Lake Pontchatrain's Very Own Batch of Gimps Quartet

Here is the download: Batch of Gimps Tape

Keeping in the direction of the Spiney Norman discography posted a little while back, here is the tape by Batch of Gimps, which included the two Gregs (Drums and Vokills) for Spiney Norman as well as Brian Kincheloe from The Skats and Chuck Petrakopoulos from Jenkin's Ear. This was also Moodswing Records' first release, which became a great label for releasing local (and some not so local) bands during the nineties straight through to today. The Lay Down Mains record was just recently put out by Moodswing, so Chuck has kept the label going through all kinds of transformations and permutations. In fact, it might be the longest running local label out there today.

This is only a 5-song demo, which is pretty minimal compared to the prolific Spiney Norman, but it is interesting to compare how their sound changed with the switching of the stringed instruments in the lineup. It is clear that Chuck and Brian were more aggressive and not as melodic in their songwriting compared to Spam and John, but Greg Stubs sings right through it and finds a nice spot for his vocals in the mix. I never got to see them personally, as I was playing in 3 bands and going to college full-time during this period, so if Car vs. Driver, Midget Farmers, or the Go-Steadys didn't play with them, I most likely didn't get to see them. I enjoy hearing this now, however, as I have known all these guys to some extent, and their music is such a personal expression of who they are, it is great to see this particular combination as they create their music.

More on this scene/tangent soon.