Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 11:00 pm Posts: 13226 Location: Adelaide, AUS
No thread for Olympia's mighty Unwound on RM? What a cryin' shame.
Two things of interest:
1. http://www.unwoundarchive.com/ - Supposedly shortly going to be hosting recordings of old shows for download. Pretty exciting.
2. Justin Trosper has a new band named Survival Knife with former Unwound member Brandt Sandeno - they've only played one show so far, but it was meant to have been very good and quite Unwound-esque.
When I bought Leaves it was before file sharing, I'd read maybe two or three glowing reviews, none of the songs were ever played on the radio so I was kind of buying it blind, but it seemed like a cool/ambitious kind of release, an indie double album of all things, clothed completely in black typeface on a black background, and it was the kind of risk you'd take back then, buying an album note unheard just because you were hungry for new sounds. I miss those days.
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 11:00 pm Posts: 13226 Location: Adelaide, AUS
Yes and no, personally. I still get that thrill of discovery upon finding something on YouTube/a blog/a forum that I've never heard before that really blows me away and I'm sure I spent quite a bit on albums that just weren't for me back then.
You checked out their other stuff? I think it's better than, or at the very least on a par with, Leaves.
I came to Unwound through Repetition. I have a hard on for most thing Steve Fisk related, so I took a chance on it. I really liked Go to Dallas and Take a Left. Soon after I found a copy of Future of What. Thats a fun record, weird as shit. But good. I'm still waiting to listen to Leaves. Its one of those records I'm waiting to hear until I find the LP.
I think my favorite release is that The Light at the End of the Tunnel is a Train EP. I love when they mess with all those samples and audio collage stuff.
I came to Unwound through Repetition. I have a hard on for most thing Steve Fisk related, so I took a chance on it. I really liked Go to Dallas and Take a Left. Soon after I found a copy of Future of What. Thats a fun record, weird as shit. But good. I'm still waiting to listen to Leaves. Its one of those records I'm waiting to hear until I find the LP.
I think my favorite release is that The Light at the End of the Tunnel is a Train EP. I love when they mess with all those samples and audio collage stuff.
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 11:00 pm Posts: 13226 Location: Adelaide, AUS
Angus wrote:
Leaves Turn Inside You is brilliant. And also the only thing I know from these guys. Anything else I should check?
Yes! Like I said above, I think some of their other stuff is better than Leaves - though perhaps it's just that Leaves has some muddy production and is pretty long, whereas the other records make their point in a more concise manner.
Anyway, Repetition is a great place to go next. Probably my favourite Unwound LP. I linked to Corpse Pose in the header post, that's a pretty good indication of what to expect. You also can't go wrong with New Plastic Ideas or Challenge for a Civilized Society. That said, I don't think they ever put out a bad album so wherever you start should hold you in good stead.
That archive sure is exciting, hopefully they get it up and running soon. There's a recording of Survival Knife's first show up on dime, I've downloaded it but haven't had a chance to check it out yet.
Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:04 pm Posts: 311 Gender: Male
zeb wrote:
When I bought Leaves it was before file sharing, I'd read maybe two or three glowing reviews, none of the songs were ever played on the radio so I was kind of buying it blind, but it seemed like a cool/ambitious kind of release, an indie double album of all things, clothed completely in black typeface on a black background, and it was the kind of risk you'd take back then, buying an album note unheard just because you were hungry for new sounds. I miss those days.
I bought the album knowing/hearing nothing about the band, I just liked the way the album looked. It was like nothing I'd heard before and I mean that seriously, not in a "wow, it's so awesome" kind of way.
Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:04 pm Posts: 311 Gender: Male
No, but that's more because I lost it in a move a couple years ago and completely forgot about it. I'll probably try to track it down later today, see how it holds up with a decade + of musical growth on my part.
In 2001 we released what was to become our final studio album, Leaves Turn Inside You. It was our most ambitious effort: a double album produced by ourselves in a home studio that we built from the ground up (with much thanks to those who helped us, of course). We decided the best approach to translating the album live was adding some new players to the mix: Brandt Sandeno, Unwound’s original drummer and a contributor to much of Leaves, became our live keyboard player; David Scott Stone, an old time compadre from Los Angeles and recent Melvins tour “gun-forhire,” our second guitar player. This was no small task. The logistics of adding two members to a band that normally was a three piece was daunting. We weren't quite prepared -- but then again, we rarely were. Unwound was really good at just winging it and barely making it out alive. As we often said, “We'll see what happens.”
Brandt started performing in early 2001, before the bigger tours that were to follow. When Dave came up from LA that summer, we practiced hard for a couple of weeks, putting together a set that would represent as many songs from the new album as possible while incorporating a few older pieces we thought would benefit from the new lineup. “Lifetime Achievement Award,” for instance, had never been performed live with vocals. “Corpse Pose,” a song that featured a signature keyboard riff when it appeared on Repetition, was finally given its due.
To help keep this mess together we hired Dave Doughman, a soundman we’d used on previous tours. Luckily, he was a fellow with a good sense of humor. Not long into the tour, a friend I had met while on the road with the Melvins decided to come along and record all the shows. This was Mike Zeigler, aka “The Kid,” infamous Nirvana fan and rock n roll bootlegger. It’s his tapes that have been distilled into what you’re about to hear.
I’m the first to admit that Unwound was not a consistent live band. Some of the shows on this tour were rough. We nearly broke up two weeks in, after 9/11 threw everything up in the air. You may notice that most of the shows represented on this compilation occurred after 9/11. Prior to that, we had good energy, but we were still working out how to play the songs as a five-piece. Then, for whatever reason, we rocked hard for like a week in the south. Survival instincts kept us alive for a bit afterward, but during the California leg of the tour we self-destructed, and eventually we decided to cancel our European and Japanese tours.
Let's be clear: this compilation isn't trying to rewrite history. Listening through hours and hours of tape from this time, I cringed frequently. But there were also sublime moments where I was touched. Think of it as a gift from us to you -- we did the hard work of culling the good stuff from a few dozen shows. Now you can just sit back and listen (at a loud volume, please). I was often surprised by what I heard; I hope the same holds true for you. Believe it or not, this is long overdue. We’d originally planned on putting this out in 2002! So, if you’re an old friend, welcome back. If you’re new -- here's to you. Thanks for finding us.
With that: Live Leaves.
--Justin Trosper, Kamilche, WA. June 2012.
Track Listing: We Invent You - 10/16/2001 (SF, CA. Bimbo's) Terminus - 10/15/2001 (SF,CA. Bimbo's) December - 9/21/2001 (Austin, TX. Emo's) Look A Ghost - 9/21/2001 (Austin, TX. Emo's) Scarlette - 9/01/2001 (Chicago, IL. Fireside Bowl) Lifetime - 0/16/2001 (Carrboro, NC. Cat's Cradle) Corpse Pose - 09/17/2001 (Athens, CA. 40 Watt Club) October All Over - 9/06/2001 (Detroit, MI. Magic Stick) Arboretum - 9/22/2001 (Denton, TX. Rubber Gloves) Below The Salt - 9/22/2001 (Denton, TX. Rubber Gloves) No Tech - 9/16/2001 (Carrboro, NC. Cat's Cradle) Valentine Card - 9/16/2001 (Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle) Radio Gra - 9/18/2001 (Antlanta, GA. Echo Lounge)
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