Jorge Arana Trio & Ambulants Split 7" Bridal Horse Records 2013

Jorge Arana Trio & Ambulants Split 7" Bridal Horse Records 2013 NO CAT #

Picked this up as it had Paul Malinowski's name on it, he did the mastering. Figured it'd may have that 90's Kansas City post-hardcore sound with his name being on it. In addition to Malinowski's name on the sleeve, the packaging is well done, almost too well done. Really thick cardboard 7" sleeve, that may keep things too tight as the record was pretty scuffed coming out, but it plays and everything looks great.

Jorge Arana Trio, for this release isn't really a trio as it's credited on the back to another player or two. Their one featured song, "Dagger", is a dark, moody, instrumental post-rock experiment with a violin playing way too much of a role. The intro makes it sound a lot like an obscure emo band called Sweep the Leg, Johnny, but the aggression tones down quickly and the band flirts around with jazz structures.

Ambulants provide the b-side with two songs, "Washed Ashore" and "Dweller". These tracks definitely borrow from 90's KC bands like Boy's Life and Shiner. Very choppy start and stop dynamics, but slow moving. To the point you think the mastering was off if wasn't for the vocalist's falsetto coming out on top so clear.

Overall, solid 7" and well worth the $5 it'll put someone back.

https://ambulants.bandcamp.com/

Breakups/Sex Offenders Split 7" Wound Up Records 1995

Breakups/Sex Offenders Split 7" Wound Up Records 1995 No Cat#

This is some mid-90's teen punk from the Kansas City area put out by Wound Up Records. The bands, The Sex Offenders and the Breakups, by appearance appear virtually identical, they took a photo in the same place, they kind of look the same, and they recorded at the same place (Red House Studios).

They do manage to separate themselves from each other with their respective sound. For one, the Sex Offenders feature a female singer that can swear with the best of them. The first track on their side, "40oz", manages to drop the F-bomb over a dozen times in what must be less than a minute long track. The Sex Offenders also take a more hardcore approach to their punk rock than the Breakups. They fall somewhere between the 80's suburban punk scene and DC, they'd probably like to be more DC, but they weren't good enough players.

The Breakups take a much more traditional punk approach, almost falling back on a really early Social Distortion sound. They're certainly punk damaged, but the underlying sound is still basic rock n' roll, just speed up and simplified. They aren't trying to break down the walls like the Sex Offenders.

NH band on Wound Up, the Tunnel Rats

But, the key to both bands is that they represent an honest attempt at punk rock. There were two teenage scenes in KC; the snotty suburban kids that took their cues from popular acts like Green Day and the short lived ska-revival and on the opposite side, the suburban kids that desperately wanted to be gutter punks that found Bad Religion and went backwards in time to get to the good stuff. They waved the DIY flag and had their parents never bought them a Honda, they would've liked Crass more. These kids represented that better side. In fact, the Sex Offenders were so punk rock, they went out of their way to give some, "No Thanx To" on their side of the lyric sheet by calling out the lamest teen punk bands in the 90s KC scene, the Gadgets.

The label, Wound Up Records, attempted to make a go at it in the mid-90's releasing multiple 7"s and a
cassette comp. They even attempted to get a roster with out-of-towners (featured to the side, but not discussed, because they're not local...).

The Sex Offenders 

Cowboy Indian Bear/It's True Foolish B/W The Bridge The Record Machine 2010

Cowboy Indian Bear/It's True Foolish B/W The Bridge The Record Machine 2010 CAT# TRM 019

I used to have all these really great split 7"s back in the day. Loved them. It was such an economical way to get something from a band you liked and possibly get into a band you've never heard. Or, you'd get a couple songs from two of your favorite bands on the same 7". They were special, many times it'd be the only way to grab a certain song, or you'd get a preview of an album track prior the full length release (and it would often be an alternate version).

It's not the same anymore for the split 7" EP. With the vinyl resurgence, they still try to push these out in front of everyone, but too often a 7" isn't cheap. $7 to $10 for two songs you can download on Bandcamp for a $1 doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It made sense when you got something special for less than $5, but anymore, 7"s cost too much. Which is a shame, because more people would probably end up with good ones like this if they weren't such a cost prohibitive format.

Either way, this is a great 7" put out by the Record Machine, The Cowboy Indian Bear track, "Foolish" doesn't feature female vocals like many of their songs, but makes up for it with an opening that could be confused for something by the Sea & Cake. It's True is a band from Omaha, NE, their track fits right in with the whimsical Record Machine sound, but unfortunatly, it doesn't appear the band is active any longer and didn't put out much in the way of releases.

