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So- Blackwater Cafe, Stockton Ca 1996ish w/ Duby War from Surrogate Brains xfer from Hi8 Master

So were a really good Stockton band that did not get enough recognition when they were around in the 90s. Duby War (Surrogate Brains) was in the band on bass, Johnny Cruz on guitar and vocals, Tony Muth (Fang, and the underrated Moist) on drums.
The Blackwater was an interesting place. It was a coffee shop-turned punk venue in the 90s and 2000’s. Steve told me that it was a hippy folk type of place in the 80s. The one time I went, I was backed up to the coffee counter trying to get a good angle for audio- it was TINY. It’s a bummer that it isn’t around anymore- support your local venues! The looks like the earliest Blackwater video on youtube, from a quick glance.

Recorded by: Steve Rogers
Transfer by: Shayne Stacy
Equipment used: Sony DCR-TRV340 firewire into workstation
Enhance (brightness/contrast/degrain) in adobe premiere/neat video

Live Concert Video
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Jonny Polonsky- Raleigh Hotel, Miami Fl April 96 xfer from Hi8 Master Tape

Here is another Steve Rogers video, this one from Raleigh NC. Man, that American Recordings travel budget must have been sweet in the heyday of alt/grunge. Haha.

Edit: This was from the Raleigh hotel in Miami, same time frame as the slayer/etc respectable cafe show.
This one is filmed outdoors with an odd effect that is present on the source video. As the sun sets, the the effect gets more prominent. If there is interest, I could enhance/brighten this in a couple of batches to make the end of the set more watchable.

Recorded by: Steve Rogers
Transfer by: Shayne Stacy
Equipment used: Sony DCR-TRV340 firewire into workstation
Enhance in Adobe Premiere Elements/Neat Video

Live Concert Video
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Prayer Wheel- Plays the Blues Demo 1996 Sacramento Rock Band xfer from master audio tape

Here’s the next one from Eddie Jorgensen’s pile- a demo of Prayer Wheel from 1996! It sounds like some of the band members (looking at you Eric) may not even have a copy. I know I’ve never seen this before.

Tracks:
Gasoline
Silence is Golden
Cockroach
Get Your Own Goat
Down Home

Recorded by: Matt
Transfer by: Shayne Stacy
Equipment used: Nakamichi Dragon, M-Audio Audiopile 2496 card

Audio Demo
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Playground- No Angel Demo 1996ish xfer from Master Cassette

Here’s another gem from Brian McKenna’s endless box of stuff. I compared these tracks with the official release on the band’s bandcamp page, and they sound like totally different versions. They are a different mix at minimum. Great band, bummed I never got to see them.

Transfer by: Shayne Stacy
Equipment used: Nakamichi Dragon- Audiophile 2496 card- sony soundforge

Audio Demo
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God Squad- Sampler Demo 1996 xfer from master cassette tape Sacramento Alternative Rock

Here’s another one from Eddie’s collection. God Squad were a mid-90s Sacramento band. The odd thing about this one is that this tape is labeled “Sampler”. Cassette samplers were typically distributed by record labels and featured a couple songs from a full-length release. I don’t see any full-length releases on Discogs.

Tracks: Dark Clouds/Gruff

Transfer by: Shayne Stacy
Equipment used: Nakamichi Dragon and M-Audio Audiophile 2496 card

Audio Demo
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The Pants- Demo 1996 xfer from master cassette Burlington Vermont produced by Trey Anastasio Phish

Here is another one from my Vermont friend’s collection. When he sent me his notes about the tapes a while back, he did not even mention that Trey from Phish was involved with this one. Maybe be of interest to Phish fans. The band also ran in the same circles as weirdo rock legend James Kochalka.

Transfer by: Shayne Stacy
Equipment used: Nakamichi Dragon and M-Audio Audiophile 2496 card

Audio Demo
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Yahtzee Punks- Secret Center Sacramento Comp with No Kill I, Knockoffs, Nar, The Bananas more master

Here is the last Secret Center post for now. I know I promised posts for the rest of the week, but I blew it early by posting 2 in one day because I had to hide/post the No Kill I tape unnanounced.
Anyway, this is the tape I have been trying to find for years. I owe the secret center guys a huge thanks, and I even got a personalized, colored Yahtzee card. Nice!
Features a ton of bands as shown in the image. I was looking for the Knockoffs and Nar songs specifically, but all of the bands are great.

Compiled by Scott Miller/Secret Center

Audio Demo