Jimmie's Chicken Shack - High EP

I can honestly say that JCS is my favorite band of all time, with that being said this vinyl single is kept in a sealed plastic sleeve, only coming out on the rarest of occasions.  The picture on the cover was actually found in a garbage can, and was also used for the rare Spitburger Lottery album. (which was part of the 2 for 1 album) The vinyl itself is white and beautiful, and differs from the CD single of this song (which I also happen to own) which is red.  The vinyl version also has a side B, which is Bongjam, and the back photo is identical to the one on the ...Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope album.  High

I also have the vinyl single for Do Right, with B side Trash.

88 Fingers Louie EPs

I am going to kill two birds with one stone, and talk about two 45's by the Chicago based band, 88 Fingers Louie.  The first one I am going to talk about was actually their first release from 1993, titled Go Away! It contained 4 tracks such as Intellectual Lover, and In the John, and has the best B side label ever. (see photo below)

The second one I want to talk about is The Teacher Gets It. This one was released in 1997, and I want to say this was after they broke up and got back together, but I am not sure. Dom is still the drummer on this one so it could have been released before one of the big breakups, they broke up and got back together a lot, so if you know for sure, let me know.  This record has 3 song including Under the Covers and Song X, and was released on Fat Wreck Chords. (as was Go Away!)

All of the songs featured on these records (as well as other songs from other EPs) all ended up coming out on a CD compilation called The Dom Years, referring to their drummer Dom Vallone, and after he left, Glenn Porter (from Alkaline Trio) stepped in on the drums. (well, until another breakup, then John Carroll took over, but knowing that is irrelevant when talking about these releases)

John K. Samson - Provincial Road 222

The Weakerthan's frontman released this EP in 2010, and it is his third solo EP.  Shortly after this 7' came out, John released a full length album just titled Provincial.  This record contains three songs including Stop Error and The Last And.  Epitaph Records sold this in black and white vinyl, for some reason, I chose the black.

Offspring - Self Esteem EP

Ah, Self Esteem.....What a great song, this was one of the singles from their breakout album Smash.  The record itself is marbled blue vinyl, side A, of course, being Self Esteem, and side B has Burn it Up, from the Ignition album, and Jennifer Lost the War, from their self titled debut. I could tell you where I got it from, but that's not really important, is it?

NOFX - 7" of the Month Club

In 2005 NOFX started their '7" of the month club,' which lasted 12 months.  Joining the club meant that each month they would send you a limited edition 7" of newly recorded original songs, and some covers. (although over the course of the year the records came out later and later) Each record would contain fan designed art, part of a 24-piece joke, and the back of the cover would be part of a drawing that when you put all 12 together would make a large drawing of the band.  I picked these up at various places, including record stores, interpunk.com, and ebay, but I do not have #6, for some reason that one is the hardest to find.

                                               February 2005:

                                                   March 2005:

                                                  April 2005:

                                                   May 2005:

                                                    June 2005:

 August 2005:

   September 2005:

October 2005:

                                                November 2005:

                                               December 2005:

       January 2006 also came as a picture disc, this is the second pressing:

                         This is side A of #12 (the rare picture disc):

                                                     and side B:

If you put them all together, you get the band photo (keep in mind i do not own #6):

Jackson - All the Way EP

I first heard this song on the Warped Tour 2003 compilation, and it took me 3 years to find their album.  Shortly after I found the CD, I stumbled upon this 7" on interpunk.com.  Not long after they released that album (and this single) their drummer left to join Saves the Day.  Basically the only original member of the band is the lead singer, who also happens to play in other bands such as Foo Fighters, and Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies. After the departure of the other two members, they changed their name to Jackson United. (mostly because Jackson was too generic to be noticed, like I said, it took me 3 years to find that album) One quirk about this record is that both sides say All the Way, even though side B is Long Shadow, a song that didn't appear on the 5 song CD.

Alkaline Trio - Time to Waste EP

So I am going to start off by saying that I have no idea where I got this one, but I do know some fun facts about it. Time to Waste was the first single off of the Crimson album, and the 7" (which you see here) had Don't Say You Won't as it's B side, but the CD single had We can never break up, which was from the Master of Horrors soundtrack.  Both of these B sides we also featured on Remains, which was a compilation album that Alkaline Trio put out, and that was featured in a previous blog of mine.

