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)