The Trelese/Namelessnumberheadman Split 7" Rumblefish/Urinine/Pabst Brewing Co. 2003

The Trelese/Namelessnumberheadman Split 7" Rumblefish/Urinine/Pabst Brewing Co. 2003 NO CAT#

So, this is a really amazing piece of KC indie rock history that was created a few years after I parted ways with a very active local music scene to focus on the very indie-rock college music scene. But, before I go into what this is, I'd like to discuss how I came upon it as it explains part of the sickness I have for records.

I was visiting my brand new niece a few days after she was born at my sister's house. Babies are great, but my sister and bother-in-law have records (the coolest of which I gave them). After the whole, "Did you see the baby?" bit, I gravitated towards the records and was quickly told many of them weren't really theirs. A friend, who apparently moved, was storing them at my sister's house and they weren't really sure if he was ever coming back for them.

Now, I'm not the kind of jerk who was just going to start looking through some other dude's records thinking I can take them. But, I was going to look at them, very closely and intently, with a purpose of picking out what my sister needed to play/keep for herself. I started sorting through the records with laser focus, the kind not even a newborn could distract. On top of a small pile of 7"s, I saw this PBR cover. Looking closer, it's a hand-made outer-sleeve from a 12 pack. I've never seen it before let alone in my sister's small 7" collection (most of which, I gave her)...so what the hell was this? I flip to the back and see in large font, 'Pabst Blue Ribbon Kansas City.' Whoa. Look further and see the band Trelese and that the songs are written by no other than my old pal Jared Scholz of Reflector. The other band, Namelessnumberheadman is a KC transplant from Oklahoma. Finally, I see that Sid of Too Much Rock was a part of the release under his past label, Urinine Records. I'm literally starting to sweat, what the hell is this and why is it here?

My new niece, because baby's are way cuter than records

Seeing all this, I pulled out all stops, I was taking this record home. First, in my mind I started justifying it. My sister and brother-in-law don't even know what or who this is, they don't need it. And the dude who dropped his records off, he isn't coming back, right? He won't even notice this is gone if he does. Then I started vocalizing things to my brother-in-law, explaining that I needed the record because I used to know Jared Scholz and things like this are important to me. I wouldn't ask to take to it home if it wasn't. Eventually, they just said, "Yeah, whatever, take it, we know where it is."

So, I kind of feel good at that point. The record will be safe with me, where it belongs. I'll document it, I'll cherish it, and I'll archive it. I'm the right person for this record. Then when leaving with my wife, things went South... She's was all, "What is wrong with you?!" "Why did you take that record?!" "It isn't yours?!" Of course, my wife doesn't realize that if I didn't take this home, I may never see another copy. And, every single time I visted my sister in the future, seeing this record would slowly kill me. It would progressively get worse and worse every time I had to look at it until one day I just stole it. Running to my car with a 7" record shoved down my pants feeling guilty and setting a buffer in which I'd visit my sister again. My wife doesn't get that part, but, she was probably right. Total dickmove on my part. And no matter how cool this record is, it's not as cool and great as my new niece.

As for the actual record, I'm mad at my myself for being so unaware in 2003. To justify my theft of the record to my brother-in-law I actually said I wasn't cool in 2003 as if saying so would make him realize that if I was cool in 2003, I'd own this, so somehow, by that logic, he shouldn't feel bad about letting me have it. However, I was actually 'too cool' in 2003 for records like this. At that time I was busy being a mover and shaker at KJHK, probably deeply into ambient Eno music or minimalist 80's synth, not local KC obscurities.

I never was around the scene in 2003 to know Jared tried something new after Reflector broke up. Per the 7", there was a planned full length entitled "Working Toward 2203," which reviewing the interwebs, apparently never saw an actual release. The Trelese, at least based on these two songs, were a toned down Reflector. Less start-stop dynamics and angular paths and more melody in it's place. It's promising and makes me want to go seek out Jared at the Church he preaches at to ask if the rest of the album exists.

Namelessnumberheadman was active up until 2011, maybe they still are, but not to the same extent. The members were native Okie's who moved to KC. They took keyboards and other bits of electronica and combined them with acoustic guitars to generate a significant buzz during their existence. The songs are representative of the band, albeit a very early version. They became well reviewed by Pitchfork and were featured on NPR Music. It sounds very Death Cab for Cutie-esque, but the band was smarter than that, very intelligent with unexpected electronic sounds and acoustic guitars.

