S/D: Thin White Rope?

That almost sounds like a thing someone would do

Late realization, but watching live videos it's so obvious that Guy Kyser started life as a banjo player. His thumb pick and hand posture are typical Scruggs style.

http://blurtonline.com/feature/story-behind-album-ruby-sea-thin-white-rope/

The Ruby Sea remaster is still coming up + Lisa/Frontier might do an odds and ends compilation and a remaster of The One That Got Away

Thanks for this!

LF: I’ll have to wait and see how the reissues go as I need funds to do more, but I certainly hope so– now or anywhere in the future. Guy knows that I’d have a stroke if he ever wrote a new TWR song and/or if he formed a new band of any kind. (He briefly had a bluegrass band with Roger and I drove up to SF alone the instant that I heard they were playing!) My most fervent dream in life is that Guy will return to music, but mostly I want him to be happy in life whether it includes writing or playing music. It’s just that I’d like for Guy and Roger to finally get their due, something Guy could care less about, I’m sure!

This part from lisa fancher made me cry!

It remains a life ambition of mine to shake guy’s hand. <3

I did NOT know he played with a thumb pick! All throughout twr or just later on when the c&w vibe got stronger?

I would really like fancher to write something long about twr again- her liner notes for the When Worlds Collide comp were so great.

Awesome detail that the lyrics for RS came from a solo wilderness wander to get his head straight

Also the clown song is just such a brilliant piece of writing

Watch live TWR videos and you'll see he plays the guitar with thumb pick. Hand posed like a bluegrass banjo player. Guitar tuned to open G, I'd bet

I remember the Melody Maker review pictured in that article. They were huge TWR fans

I also remember an earlier feature by Everett True, where he ends up joining the chorus at the end of The Fish Song. FISH!!!!

FISH!!!

I think he is credited on the LP

I think the only in depth twr article I remember from the original time was the mondo 2000 interview (which was a really good one). There were always reviews of course. It was a particularity savory review of Moonhead in OPtion magazine that started me.

Mondo 2000 interview: the one that was posted in this very thread on Wednesday, 10 July 2013 ?

I know that Bucketful of Brains have a cover photo of them in Russia. Not sure what the story accompanying it says.

Yeah that’s the mondo interview upthread. Unforgettable

bucketfull of brains cover photo & one page from the interview:

https://www.amazon.com/Bucketfull-Magazine-Sneetches-Holsapple-Plasticland/dp/B00950M1EE

scanned page: https://img.cdandlp.com/2018/01/imgL/119033806.jpg

Interesting how that BoB writer is well aware of the significance of A Can of Bees era Soft Boys and especially “The Pigworker” (especially live!) in this lineage of crushingly glorious twin guitar rock

Russia cover photo apparently ties in with the cover mounted single. I can't find a story on the band in the issue.
Just found it beside my bedm saw back cover advert for Dave Graney's my life in th plains and thought it might be that issue.
Says there are stories in numbers 11; 13 and 25. Russia cover is 33.

https://frontierrecords-thinwhiterope.bandcamp.com/album/the-ruby-sea-2019-remastered-edition

(out next week)

it's out!

Does anyone know if this was remastered in 2019? I've a sneaking feeling it's a reissue of a 2002 remaster

I mean this:

https://www.discogs.com/Thin-White-Rope-The-Ruby-Sea/release/5165366

Was that one remastered though? Discogs usually mentions that where it says "reissue"

The 2019 credit sheet contains "Remastering: Paul du Gré" just like all the other 2018/2019 versions but I don't know for sure about 2002.

I'm thinking this because they seem to be selling that CD as well, as a 2018 product.

I have the 2002 "Exploring..." and it had that same "Remastered etc" sticker on the front

(I'm considering getting the CDs)

Update. I bought Moonhead. Amazon lists it as released in 2018. It looks like the CD on the Bandcamp page:

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/0012871653_10.jpg

And the barcode tells me its this:

https://www.discogs.com/Thin-White-Rope-Moonhead/release/12507123

Which is reassuring but also confusing as my Exploring the Axis had exactly the same sticker on the front but is apparently a 2002 reissue.

