ESCHE Newsletter #5.1 Fig.vi December 2008/January 2009

ESCHE Newsletter #5.1 Fig.vi December 2008/January 2009

Greetings and salutations loyal listeners!

Has it really been 5 full years (6th birthday is right around Groundhog's Day 2009) since I started this moneypit? I cannot believe it. I have been lucky to be surrounded by so many awesome and talented people who only tolerate my presence because I somehow manage to get their music pressed onto aluminum discs (sometimes). But I kid myself (sort of). Anyways, 2008 was a big cocooning year for ESCHE (as opposed to 2007, which saw me release one CD-R in a limited edition of 50 handmade jobbies but little else), and we here at ESCHE HQ (I assure you I don't have a multiple personality disorder, sometimes people help me help themselves) are looking forward to a big 2009!

First off, Trashed On Fiction (who were responsible for 2008's only ESCHE release - the four song promo EP for Words, Trails & Maps, which is pretty much out of print and now a collector's item as the full-length will have different mixes of the included songs) has finally completed their long-awaited debut full-length record Words, Trails & Maps (which would make an excellent 45 RPM double LP if anyone wants to press it as such). The record will be mastered shortly after Christmastime and hopefully available before Spring has sprung. Stay tuned for updates (my first New Year's Resolution of 2009 will be to regularly update the ESCHE blog and the ESCHE Myspace page - i assure you, this will really happen).

Also, I've been talking to The Mess Around (featuring ex-Repercussions guitarist Dave Harrison) about co-releasing a 4 song 7" EP they are recording with Matt Verta-Ray from Heavy Trash and Speedball Baby. They continue to play drunken, sloppy shows all over Brooklyn with so much energy, it's like a drunk tornado. Fans of the Repercussions will no doubt be impressed.

Speaking of The Repercussions, former bassist Sean Corkery (also from ESCHE artists Space Robot Scientists) put together a band called This'll Kill Ya, who added former Repercussions vocalist Matthew Scott last April. The band keeps evolving (as well as expanding - they started out as a six-piece when I saw their first show with their original singer, and now boast a nine-member roster), and represent a more subtle take on the Repercussions' legacy. Hopefully, they will continue to play shows all over NYC and Long Island this year and head into the studio to record some of their barn-burnin' tunes.

Matthew Scott's other band, the The Lord Humongous are still kicking, albeit more below the surface, with a show during a blizzard in November being their one gig this winter. Rumor has it they are going into the studio soon with Phil Douglas (Latterman, Small Arms Dealer) to record a plethora of tunes for future consumption.

So with that little update on the ESCHE family, I wish you all a healthy and happy New Year!

Yours Truly,
Jon "J-Ro" Roren
Chief Cook & Bottlewasher, ESCHE Enterprises