There were two basic phases of Mutant Pop's sales operations. From its beginnings in 1995, monthly wholesale catalogs were prepared, emulating the periodic Mordam Records updates of new releases and directed to record stores around the country. At the time Mordam was experiencing phenomenal growth as a result of the Green Day Explosion of 1994, which carried in its wake greatly increased sales of other top bands in the Lookout! Records stable, including OPERATION IVY, THE QUEERS, SCREECHING WEASEL, and MTX. Their warehouse facility was packed to capacity and consideration was not being given to new labels for inclusion in the Mordam family, leaving fledgling labels to the none-too-tender graces of various corporate record distributors.
A wholesale distribution called "1000 Flowers" was started by Tim Davenport (T. Chandler) of Mutant Pop as a means for getting the releases of his new label into punk rock record stores around the country without having to place excessive reliance upon external distributors (many of whom were notorious for paying their bills slowly or not at all, bankrupting labels in the process). The name "1000 Flowers" was a butchering of a slogan put forward by Mao Tse-Tung in the late 1950s: "Let 100 Flowers grow, 100 schools of thought contend" -- a clumsy metaphor for the punk rock world, with various little labels running in their own direction, each answering the voices in their heads. The slogan was inadvertently mangled by a factor of 10, which proved to be a blessing when it was later discovered that there was a Los Angeles band from the Flipside magazine universe called "100 Flowers."
Very few specimens of these monthly wholesale catalogs survived, with MP and the short-lived Corvallis, Oregon shop André's Music later piecing together a partial run. Only the last wholesale catalog prepared, dated March 1998, survived as a pdf generated directly from the page layout program (downloadable below). Earlier editions may be added later as scanned "fat" pdfs.
ZINE fanzine Mutant Pop emerged out of a local Corvallis, Oregon fanzine called ZINE, a bimonthly started in Sept. 1993 by 30-something punk rock fan and local merchant Tim Davenport (T. Chandler) and edited by OSU students Kelly Enriquez (Kelly E.), a fan of the K Records/Kill Rock Stars scene, and Travis Day, a nuclear chemistry student with a taste for noisy, artsy guitars. The generic name ZINE was chosen when the 3 couldn't agree on a name for the forthcoming publication. Kelly E. was the main editor and Davenport-Chandler handled the layout chore. The fanzine was launched in support of a local warehouse space rented by a number of local bands as a practice facility; shows were regularly held there at night. ZINE was envisioned as a means of communicating with local music fans, introducing them to the bands, and building support for the maintenance of the "2nd Street Project." The Project was not long for the world, however, closing its doors forever at the end of 1993. This left local bands with no place to play all ages shows -- and the high school crowd were an important part of the local punk scene, a majority. As a stop-gap, Davenport-Chandler stepped forward and began promoting a series of all ages shows, beginning with THE QUEERS/OSWALD 5-0/POTATOMEN/ELMER on March 14, 1994. ZINE became a vehicle to promote these shows, which lost a great deal of money despite solid attendance. ZINE was also a money hog, with about 200 copies of each issue being distributed locally without charge, and another 100 or so copies mailed out to various labels and punk rock worthies in an effort to generate a steady stream of free promos of new releases (the most fun part of doing a zine!).
Over time, co-editor Day began to differ with the direction of ZINE and played less and less of a role in the publication, which increasingly began reflect a more regional (rather than local) flavor. Kelly E. was a committed devotee of the Olympia scene and the riot grrrl movement while Chandler pledged his allegiance to MRR and the "East Bay Sound" (epitomized by middle period Lookout! Records) with the pair co-existing throughout 1994. A parting of the ways came with ZINE 9, cover date of March 1995, with Kelly seeking to run interviews with Washington underground metal band KARP, THINKING FELLERS UNION LOCAL 282, CUB, THE CRABS, and so on; while Chandler sought to produce an issue which collected source material on the enormous feud which had dominated the punk rock world in 1994, pitting MRR's Tim Yo against Lookout's Larry Livermore and Jello Biafra, who was hit by Ben Weasel, with cartoonist John Crawford (Baboon Dooley) chipping at the lot. In the end, two different editions were produced, a "Interview Laden Street Edition" featuring KARP on the cover and Kelly E.'s preferred content (distributed locally) and a "Big, Fat Export Edition," including all the historical documents gathered by Chandler, mailed out to labels and punk rock worthies. The "Big, Fat Export Edition" is included here as a downloadable pdf, generated from a scan of the the paper edition.
ZINE 1 [September 1993] -- (*** NOTE: Large File! *** 20.3 megs, 12 pages.)
SEPTEMBER 1993. Where it all began. The Corvallis, Oregon "Second Street Project" is promoted, as is the forthcoming music festival being held to support it, the third edition of "Stumpfest," featuring leading locals HALF RACK, LAZYBOY, ELMER, THE MISCREANTS, and ARCWELD, as well as out of towners THE DETONATORS, OSWALD FIVE-O, and THE NE'ERDOWELLS. Extensive interview by Chandler with the bassist of local punk legends LUPO, Kris McElwee. Long review of "Punkfest" (Portland, OR -- Aug. 7-8, 1993) by ZINE editor and college radio dj Kelly E., while Chandler reviews a bar show by Los Angeles legends X, likening substitute guitarist Tony Gilkyson to "the slacker baby brother of Joey Ramone" and assessing drummer DJ Bonebrake a penalty of 2 style points for a 7 piece drum set "better suited for backing Aerosmith." Completely funded by Chandler's shoe store, The Shoe Hutch, this issue includes two Shoe Hutch product ads, unlike later issues. This issue was issued in a press run of about 300 copies, followed in October 1993 by an "Issue 1.5" with revised show dates, of which about 200 more copies were printed.
JANUARY 1994. One of the best issues of ZINE, including an extensive interview by Chandler of Eugene pop-punk sensations OSWALD FIVE-O and another by Kelly E. and Chris Joy with Rick of THE DIDJITS. Of particular note from a MP-history standpoint is Chandler's review of the newest SCREECHING WEASEL album, Anthem for a New Tommorrow: "THE DICKIES for a new generation... I've been waiting for an album like this for about ten years. Five big, fat stars." Also includes an illustrated spread about an anti-Bob Packwood protest attended by the ZINEsters in costume, with the tie-bedecked "Yuppie Careerists for Packwood" "Arnold Bunngripper" (Day) and "Rush Feuerplae" (Chandler) pseudo-counterdemonstrating "Liberal Woman" (Kelly E.), chanting "BOOZE - BABES - BUCKS ---- I WANNA BE BOB!" and waving signs defending "Senatorial Frenching Privileges." Chandler reviews shows by NIRVANA and THE BUZZCOCKS. The issue ends with a belly-bump between local college radio DJ L.S. Walker and Chandler over the "doctrinal schism that is occurring in Pop Culture today" -- "alternative" vs. "mainstream." Walker takes the position that something can not be both "alternative" and "mainstream," that it is either one or the other; while (citing 1970s punk precedent) Chandler attacks this as a fundamentalist notion and defends the notion that the music itself is the important thing, the label producing it merely a vehicle.
