original track 8 on the 1999 release was “One Way Ticket,” which is now track 6 on the vinyl version. The original track 6 on the 1999 release was “Maybe It’s Nothing,” which moves to track 5 on the vinyl version. “Read My Lips” was track 5 on the original 1999 release, but it moves to track 8 on the vinyl version.

Initially advertised as each variant (the three that were publicly announced and made available) being limited to 250 copies, the actual pressing info was later revealed to be a bit different. It’s one of the few good things about Fadeaway Records; his transparency with pressing info. As is typically the case with vinyl pressings, there is either an overrun or underrun. Your rarely get the exact amount of copies you order. In the case of It’s Go Time, it was all across the board. So here is the final numbers; 256 copies on A Side Easter yellow / B Side cyan blue, 224 copies on ultra clear w/ blood red, orange crush, piss yellow, kelly green, royal blue and deep purple splatter and 242 copies on electric blue w/ cyan blue, sea blue and highlighter yellow heavy splatter. I feel like I am saying this more and more, but those have to be the longest variant names/descriptions ever, especially the ultra clear splatter one. Which I happened to have bought and photos of which can be seen in the gallery below.

It’s also worth noting that none of the variants turned out like the mock ups released for them in the Fadeaway Records web store. Not even close. It’s actually the most far off I’ve ever seen mock ups be from the finished product. It’s like he ordered completely different variants than what he mocked up. He actually had a transparent base record be grey in the mock up. Common sense would tell you to not do that if you were paying any sort of attention. And he had the a-side/b-side variant be black and white in the mock up. But at least he got the “heavy” splatter mock up right in terms of what splatter looks like, though he did use the wrong color for the splatter; once again, grey.

But, as mentioned earlier, that is not all the variants. Those are just the ones that were made publicly available and were announced via the pre-order. There is a fourth variant, which was a “tour” / band exclusive. Considering the band was not really touring at the time of this re-release, they were only playing a handful of shows here and there spread out over a couple months, it’s a little deceptive to call this a tour exclusive. Though the label called it a band exclusive on social media, the band themselves called it a tour exclusive on their social media accounts. While they were only available at shows, there weren’t enough shows to consider it a tour in my book. This tour/band exclusive was pressed on clear with blue haze/smoke, limited to 200 copies. There was never an official announcement as to what the color was called, which would’ve helped as Fadeaway went into extreme detail describing the rest of the variants, right down to the exact shade/hue of a color and using visual descriptions like “piss.” From pictures of this tour variant that I have seen, there is very little blue to be seen. It’s only found around the center of the record, and covers maybe from the run out to the last track on the a-side.

It was briefly mentioned above, but this was yet another charity release by Fadeaway, where it was claimed 100% of the proceeds were donated to a charity. Thing was though at the time pre-orders were launched the charity people’s money was going to wasn’t named. So people had no idea where their money was going. The only thing announced about where the money would be going was that it would be a charity of the band’s choosing. People kept asking what the charity was, but radio silence for a long time on the label’s end. Eventually it was put up in Fadeaway’s web store that the charity chosen was The Lustgarten Foundation. No formal announcement was made regarding the charity chosen. Not even a description of what the charity does; no mention of that anywhere.

For Sale: Set Prices – Circa Survive, The Killers, Alkaline Trio, New Found Glory, Senses Fail, Thursday, Gogol Bordello, Fake Problems, Look Mexico, Lifetime, Third Eye Blind, 311, Sonic Youth, Springsteen, Tom Petty & More

While I normally don’t sell stuff on this blog, or in general, I need to get rid of some things. This is the start of a thinning out process of doubles I’ve accumulated over the years along with getting rid of things I no longer listen to. Prices are set on all this for the most part, but feel free to make offers. So here are the ground rules:

Only the things on this list are for sale. Do not ask about anything else featured on this blog or anything that is not on the below list. Deals will be made for anyone who buys more than 1 thing. I will only ship to the USA. Paypal as payment only. So no bitcoin, Stripe, Venmo, Apple Pay or any of that other nonsense. If a color is not mentioned then it’s on black vinyl. Most of this stuff is either factory sealed or in NM condition. If it’s bad shape I’ll make note of it. If you’re concerned about condition ask for pics and I will provide them.

