The Anniversary Designing a Nervous Breakdown Vagrant/Heroes & Villians/BMG 2000/2016 Reissue

The Anniversary Designing a Nervous Breakdown Vagrant/Heroes & Villains/BMG 2000/2016 Reissue CAT #VR4401

Man, I remember being so excited for this record in 2000. I actually got an advance copy to promote through an indie-promotion company when I was doing "street team" work. The Anniversary was becoming a big deal, locally and nationally. They were touring with the Get Up Kids, the singles they had released up to their debut were frantic emo-pop sing-alongs.

However, when I got the album I remember being completely let down. The album starts out promising with "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" followed by "All Things Ordinary", but after that, I remember thinking the band had run out of ideas. The Rentals formula was wearing thin and in bursts, it worked for the band, but for an entire album, it gets thin. When the album was officially released, I never bothered updating my promo copy which was just a disc in a plain white envelope with a hype-sticker across the back.

Years later, when nostalgia took over, I regretted never buying it on vinyl. When I started looking for it, I would have been lucky to find a copy for $50. Then, just recently, Vagrant started re-releasing a bunch of their back catalog for the label's 20 year anniversary and this was included. I waited too long apparently to get a standard black copy and settled for this blue colored version...and once again, I was disappointed when I first put it on. Not because I felt I bought a bad album, I can now validate the purchase for two great tracks and some solid filler, I got more money than I did in 2000. But, what I was upset about this time was slightly warped vinyl...WTF. Quality control on recent vinyl pressings leaves a lot to be desired, but that's to be expected when everyone is buying records again.

Either way, the album sounds better today than it did back then. Bonus, the warp doesn't affect playback, so it's cool. I'm picking up on all the moments when the Get Up Kids association rubbed off on these guys, the pick slides, the obvious emo infliction, it's nice. But, mostly it's the nostalgia that gets me.

Designing a Nervous Breakdown

The Anniversary Cassandra L. '76-'77 EP Good Guys & Bad Buddies Records 2000

The Anniversary Cassandra L. '76-'77 EP Good Guys & Bad Buddies Records 2000 CAT# 001

This is a little 7" The Anniversary put out to sell on their 2000 tour.  The first track, "All Right For Now" was the tune on the Paper Brigade split they did with Proudentall.  The other two tracks, "Hold Me Tonight" and "Low Tide and Hospital Bed" were recorded along with with "All Right" in Chicago in 1997.  The band printed up (like, copy machine printed up) 5 different cover variations and noted to fans, "collect all five."  Truthfully, I think the EP is actually self-titled, but my cover reads Cassandra L '76-'77, so I'm going with that. The run on these had to be limited, this copy is stamped #0380, so likely a batch limited to a 1000.  Not sure why they wanted to release stuff they did in 1997 for a 2000 tour, but it may have been a quick release because they were without copies of the album Designing a Nervous Breakdown at the beginning of the tour.

It's a cool little EP that offers a good insight into the band in their early days.  The song, "All Right for Now" is great and has been discussed on the Proudentall split.  The B Side is sophomoric but endearing, "Hold Me Tight," is a bit schizophrenic with it's slow jam vibe and Moog-tacular intro before ripping into some jock-tastic guitar rock.  "Low Tide and Hospital Bed" has some string effects and gets a bit muddy with everything it's trying to do, but it's held together by Adrianne Verhoeven, because she always the best part of the early version of this band.

Hold Me Tonight

The Anniversary Your Majesty Vagrant/Heroes & Villains 2001

 

 The Anniversary Your Majesty Vagrant/Heroes & Villains 2001 CAT # VR359/HV011

I'm torn with this LP.  It's the last Anniversary LP and it was a complete departure from the band's previous output.  Virtually everything leading up to Your Majesty was centered around Adrianne Verhoeven's  (listed on this album as Adrianne Pope because, she was briefly married to Rob Pope of the Get Up Kids) quirky keyboards and vocals.  The songs written by Josh Josh Berwanger and Justin Roelofs were good, but made better by Adrianne's contributions to them.  Maybe they got sick of it, maybe their egos didn't like Adrianne getting all the attention, but after doing a split EP with the band Superdrag that would hint to this, they redefined their sound.

The quirky bubblegum indie rock is gone on Your Majest.  Instead Berwanger and Roelofs became obsessed with groove and classic rock sounds.  Big guitar, funky breaks and sweeping arrangements.  Verhoeven still plays a role, but it's mostly vocal, she adds keyboards but it is building tool rather than a featured instrument.

Admittedly, they show they got the hooks to undertake the new sound.  The first three songs on Your Majesty are huge.  In fact, they are so good, I think they fooled most people into believing this was a great album.  They did the LP in Los Angeles to show they meant business and definitely got a big boy sound out of the sessions.  However, after the first three songs, I tend to find this LP boring.  Songs like 'Husam Husam' and 'Devil on my Side' typify what you find throughout the album.  Grand sweeping ideas that lead to nowhere.  The slick production and over-dubbing make things sound important, but it's just empty and never seems to live up to its ambitions.

I really hate to be Debbie Downer, because again, the first three tracks are incredible.  They lead into each other effortlessly.  The groove on those tunes feel so good and hit you in the face like a Buddy Miles drum break.  It may be that those three songs are impossible to live up.  Maybe, I'm missing the genius behind a song like "The Death of a King" with it's wind sound effects (yeah, sound effects, who the fuck are these guys?) in the background and prog-rock keyboards, but it takes six minutes to get to the absolutely pointless 'Follow the Sun'.  I'd rather just listen to the first three tracks again.

Sweet Marie-1st Song-So good.
Crooked Crown-2nd Song-Feel that groove
Peace, Pain & Regret-3rd Song-Different feel, but solid and great bottom

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

Get Up Kids/Anniversary Split 7" 1999

The Get Up Kids/The Anniversary split 7"
Central Standard Time B/W Vasic + Bluey
Vagrant Records Heroes & Villains
CAT# VR341/HV002 1999

For a good chunk of time, the Get Up Kids and the Anniversary were freakin' besties around Lawrence. The bands did everything together, toured, put out records together, married one another.  It was kind of weird.  However, both had similar backgrounds,  both bands were primarily made up of suburban kids, ditching college for the life as a rock n' roll band (thus, they could relate to upset parent syndrome).  Difference though, Get Up Kids did things on their own, it took a lot of work to get to the point they were at at the time of this release.  To an outsider, the Anniversary's success seemed to be that of association.  Hang out with the Get Up Kids enough and they'll find you a spot on a tour and their record label.

You can listen to the Anniversary and know that they're talented and a lot of the admiration from the Get Up Kids came from the band's talent.  Their B-side to this 7" Vasic + Bluey is solid.  At this time they were still young and sounded a lot like the Rentals.  Best, they utilized their secret weapon Adrianne Verhoeven a lot.  Her voice cuts over the chorus, her synth drives the song.  She's the middle of the band and the best part of the song.

The Get Up Kids A-side seems a bit of a throw-a-way in all honesty.  A bit over the top with it's emo-ness. The band was/is at it's best when it's all angry teenager emo and not so f'n adult about stuff.  Keyboards add nice little touch, but the energy just isn't there on this track.  Seems obvious, one member wrote the song, the rest just didn't feel the same way about the song, so it ended up on this 7". No pick slides, mid-tempo, no excitement, blah.

Central Standard Time