FEBRUARY 1995. Mutant Pop Records is in the offing, according to a brief comment in this last issue of ZINE by the tandem of Kelly E. and T. Chandler. While the 2 page interview with SICKO will be of interest to many MP fans, the chief feature of this article is a collection of primary documents about the "1994 Punk Rock Soap Opera of the Year," called "Jello, Tim, John, Ben, & Larry: A sordid tale of violence, paranoia, misunderstanding, cattiness, and obstinence." Also includes a feast of 1994 Top 10 lists, with Kelly E. and Chandler joined by Bob Conrad (ZOINKS!), Joe Queer (QUEERS), Robert Christie (OSWALD FIVE-O), Lance Hahn (J CHURCH), cartoonist John Crawford, Blake Schwarzenbach (JAWBREAKER), Ben Weasel (SCREECHING WEASEL), Rev. Nørb (BORIS THE SPRINKER), and others. Lots of record reviews, too. T.C. touts a local band called DEAD LIKE ELVIS, "who totally fucking rock." "Don't be surprised if you see them surface on Mutant Pop #3," he notes. Press run of approximately 200 copies.
Mutant Pop Fanzine By the Spring of 1995, the ZINE troika of T. Chandler, Kelly E., and Travis Day had gone in three different ways, with each establishing their own music zine in Corvallis, Oregon. Kelly E. and her fiancé Chris Joy established Spongey Monkey (later moving to Mississippi, where it continued); Travis Day joined local scenester "lc" in founding the eclectic zine Maurice, while T. Chandler continued with the ZINE format and issue numbering sequence asMutant Pop Fanzine. Only one issue of Mutant Pop Fanzine was produced, undated and bearing the title "Issue No. 10." This publication was superceded by "The Incredible 11 x 17 Folded Mutant Pop Catalog" later in 1995.
APRIL 1995. Coordinating with the first 7" releases of the new label, the cover story is of Corvallis pop-punkers ROUND NINE, high school kids with a serious taste for Lookout! Records. Includes an interview with former Lookout! band TILT, now signed to Fat Wreck Chords (who had recently played a show in Corvallis promoted by Chandler, along with their Santa Rosa, California friends, THE INVALIDS), and Eugene pop-punk outfit SODA JERK. Puerile trolling of the Alternative Tentacles folder on alt.punk by T.C. leads to fisticuffs between AT office drone Greg Werckman and the Mutant Popper. Of particular note and importance is a rant lifted from Rev. Nørb's fanzine, Sick Teen, explaining the importance of bands putting their photo on the cover of their releases -- the direct source and inspiration of the (in-)famous MP "Cover Rule" requiring a band photo on every 7"er or SRCD. Chandler also provides a final answer to the philosophical question pondered for a generation, "What Is Punk?": "PUNK (n.) -- An aggressive form of rock and roll music marked by a distinctive style of abrupt guitar riffing, stripped down instrumentation, brief song structures and musical sets, and a general lack of extended solos." This view of punk as a noun is attacked by readers and defended by Chandler here. Press run of approximately 200 copies.
Live Show Posters (1994-1998) The Corvallis "2nd Street Project" died on approximately Jan. 1, 1994. With the local punk scene perking as never before, T. Chandler began promoting a series of live all-ages shows as a stop-gap measure. These were made superfluous with the opening of the Jackson Street Juice Bar, an all-ages live music venue, in the summer of 1994. After the inevitable demise of the Juice Bar, a local pizza parlor called the Headline Cafe began hosting occasional all-ages shows and giving touring bands a place to play and a few dollars for gas. Around 1999 the Headline Cafe later opted to obtain a hard liquor license, which terminated its use as a punk venue. A coffee shop called The Bombs Away Cafe took over as the venue of choice for touring bands.
Chandler lost over $1000 doing five live shows (the bulk of which was dropped on a QUEERS show after which someone intentionally poured a beer on the soundboard) and had a miserable time of it to boot, being constantly stressed out for a week before and during the show. The rise of stable venues in Corvallis proved a great relief. Posters were made by MP for the struggling venues for a couple shows of pop-punk importance, examples of which are available here.
AUGUST 1994. The last show Chandler promoted on his own, an ill-attended financial debacle due to another show being held in the small town the same night at the new Jackson St. Juice Bar. TILT wanted to play Corvallis and was put in touch with Chandler by Lookout!; the still-unknown INVALIDS were touring with them and placed on the bill. A key member of THE INVALIDS failed to make the show, but the remaining members played on gamely. In a clear example of God's Will, a committed pop-punker named Arne Cherkoss sought a place to play with his own band, UNDERHAND, that same evening. At this show a relationship was forged between Arne and Tim which eventually resulted in the release of MP-01 UNDERHAND "Desire" by "Mutant Pop Records" the following spring.
JANUARY 1995. Poster produced for the Jackson Street Juicebar by TC, plugging Larry Livermore and Patrick Hynes' folk-punk outfit, THE POTATOMEN. The bill was booked by the Juice Bar, which ostensibly headlined one of the worst bands in Corvallis musical history, the self-important buttrockers THUNDER JELLY. THE POTATOMEN wound up playing in Corvallis several times and were much appreciated by "the kids."
MARCH 1998. Despite the fact that they just lived 90 minutes up the road in Portland, this marked the first time that THE AUTOMATICS played a live show in Corvallis, Oregon. The Headline Cafe, a local pizza parlor, provided the space and local bands filled the bill. This poster was prepared in advance of the show's full lineup being set.
SEPTEMBER 1998. The second and final time that THE AUTOMATICS played Corvallis, this time with two other MP bands, UNDERHAND and EVERREADY, along with THE FIENDZ from New Jersey, who were touring. THE AUTOMATICS gave a crowded pizza parlor the full show with a flourish, including not only an appearance of their friend and zany dancer CAPTAIN COOL (decked out in a sparkling motorcycle helmet, tights, and an American flag for a cape) but also the one and only appearance of his arch-nemesis, COMRADE COM (Chandler, slam-dancing with a hammer-and-sickle laden Soviet flag for a cape). All the kids just didn't wanna dance, they wanted to get the fuck out of the way! Great fun!