If you’re interested in anything please leave a comment with what you’re interested in and your email address, and we can work out a deal. I will not make the comments public (I have to approve every comment before it goes appears on the blog), so people will not get your email address or any other info, but I will be able to see it in order to reply to you via email. The subject line of such email responses will be “Stitches and Grooves Record Sale.” Any questions or concerns about anything up for sale feel free to ask. I’m pretty firm on prices but if you don’t like a price comment with an offer and we can try to work out a deal.

Everything will be mailed in either an LP or 7″ mailer. I should have plenty to go around, but if I run out I will let you know before making payment. Opened records will be shipped outside the jacket to avoid seam splits. Factory sealed records will not be opened under any circumstances. I know how to package records for shipping, plenty of bubble wrap and/or cardboard inserts will be used to try to minimize damage as best as possible. Not responsible for any damage that occurs during shipment; once it leaves my hands in the stated condition below I can not guarantee or foresee how the USPS will handles the package.

 

– 311 – Hydroponic 10″ (still sealed, jacket has seam split along top edge) = $20 ppd

– Alkaline Trio – Help Me 7” (still sealed) = $7 ppd or $4 if bought with something else

– At The Drive-In/Burning Airlines – Split 7″ (no insert) = $10 ppd

– Back To The Future Trilogy Score Mondo box set exclusive jackets (only the 3 jackets, which all have seam splits. no records are include with this) = offer, would prefer to sell all 3 jackets together

– Bandaid Brigade – I’m Separate ( still factory sealed, not sure on color. is NOT Hot Pink w/ Splatter. will NOT open to check color) = $10 ppd

Bear vs Shark/Bars Of Gold Collection – Would Prefer To Sell As Complete Lot = $110 (shipping to be determined later)

– Right Now (Purple & White swirl /250, U.S. 2nd press) = $20

– Right Now (UK red w/ black haze /250 hand numbered w/ exclusive alternate cover) = $30

– Terrorhawk (yellow /250, 2nd press) = $25

– Bars Of Gold – Of Gold (clear green, 1st press) = $20

– Bars Of Gold – Wheels (comes packaged w/ CD) = $15

– The Catholic Comb – Vampire Life 7” (w/ poster) = $7 ppd or $4 if bought with something else

– Circa Survive – The Amulet (Merch Limited Alternate Screen Printed Covers, Set of 4,  Designs #1, #2, #3 and #4. ALTERNATE COVERS ONLY, NO RECORD(S). INCORRECTLY FOLDED JACKETS W/ CREASE THROUGH COVER ART. Ask for pics if interested.) =$40 ppd OBO

Circa Survive – A Dream About Love (clear w/ splatter) = $40 OBO

-Dead American – The Shape Of Punk Is Dumb (orange) = $25 ppd

– Dead American – The Shape Of Punk Is Dumb (blue) = $50 ppd  OBO

– Dead American – The Shape Of Punk Is Dumb (purple) = $50 ppd  OBO

*** All Dead American Records for $100 ppd. ***

– Bob Dylan – Must Be Santa b/w ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas 7” (red, still sealed) – $12 ppd

– Faction Of The Fox – Mannequin Hand 7” = $7 ppd or $3 if bought with something else

– Fake Problems – How Far Our Bodies Go (clear, Euro pressing) = $12 ppd

– Fake Problems – How Do You Spell Here E-V-E-L 12” (picture disc) = $9 ppd

** $14 ppd for both Fake Problems records **

– Gene Defcon – Baby, Hallelujah 7″ (red) = $5 ppd or $2 if bought with something else

