Rob's Pages

Friday, January 16

Sneakers - Durham, N.C. 1976 + Sacred Irony

Duke University
Durham, N.C.
August 1976

audience recording (quality GD; sound improves considerably by track 2; there’s hiss, distortion and a lack of instrumental separation, but it's listenable and — hey — this is musical history, people!)   
Sneakers: Robert Keely, Will Rigby, Rob Slater, Chris Stamey
ROB SEZ: In this New Year, it's time to go back to the roots of this blog, with Sneakers (a group that Mitch Easter and Chris Stamey were involved in) and a separate group that Mitch was in a few years prior. Sacred Irony was Mitch's first "proper" band, which made many studio recordings but never released any singles or LPs. After Rittenhouse Square and Little Diesel, Sneakers was the next Winston-Salem band with Chris' involvement that made recordings, played public gigs, and (later on) recruited Mitch into the fold. Here is the only known live recording of the group prior to its break up and subsequent reunion shows in 2007 & '08. Much thanks to WR and RK for help with song titles not known to me. 

SAMPLE: "On the Brink" (Durham 1976)
OMNIVORE RECORDINGS just reissued Sneakers' debut EP
on vinyl (with digital download card), RSD Black Friday
FIND IT & BUY IT ... 'CUZ YOU NEED IT
01 S'il Vous Plait
02 Condition Red
03 No Money Downs
04 (Love's Like a) Cuban Crisis
05 Some Kinda Fool
06 Nonsequitur (of Silence)
07 Pedestrian Confession
08 20/20
09 On the Brink
10 Leftovers
11 Ruby
12 Kissy Boys
13 Let's All Apologize
14 Hip Secrets
15 Story of a Girl (semi-acoustic)
16 You Told Me
17 The Train Stops Here
18 mystery bonus track
 
Sneakers 
(presumed lineup for this show):
Mitch Easter
Robert Keely
Will Rigby
Rob Slater
Chris Stamey
 
MP3@256  

A big, sloppy THANK YOU to a special friend of the blog 
for supplying me this show

Sacred Irony
A Sacred Irony Compendium 
studio recordings  

sound quality: VG to VG+
SACRED IRONY: wistful in the graveyard (Mitch Easter, far right)

SAMPLE: "I See Love"

01 radio intro (for I Am Your Dr.)
02 I Am Your Doctor
03 Collaboration
04 I See Love
05 Gone, Gone, Gone
06 Secret Lover
07 Let's Go Steady
08 Where No One Cares
09 Teenage Lust (MC5 cover)
10 Good Times
11 Sure to Fall
12 Face Without a Name
13 All Up to You
14 Changes In Me

Sacred Irony:
Mitch Easter - guitar prodigy 
Ted Lyons 
Rick Reich 
Dale Smith 
Troy "Corky" McMillan   

MP3 (192-256 kbps)   
 
A most hearty THANK YOU to Fantom
for providing some of the music in this post, and for pointing me to this vintage drawing of Sacred Irony back from Peter's high school daze:

When he posted this at Sacred Irony's FB page, Peter wrote: "I did this with my trusty Rapidograph in 9th grade at Exeter (1970-71) sometime. Corporeally, I was in New Hampshire, but my heart was in Winston-Salem. Band represented in this picture is absolutely Sacred Irony."
READ MORE about these groups and many other N.C. bands  at Michael Slawter's most excellent blog site
 (earlier version of the blog HERE)    
     

10 comments:

  1. PAY DIRT JACKPOT!!

    Rittenhouse Square
    mini LP
    vinyl rip

    This is the recording our heroes are hoping everyone will forget about, which is why I’m hiding it here in the comments section. But it’s really not half bad, and the lyrics are HIGHLY HI-LARIOUS!!

    1. King Battle of the Bands
    2. Screamin’ and Yellin’
    3. The Hots
    4. Like Wow
    5. The Plant Song
    6. Gone Again

    BONUS NON-LP TRACK (thank you P.J. O’Connell & Bob Brainen):

    7. Train Stops Here

    recorded Crescent City Sound Studios, Greensboro, N.C.
    circa 1971

    Bobby Locke - drums
    Mitch Easter - guitar
    Peter Holsapple - guitar
    Chris Stamey - bass

    (pretty sure the guys took turns on lead vocals, perhaps with Bobby “screaming’ and yelling’” a bit more than the others…)

    I WOULD LOVE TO GET A BETTER, HIGHER BITRATE COPY OF THIS!!

    Enjoy,

    Rob

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/j3u8tojsjge3u72/Rittenhouse%20Square%20-%20RSq%20Mini%20LP%20%26%20bonus%20track%20MP3.zip?dl=0

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm astonished to find any of these. This is amazing! Much appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sacred Irony - Where No One Cares

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIZwkdPHmk0

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOVE those photos -- so groovy, so mod, so psychedelic!

      8-)

      Delete
  4. ...and this one -- which is a little scary, but perhaps noteworthy for that very reason (no Mitch, as far as I can see...):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbVcaEUaqzo

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi, is it possible for lossless (WAV/FLAC) files of this? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry, kingcrimson -- what I posted is the highest quality I have for this material.

      Delete

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