Omnivore Recordings will embark upon an ambitious reissue of three classic albums by the Posies, who celebrate their 20th anniversary this year. A PledgeMusic pre-order campaign has launched.
Dear 23 will arrive June 15, 2018; Frosting on the Beater on August 3, 2018. Each of these titles comes as a 2-CD set featuring the original album remastered from original master tapes, plus almost all previously unissued bonus tracks, and on vinyl as a 2-LP set of the original album — mastered at 45 rpm!
Amazing Disgrace will be released October 28, 2018 as a 2-CD set, also with the original album remastered from original master tapes, plus almost all previously unissued bonus tracks, and as a 2-LP package — unlike the others, mastered at 33 1/3 as it was simply too long for 45 rpm.
This is a milestone year for the Posies, fronted by Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer. The band began its career exactly 30 years prior by releasing a home-recorded cassette called Failure, which to their complete surprise became an instant favorite around the Northwest, earning them critical accolades, radio airplay, and major label interest all in a very short time. They were lucky to find themselves living just a few doors down the road in Seattle from Arthur “Rick” Roberts and Mike Musburger, who joined the band on bass and drums, respectively.
Signed to Geffen Records, the Posies recorded their second album, Dear 23, and toured the U.S., including as support for both Redd Kross and the Replacements. Arthur left the Posies in 1991, Dave Fox joined on bass, and they made the album that put them into the international spotlight: 1993’s Frosting on the Beater.
After blowing away audiences in Europe while supporting Teenage Fanclub, Pulp, and Superchunk, among others, the Posies cemented a following in Europe that remains loyal to this day. The band changed the rhythm section yet again: Enter Brian Young (Fountains of Wayne, Jesus & Mary Chain) on drums and the late Joe “Bass” Skyward (Sky Cries Mary, Sunny Day Real Estate) on bass. With this lineup, they recorded Amazing Disgrace and were packing venues on four continents.
That was the end of the Posies’ tenure with Geffen; the band, overworked and struggling with various issues, released the Success album in 1998 and went dormant for a couple of years. But these three albums on Geffen remain beloved by fans and are the band’s most popular, most often cited, most requested works.
With major changes in the way music is consumed having largely arrived after these albums were originally released, the albums have not been regularly available: CDs out of print, inconsistent presences on streaming, LPs either long out of print (Frosting LPs on Discogs go for at least $150 these days) or not issued at all, depending on the territory. The CDs themselves, especially Dear 23, which came out in the early days of the format, were not exactly true to the analog masters from which the albums were made.
All that’s about to change thanks to the band’s “favorite label,” Omnivore Recordings, which has, among many releases new and old, previously reissued Failure, as well as releases from Big Star and Game Theory, among others.
The band needs to raise a significant advance fee to license these albums from Universal Music Group, and thus are offering many personal items, experiences, and exclusive merchandise via a fundraiser on PledgeMusic, from clothes they’ve worn onstage or in videos to spending quality time with Jon and/or Ken in their adopted city of Paris, or a coffee date in Seattle. Also offered are private shows, music lessons, plus exclusive Jon- and Ken-style guitars. Finally, the band offers VIP experiences and souvenirs from the upcoming 30th Anniversary Tour around the world. Quoting from the band’s PledgeMusic page: “We are basically putting a museum’s worth of items on this campaign … If you’ve ever wanted an authentic artifact of our music, our career, our lives — now is the time! Thank you in advance for your support and we’re very excited to make this music available again to our fans new and old alike.”
To take this celebration around the globe, the Posies, who have had a few lineup changes over the years (always based around the founding duo of Auer and Stringfellow) will be on tour as the 1992-1994 lineup that made Frosting on the Beater — Jon and Ken will be complemented by drummer Mike Musburger and bassist Dave Fox. It’s been almost a quarter century since this quartet has been on the road, and recent warm-up shows have been as explosive as those played by the twentysomethings of yore. Catch the band on tour this spring in North America, and this fall in Europe — their time is now, again.
On-sale date for North American Posies shows is Friday, March 30th.
North America
Fri., May 18 VICTORIA, BC Capital Ballroom
Sat., May 19 PORTLAND, OR Doug Fir Lounge
Sun., May 20 EUGENE, OR WOW Hall
Mon., May 21 BEND, OR Volcanic Theatre Pub
Tues., May 22 SACRAMENTO, CA Harlow’s
Wed., May 23 SAN FRANCISCO, CA The Independent
Thurs., May 24 SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA Coach House
Fri., May 25 LOS ANGELES, CA Bootleg Theater
Sat., May 26 SAN DIEGO, CA Soda Bar
Mon., May 28 PHOENIX, AZ Valley Bar
Wed., May 30 SANTA FE, NM Santa Fe Brewing Co.
Thurs., May 31 DALLAS, TX Club Dada
Fri., June 1 SAN ANTONIO, TX Paper Tiger
Sat., June 2 AUSTIN, TX The Parish
Sun., June 3 HOUSTON, TX Bronze Peacock at House of Blues
Mon., June 4 LITTLE ROCK, AR Capitol View Studios
Wed., June 6 NEW ORLEANS, LA The Parish at House of Blues
Thurs., June 7 NASHVILLE, TN Mercy Lounge
Fri., June 8 BIRMINGHAM, AL Saturn
Sat., June 9 ATHENS, GA Georgia Theatre
Sun., June 10 CHARLOTTE, NC Neighborhood Theatre
Mon., June 11 ANNAPOLIS, MD Ram’s Head On Stage
Wed., June 13 PHILADELPHIA, PA World Cafe Live
Thurs., June 14 FAIRFIELD, CT Stage One at Fairfield Theatre
Fri., June 15 SOMERVILLE, MA ONCE Somerville
Sat., June 16 WASHINGTON, DC The Hamilton
Sun., June 17 NEW YORK, NY The Bowery Ballroom
Tues., June 19 PITTSBURGH, PA Club Cafe
Wed., June 20 CLEVELAND, OH Music Box Supper Club
Thurs, June 21 KALAMAZOO, MI Bell’s Eccentric Cafe
Fri., June 22 DETROIT, MI The Magic Bag
Sat., June 23 CHICAGO, IL Park West
Sun., June 24 MADISON, WI High Noon Saloon
Mon., June 25 DES MOINES, IA Vaudeville Mews
Tues., June 26 ST. PAUL, MN Turf Club
Thurs., June 28 MILWAUKEE, WI Summerfest
Sat., June 30 DENVER, CO Levitt Pavilion
Sun., July 1 SALT LAKE CITY, UT The State Room
Fri., July 6 BELLINGHAM, WA Wild Buffalo
Sat., July 7 SEATTLE, WA Neptune Theatre
One Response
Aw hell yeah.