The wholesale catalogs were generally printed on 8.5 x 11 inch paper, with a colored front page and typically including about 10 pages of individual title listings (stylistically similar to the Mordam Records monthly catalogs), and were mailed out to about 100 record stores around the country. The original mailing list was graciously provided by Mordam Records, and was altered over time. Approximately 25 or 30 stores ordered from 1000 Flowers at least periodically, with no more than 15 or so being in any way religious about it. The peak year of the wholesale operation, 1997, generated a gross revenue of something around $75,000 -- but a huge percentage of which went back to the labels providing goods. The remaining surplus, maybe 10%, was used to fund MP releases, most of which almost failed to cover production costs. An input of personal income was also made into the label to cover these losses.
FEBRUARY 1995. The very first 1000 Flowers catalog, originally xeroxed on folded-and-stapled 11x17 paper with a color cover page. The layout is a direct rip-off of the Mordam annual catalogs, which listed the cover of every single release and a short description of each. Obligatory Communist Chinese cover graphic, pinched from a really bad 1970s propaganda book with a gratuitous "Glorious People's" added to the caption. Page 2 explains the thinking behind 1000 Flowers, with Davenport-Chandler signing his real name as "Glorious People's Commissar of Sales." Particularly notable is the fact that this catalog PRECEDED the launch of Mutant Pop -- while the label was certainly in the offing (UNDERHAND recorded MP-01 on Feb. 4, 1995 in Portland; ROUND 9 got a flat check of $250 to record on Feb. 8), the distro was set up first. In retrospect, it is rather miraculous that any orders whatsoever were generated by this catalog, which included the first few releases of a few of the "Class of 1994" pop-punk labels -- Bob Conrad of ZOINKS!' s label (Second Guess), Norb Rozek from BORIS THE SPRINKLER's label (Bulge), Jeannette Kantzalis of THE CHUBBIES' bedroom label (Kantzalis), Sticker Guy Pete's 702 Records, the label of an old record collecting buddy, Exploding White Mice drummer Steve Gardner (NKVD), and Liquid Meat, the label of my mentors, Tim and Molly Meat. In addition the original group included as well as one label not much longer for the world, Hair Hurt Records of Seattle, instrumental to a short-lived pop-punk scene from the Seattle east-side. A couple Oly-sound labels were chased down solely because they had releases by Oregon pop-punk gods OSWALD FIVE-O in their backlist. These soon parted company with 1000FL. That's it. To fill in the gaps, a handful of titles were purchased up front from Dischord (FUGAZI, MINOR THREAT) and Rykodisc (SUGAR). Quantities purchased were something in the vicinity of a dozen copies per title -- and it took a long time to clear THAT many. Modest beginnings, to say the least.
MAY 1995. The second 1000 Flowers catalog, originally xeroxed on folded-and-stapled 11x17 paper with a color cover page. The red flag is waved on the cover with art from a 1929 Soviet propaganda poster with the slogan "BOYCOTT WARNER-ADA" appended -- "ADA" being the "Alternative Distribution Alliance," a phony-ass "alternative" distribution arm of the undisputed kings of 1990s corporate rock, Warner Bros. New additions include the fare of K Records, a label whose CD releases, it is noted, are themselves exclusive to Warner-ADA. Mutant Pop is also formally announced in this issue of the wholesale catalog (pg. 14), with Davenport-Chandler again signing his real name as "M-Pop Supremo" (the title "Supremo" was actually used on DBA and tax paperwork, the phrase filched from "Yes, Minister," a forgotten British sitcom of the early 1980s). The Lookout! Record business model is explicitly cited and a promise made that "the records and CDs will never be available through Warner ADA, Sony Relativity, EMI Caroline, or Dutch East India -- the four horsemen of the apocalypse. First MP sales to distributors included an explicit prohibition of transshipment to these four fat pigs, wording later dropped when it became clear that the issue was moot. "Mutant Pop is gonna be collector oriented in the same way as was early Sub-Pop," Davenport notes, "If you're doing a label in a small town, you either do that or go broke and I'm into this seriously and for the long haul." Also showing up for the first time is Last Resort Records, a label run by Mike Sarrail of Covina, CA -- who proved to be a long-time loyal friend of MP, despite differing musical taste. Sarrail was a close pal of Doc of Doctor Strange Records, an important Mordam label, and he couldn't get into Mordam either. Misery loves company...
JUNE 1995. A tip of the hat to Mordam in the masthead: "Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery." This early 1000 Flowers wholesale catalog touts the new Mutant Pop MP-03 BORIS THE SPRINKLER record, available in 6 colors of vinyl. Indeed, BORIS carried the ball for 1000FL (and vice-versa) for much of 1995, as the band blew up big in the underground, while bigger distributors remained too clueless to figure this out. The available titles in this catalog are sparse, with a couple EPs from CHUBBIES guitarist Jeannette Kantzalis' bedroom label taking up half of one page and the MP UNDERHAND single another. Humble beginnings chronicled here. This catalog included a few pages listing all available titles, which are not included here.
JULY 1995. THE INVALIDS make the cover of this edition of the 1000 Flowers wholesale catalog, pushing the 7" release of the band on Bob Conrad's Second Guess Records, released almost simultaneously as another 7" on the buzz label of the punk rock world, Lookout! Records. The release of MP-05 THE AUTOMATICS "All the Kids Just Wanna Dance" is announced for July 10, 1995, featuring "fab pink vinyl (opaque bubblegum or clear fuschia)." (The bubblegum pink was sent out at random with the more common clear pink, incidentally).
August 1995 1000 Flowers Wholesale Catalog --
AUGUST 1995. No pdf available at this time.
SEPTEMBER 1995. No pdf available at this time.
NOVEMBER 1995. No pdf available at this time.
DECEMBER 1995. No pdf available at this time.
FEBRUARY 1996. No pdf available at this time.
JUNE 1996. No pdf available at this time.
JULY 1996. No pdf available at this time.
AUGUST 1996. No pdf available at this time.
SEPTEMBER 1996. No pdf available at this time.
NOVEMBER 1996. No pdf available at this time.