Alkaline Trio - We've Had Enough EP

The first time I laid eyes on this picture disc was at The Exclusive Company in Oshkosh, probably in 2004. I didn't actually buy the album then, which haunted me for years, especially when I found out that there was a demo of Blue in the Face.  Those of you that have seen me play at open mics have probably seen me do the acoustic version. (which is actually the version on the Good Mourning album) But other than the demo, the record itself has very dark, beautiful artwork.  I did find this online and could not pass on it again, I am glad it's in my collection.

Oh yeah, here is the music video for We've Had Enough.

+44 - Cliff Diving EP

Back in 2005 when Blink 182 went on definite hiatus, all of the band members started their own side projects, Tom had Angels and Airwaves, and Mark and Travis went on to start +44.  They only released one album, but man was it a good one.  The album was called When Your Heart Stops Beating, and prior to it being released, the band put out two vinyl singles, one of which I just so happen to own.  The Cliff Diving single was hot pink, and had an instrumental version on side B.  Another interesting thing about it is that the sleeve it came in was just plain white, which is sort of uncommon now-a-days.

Emery - Cutthroat Collapse EP

So this is a neat addition to any record collector's (or Emery fan's) collection, it's not really rare, in fact, I think you can still buy it on tooth and nail's website.  I got mine with the preorder of Emery's fifth album, In Shallow Seas we Sail (which has the same image on it).  Side A is Cutthroat Collapse, the first track off of In Shallow Seas we Sail, while side B is Open Hands, Closed Eyes, which is a song that didn't appear on the album. On a side note, a record needle has never touched this EP.

Tsunami Bomb - Prologue EP

One of my all time favorite bands, Tsunami Bomb released this as a promotional single for "The Definitive Act" album released in 2004.  It is white vinyl, and contains two songs featured on the album, Safety Song, and My Machete.  This record has never been played as I have no reason to play it, both songs are on the CD that I also have.

Anti-Flag - Emigre EP

This EP was a promotion for their "For Blood and Empire" album, which was released in 2006.  The single itself sounds like this.  It has two songs on the B side, one is a demo of What do you think of Western Civilization, and a live version of Die for your Government.  I don't think these records are that rare, I have seen a few floating around.  This is what is looks like:

Weezer - Beverly Hills picture disc

This is a single of Beverly Hills from the Make Believe album released in 2005.  I never cared for this song, but this record is pretty sweet looking, so I had to buy it (that must be the collector in me).  The front has a group of people sitting on the grass with the band, in front of a sweet building.  I don't know if there is any significance of who these people are, or if this was from a special show, I guess I should have researched that, haha.  Side B, which is a live track of the song Butterfly (which was from the Pinkerton album, for those of you keeping score) and features a back view of the band, which I think is a pretty sweet idea for the back side of a single.  I am pretty sure I got this at The Exclusive Company in Oshkosh, which, as I have mentioned before, is a pretty sweet place to buy records.

p.s. How many times did I use the word "sweet" in this post?  haha

Thrice/Thursday - Split EP

This EP was used as a promotional tool, you can tell because it has "upcoming album dates" written on the record.  The record itself is clear with a blueish-greenish tint to it, and has never been listened to because these are two bands that I already loved, and had their CDs.  The songs on this EP are For the Workforce, Drowning and Under a Killing Moon.

Billy Joel Singles

Due to the number of singles I have by Billy Joel, and because they were released in the vinyl era making them look identical for the most part, I figured I would just do them all at once.  Nothing really out of the ordinary really, in fact, if you grew up during this time you might of had a few of these.

Keeping the Faith (both sides) (with sleeve)

You're only Human / Surprises (with sleeve)

Uptown Girl / Careless Talk

Modern Woman / Sleeping with the Television On (with sleeve)

This Is the Time (both sides) (with sleeve)

Tell Her about It / Easy Money (with sleeve)

Piano Man / You're my Home

Big Shot / Root Beer Rag

Only the Good Die Young / She's always a Woman

Honesty / Sometimes a Fantasy

A Matter of Trust / Getting Closer

Tell Her about It / Easy Money

Only the Good Die Young / My Life

52nd Street / My Life

Goodnight Saigon (both sides)

An Innocent Man / I'll Cry Instead

You May be Right / She's got a Way

We Didn't Start the Fire / House of Blue Light

I go to Extremes / When in Rome

The River of Dreams / No Mans Land

Ben Folds Five - Army

I think this is a pretty cool record, I have only seen one copy and I scooped it up.  It was the single for Army which was off of the "Reinhold Messner" album, but it also has two unreleased tracks that I was unaware of.  Thanks to the power of the internet, I have the power to be the middle man between you and these songs.  The two unreleased tracks are Leather Jacket and Birds, and to my knowledge have never been re-released on any other album.