Ten years ago this month, we released the Subteens first LP, Burn Your Cardigan. If memory serves, we gave away more than we sold, but man, that seems like a lifetime ago. I was jobless and back in graduate school, didn't have kids, and had only been married three years. In fact, my wife and I had just bought our first house the year before, and I was about to turn 31. Sigh ...
As I recall, we originally got started recording with Christine from The Chubbies sometime in 1998. (I refuse to name the studio, because the owner fucked us on a handshake deal. Hey, live and learn ...) It seems like we sat on this stuff for awhile - probably because we were broke - and when we revisited it in 1999, it was clear it didn't measure up to our ... um ... exacting standards.
While listening back to the basic rhythm tracks, somebody jokingly wondered if we could get another band's drummer (John "Bubba" Bonds) to come re-record the songs right then. After everyone stopped laughing, we seriously began to pursue the possibility. Unbelievably, we tracked him down, and in the middle of a fucking monsoon, Bubba brought his drums over to the studio. After accommodations were made to ensure his comfort (Kram and I made a quick trip to Buster's for a fifth of Jack Daniels), we got down to business. Much of what you hear on Burn Your Cardigan is first or second take, which means that those recordings represent the second or third time he had EVER PLAYED THOSE SONGS. I'm still amazed.
The fact that you can still find Burn Your Cardigan for sale for more than 45 cents is extremely flattering. It was genuinely a team effort, and despite all of its flaws, I'm still proud of it today. I just wanted to take a minute to commemorate one of my old band's few accomplishments in some small way.
5 comments:
'Time to Panic' is still one of my favorite songs ever. I can't believe it was that long ago. Is that why my Subteens t-shirt is in such bad shape?
Here's what some pretentious smarty-pants wrote about on Amazon back in 2000:
Burn Your Cardigan blazes through nine skin-tight tracks with an intensity you rarely get in the MTV soundtracks filling the pages of your cd club's monthly catalogue. But this is more than your typical punk band's screaming and gutiar torturing. These are outstanding musicians who pack kinetic, slam-dance energy into well-written tunes with great harmonies, intricate guitar work and, at times, disarmingly good lyrics. You will not find the angry anarchist lyrics here; the Subteens sing about real life: beer, relationships, good times, bad times, ultimately just getting by and finding ways to enjoy it. A pop sensability is evident throughout the cd and blends well with their punk speed. Burn Your Cardigan would be a refreshing addition to any punk or alternative rock fan's cd collection.
3 out of 3 people found it helpful, by the way.
Still love this album and listen to it fairly often. I've been known to bust out 'Amy Anymore' on the acoustic geetar.
I think I was one of the three.
I've still got a couple of those shirts somewhere ...
I didn't know that, Dave! I'd like to hear your version one of these years.
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