Exploring the Axis is a seriously fucking amazing record

Thin White Rope
1984-05-26
Samurai Sound Labs CA
The Rational demos

(9th in series)

info source:
Lineage: SBD tape (unknown gen) > Apple G4 > AIFF > FLAC

The cassette states that these were recorded at Samurai Sound Labs CA on 1984-05-26.

Anyway this set is ripped from a tape of demos given to Frontier Records and the copy I have is a low generation copy although there is some tape hiss it's still an excellent set.

Total 1:01:10

1. The real west
2. Waking up
3. Moonhead
4. From home
5. Down in the desert
6. Munich Eunich *
7. Here she comes now ** Removed
8. And those fears
9. Not your fault
10. Disney girl
11. Three song
12. Atomic imagery
13. Dead granmas on a train
14. Eleven
15. Mother
16. Exploring the axis
17. Lithium

I wonder if these are the demos produced by Scott Miller that he mentioned in Music: What Happened?

(upon further research I'm thinking: duh, yeah, prolley is...)

The text file with that download contained this, that seems to suggest it prolley ain't:

"There's an article by Joe Becker from the band on their origin in which he makes reference to a several of the demos that the band recorded at this time. I don't *think* that these are the demos produced by Scott Miller (later of Game Theory and the Loud Family) because they date from 1983. Maybe they're the demos produced by Russ Tolman (from True West). Who knows?! They're great anyway.
The cassette had obviously been copied a couple of times before it got to me and there a couple of minor wows and flutters on the tape but, if you're a fan of the Rope, that won't deter you none.

The article can be read at https://web.archive.org/web/20120301130712/http://www.davis80smusic.com/davis80smusic%20thin%20white%20rope%20joe%20becker.htm "

Oh they were called the "Rational demos" and Game Theory self-released their early stuff on "Rational Records"

ok, +1 point for the Scott Miller theory then after all :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6_eVB_c81w

Awesome! Thanks for sharing!

I Think I was at that show.
Definitely saw tehm at the venue and assume it would have been that year.

would've been amazing to see them at the boardwalk, great venue! saw both the young gods and fugazi there in 89-ish, perfect sweat-infested box of sound

Thanks for the heads up!

https://frontierrecords-thinwhiterope.bandcamp.com/album/moonhead-the-ruby-sea-live-in-gent

two songs live at their final show but not included on The One That Got Away. NOTE: Live versions on vinyl only, downloads are studio versions.

(I thought it was a remastered TOTGA but alas)

oh c'mon that's dumb! Why can't I pay money to download the live versions? I'd love to complete that show! Grrr.

IKR :-(

Here's a conversation with Roger Kunkel from last year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vuuq13Ytl8

um, this year. anyway

Thank you! Just finished it. Any crumbs of insight or ephemera regarding TWR are like gold dust to me. And I never would have noticed this on my own.

Any more important live recordings come to light in the last year or two?

I'm not in dime myself & aren't aware of anything. Anyone?

In the interview above Roger mentions a 4 track recording of the 1988 Olive Pit show (where Guy only wears boots) that someone has and was willing to mix/master, though, I hope they release it.

The "The one that got away" remaster that was hinted at one time probably isn't happening, I suppose?

Idk but it’s been awhile since the studio album ones so seems doubtful.

I was a bit surprised when the hosts were talking about guy’s body of work and didn’t mention the Mummydogs album

Roger wasn't in that band though.

XXP - Just had a scan on D1m3 and everything has fallen off the tracker, but I think we got all the good stuff.

I know, there was just a “and then he withdrew except to play some bluegrass sometimes” thing

Mummydogs wasn’t nearly on TWR’s level of course so it’s not a huge lacuna

Xpost thanks mares!

yeah, thanks for checking, Maresn3st!