Namelessnumberheadman on NPR

Boy's Life/Giants Chair Worn Thin B/W Ever Present Split EP HitIt! Recordings 1995

Boy's Life/Giants Chair Worn Thin B/W Ever Present Split EP HitIt! Recordings 1995 CAT#HIT-09

This 7" is so Kansas City...well, except Giants Chair had Wisconsin roots before attending KCAI and HitIt! Recordings was based out of Chicago...but, other than that, you can't get more Kansas City than this.

The bands were both torch carriers for the early, post-hardcore emo sound coming out of Kansas City in the 1990s. Boy's Life took their out of tune guitars and Dischord-esque style a bit more national because ultimately, they were on a better label than Giants Chair. The song "Worn Thin," is a perfect example of the band, strained vocals over the top of so much guitar.

Giants Chair stayed a bit more hidden than Boy's Life nationally, but their sound was equally as influential. The track "Ever Present," displays the band's attacking style. Everything up front, all at once before they take a step back and dismantle the song before bringing it all back together again. It's high energy and stands well on it's own in the context of this single.

Equally as Kansas City about this 7" is the sleeves were done at Hammer Press. The simple, elegant design make it worth every bit of $3 you probably had to pay when it was first released and the $20 you'd have to pay today.

Split 7"

Soft Reeds W/ Minden Split 7” Magic B/W Get Clean The Record Machine 2011

Soft Reeds W/ Minden Split 7” Magic B/W Get Clean The Record Machine 2011 CAT# TRM 038

I can’t get into the Soft Reeds…the song, “Magic,” is no different. It’s catchy and all, it’s just got too much flashy tricks, it sounds way too Republic Tigers, which to me, isn’t that Kansas City. But yeah, I'd spin it at a bar or something.

Minden is on the flip side and also a Kansas City band. They do, at least on this 7”, take a more lo-fi approach than the Soft Reeds, but it’s in the same vein of the atmospheric indie-rock.

Either way, it’s a nice 7” by the Record Machine, apparently limited and like anything limited, on colored vinyl.

Shiner Molly McGuire Split Crush B/W Exhaust HitIt! 1994

Shiner Molly McGuire Split Crush B/W Exhaust HitIt! 1994 CAT# HIT-03

Pretty great local 7", featuring two of the finest from KC's post-hardcore scene, Shiner and Molly McGuire. It was pressed on virgin vinyl and serves as an early example of both groups.

Shiner's "Crush" is slow-moving, but has tons of crunchy guitar. It's a bit repetitive in the beginning considering their later work, but it's still got plenty of math-rock charm and takes you all over the place soon enough. Molly McGuire's "Exhaust" opens incredibly with guitars coming in from everywhere. It was early in the band's output and is lot more straightforward than later work, it doesn't try so hard. Just solid in-your-face guitar rock, a bit alterno, but it's cool.

The release was also early-on for the short-lived Chicago HitIt! Records. The sleeve has a great DIY aesthetic as it's just a silk screened onto a cardboard fold-over.

Hospital Ships/Heartscape Landbreak Split A Mary of Quito b/w Seed Song Graveface 2012

Hospital Ships/Heartscape Landbreak Split A Mary of Quito b/w Seed Song Graveface 2012 Grave076 Charity Series #4

This is the 4th release in the Graveface charity series.  The label releases 7"s in which the proceeds go to fund various charities, which is kind of cool.  Just as cool is that Graveface featured two Lawrence, KS bands on this one.

It's a good pairing, low-key, bedroom indie-pop.  I keep grabbing bits of the Hospital Ships and wishing I'd throw down on the full length albums.  "A Mary of Quito" is a delicate pop gem, it floats around effortlessly in dreamy soundscapes and Jordan Greiger's cracking vocals.  "Seed Song" by Heartscape Landbreak has a bit more teeth, but same lo-key feel.  Acoustic guitar intro, vocals that feel they could break in half, all very pleasant especially when harmonies are added.  They end their tune with a sweeping ending, y'know, just to keep you on your toes.

Boys Life/Christie Front Drive Split 10" Crank! 1995

Boys Life/Christie Front Drive Split 10" Crank! 1995 CAT# CRC005

Another KC Crank! release, this one featuring emo sweethearts, Christie Front Drive, who are from Denver...and great, but makes little or no sense to discuss their tunes here.