DECEMBER 1996. This is a good example of the 1000 Flowers catalog from the period when the distributorship was hitting on all cylinders. Substantially larger and more detailed than the "Incredible Mutant Pop Catalogs" of the same period -- with a majority of effort at this time being poured into the wholesale operation rather than the mailorder. A potshot is taken at Lookout! Records and their recent decision to hike wholesale prices: "My next CD is gonna cost me $1.44 per on a piddly press run of 1000, and that includes the printing and insertion of an 8 page booklet and all packaging. In other words, Lookout! is getting them cheaper. Now Larry is a swell guy, but the words for the day are 'bizarre' and 'unjustified.'" This catalog includes THE CONNIE DUNGS split with TUGBOAT, reissued in a run of 150 with a photocopy sleeve, with the the band taking 50 and 1000 Flowers handling the remaining 100. This catalog is particularly notable for having almost no Mutant Pop content -- only a brief plug for the MP-17 AUTOMATICS "Makin' Out" EP.
JANUARY 1997. No pdf available at this time.
FEBRUARY 1997. No pdf available at this time.
MARCH 1997. No pdf available at this time.
APRIL 1997. No pdf available at this time.
MAY 1997. No pdf available at this time.
JUNE 1997. No pdf available at this time.
JULY 1997. No pdf available at this time.
SEPTEMBER 1997. No pdf available at this time.
*** Note: MP was voted down by Mordam for the first time at its monthly meeting held Oct. 1, 1997. ***
OCTOBER 1997. No pdf available at this time.
NOVEMBER 1997. No pdf available at this time.
JANUARY 1998. No pdf available at this time.
MARCH 1998. BORIS THE SPRINKLER Mega Anal picture disc LP, BORIS's "New Wave Records" EP, and AUTOMATICS "Karoke Party" are the front page selections. Brandon Dung is notably blurbed as "the Popeye-the-Sailor of punk rock." Lots of 7" vinyl descriptions for your entertainment. This is a machine-readable pdf extracted from the original Pagemaker layout (small file size).
MAY 1998. No pdf available at this time. Last "regular" wholesale catalog.
NOVEMBER 1998. Machine-readable pdf (small file). A crude listing of available titles and wholesale prices, no graphics or descriptions. Mention is made of use of color in the layout to mark MP titles and hot sellers, but this was not implemented, nor was the list distributed to stores as an email attachment, as was originally planned. There was no further letters used in the sequence (i.e. no "Catalog C"). A few copies of this were faxed to key stores, generating a small number of wholesale orders.
APRIL 2000. Here is an example of a late-period 1000 Flowers wholesale catalog, faxed to a very small handful of record stores (6 or 8) who had supported the label and distro over the years. The lists were generated straight from the computer inventory database by cut-and-paste. The volume of orders they generated was small.
*** Note: MP was voted down by Mordam for the second time at the monthly meeting of June 2000. ***
Mutant Pop Box Stuffers and One-Sheets Closely related to the wholesale catalog were periodic "One-Sheets," which were faxed to various wholesale record distributors such as Revolver, Choke, Rotz, Rhetoric, K, etc. whenever there was a new release. Distributors would take material in bulk on consignment, tag on a little markup for themselves, and get the material into those punk rock record stores who were their regular customers. A relatively few one-sheet layouts have survived, although many of those were among the first used by the label and are thus the most interesting and important. Akin were "box stuffers," made in quantities of 50 or 100 for distributors to stuff into the cartons of records they shipped to stores as advertising matter, with the hope being that the stores would order the releases mentioned the next time around.
MAY 1995. A very early one-sheet prepared for another distributor -- this for Rhetoric Records of Madison, Wisconsin. These were printed on colored paper and sent in quantity to Rhetoric honcho Brad Marta for insertion in packages of merchandise being sent to stores. This promotes MP-01 UNDERHAND "Desire," MP-02 ROUND NINE self-titled EP, and MP-03 BORIS THE SPRINKLER "Drugs and Masturbation" -- available in SIX colors of vinyl. "The dumbest store in America could sell 20 of these!" Chandler notes. An image of the forthcoming MP-04 STINK "I Don't Want Anything That You've Got," noting a June 15 release date, is included.
JUNE 1995. Bitterness oozes from this one-sheet blurb prepared for San Francisco distributor Revolver USA promoting the MP-01 UNDERHAND "Desire" EP: "Underhand is a sensational pop-punk band from Eureka, California, a small town on the North Coast. The town has garnered some attention of late in the fiction and prose of Larry Livermore, honcho of Lookout! Records. Well, the joke's on Larry, 'cause he missed the best band in his favorite town. And I'm gonna rub it in every time I see him. Ha ha ha." Revolver was always rather erratic as to whether or not they carried a Mutant Pop release, having limited warehouse space and being very picky about what they carried -- thus only the UNDERHAND gets the push here. This one-sheet was designed to be a box stuffer, inserted by Revolver into the cartons of records it was shipping to shops to clue the retailers in on the release.
JUNE 1995. This is a one-sheet prepared produced for Rotz Records (not my favorite distributor, as it turned out) to promote the new release of the MP-04 STINK "I Don't Want Anything That You've Got" 7-inch. The sonic comparison to STIFF LITTLE FINGERS is made, per usual.
JULY 1995. This box stuffer was made for K Records of Olympia, Washington, one of the models of independent distribution followed by 1000 Flowers (along with Mordam Records of San Francisco). The first 5 MP singles are included. In addition to the obligatory GREEN DAY mention, UNDERHAND is presciently likened to ZOINKS! -- a band later joined by band leader Arne Cherkoss. All the typical points of reference for the MP bands are cited, as usual, a practice which drove some people (including band members) ape fucking shit. (But it did help get the records placed successfully, and that's what it was all about...)
APRIL 1996. This one-sheet pushes a group of 4 new Mutant Pop singles -- MP-08 THE CONNIE DUNGS "I Hate This Town!", MP-09 SCRATCH BONGOWAX "Dogpile on Liz," MP-10 JON COUGAR CONCENTRATION CAMP "Victoria's Secret Sauce," and MP-11 BUGLITE "Sorry to Disappoint You." These records were released to wholesale virtually simultaneously on or about April 15, 1996.
