One Point Two
"Demo"
(Self-Released)
Before Gatsby's American Dream wowed pop-punk kids, there was once One Point Two, a band that consisted mostly of members who'd go on to Gatsby's and Casey Bates, Fueled by Ramen's producer du jour. It's pretty much in the vein of Blink 182, but there's some interesting stuff in this demo.
Download HereLabels: Indie Rock, One Point Two, pop-punk
Blue Sky Mile
"S/T"
(Ohev)
Seattle-based Blue Sky Mile was a band that couldn't really fit in a specific category. They had elements to their songs that were math-y, but they were too emo (in the truest sense of the term) for the indie rock crowd and too indie rock for the emo kids. That being said, they were probably amongst the most underrated bands in the city.
They found a home in Louisville's Initial Records, but it happened after Initial stopped growing as a label and other outlets like Fueled by Ramen and Vagrant had taken the reigns.
This is long their out-of-print debut EP on Florida's Ohev and is a split production between Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla and former Seaweed guitarist Clint Werner.
Download HereLabels: Blue Sky Mile, Death Cab for Cutie, emo, Indie Rock, pop-punk, Seattle, Seaweed
Blink 182
"Live EP"
(Unreleased)
Before the band released "The Mark, Tom and Travis Show" the only places you could find live Blink recordings were online bootlegs or as b-sides from their European releases. This EP takes all the live b-sides from the singles that were released from "Enema of the State." There are some pretty good performances here and the banter is top notch. Many of these were recorded in 1999 so you can hear some really rough live versions of these hit songs.
Download HereLabels: Blink 182, Live, pop-punk
New Found Glory
"Live in Seattle 2000"
(Unreleased)
This is recording is a bootleg from the same show as the Fenix TX post below. Interesting sidenote: this is the band's first Seattle show. How about that?
Download HereLabels: Live, New Found Glory, pop-punk
Fenix TX
"Live in Seattle 11/2000"
(Unreleased)
Fenix TX is not a mind blowing pop-punk band, but they had a couple of pretty solid albums with their self-titled debut (originally released as River Fenix) and "Lechuza." This San Diego-by-way-of-Texas quartet led the way for Drive Thru to (briefly) take over the pop-punk scene for a minute.
This recording is from the Graceland (now El Corazon) on their headlining tour with New Found Glory, Good Charlotte and Lefty.
Download HereLabels: Fenix TX, Live, pop-punk
The Get Up Kids
"Live in Seattle 10/9/1999"
(Unreleased)
This recording was from the soundboard at the RCKNDY in Seattle when the Get Up Kids were on tour in the fall of 99, hot off the release of "Something to Write Home About." This bootleg was floating around Napster and other filesharing sites in the embryotic days of mp3 trading.
To celebrate the Get Ups current reunion (and subsequent reissue of their seminal album), I'm sharing this totally sweet recording, which is much funnier and cooler than the live album that Vagrant put out a few years back as this bootleg has all of the stage banter and drunkeness that the gang is known for.
Download HereLabels: emo, Get Up Kids, Indie Rock, pop-punk, powerpop
Alternate Eightyfive
"Kill the Moment"
(Sardakaur)
Alternate Eightyfive was part of the same conglomoration of Seattle bands that included Schoolyard Heroes, Acceptance, Kane Hodder and Vendetta Red. Despite my personal opinion that among those bands, these dudes were the best, they were often plagued with issues in terms of playing outside of the city. This is their only recording and it's really fucking good. In the vein of early Glasseater or Kid Dynamite.
Download HereLabels: Alternate 85, hardcore, pop-punk, screamo
Shoes For Imelda
"Telephrend"
(Self-Released)
Mountlake Terrace screamo. Good times. Dave Wood was in this band, along with my cousin Jay and James, who I've known for over 20 years or some such. Download it if you like Jimmy Eat World and/or Glassjaw.
Labels: pop-punk, screamo, Shoes for Imelda
Various Artists
"A Fadeaway Records Sampler"
(Fadeaway)
AP once declared Fadeaway the Sub Pop of Long Island, NY, which I could kind of see, but there were a ton of great bands on their roster including Miracle of 86, The Movielife, Get Up Kids, Thisyearsmodel, Last Days of August, Glassjaw...the list goes on. This is a sampler that I got at a Get Up Kids show in 2000 and it has a bunch of sweet songs on it, most of which are out-of-print.
Tracklist:
1. Last Days of August - "Words I Wish Were Mine"
2. Now She's Gone - "Ride"
3. Miracle of 86 - "Surprise Me"
4. The Movielife - "Maybe It's Nothing"
5. Thisyearsmodel - "One Million Volumes"
6. Glassjaw - "Midwestern Stylings (acoustic)"
7. Bonus Track
Download HereLabels: emo, Fadeaway Records, Glassjaw, Indie Rock, Kevin Devine, Last Days of August, Miracle of 86, pop-punk, sampler, The Movielife, Thisyearsmodel
Home Grown/Limbeck
"Connection EP"
(Utility)
As far as I know, this is the only release from Adam Lorbach's Utility Records. Lorbach doubled as the bassist and co-vocalist for Home Grown, who's put out some of my favorite pop-punk records of recent years. This split with Limbeck shows the latter band's poppier side and Home Grown writes the kind of song that only Home Grown can write.
Still, this is one of the better splits that I've heard and is overall a great recording for all parties involved.
Labels: Home Grown, Limbeck, pop-punk
Boysnightout
"Broken Bones and Bloody Kisses"
(One Day Savior)
At present time, they seem like they're on a bit of a hiatus, but Ontario's Boysnightout is one of the hold outs from the early 2000's screamo explosion that actually evolved and turned into a much, much better band. Listen to their last two records "Trainwreck" and "Self-Titled" and you'll find it's a far cry from the metal-cum-pop-punk sound of their debut EP "Broken Bones and Bloody Kisses." There are some tracks from their first LP, "Make Yourself Sick," that appear on this EP, but these earlier versions are much more raw.
Labels: Boys Night Out, Boysnightout, hardcore, metal, pop-punk, screamo
Endor
“S/T”
(Self-Released)
Hailing from Temecula, CA, Endor featured Matt Barcalow, who happens to be the brother of Nate Barcalow of Finch, so comparisons were to be anticipated. Endor wasn’t an incredibly groundbreaking band, but they still managed to put out a solid debut EP during a time when you couldn’t throw a rock without hitting a screamo act of some sort.
Download HereLabels: Endor, Finch, pop-punk, screamo