The B-Side to this EP features early works by Kansas City's Boys Life.  Both Christie Front Drive and Boys Life went to Omaha for the tracks to be recorded and were produced by AJ and Mike Moogis.  Midwestern emo scene in it's early days as the Moogis brothers would go onto to do things with their hometown label, Saddle Creek, namely, Cursive and Bright Eyes.  Boys Life would set influence, Christie Front Drive's work would go onto to help define the scene (see the song "Valentine" on this EP).

This early stuff by Boys Life is a bit more melodic than the stuff they'd later do on their full length.  Still chaotic, just not as outright DC as the debut became.  "Sight Unseen" is incredible.  The song "Homecoming" shows the band noodling around with out of tune guitars and time shifts, it's not perfected here like it would be later and it loses the listener in the end.  "Two Wheeled Train" is a bit slow and spends too much time figuring out what it should do.  The band's ideas are here, they just needed Mark Trombino to focus them on their best attributes which he was able to do on the debut LP.

Another KC tidbit, the sleeve is screen printed and designed as a fold able jacket.  It was done by Hammer Press in Kansas City, which was a former college roommate of the guys from Giants Chair.

Sight Unseen

The Get Up Kids/Rocket From the Crypt Split 7" Heroes & Villains/Vagrant 2000

The Get Up Kids/Rocket From the Crypt Split 7" Heroes & Villains/Vagrant 2000 Cat # VR351, HV 009

This band cracked Billboard charts as an independent recording artist from Kansas City.  They toured with big timers like Weezer and Green Day.  But, what I find the coolest, they did a release with Rocket From the Crypt.  To me, Rocket From the Crypt represents the last great Rock N' Roll band.  The last band that you could play loud and piss off your parents with.  They used nicknames, had a horn section, didn't hide behind punk agendas and alternative fashions, they just played fast and loud.  But, they're not from Kansas City, so it's probably best to stop there.

The song featured here, "Up on the Roof", was recorded on the road in Hollywood, CA.  The band utilized their sound guy and local legend, Alex Brahl, to produce the track.  It's a decent track, considering that they were splitting the time with Rocket From the Crypt, you would have thought they would opt for something a bit more up tempo.  But, in 2000, it represents the first steps the Get Up Kids took in trying to get away from themselves and the Emo Pop genre they unintentionally spawned with the release of 'Something to Write Home About'.  Albeit the song is bit sappy, it does feature a more organic sound that would find it's way onto the 'On A Wire' album.  Dewees' keyboards are set on piano rather than synth, they dump all the pick slides and woo-hooing for a subtle groove centered around the Pope brothers.  The lyrics also feel heavier and more adult than previous work.  Decent track, but still, they were following Rocket From the Crypt, the pick slides and woo-hooing probably would have been fine.

Up on the Roof

Rooftop Vigilantes & Mannequin Men Split 7" Replay Records 2012

Rooftop Vigilantes & Mannequin Men Split 7" Replay Records 2012 CAT# RR004

Man, the Replay Lounge in Lawrence, KS puts out records now.  That's freaking rad.  My favorite year in college was spent living at 1001 Rhode Island, a block down the street from the Replay.  Walking to a place to get drunk is the best way to get drunk.  And, I was still cool.  I remember when I was 24 and done with school; all the sudden I found myself saying, "When did all these fucking kids turn 21," at the Replay.  It's a hip place.  So hip, that the KU Greek community thinks it's a gay bar.  That's insanely stylish.  Now, they put out records to boot, again, that's freaking rad.

Before I go into this 7" though, just a few more notes on the Replay. I sneaked into see the last Regrets show (under age).  And, I saw Elliott Smith perform there with like 5 other people in attendance.  I love that place.

This 7" came to me by chance, but it's still readily available at the Love Garden and I assume the Replay.  I wouldn't know about the Replay, I'm too old and square.  The 7" features Lawrence band, Rooftop Vigilantes, along with Chicago punks, Mannequin Men.  The Mannequin Men I know, they're kind of a Chicago garage-punk fixture now-a-days.  Not local, but shows the Replay means business with their record label.  They probably couldn't have paired them with a better band.  I don't know anything about the Rooftop Vigilantes other than these songs are great.

The tunes 'Automatic Trash' and 'Trouble Making Words' are relentless.  The band is literally everything I've wanted pop punk band to sound like.  I've never wanted to hear suburbanite kids play crisp, clean chords and sing with a fake British accent about boogers and farts.  Pop punk should sound like this.  Literally, punks attempting pop tunes while screaming and leaving all the mistakes in.  The garage sounds you get from these tracks--the winding organs, the broken scream along harmonies, the loud guitars--it's perfect.  Highly recommended garage rock.