AUGUST 1996. This one-sheet for the first Mutant Pop full-length, the self-titled CD by THE AUTOMATICS, is a fascinating relic of a little known effort of Mutant Pop to form a distribution alliance with Mordam-affiliated Allied Recordings, run by John Yates. The tale goes like this: Mutant Pop, seeking to be a regional Pacific Northwest label, very quickly committed to put out the next album by Seattle's STINK as the label's first CD release. However, when the band came to Corvallis to play a release party for its MP single, it managed to clear the Jackson Street Juicebar in Corvallis of punk rock kids in 5 minutes flat. It was very distressing. The band was immediately reckoned by Chandler to be too loud and too hard edged for the MP label, and an escape plan was sought to avoid a catastrophic blow from being dealt to the carefully cultivated MP "sound.". John Yates and his Allied Recordings was more sonically sympatico with STINK and a deal was worked out between Chandler of MP and Yates of Allied to jointly release both STINK and the debut album of THE AUTOMATICS, putting both labels on each release, and running both albums into the Mordam pipeline. STINK would effectively be an Allied release and THE AUTOMATICS an MP release under this scheme, which may have included a token payment to Allied from MP for each Automatics CD sold (not sure on this detail more than 10 years later). STINK would thus have its stuff in the world, MP would be free of a release it did not want to do, and THE AUTOMATICS and MP would gain through access to Mordam's 5-star distribution capabilities. Unfortunately, the Allied-Mutant Pop distribution alliance was abruptly vetoed by the powers that be at Mordam, who saw the joint releases for what they were, an effort to gain Mordam affiliation without going through the regular voting process (and at a time when no labels of any sort were being added to boot). Yates wound up taking over the STINK album (Radio-Active) as an Allied Release (distributed through Mordam), and Chandler put out AUTOS self-titled as a Mutant Pop release (left to fend to his own devices for distribution). And that's that story...
MARCH 1999. A later period one-sheet. The big push for the CARTER PEACE MISSION CD reissue, Disco Stu Likes Disco Music, characterized as "polished poppy punk in the vein of SICKO, ZOINKS!, or BLINK 182." Also pushed is the new 7" by THE KLOPECS ("catchiness and attitude have been blended like grizzled vets.") Includes the full MP backlist featuring "distributor prices" -- the lowest price tier available as material was shipped in comparatively large multiples ($1.90 vinyl, $6.00 CD).
JANUARY 2000. This one was prepared for a single record distributor, Revolver USA of San Francisco. Revolver did a bang up job with the release, which kept the badly leaking Mutant Pop battleship afloat for a few months longer than it otherwise would have. This also pushes the MP-39 7"er by THE BEAUTYS.
The initial MP catalogs were run off on a Minolta photocopy machine on 11 x 17 inch paper, folded down the center to form a 4 page booklet. The MP mailing list was built slowly over time, with each mailorder purchase painstakingly recorded and running totals maintained so that whimsical purchasers of a single item could be weeded from the list and serious fans identified. Initial mailing was probably in the ballpark of 200 copies. Later issues were professionally printed on a web press in a press run of 2,000+, of which about 1,000 were mailed out and the remainder sent out in bundles to poppy punk bands friendly to MP to take with them on tour -- which helped to make connections with real fans of the music around the country.
The mailorder catalog never generated anything like the gross revenue of the wholesale operation (reaching gross sales of something like $40,000 a year at its peak), but a much higher percentage of this total was able to be plowed into MP, since margins were higher and a large percentage of inventory was obtained by trading MP material for other people's stuff. Significant additional personal income was committed to the label by Chandler as well throughout the entire history of the label.
Most importantly, the mailorder catalog also provided valuable feedback from people who cared, as opposed to the wholesale catalogs, which felt like crass efforts at commodity exchange.
No pdf available from the original page layout. "Fat" pdf may be produced later.
No pdf available from the original page layout. "Fat" pdf may be produced later.
No pdf available from the original page layout. "Fat" pdf may be produced later.
No pdf available from the original page layout. "Fat" pdf may be produced later.
No pdf available from the original page layout. "Fat" pdf may be produced later.
No pdf available from the original page layout. "Fat" pdf may be produced later.
No pdf available from the original page layout. "Fat" pdf may be produced later.
No pdf available from the original page layout. "Fat" pdf may be produced later.
No pdf available from the original page layout. "Fat" pdf may be produced later.
No pdf available from the original page layout. "Fat" pdf may be produced later.
No pdf available from the original page layout. "Fat" pdf may be produced later.
No pdf available from the original page layout. "Fat" pdf may be produced later.
No pdf available from the original page layout. "Fat" pdf may be produced later.
No pdf available from the original page layout. "Fat" pdf may be produced later.
*** Note: MP was voted down by Mordam for the first time at its monthly meeting held Oct. 1, 1997. ***
No pdf available from the original page layout. "Fat" pdf may be produced later.
DECEMBER 1997. The first MP catalog (partially) preserved as a machine-readable pdf. Front page new releases include MP-24 DILLINGER FOUR "Girlfriends and Bubblegum," MP-26 DIRT BIKE ANNIE "Choco-Berri Sugar Pops," MP-27 THE KUNG FU MONKEYS "Shindig!" and the Finnish AUTOMATICS "Fortune Teller" release, which was put out by Rami Wallenius' Killer Records with the prodding of the band and the promise of sales support by MP.
JANUARY 1998. MP-27 THE KUNG FU MONKEYS "Shindig!" gets the full push with a cover picture. Includes a glowing blurb from the pontificating pen of Reverend Nørb: "Your new 45s are quite good. The Kung Fu Monkeys one is fricking excellent! Fucking neo-awesome!" Also features Timbo's Top Ten of 1997, which includes two picks from December 1996 and pegs the Mutant Pop release of the Connie Dungs (self-titled) at #2, AFTER SCHOOL SPECIAL at #10.
FEBRUARY 1998. New vinyl releases are MP-25 AUTOMATICS "Karoke Party!", MP-28 BORIS THE SPRINKLER "New Wave Records," MP-29 CLETUS "More Songs About Other People's Girlfriends" (the title a dig at D4 digging at pop-punk lyrical fare), and the MP-506 AUTOMATICS Go Bananas CD. The horrid drum sound of the Autos' CD is glazed over as "a very nice production job" in one of the grossest examples of wishful hearing in the history of the catalog. Notes the availability of a big, beefy Automatics Go Bananas Damned-parody poster, the only such trinket ever produced by the label (in press run of 2,000).
[c. APRIL 1998]. No pdf available from the original page layout. "Fat" pdf may be produced later.
MAY 1998. "CONNIE DUNGS LAND SECOND SMASH!" a headline trumpets, touting the new MP-509 Driving on Neptune CD. "Another first-rate dollop of classic tunes from one of the most important pop-punk bands of the current period," the official blurb reads, and that still seems close to the mark. Includes full layouts of two ads banned from the June 1998 issue of Maximum Rocknroll honoring the recently departed Tim Yo, MRR founder and inspiration to a generation of DIY punk rock True Believers. Preorders for the forthcoming MUTE-ANTS album are opened up and the June vacation shutdown is announced as Label Dude and his loyal dog, Snorkel Bob, hit the road for the month.
