MALADY - Demos

We were supposed to release the second MALADY album, but mid-way through the writing process Chris Taylor quit since he felt the band hadn't considered his vocals when writing the new songs. Not long after, the remaining members kicked out Johnny Ward since his drinking was getting in the way of his drumming (and general life functionality). I don't really know the full story, so definitely take all that with a grain of salt... that's just what I was told at the time.

What I do know is that what was supposed to become the sophomore MALADY album shapeshifted into the VERSE EN COMA ep, which ended up being a financial disaster since we spent a ton on the recording and it was only really 5 songs that just didn't sell all that well. The band never performed live under that name or lineup, and I don't even know if VERSE EN COMA vocalist Brian Markham (who went on to form ANCIENT SKY) ever even met everyone in the band... kind of a weird situation. Oh well.

What I'm posting here are two sets of MALADY demos. The first of which is a *super* early practice tape that I dubbed off Nathan from CRESTFALLEN when Chris Taylor played it for both of us on Nathan's boombox in Richmond one afternoon. I dunno that anyone really knew I was copying it, but if I hadn't this probably wouldn't now publicly exist since this was just for the band members to learn/rehearse the songs to. You can tell Chris' vocals are kinda temporary in a few spots, so take all that for what it's worth. Three songs (that all ended up on the album in the end) all on one MP3 file, since that's how I ripped it a million years ago.

The second set of demos is kinda late-MALADY, proto-VERSE EN COMA era. I think this is the stuff they gave to Chris which he wasn't too happy with. I'm not sure, but there's no vocals on these. I think these all have Johnny on drums still, sounding a little rough. Cool to hear, but yeah you can tell the band is sorta unraveling with this stuff. Best to jam the "self titled" MALADY album and the VERSE EN COMA "Rialto" EP, which coincidentally we still have a pile of.

* download MALADY - Demos (via MediaFire)
* download MALADY - Demos (via RapidShare)
* download MALADY - Demos (via SendSpace)

Again, raw/rough demos so don't expect studio-quality stuff exactly. A lot of what these guys have released over the years is now out of print, but if you want some physical products that these guys have put out, try the following:

* PG.99 stuff in the Robotic Empire - Online Store
* PYGMY LUSH stuff in the Robotic Empire - Online Store
* VERSE EN COMA stuff in the Robotic Empire - Online Store

Three obscurities (download) posts of Virginia bands in a row, with plenty more for down the road at some point. Lots to compile from all different eras of these dudes bands, so while it'll probably be a while, hopefully they'll be worth the wait.

PYGMY LUSH - 4 unreleased live songs

Over the years I've associated many changes to the record label with a certain group of musicians from Sterling, Virginia, specifically the Taylor brothers Mike & Chris and their surrounding friends. In the formative stages the first Robodog Records release was with pg.99 (split with my highschool band, Reactor No. 7), and even before then the first ever punk rock show I went to was in a basement to see the guys previous band, Nit Pic.

Years later when I "got serious" with the label and decided to change the name to Robotic Empire, a pg.99 7" release was again the (re)starting point. Throughout the years the label has evolved, and so have these musicians. Mannequin and then Pygmy Lush are just a couple of the bands the core dudes here formed that we went on to release records for... and I've only enjoyed their newest material more and more as the times go by.

Its no major surprise that I've associated another big life transition with some songs these guys have created. Pygmy Lush played in Richmond on October 24th, 2009 and it was easily one of my favorite sets seeing them play. They opened it up with a joint-set with Des Ark (playing songs they'd all written together in the weeks prior) and followed that with a set of a few oldies and 4 new goodies. Those 4 unreleased songs are what I'm posting here:

* download PYGMY LUSH - In a Hole (via MediaFire)
* download PYGMY LUSH - In a Hole (via RapidShare)
* download PYGMY LUSH - In a Hole (via SendSpace)

Brother JK "Jeeb" thankfully captured these songs via various microphones, and I am largely indebted to him as well as the band for giving me the soundtrack to some glorious yet difficult times. Songs can have different meanings from what you may take from the lyrics, but if anyone else out there gets even an instance of what I got from this stuff, I'm beyond satisfied. It can be a crazy world, and having a little audio help to get through it all can make a huge difference.

These were all recorded live so please keep that in mind when listening, and also that I have no idea what I'm doing with "mastering" so all I was able to do was make the recordings a bit louder... and thus, song to song the volume fluctuates a good bit. Jah willing these guys will actually get into a studio sooner than later to properly document these, and all the others that they're already cooking up. I can't wait to hear what they've got for us next, as they'll surely become the new soundtrack to an ever changing existence. Godspeed & peace out!!!