CD FOUR (1997-2000)

1.One Last Tasty Morsel
2.Ira Feldner's American Rip-off

1997: "One Last Tasty Morsel" was begun in late 1996, and was performed for the first time on stage at The Fireside Bowl New Year's Eve with Phil Bonnet on third guitar. We did a lot of work on this track. John San Juan played keyboards, and we prepared about a dozen different mixes of the ending. Phil then used a cut-up technique to create the monstrosity at the end of the "House" CD. This represents an earlier, no frills mix. We literally played until the tape ran out. "Ira Feldner" was for the split with Oblivion. This is a corrected mix (check out Todd's vocals at the end). I didn't like this version as much, so we went with the messed up version.


3.Introduction
4.Card Playing War Cripples / Birds in the Aquarium
5. Jag Rag, Six Pack, & a Blunt
6.Bad Time
7. Punk Rock Gods
8. Cup O' Life
9. Recipe for Oblivion
10.Pop Sensibilities
11.We Are the Champions

1997: If I remember one show when I'm old and eating through a tube, it'll be this one: Apocalypse Hoboken vs. Oblivion. Two bands, two stages. A battle to the death. 08/24/97, live at The Fireside Bowl. It was a beautiful thing if you were there. Elliot Dicks and John Emerson did the sound on side to side stages. Besides the obvious sparring and put-downs, you'll hear Scott Ozark pop into our songs every once in awhile (see "Bad Time). We ended the show with a grand two band performance of "We Are the Champions". Aadam Jacobs was thankfully on hand to record this small slice of Chicago punk rock history. In case you're wondering, we totally won this battle. Of course….


12.In the Corner
13.Pulling Worms Apart
14.Interview

1998: "House of the Rising Son Of a Bitch" came out in May, and we went on tour for the rest of the year. We did a sesson with Phil that yielded a bunch of the tracks on "Inverse", as well as a new acoustic version of "Pulling Worms Apart" which was supposed to be for the "Pale Incompetence" 7", but ran too long (?) "In the Corner" was recorded because someone was doing a Vindictives tribute CD, and asked us if we wanted to do a song. We didn't actually know any songs by them, so Todd picked this song, and we learned it. The chorus was a bit too close to "The Four Horsemen" by Metallica, so what did we do? Like most things we do in "tribute", this was about as backhanded as it gets. Still makes me laugh….


15.Microstars Save the Day
16.Little Fingers
17.Gummi
18.Lonely Socks

1999: Back from tour at the end of 1999, we took two months off so we didn't kill each other. When we got back together, we started working on some things we had written during breaks in the action. "Microstars" was partially written in a church basement. "Little Fingers" began life as "Darien Calling", and was actually the middle part of "Recipe for Oblivion" played with a different rhythm. "Gummi" was a big favorite, and actually didn't make the "Microstars" album because of time constraints. "Lonely Socks" is Sean and Todd's demo. Sean, Todd and myself met with Phil Bonnet to talk about recording our new songs. The next morning, Phil was found dead in his car. He had had an aneurisym. I saw Bill, Lyle, and Josh at the wake. It was amazing to think how Phil had been our cheerleader, and how he had touched us all so profoundly. Eventually, Dave Trumfio at Kingsize Studios got handed this mess in Spring of 1999, and he helped us create a satisfying album. Sean and Todd also prepared a demo of "Make Them Die Slowly" which we didn't actually hear as a band until we were already recording. We learned it while Dave took his dog Sandy for a walk, and recorded it when he got back.
Lineup: Todd Paglialong- vocals; Scott Hoffman- guitar; Sean Seeling- guitar; Kurdt Dinse- bass; John San Juan- keyboards; Andy Peterson- drums.


19.The Devil Has a Pussy

1999: Another song that didn't make "Microstars" because of time. Lance Reynolds recorded Todd's vocals onto the Kingsize track, and mixed this for the "Magnetic Curses" compilation on Thick Records. We liked Lance, so we worked with him on our next aborted project…


20.I Need You (Kinks)
21.I'm a Boy (Who)
22.Rebel Girl (Bikini Kill)
23.Sweet Transvestite (Rocky Horror Picture Show)

1999: In order to promote "Microstars", we needed to tour, but Sean had to go back to school. Erik Byrne replaced Sean, and we toured throughout the end of 1999. We didn't have enough time to write new songs, so we hit upon the idea of learning some cover songs. "Sweet Transvestite" was intended for a Rocky Horror compilation that never came out. These are all rough mixes, and Todd never finished the vocals properly. Though the performances are a bit rough, it's no worse than our live recordings. Lance recorded these in an afternoon, and I wish we had finished these.
Lineup: Todd Paglialong- vocals; Scott Hoffman- guitar; Erik Byrne- guitar; Kurdt Dinse- bass; Andy Peterson- drums.


24.Goddamn That's Love
25.Microstars Save the Day
26.When's Steve Coming Home

2000: The original "Microstars" lineup convened at Q101 studios for this performance. The sound is really weird: at times when there's gaps in the sound, the keyboards come leaping out. Even with the sound quirks, this was a really nice gig.
Lineup: Todd Paglialong- vocals; Scott Hoffman- guitar; Sean Seeling- guitar; Kurdt Dinse- bass; John San Juan- keyboards; Andy Peterson- drums.


27.Gummi
28.Tails

2000: The last two unfinished Kingsize tracks. Virgil from Suburban Home wanted a track for the "Plea for Peace" compilation, so Todd finished these songs at Kingsize. "Gummi" went to Virgil; "Tails" appears here for the first time.

Box Set | Disc 1 | Disc 2 | Disc 3 | Disc 4

Discography