JULY 1998. Wisconsin and its extra sharp cheddar cheese is given the official MP seal of approval and the MP-503 SLACKER CD is proclaimed to be out of print forever -- and the unique history behind the release is provided. MP-31 THE CATALOGS "South Pacific" and MP-32 THE CRETINS "We Haven't Heard of You Either," are first announced, both deemed to be "3 chord punk in the vein of THE QUEERS," and said to be languishing for lack of a band cover photo. Neither band ever came up with a suitable image. The first of those records was ultimately "bootlegged" by MP itself in a run of about 275 on green vinyl, using wrong labels and no sleeve (a tribute to the bootleg records of the 1980s that T.C. loved), only a few dozen copies of these being released; the later died at the test pressing stage (about 8 copies in the world of that...).
SEPTEMBER 1998. A move is made to the 16 page size with this issue. New releases include another (pink) variant of the MP-03 BORIS THE SPRINKLER "Drugs and Masturbation" extravaganza, MP-33 THE KUNG FU MONKEYS "Hi-Fi at Low Tide," and MP-34 THE HISSYFITS "All Dolled Up." The Hissyfits record was released in two versions, with different vinyl color, spot sleeve printing, and B-sides due to their tape coming in too long to fit 3 songs on 1 record -- a rather unique manufacturing of lemonade from lemons. A little "tour diary" by T.C. included with a bunch of fairly interesting photos. Notable among the available fare is a bootleg Rezillos EP for only $4. Such a deal!
OCTOBER 1998. MP-508 THE MUTE-ANTS The Terrible Tunes of... and MP-33 THE KUNG FU MONKEYS "Hi-fi and Low Tide" get the front page push. The Label Dude pleads: "I don't have $5,000 (or the inclination) to spam ads in every fanzine that moves like a few of the bigger punk labels, all I can do is scream and shout and hope you listen..." The morphing of the Mutant Pop catalog into a fanzine continues apace, with a feud between the New Regime at MRR (booooooo!) and Long Gone John of the great DIY label Sympathy for the Record Industry (yaaaaay!) about a rejected Chubbies record reproduced for catalog readers' entertainment. Also includes a full column by Friend of the Label Rev. Nørb and MP-label news.
NOVEMBER 1998. MP-510 THE CONNIE DUNGS Songs for Swinging Nice Guys gets the front page coverage, this being a new CD reissue of the band's two self-released cassette-only albums/demo tapes, Songs for Swinging Lovers and Nice Guys Finish Last. The blurb goes: "There's little doubt that Brandon is one of the most interesting and important songwriters of the 1990s pop punk scene, along with Ben Weasel and Joe Queer." Fanzine-style columns by Dave Spodie, Lali Donovan (ex-MRR), Mike Faloon (sporting a photoshopped face of the young Joseph Stalin), and the first appearance of "Top of the Pops" by Pennsylvania zinester and punk devotee Josh Rutledge. The MP merchandising fiesta begins with a first batch of free 1" buttons.
JANUARY 1999. MP-30 VARIOUS ARTISTS "No Band Photo, Vol. 1" gets the front page push, a double 7" featuring the only release of THE FRATELLIS, along with the longer-lived groups SPODIE, THE PROMS, and RUTH'S HAT. Zine-style columns by Jason Duncan of Just Add Water Records, another blast of Josh Rutledge's "Top of the Pops," and a piece by geriatric label-dude T. Chandler entitled, "Screeching Weasel: A Quick Intro to the CDs by My Buddy Ben," which briefly details the origin of our personal feud from his perspective (having once said something nice about Larry Livermore in ZINE [9]) and correctly ranks the SW albums ("indispensable" = 1. Anthem for a New Tomorrow; 2. My Brain Hurts; 3. Wiggle.)
FEBRUARY 1999. MP-36 DARLINGTON "Bowling Betty" and MP-37 THE KLOPECS s-t get the front page. The strange saga of the Darlington record is recounted, the band having sent a DAT (!!!) to MP as a demo tape while still named MESS, which sat unplayed under the desk for two years. The band changed their name and appeared on the MP radar, tape was discovered, and 3 previously unreleased rockers were finally discovered on the long-lost DAT. Zine-style column by Maggie Lee. "Pizzafest" is announced for Lafayette, Indiana for June 19, 1999. MP postage costs are hiked from a flat $1 to a flat $2. Top 10 lists for 1998 albums by Rutledge, Wayne Griffith of THE CONNIE DUNGS, Duncan from Just Add Water, and Chandler.
MARCH 1999. The MP-517 CARTER PEACE MISSION Disco Stu Likes Disco Music reissue is given the big shove. "Two very descriptive adjectives are uptempo and funny. Goofy pop-punk hits played really fast..." I became familiar with this recording when I was doing 1000 Flowers hot and heavy, it was a very popular release with the California stores I dealt with and I liked 'em a lot. Two catalog pages are spent carefully going over the "dead wax etchings" on the first 30 MP singles, listing each etching along the out-groove and its meaning. Another installment of J.R.'s "Top of the Pops," a Mutant Pop 4th Anniversary sale, and a little dash of label news.
MAY 1999. MP-515 THE PROMS Helpless Romantic CD gets the main push and preorders are opened for MP-513 THE CONNIE DUNGS Earthbound for the Holiday, MP-516 DIRT BIKE ANNIE Hit the Rock, and MP-38 THE WANNA-BES "Saturday Night." Label statement: "The Mutant Pop label and the stuff i push in this catalog is about creating an alternative universe of what radio would sound like in a just society, a society where quality counts and the music matters. I'm trying to make hit records, god damn it! Can you understand that? I'm not delusional, I realize that there is no chance in the world -- ZERO -- that the stuff I crank out will actually become and actual radio hit. I couldn't care less. I won't even embarrass myself by trying..." At the 11th hour, Pizzafest in Indiana is canceled (too much work and too scary for a chickenshit like T.C. to organize a fest half way across the country.) Josh Rutledge contributes another installment of "Top of the Pops."
JULY 1999. Back from the annual June road trip with Snorkel Bob, it's MP-38 THE WANNA-BES "Saturday Night" getting a shove. The Wanna-Bes came to MP via James Farris of Moral Crux, who got them to send me a tape. MP-513 CONNIE DUNGS Earthbound and MP-516 DIRT BIKE ANNIE Hit the Rock! also get the treatment, arguably the high point of the MP label. Josh Rutledge adds his two bits in "Top of the Pops."
