Ork records: the hidden side of New York punk
December 9, 2015 5:02 PM Subscribe
People were going on about "Little Johnny Jewel" and "Piss Factory" (then almost impossible to find, or even hear) when I first started collecting records over twenty years ago, and the bulk of the Ork catalog has been reissued, in one way or another, in the decades since. It will be nice to have it all in one place, though, and Numero always does a top-notch job.
posted by ryanshepard at 5:14 PM on December 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ryanshepard at 5:14 PM on December 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
josher71: "and now their records have been rediscovered."
"That's right, Joey! All of these amazing historical artefacts have been found in a storage locker in Yonkers! The winning bidder of the locker auction plans to turn the records, many of which haven't been heard in decades, into fruit bowls and clocks. Back to you!"
posted by boo_radley at 5:18 PM on December 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
"That's right, Joey! All of these amazing historical artefacts have been found in a storage locker in Yonkers! The winning bidder of the locker auction plans to turn the records, many of which haven't been heard in decades, into fruit bowls and clocks. Back to you!"
posted by boo_radley at 5:18 PM on December 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Oh neat, my dad might be on one of those records. I'll send this to him and see if anything sounds familiar.
I know he used to play CBGB a lot. The only story he's ever shared with me was the time he was recording in the studio late at night, like 2 in the morning (because it was cheaper than during the day), and someone came into the room saying "the Plasmatics are shooting a machine gun over in studio 6!" There were bullet holes in the wall.
posted by teponaztli at 5:31 PM on December 9, 2015 [9 favorites]
I know he used to play CBGB a lot. The only story he's ever shared with me was the time he was recording in the studio late at night, like 2 in the morning (because it was cheaper than during the day), and someone came into the room saying "the Plasmatics are shooting a machine gun over in studio 6!" There were bullet holes in the wall.
posted by teponaztli at 5:31 PM on December 9, 2015 [9 favorites]
<3 Numero Group. Their diligence at finding disappeared music scenes is unmatched, and I only wish I was more into funk & soul. Old post by me about a different release of theirs.
posted by Going To Maine at 5:48 PM on December 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Going To Maine at 5:48 PM on December 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Oh neat, my dad might be on one of those records.
Thank you for my daily dose of You Are Old.
More seriously, this is neat and I am glad that this history is not totally lost.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:35 PM on December 9, 2015 [6 favorites]
Thank you for my daily dose of You Are Old.
More seriously, this is neat and I am glad that this history is not totally lost.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:35 PM on December 9, 2015 [6 favorites]
A lot of the Ork catalogue is pretty accessible, like this power-pop from the dBs. (I read New York Rocker exhaustively back in the day, and ordered a lot of singles from their back pages just because they looked interesting, but I don't think I have any Ork stuff in my basement.)
posted by maudlin at 7:06 PM on December 9, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by maudlin at 7:06 PM on December 9, 2015 [5 favorites]
(Oh, wow, scroll down to #48 for a teensy excerpt of Lester Bangs.)
posted by maudlin at 7:10 PM on December 9, 2015
posted by maudlin at 7:10 PM on December 9, 2015
Thank you for my daily dose of You Are Old.
If it makes a difference, I think he might have actually moved away before Ork was even founded. I do know that he played on at least one record for some label, though, because we went looking for it in a punk record store one time - I like to think the image of a guy in a business suit looking for his old punk rock EP was a vision of the future for all the young crusties hanging around.
posted by teponaztli at 7:29 PM on December 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
If it makes a difference, I think he might have actually moved away before Ork was even founded. I do know that he played on at least one record for some label, though, because we went looking for it in a punk record store one time - I like to think the image of a guy in a business suit looking for his old punk rock EP was a vision of the future for all the young crusties hanging around.
posted by teponaztli at 7:29 PM on December 9, 2015 [2 favorites]
Wow -- I was just driving home from Manhattan listening to WFMU and the DJ (Evan Funk Davies) spun the Prix track from this set maybe a half hour ago and then talked the whole release up in a big way on his mic break. I was already basically sold on it since it's Numero Group, so I guess I'll be picking this up. Thanks for the post!
posted by Mothlight at 7:31 PM on December 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Mothlight at 7:31 PM on December 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
This is dope. No Mink Deville though?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:08 PM on December 9, 2015
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:08 PM on December 9, 2015
This is dope. No Mink Deville though?
Straight from an appearance on the first CBGB compilation to being recorded by Jack Nitzsche for Capitol.
posted by ryanshepard at 8:18 PM on December 9, 2015
Straight from an appearance on the first CBGB compilation to being recorded by Jack Nitzsche for Capitol.
posted by ryanshepard at 8:18 PM on December 9, 2015
Bands that I knew from CBGB that immediately come to mind: 4/4, Shrapnel, New York Niggers, The Normal. I probably still have their singles in a box somewhere. May be time for some audio archaeology.
posted by Splunge at 6:21 AM on December 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Splunge at 6:21 AM on December 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
« Older Book the death star for your holiday! | “I just need to be me now, because I’ve had enough... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
I love it when this sort of thing happens.
posted by louche mustachio at 5:09 PM on December 9, 2015 [2 favorites]