Bandcamp Site
Live at the Replay
Replay Record

Proudentall The Anniversary Split 7" Paper Brigade 1998

Proudentall/The Anniversary Split 7" Say Something B/W All Right For Now Paper Brigade 1998 NO Catalog #

First thing I want to mention, Matt Rubin released this record before he could drive.  He has recently released records and such, but currently works on online projects out in New York and Paper Brigade is no longer a fully functioning label.  I can't remember if he put this out or the 5 Song Reflector CD first, but the point I'm trying to make is that he was living with his parents when he started a record label.  Just a bit more on Matt Rubin, he's a cool guy and we used to hang with the .emo kids in Lawrence, KS.  He put this record out, Reflector, and the Casket Lottery locally.  The most tragic thing, he wasn't old enough to drive to shows, further, he wasn't old enough to get into shows to see these bands perform.  He obtained the money to create his label by hopping on the dot.com boom when he was like 12 or 13 years old.  He designed and ran a Neo-Ska website that became the biggest of its kind.  He then sold the website for a large amount of money as a teenager because he discovered he liked punk rock and wanted to start a label instead of continuing on a website.  Cool, right?

Now, this 7".  Let's not kid ourselves, this is Lawrence rock via Blue Valley/Shawnee Mission.  Both these bands have ties to burbs of Kansas City.  However, you can't tell from the tunes.  Proudentall was a great band.  I'm about 99% positive this is the only release they ever did on vinyl.  Matt Dunahoo, who I believe was the undisputed leader of this band, was a KJHK Music Director and an all around active Lawrence musician.  For whatever reason though, this band never caught on locally (never mind nationally) the way they should have.  I would have to credit the lack of success to Lawernce Hipsters and bad luck.  Matt is a passionate dude and wears things on his sleeves.  I think that rubbed people the wrong way.  This song for example, owes heavily to Slint.  Matt, who can sing well, speak-sings over the entire thing.  That trick is employed by bands like Slint, Seam, Codeine because the singers weren't singers at all.  I think that aspect of band came off as disingenuous.  Fact is, Proudentall was just paying respect and utilizing great influences.  Proudentall also suffered from horrible luck.  Their 2001 CD only release, 'What's Happening Here' was put out by Caulfield who prior to 2001 was a leader in the Emo Scene.  The label had released KC's Giants Chair, and the extremely popular Denver band, Christie Front Drive.  However, by 2001, Caulfield had lost Christie Front Drive to a break up and was struggling to keep it's niche among Polyvinyl, Jade Tree and a kajillion smaller labels.  'What's Happening Here' was well reviewed, those that got their hands on a copy loved it, and the band attempted to support it on tour.  However, Caulfield didn't get the album out there to college radio or offer much in the way of promotion.  Proudentall called it quits shortly after.

The Anniversary side is a good bridge between high school and college rock.  Prior to this release the members of the Anniversary tooled around in Blue Valley high school bands, playing places like Gee Coffee in Olathe.  Most notably, The Nuclear Family, who featured Justin Roelofs, got local radio play with a track called, and I'm not kidding, "Gerdy, Gerdy, Wow, Wow."  They even toured in their later days with Goldfinger who was a moderately successful alt rock band.  Later, Roelofs would start the Broadcast with Adrianne Verhoven & Josh Berwanger.  They would add members and change the name to the Anniversary because the never realized there was a very popular indie band from England called the Broadcast (yeah, you see what I'm saying here, this band wasn't hip at all yet).  The song 'All Right For Now' on this 7" represents the transition from young local rockers to ultra-chic local hipsters.  It's very much an obvious nod to the Rentals, but hey, we're not ripping off Weezer or Green Day.  It was getting there and discovering themselves as a band.  Of course, they would later completely reinvent themselves as a band before calling it quits.

Proudentall's Swan Song
More Proudentall
Anniversary All Right For Now

The Vexed Suburban Scum Nuke the Midwest Split 7" Anarchy's For Squares 2004

The Vexed Suburban Scum Nuke the Midwest Split 7" 33RPM Anarchy's for Squares 2004 No CAT#

Well, I picked this up a while back for a quarter because it looked new-ish and the stuff it was next to was easy to sell on eBay.  While researching prior to selling, I found out the VeXed is from KC.  So, figured I'd hold onto it.