AUGUST 1999. A turning point is reached with the purchase by MP of a 6-up CD replicator and the initiation of a new format, called "Short Run Compact Discs" (SRCDs). The move away from use of wholesale distributors and the collapse of a big majority of the punk rock record stores that flourished in the middle '90s made the production of vinyl increasingly uneconomic (big losses were being absorbed with every release). The main mission of EXACTLY 100 vinyl EPs is reiterated, but "lots and lots" of SRCDs are promised. Notes from the road along with pictures of a couple of the MP stalwarts. J.R. contributes his regular column as well.
SEPTEMBER 1999. MP-35 THE CHUBBIES "She Wanted More" is finally on the street and MP-12 MORAL CRUX 'Victim of Hype" is reissued with a new picture sleeve. A big "MUTANT FEST' at Columbus, Ohio featuring DBA, RUTH'S HAT, CONNIE DUNGS, PROMS, and HISSYFITS, slated for Oct. 23, 1999, is announced. Continuation of T.C.'s musings about his June road trip. More details emerge on the ill-fated SRCD concept. Josh Rutledge chips in another column. Includes Mutant Pop news, detailing the story of the ban of MP advertising from Maximum Rocknroll and MRR's theft of $60 for an ad which was canceled in the aftermath of comments made by T.C. on alt.punk about wanna-be Führer Jacqueline, the justly maligned fanatic who took over for the late and great Tim Yo. The demise of JCCC and THE MUTE-ANTS is also noted.
NOVEMBER 1999. Release MP-510 EGGHEAD Dumb Songs for Smart People is on the streets. The band is characterized as "New York City's plaid shirted dork squad" and the CD rightfully characterized as a Greatest Hits package, including material from self-released vinyl and an obscure CD comp. The subscription to the first dozen SRCDs is opened ($45/12), with the discs to be released in groups of 3. Releases by ATTACK FISH and SOLO PROJECT are included in the first roster, two releases which never came to fruition. Rutledge is back, per usual. The last dregs of the MP colored vinyl supply are hauled out and pushed. An $8 CD sale shifts some units, as the slimer saying goes...
DECEMBER 1999. EGGHEAD gets another shout out, while MP-39 THE BEAUTYS "A#1 Sex Shop Employee" is the forthcoming release on the front page. Furthermore, the SRCDs are in the world, with the release of the first "Wave," including THE PROTEENS, THE PEABODYS, and THE DARYLS (two really good ones and a bad recording of a good band that was helped along by the release). T.C. prattles about label stuff for a page, and Josh Rutledge chimes in with his "Top of the Pops" column.
TO PRESS JANUARY 17, 2000. The first issue of years beginning with a 2... ("rolling the odometer"). MP-518 SICKO A Brief History of is unveiled and the story behind it told. The success of this album through de facto exclusive wholesale distributor Revolver USA was a big surprise, injecting 1995-style frenetic sales fun into the label experience (the only MP CD release which necessitated an emergency fast repressing). Wave 2 of the SRCDs are announced, including THE DROPOUTS (short and good, but widely disliked), TIC (universally hated and probably the single worst artistic decision made by MP), and THE KLOPECS. A plea is made for a "Punk Rock History Project" (contributions of short memoirs and zines) as the 1990s punk rock explosion begins to retreat in the rearview mirror. Top 10 lists by a number of worthies and a Josh Rutledge column. Includes some interesting band photos.
TO PRESS FEBRUARY 28, 2000. The last MP 7"er is announced for preorders, MP-40 THE PEABODYS "Dilemma" -- making the band the answer to the trivia question: "which MP band had stuff released as a SRCD before being put out on vinyl?" An end is called to the 7" series for financial reasons: "the vinyl market has collapsed in North America, your unwavering mailorder support notwithstanding." Disgust for the record industry in general setting in with the bitter label dude, but the SICKO CD surprisingly explodes to sell 2,000 copies in a month -- making financially possible one last CD, by ATTENTION DEFICIT. The decision is made to retreat to small-scale SRCD production, betting the farm on the format. Wave 3 is announce released: JUVENILE WRECK, THE MIXELPRICKS, and ATTENTION DEFICIT.
TO PRESS APRIL 14, 2000. The 5th Anniversary of Mutant Pop is announced; a swan sings in the forest, unheard. The years 1995-2000 are characterized as "half time" for the label, but without realizing it, the end is near.
"MP...hasn't played a role in 'growing' the musical form so much as it has served as a sort of life-support system during a difficult time when other labels fizzled or changed styles. There is still a vital community of pop-punk bands and fans, creating music zines and playing shows. This movement is probably stronger in 2000 in terms of commitment and caliber than it was in 1995; it is certainly stronger now than it was in 1991 or 1992, the years immediately preceding the big North American punk explosion. While MP's existence may not have been causal, it hasn't been detrimental either. Bands doing initial releases on MP include THE AUTOMATICS, UNDERHAND, THE PROMS, WANNA-BES, HISSYFITS, KLOPECS, and PEABODYS (among others). The label has also had a fairly important role to play in the career to date of THE CONNIE DUNGS, AFTER SCHOOL SPECIAL [DAVID JONES], THE KUNG FU MONKEYS, RUTH'S HAT, and DIRT BIKE ANNIE. While I reckon it is too early to judge the historical importance of this group of bands, I feel fairly secure when I say that music historians will smile favorably upon many of these bands when the chronicles of the decade are written. In this sense I feel the first half (sic.) of Mutant Pop's life has been a relative success."
The album of THE WANNA-BES is announced to have been placed on a 30 day hold while the band pursues "an extraordinary post-recording opportunity to hook up with another label" (Panic Button/Lookout!). Short Run CD "Wave 4" is announced, with releases by THE VACANTS, THE WALLYS, and THE LOMBARDIS. The first "subscription" of 12 thus draws to a close and survey forms are circulated. Includes a pensive autobiographical column by Tim Davenport (T. Chandler). Includes a local zine ad from MP's origin in 1995 and the infamous (widely misinterpreted) 1995 Planet Ad calling the shot: "Mutant Pop will be to Lookout! Records what Fat Wreck Chords is to Epitaph."
