For Immediate Release: Peter Stampfel has unearthed a forgotten gem and missing link of his mid-1980s NYC folkie rock n' roll output. A previously unreleased demo recording from he and his band THE BOTTLECAPS which dates back to 1984. This collection of songs features some of the most singular, interesting and tightest performances of Stampfel staples such as "Funny The First Time," "Lonely Junkie," and "Drink American" among several others which have yet to be heard or examined.
Stampfel himself has said he had forgotten that the recording even existed when it was discovered by Don Giovanni Records owner Joe Steinhardt in a personal collection of records, tapes and memorabilia that he had purchased from a longtime music critic.
Stampfel notes, "All these songs appeared on our first album, which won the New York Music Award for best Indy album of the year. Robert Palmer, in the New York Times, called it the 'First post-modern folk-rock album'. Some Brit twit ion a 'definitive' music review book published by Penguin called the Bottlecaps 'A dreadful aging hippie band'. He loved Indian War Whoop and The Moray Eels Eat The Holy Modal Rounders. Go figure."
Longtime fan, friend and sometimes collaborator Jeffrey Lewis had this to say on the revelation of this release, placing it in the context of the time it was created and among its contemporaries. Completists of Stampfel's work, will recognize this release for the Holy Grail that it is.
"The Grateful Dead were averaging an album of new songs every year, in the 13 years from their 1967 debut up till 1980… then suddenly, six years go by before their next album in 1987. That’s an unprecedented gap that would have been unthinkable previously, but it’s an example of a career gap that strikes the discographies of most 60s artists.
Bob Dylan’s average output was even higher than the Dead’s, with more than one Dylan album per year in the whole first ten years of his career, including his first six seismic albums released just within the four year period 1962-1965, but when the 80s hit, his average dipped by a massive percentage, releasing about one album every two years.
Peter Stampfel’s career shows this pattern as well, with the initial 60s-70s output essentially slowing to a full-stop by the 80s, with the 1978 Holy Modal Rounders album Last Round, then the 1980 Holy-Modal-in-all-but-name Stampfel & Weber album, aptly titled Going Nowhere Fast. Then nothing. The record buying public, or whatever oddball cult fringe of the record buying public were rabidly awaiting a new platter of Stampfel recordings, had to cross a long and barren desert of Reagan years before the emergence of the Peter Stampfel & The Bottlecaps album in 1986.
Which is part of why these 1984 Bottlecaps recordings are of such interest to me as a Rounders/Stampfel fan and completist… it’s a glimpse behind the dark curtain of that gap to see a bit of what was going on while the recording lights were off... What this brings to light is that behind the dark curtain of the dreaded 80s gap, Stampfel was brewing up a whole new explosive stew of creativity and joie de vivre, with the help of a highly charming and skilled and devoted new band. In a period that should have been relatively fallow, we hear instead some of the greatest songs and recordings of a now-fifty-five-year career! I think you'll enjoy the heck out of this stuff. Whether you're a fan of the first half of Stampfel's career or the second half, this tape is the missing link. And if you're a newcomer, this is as good a place as any to start."
Don Giovanni Records is releasing a discography of the complete works of Ronnie Vega aka Curan Cottman, in memorial of his passing away last week. Ron was a very important person in the Philadelphia DIY punk and hip hop scenes. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of his discography will be donated to the Oshun Family Center, who is currently providing free therapy for Black residents of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland in the wake of the impact of the current conditions of both the COVID-19 pandemic which disproportionately is affecting the Black community, as well as the continued killings of Black people at the hands of police.
The release of this discography falls on the same day as a memorial vigil is being held for Ronnie at LAVA Space in Philadelphia.
Ian Winter, Ronnie's friend and bandmate, has organized a Go Fund Me for the Cottman Family for Vega's final arrangements.
