The final offering from Ed Gein
came several years after everyone had kind of thought them to be disbanded
anyway. In the words of
bassist/vocalist Aaron Jenkins, ‘we probably should have broke up a long time
ago.’
But I’m glad they did this last
thing that they did because it did show there was some gas left in the tank and
the whole thing was an overall fun experience.
To back up a bit, Ed Gein hadn’t
toured in years. After finishing a
relentless touring schedule for “Judas Goats…” where they were on the road for
the better part of two years they took a hard break. It was time to settle down for bit. Drummer Jesse Daino put most of his
free time getting Recess Coffee off the ground and that soon became a very
full-time endeavor. Aaron further
developed his skills as a screen printer and eventually opened his own business (the Black Arts Studio)
as well doing just that. Guitarist
Graham Reynolds, after time, became the head roaster at Recess and running a
lot of the day-to-day. Music took
a back seat for all of the members.
After a few years getting situated
in their new roles the band felt the itch to write new music, but definitely
not tour. They started getting
together again to compose new music that was decidedly far less technical and
way more just fast, metallic punk.
The result was “Bad Luck”, a record that was considerably different than
other Ed Gein records insofar as most of the songs focusing on just a few parts
instead of 1000. The constant with
all other material is that it remained fast. Really fast. It
went quite underappreciated amongst fans and they only played a few shows
during this time to promote it. It
retrospect it is definitely not their strongest material, but it’s a lot of fun
and there’s a handful of total thrashy rippers on the record.
And then they went quiet
again. Work and adult life took
over once more and it seemed Ed Gein was put to bed for good. And yet, they got back into it one more
time. This time some of the music
saw Aaron taking the lead for composition and out of that came a couple songs
of slow, riffing, chunky dirges.
They followed it up with a few more fast, thrashy songs that had a
renewed vigor. The band approached
me once more about doing something with it all. It was to be the very last of the Ed Gein stuff. For good.
The entire effort was completed in
secret. We began working on things
in the late Spring and surprise released it right before Christmas. I even managed to keep the whole
project secret from my own band, who was sharing a practice space with Ed
Gein. It was tough to keep a lid
on it all, but we succeeded.
The result of this discreet
planning was a project Aaron and I worked closely on bringing together, as he
has traditionally been the more art-minded planner in the band. We went with once again using the unique
arigato packages created by Stumptown Printers that I have used for several
other records (Playing Enemy, “My Life As the Villain” and Lemuria, “Ozzy” 7”
most noteably). Aaron had a whole
idea in mind that he designed and screenprinted onto the blank packages himself
at his shop. We also thought it
would be fun to try doing a double 7” instead of a 10” or one-sided 12”. I thought that if you’re going to get
this cool package that’s one step away from being a box you may as well fill it
with more than one thing. So the
five songs that comprised “Smoked” were spread out over two records because why
not?
Part of the elaborate screenprinted packaging for the record(s)
Plenty of time was accounted for
ensuring the recording came out right, all the steps of pressing the actual
records, and printing (and then the origami-like task of folding them together)
the covers. It honestly couldn’t
have come together more smoothly.
I was surprised at the ease of it all. Of course, except the part about keeping it a secret.
The guys had planned a big show for
right after Christmas which was not kept a secret. There was no mention of the new record. About a week or two before the show the
surprise was unleashed. No pre-order,
or teaser track. Just, ‘hey,
here’s a new Ed Gein record.
Enjoy.’
I knew there would be some
interest, but it was far greater than I could have imagined. It was nice to see that after all these
years, and the very limited, sporadic activity from the band, people were still
excited for anything they did.
And that’s really the story of Ed
Gein. Over the next year they
played a couple shows and then called it a day as they transitioned into the band
they all do now- Shadow Snakes, which also features former Breather Resist
vocalist Steve Sindoni and Architect guitarist/recording engineer Jay Bailey
along with Aaron, Jesse, and Graham.
To say that Ed Gein was a
foundation for Hex Records is truly an understatement. Before they came along the label had
some well-received records. But
even now, when I meet people who are familiar with what I do inevitably Ed
Gein’s name will frequently come up.
It’s almost as if the label really started with them sometimes, and they
started with this label, and then they wrapped up their time as a band in the
place they started with. It’s
humbling. And after all this time
we’re all still friends, we still play shows together (as infrequently as that
occurs), and we support each others businesses. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Smoked” is a solid chapter to
close the book of Ed Gein on. No
interviews necessary because at this point I’ve talked their ears off
enough. If you haven’t heard the
record(s), give them a listen.
I have a total of about a dozen of these double 7"s left. If you want one (or more) it will run you $5 this week because I want to get rid of them. You can find those HERE. If you're just a digital connoisseur feel free to drop $3 and get the tracks on sale this week HERE. Half the copies are on the bandcamp, the other half in the BigCartel store.
No comments:
Post a Comment