TO PRESS JUNE 14, 2000. A change of name, a doubling of size, an effort to shake things up and regain traction in this last Mutant Pop catalog. Seven new SRCDs are unveiled, including a bootleg-quality live BORIS THE SPRINKLER, a demo-tape of a 1995 Corvallis band called DEAD LIKE ELVIS (lead singer of which was the great MORGAN GRACE), MR. CRISPY (now said to be famous as ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS), Connecticut vets EXPLOSIVE KATE, DARLINGTON live (nice sound), THE PHILIACS (great release!), and THE HITCHCOCKS (running mates of THE PROMS.) T.C. prattles for two pages, more autobiographical stuff with some specific words for Ben Foster, a reprint of a long article on the Los Angeles punk scene featuring an interview with Al and Holly of Flipside magazine, a memoir of Los Angeles punk by Willy Aadnoy, an interview with Rodney on the ROQ ripped from Flipside. Also included is a column by Tim Yo from 1986, an unpublished interview with THE CONNIE DUNGS (originally conducted for MRR and believed to be the only band interview in print [!!!]), Josh Rutledge's "Top of the Pops," a bit of self-criticism by T.C. about misunderestimating THE HUNTINGTONS. Also features consumer ratings of the first subscription of SRCDs, which aren't too hot.
*** Note: MP was voted down by Mordam for the second time at the monthly meeting of June 2000. *** ...and then, not coincidentally, there was a 18 month lag before the next catalog...
MAILED JAN. 31, 2002. Photocopied original. The year 2001 was a lost year for MP, with only two releases -- a fine full length by the electronic-driven ATTENTION DEFICIT and a split CDEP pairing MP-faves RUTH'S HAT with their touring partners, the SoCal-sound SEWING WITH NANCIE. The latter was a MP release only in the loosest sense of the term, the volition and much of the cash for the project coming from the Sloan Brothers of RUTH'S HAT, the MP logo intended to lend some legitimacy to a limited-issue release intended to support a joint tour. After a whiny front page, this catalog includes nothing but records, more records, still more records, SRCDs and CDs -- a straight record catalog with no zine content, cranked out with a view to raising some dosh to fund a reenergized MP.
TO PRESS MARCH 13, 2002. The final MP catalog printed on newsprint, press run of 2,000. A big push is made for 6 new Short Run Compact Discs, those of SPAZBOY, THE CONNIE DUNGS, THE PEABODYS, NERD GETS THE GIRL, THE BELDONS, and THE NOGOODS. Despite wall to wall quality, this group of new releases sold poorly, setting the table for the horrific response to the final flurry of SRCDs. This catalog includes a lengthy essay by P.J. Sloan of RUTH'S HAT, pondering the question of whether pop-punk is dead. Sloan argues that poppy punk constantly revitalizes itself with a new group of raw and sloppy bands, while established practitioners move along their natural cycle of development, replacing "fresh, untained inspiration" with "a concerted effort to 'compose' songs." MP titles are recounted and an array of 7"ers and CDs described and offered for sale, with color illustrations in this electronic format.
ORIGINALLY SLATED FOR THE PRESS MAY 20, 2002. Conceived as a full-sized fanzine-catalog, this edition of the MP catalog was prepared for newsprint production with a planned run of 3,000. The project was abruptly terminated, however, with the mostly-completed results being released via a couple websites as PDF ONLY. THE EPOXIES grace the cover of this last Mutant Pop catalog from MP Phase One, a document very nearly lost from the world and saved only thanks to some astute internet detective work by Jerrad from Albany. Highlight is a long review by REVEREND NØRB of the most recent dozen SRCDs, in which Norbie pulls no punches about what tickles his fancy and what makes his stomach churn. And most of these have him reaching for the Tums... The Mutant Pop SRCDs getting the Nor-bare treatment include THE REMOTES, THE MANSFIELDS, JAKE AND THE STIFFS, THE CONNIE DUNGS, SPAZBOY, NUKE, NERD GETS THE GIRL, THE BELDONS, THE NOGOODS, THE JIMMIES, THE PEABODYS ("It Only Hurts When I Think"), and HIGH SCHOOL HELLCATS. Ironically, at least half of these are GREAT releases, but gomers like me an' him can differ about such things... Also includes columns by Maxie Somethington of THE SOMETHINGTONS, Jesse K. of THE AUTOMATICS, The Great Josh Rutledge, The Great Lewis Houston, and a painful and interminable exposition by Guru-cum-Horse's Ass Chandler hailing the SRCD format and detailing how you, too, can sink your label by betting the farm on CD-Rs that nobody wants to buy. On the positive size of the equation, there are lots of record reviews with color cover shots and 16 highly-readable pages detailing the Mutant Pop inventory at the time of its Summer 2002 meltdown.
There were periodic updates of the Mutant Pop website throughout 2002, but these proved ineffectual and Mutant Pop went into protracted hibernation late in the year, ending the 1995-2002 phase of the label.
SRCD Feedback Forms Like all parents, Chandler was forced to pretend that he loved all his children equally, which proved to be a problem with the SRCD format -- which included a wider spectrum of content, ranging from obscure demo tapes to live shows of various recording qualities to studio recordings. As a means of gaguing what people thought of the various releases, what they wanted from the series, a providing a numerical "rating" for each release, with which people could steer around the less beloved fare, feedback forms were sent out at the end of each of the 3 completed "subscriptions." (Each "subscription" contained 4 "waves" of 3 releases -- simultaneous release being used to minimize postage costs and the work of preparing envelopes for shipping).
MARCH 2000. Photocopied original. Mentioned in the blurb for Subscription 2 are the non-starting projects from ATTACK FISH (which most MP people would have liked a lot) and THE PROTISTS (which they might not have). The former was abandoned for lack of sleeve art, I believe, and the latter was dropped by decision of the label.
AUGUST 2000. Photocopied original. Mentions a non-starting project, a live release by THE HUNTINGTONS. Back notes the debacle of the defective CONNIE DUNGS Eternal Bad Luck Charm CD and the availability of a remastered (and noticably different) second pressing of DIRT BIKE ANNIE's Hit the Rock. MP went into its first deep slide at this point, with subsequent SRCD releases extremely infrequent. The label was essentially on hiatus during the latter part of 2001 and into the start of 2002, briefly revived for the first half of that year with a bit of "new year's resolution"-type energy.
JUNE 2002. Photocopied original. After a long hiatus, the 3rd subscription of SRCDs is completed and the gates opened for a 4th and final subscription. Chandler ominously notes: "The forthcoming subscriptiion will probably be the last, I've pretty well decided to stop releasing stuff on Mutant Pop. While I may well change my mind between now and then, the label has pretty well stopped being fun for me and I wanna get out before I really start to hate it." Not surprisingly, renewals for the 4th and final subscription fell off the map. Chandler began experimenting with use of a photocopier for sleeves with disastrous results, Arne Cherkoss of HANDGUN BRAVADO pulled his release, THE ALL-STARS were left at the altar, and the original phase of Mutant Pop (1995-2002) came crashing to an ignominious conclusion.
t.c.