– Gogol Bordello – Crack The Case 7″ = $10 ppd

– Gogol Bordello – Pura Vida Conspiracy (white, only record & insert, NO jacket or valid download card) = offer, not looking for much, not sure what someone is willing to pay for just the record without a jacket

– Hailey, It Happens – Aurora = $8 ppd or $3 if bought with something else

–  Head North – Bloodlines = $10 ppd (still factory sealed)

– Hellogoodbye – S’Only Natural (not sure on color. won’t open to check color) = $15 ppd or $10 if bought w/ something else

– The Killers – Hot Fuss (2018 box set pressing on black vinyl) = $15 ppd

– The Killers – Sam’s Town (2018 box set pressing on black vinyl) = $15 ppd

– The Killers – Sawdust (2018 box set pressing on black vinyl) = $15 ppd

– The Killers – Day And Age (2018 box set pressing on black vinyl) = $15 ppd

– The Killers – Battle Born (2018 box set pressing on black vinyl) = $15 ppd

– The Killers – Wonderful Wonderful (2018 box set pressing on black vinyl) = $15 ppd

*** Buy all 6 Killers Records as a lot = $80 ppd ***

Lifetime Collection – Would Prefer To Sell As Complete Lot = $145 (shipping to be determined later)

– Background = $25

– Hello Bastards (mint, 2nd press, 2010 No Idea pressing, 1st pressing on No Idea) = $15

– Jersey’s Best Dancers (white, 2nd press, 2010 No Idea pressing, 1st pressing on No Idea) = $15

– s/t (pink, 2nd press, 2008 No Idea pressing, 1st pressing on No Idea) = $20

– Dwell 7″ (1st press) = $10

– Dwell 7″ (2nd press) = $7

– Tinnitus 7″ = $20

– 2 Songs 7″ (blue) = $7

– Boys No Good 7″ = $10

– It’s For Life comp LP (red /552, 2nd press on Victory w/ different cover, 1st pressing on Victory) = $15

Look Mexico Collection – Would Prefer To Sell As Complete Lot = $100 (shipping determined later)

– This Is Animal Music = $30

– To Bed To Battle (salmon) = $20

– You Stay. I Go. No Following 7″ (blue, hand numbered screened cover) = $10

– Real Americans Spear It 10″ (blue) = $13

– So Crucialtine (green marble) = $15

– Gasp Asp 7″ (green) = $7

– Gasp Asp 7″ (white w/ red foil stamp cover) = $10

– Moneen/Alexisonfire – Switcheroo Split 12″ (picture disc) = $30 ppd

– Mixtapes – Somewhere In Trinsic 7″ (white, No Sleep Sub exclusive) = $15 ppd

– The Music – Take The Long Road And Walk It 7″ (blue) = $6 ppd or $2 if bought with something else

– Muskets – Violent Paradise = $10 ppd (still fatory sealed)

– New Found Glory – Tip Of The Iceberg 7” (picture disc) = $7 ppd or $3 if bought with something else.

– New Found Glory/Dashboard Confessional = Swiss Army Bro-Mance (pink or purple, your choice) = $50 ppd

– No Devotion – Stay b/w Eyeshadow 12″ (white, factory sealed) = $10 ppd

– No Devotion – 10,000 Summers 12″ (factory sealed, start of small seam split along top edge) = $9 ppd

** $14 ppd for both No Devotion records **

– Onelinedrawing – Departure 7″ (eco color, did not come sealed but never played) = $10 ppd

– Peace’d Out – Peace’d Out 10” (blue, still sealed) = $10 ppd or $6 if bought with something else

Phony – Songs You’ll Never Sing (still factory sealed, not sure on color, will NOT open to check color) = $10 ppd

– The Police – Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic 7″ (U.S. pressing, A & M Records w/ picture sleeve) =  $6 ppd or $3 if bought with something else

– The Police – Message In A Bottle 7″ (w/ poster sleeve) = $7 ppd or $4 if bought with something else