"Curan Cottman aka Ronnie Vega will be remembered as a light in the life of everyone that knew him, but his music talks vividly about the trauma of racism and capitalism that he experienced as a Black person in America. To honor our friend, his band would like to make his music available for purchase with all the proceeds going to a fund, organized by Saleemah McNeil, that helps Black people in the Philadelphia area connect with free therapy. - Ian Winter
Some information about the Oshun Family Center, and the important work they are doing which this collection will be benefiting:
Saleemah McNeil, psychotherapist and founder of Oshun Family Center in Jenkintown, is now offering free therapy to Black residents of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. Amid a pandemic that’s disproportionately impacting the Black community, the continued killings of Black people at the hands of police officers, and global anti-racism protests, Saleemah is using her platform to help the local Black community take care of their mental health right now. To support our efforts, please donate to paypal.me/oshunfamctr
Power-pop group Teenage Halloween have announced that they have signed to Don Giovanni Records for the release of their debut self-titled LP, and have released the lead single "Stationary", which premiered today via Paste Magazine.
Originally from Asbury Park, the group was founded by guitarist Luke Henderiks and has nurtured their DIY roots in the New Jersey punk scene. They have been booking basements to full-blown festivals for the last few years, touring the South, East, and Midwest and playing alongside bands such as Charly Bliss, Nana Grizol, AJJ, HIRS, Mom Jeans, Team Dresch, and others.
Predominantly a queer-identifying band, the songs reflect that experience holistically with lyrics that grapple with vulnerability, community, extreme existentialism, mental illness, and gender euphoria. Accompanied by the band’s explosive energy, each song functions as a politically charged anthem. The album maintains constant energy, and that energy also celebrates the bravery of being a queer band. Further, the songs speak in narratives, making sure people are held accountable for their actions and in the same vein, given the opportunity to communicate that self-reflection.
The self-titled debut album Teenage Halloweenwas recorded by Evan Bernard in Big Mama’s Recording Studio and will be released by Don Giovanni Records on September 18, 2020.
To celebrate the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, an event that would jumpstart Pride as the annual event we would come to know, queer-country songwriter Paisley Fields has released a video performing their single "Ramblin' Ranger" from the recent Don Giovanni Records released album Electric Park Ballroom. The premiere is hosted by Country Queer
Reflecting on Stonewall, Pride and its impact on their work, Paisley Fields stated "Stonewall is; Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera. Countless marginalized people. My first Pride March. Celebrations with friends. Grieving the losses and heartbreak we’ve gone through. Stonewall is a cornerstone of our community. It’s a place to gather, to grieve, to celebrate; a place of congregation. The night after the Pulse massacre in Orlando I stopped by Stonewall and paid my respects to those who were killed that night. My husband and I went back for the vigil the next day. Stonewall is a reminder that queer people exist outside of Pride Month. It’s a sacred place, a place I believe holds significant meaning to all queer people."
UPDATE: DUE TO COVID-19 THESE ALBUMS WILL NOT SHIP UNTIL JANUARY 2021
Don Giovanni Records will issue for the first time ever, a vinyl release of the 2013 long out of print cassette-only recording Chalk Tape by Screaming Females. Pitchfork called the EP “some of the hookiest, most melodic songs Screaming Females have ever recorded” in their original review of the EP.
Initially released in a limited run of just 100 cassette copies, Chalk Tape was available and sold at only one show (at which it sold out immediately) in 2013, which was the first show back for the band after a six-month hiatus from touring and performing. It has not been available in any physical format since then.
The EP’s genesis came after an extended period of touring inactivity while guitarist/vocalist Marissa Paternoster was recovering from a severe illness. The band worked on the seven songs that would make up Chalk Tape as a writing and collaboration exercise to keep creative energy fresh, following up 2012’s Steve Albini produced 2xLP Ugly.
Chalk Tape has existed outside the official canon of Screaming Females’ catalog since its release, though it is a unique document of a band concurrently writing, recording, and performing in real-time and capturing of their songs as they were being created.
This vinyl run of Chalk Tape is now available for a limited pre-order, and in the spirit of the EP’s initial limited release, will only be available to order until July 26.