Upon listening it, first thought was, "They still make music like this?"  Second thought was, "They make music like this in KC?"  It's what I would term hardcore, in the vein of Minor Threat.  It's a little more abrasive and metallic than 80's hardcore.  I'm also going out on a limb and assuming the X in the band's name is larger to accentuate the straight edge lifestyle.

I'm not sure I'm at an age that can get into new bands that sound like this.  As a fourteen year old, I'd would have thought this was hot shit.  But, I'm too old now.  I get it, it's angry teenager stuff, pissed at the system.  I used to be that way until I sold out to the man.  The one thing that drives me insane is that I can't figure out what the singer is even talking about.  I know every word to the 'Banned in DC' and I can't make out  what this guy is screaming about.

Better yet, there's a song by the VeXed titled "Lawrence Will Burn."  Really?  A college town pisses you off that much?  Is it a racist reference to the Free State/Bleeding Kansas?  Certainly, it can't be a nod to Quantrill's raid from Columbia?  I mean that's about slavery, it can't be a nod to burning a town down because they didn't own slaves?  I wish I knew what Lawrence, KS did to these kids, but fuck, I can't make out the lyrics.

The flipside is Surbuban Scum, they are from Iowa, so I won't talk about them much.  There is a song entitled, "Kill Yourself," which I am pretty sure is about people who look like me.  It doesn't offend me, I'm square, and Marilyn Manson already told me more or less the same thing.

Reflector Recess Theory Split 7" Arise Records 1998

Reflector & Recess Theory Split 7"
In Spite Of  b/w A Small Town in Smalltown, KS
Arise Records
NO CAT# 1998

This first Reflector release I talk about is going to be talked about a lot.

Back when I was a scenster, I was introduced to Jake Cardwell of Reflector through Matt Rubin.  Matt was a highschooler that first put out a 7" split with the Anniversary & Proudentall.  I can't remember how I got in touch with Matt...I think it was because I was writing for an eZine called Signal Drench and we were at a show, he said he was putting out a record on his Paper Brigade Label, I said I'd review it or what have you.  Anyway, Matt's second release was a 5 song EP by Reflector.  So, as I was hanging out with Matt, he introduced me to Reflector and therefore, Jake Cardwell.

Jake Cardwell...if you're into the local scene in Kansas City, you know Jake Cardwell.  He friggin' knows everybody.  Part of it being this band, most of it being that he and has dad run C & C Drums.  At the time of this release, I believe C&C Drums was just a shop (don't quote me, I'm not a drummer).  Now, C&C Drums makes incredible custom drums for worldwide acts.  The list of drummers that use C&C is phenomenal.  Just go to the website and check it out, they are doing KC super-proud.

Anyway, this time period and group of friends--is the local scene I remember most fondly.  I wasn't at  KU at this point and I was trying desperately to find myself or at least a hobby while at community college in Overland Park.  The group of people surrounding Reflector were some of the best people I've ever met.  One guy, Nathan Reusch is doing big things right now with a local labal, The Record Machine.  They've released great local albums by Capybara, the Soft Reeds, and Cowboy, Indian, Bear among others.  Another person I ran into hanging with this crowd was Aaron Pillar of the Appleseed Cast because that band moved to Lawrence right around the same time and were friends with Reflector (I guess both Reflector and Appleseed Cast were in the Christian Rock scene previously before going "emo", I wasn't there for any of that Christian stuff).  Obviously, I met the rest of the Cast guys too, but there's a good story about Aaron when I get to them. There's just so many people to name, but the point is, great people surrounded Reflector.  It's impossible for me not to put on one of these records and not remember that period of my life.

As for the music, Reflector was a decent 3 piece band.  I loved singer/guitarist Jared Scholz's voice on these records.  Jared is currently a preacher at a church in Olathe, KS.  Jake and bassist Harry Anderson backed Jared nicely, but always felt a little heavy when compared to Jared's high register voice.  The music, this song included, is angular indie-rock.  'In Spite Of' is one of their better outings.  Live it was a great number because it's easier to mask the short-comings, studio version feels a bit weighted and lacks energy, perhaps a bit too adventurous for it's own good with all the start-stop dynamics.

The flip side by Recess Theory deserves mention for it's subject matter--Kansas.  But, it should be noted the band was from Florida.  I did meet the band, the singer actually has ties to Kansas, I believe his grandparents lived in the state.  It's a play on Kansas weather, talks the joys of small towns, then just screams, "It's 20 degrees out, 20 below!  I hope it snows!"  I love the idea, and it's a good little indie-rock gem, just wish someone from Kansas had actually wrote it.