– The Police – Message In A Bottle 7″ (no picture or poster sleeve, generic paper dust sleeve) = $6 ppd or $3 if bought with something else

– The Police – Synchronicity II 7″ (w/ picture sleeve) = $6 ppd or $3 if bought with something else

-The Police – Every Breath You Take 7″ (w/ picture sleeve) = $6 ppd or $3 if bought with something else

– The Police – Don’t Stand So Close To Me 7″ (w/ picture sleeve) = $6 ppd or $3 if bought with something else

– The Police – De Do Do Do, De Da Da da 7″ (w/ incorect die cut picture sleeve) = $6 ppd or $3 if bought with something else

** All 7 Police 7″ singles for $25 ppd **

– The Police – Outlandos D’Amour (2014 Euro Back-To-Black re-press w/ grey cover) = $20 ppd

– Portugal. The Man – Woodstock (standard vinyl version, 180g in gatefold jacket, still factory sealed) = $15 ppd

– Razorlight – Golden Touch 7″ (gatefold jacket) = $7 ppd or $2 if bought with something else

– Senses Fail – If There Is Light, It Will Find You (yellow, still sealed. has seam split along top of jacket) = $15 ppd

– Sonic Youth – Murray Street (2016 re-press) = $75 ppd

– Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped (2016 re-press) = $50 ppd

*** $20 ppd for both Sonic Youth records ***

– Bruce Springsteen – Dancing In The Dark 7″ (U.S. Pressing, Columbia Records) =$ 6 ppd or $3 if bought with something else

– Bruce Springsteen – One Step Up 7″ (U.S. Pressing, Columbia Records) =$6 ppd or $3 if bought with something else

** Both Springsteen 7″ single for $10 ppd **

Bruce Springsteen – The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle (2015 USA pressing) = $15 ppd

Bruce Springsteen – The Ghost Of Tom Joad (2018 USA pressing) = $15 ppd

Bruce Springsteen – In Concernt MTV Unplugged = $20 ppd

*** All 3 Springsteen albums for $40 ppd ***

The Suicide Machines – Awake 7″ flexi = $10 ppd (never played, does not come with a cover/jacket. flexi is not 100% flat. Playing surface is not warped, flexi itself is not perfectly flat like a piece of paper)

– Third Eye Blind – Ursa Major – (clear w/ black & white splatter – 1st Press) = offer

– Third Eye Blind – s/t 20th Anniversary Edition 3xLP (still sealed, bad seam splits across top) = $125 ppd

– Thursday – Kill The House Lights (still factory sealed, has crease in jacket) = $15 ppd

– Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers – A Woman In Love (It’s Not Me) 7″ (w/ picture sleeve) = $6 ppd

– What’s Eating Gilbert – Cheap Shots (half tan/half black) = $10 ppd

What’s Eating Gilbert/Octaves – SXSW Split 7″ (red) = $10 ppd

*** Both What’s Eating Gilbert 7″s for $12 ppd ****

– The Vaccines – What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? = $18 ppd

– V/A – Yes L.A. comp (2nd press – picture disc w/ green and red ink) = $20 ppd

– V/A – While No One Was Looking: Toasting 20 Years Of Bloodshot Records 3xLP (still factory sealed, pretty bad seam splits along top edge) = $15 ppd

– The 4 Squares/Toucan Slam – Doin’ Snuff With Roy Scherer split 12″ (still sealed) = $8 ppd or $3 if bought with something else

– V/A – Brushfire Records 12″ Sampler Volume 1 (still sealed. feat. Jack Johnson, Mason Jennings, G. Love & Special Sauce, Matt Costa) = $8 ppd or $3 if bought with something else

– Curtain Call – s/t 7″ = offer

– Hamilton/Malakhai/With Arms Still Empty/Just For Kicks – Forever Compilation 4-way Split 7″ = $6 ppd or $2 if bought with something else

– Old & In The Way – Old & In The Way LP = offer

– Grateful Dead – For The Faithful (Pair Records) = $10 ppd

– Grateful Dead – Wake Of The Flood (cut corner, Grateful Dead Records) = $10 ppd

Other Random Stuff  Slipmats, Pins, Books, Tote Bags, Posters, DVDs & CDs)

– Ryan Russell – Continental Obscura: Birmingham To Bellingham photo book =$13 ppd [shipping is high because book weighs 4 pounds. Book is still in shrink wrap (shrink is cut along bottom) and does NOT come with bonus 7″]

– The Simpsons Complete Season 9 DVD w/ Lisa plastic head case (still factory sealed/taped)

– MxPx – B-Movie DVD w/ The A/C EP CD = offer

– The Early November slipmat (from Twenty bundle) = $15 ppd

– Fake Problems – Live At Park Ave CD (still sealed) = $5 ppd or $2 if bought with something else

– Anthony Green Would You Still Be In Love pin set (3 pins – all metal/enamel) = $10 ppd

– Circa Survive – A Dream About Love slipmat (brown/orange) = $15 ppd

– Circa Survive – A Dream About Death slipmat = $15 ppd

** Both Circa Survive slipmats = $20 ppd

– Circa Survive – A Dream About Love pin set (3 pins) = $10

– Circa Survive – A Dream About Death pin set (3 pins) = $10

*** Both Circa Survive pin sets for $15 ppd

– Gogol Bordello canvas tote bag = $15 ppd

– Arctic Rodeo Recordings cloth tote bag = $10 ppd

– Ghost Ramp enamel pin = offer

– Spirit Club – s/t CD (still factory sealed) = $10 ppd

– July – What We Signed Up For CD (still sealed) = $6 ppd or $2 if bought with something else

– The Promise Hero – Deja Vu CD (still sealed) = $6 ppd or $2 if bought with something else

– Brett Detar – Bird In The Tangle CD (still sealed) = $5 ppd or $2 if bought with something else

– Rock Against Floyd comp CD = $5 ppd or $2 if bought with something else

– Hail The Villain – Maintain Radio Silence EP CD (still sealed) = $5 ppd or $2 if bought with something else

– We Are Augustines – Rock The Vote EP CD (still sealed) = $6 ppd or $2 if bought with something else

– Drive Thru Records Winter 2003 Sampler CD = $5 ppd or $2 if bought with something else

– Drive Thru Records Summer 2004 Sampler CD = $5 ppd or $2 if bought with something else

– Drive Thru Records/Rushmore Records Sampler CD = $5 ppd or $2 if bought with something else

– Fueled By Ramen Spring 2005 Sampler CD = $5 ppd or $2 if bought with something else

– Keuning – Mild Case Of Everything CD (still factory sealed) = $10 ppd

– Senses Fail – Skull Logo slipmat (still sealed in original, re-sealable flap poly bag) = $15 ppd

– Senses Fail – Hell Is In Your Head bundle slipmat = $15 ppd

** Both Senses Fail slipmats for $20 ppd **

– Senses Fail – Hell Is In Your Head tote bag = $15 ppd

– Tooth & Nail Records Spring 2004 Sampler CD = $5 ppd or $2 if bought with something else

-Wildhoney – Your Face Sideways CD (barcode punched) = $6 ppd or $3 if bought with something else

– REM Unplugged 1991-2001 lithograph poster (12″ high x 36″ wide) = offer

– Teagan and Sara tour poster from Starland Ballroom show on September 27, 2013 (silk screened)

– Mystery CD Grab Bag: 10 CDs chosen at random. could be anything listed here OR could be literally any random CD I have in my house not listed here. All CDs will be playable, with minimal to zero scratches, and come in their original packaging, which may be a digipak, cardboard sleeve or plastic jewel case. CDs may or may NOT be factory sealed and will be in brand new OR used condition; may include promo items that have the barcode scratched or punched out. There will not be any duplicate CDs given, no guarantee on genre of music. = $10 ppd