Up Periscope

 Back on May 19, 2010 I posted a great compilation from Pat Maley from Yoyo Studios in Olympia, Washington called Throw – A Yoyo Studio compilation. It got a lot of response & considerable downloads.

This past July I received a request to re-upload the file as it had been on Mediafire & was gobbled up in their stupidity sometime ago. While I was doing that I remembered that Jon had mentioned that Periscope – Another Yoyo compilation was also really good material. As often happens, I had meant to post that at some point, but it had slipped through the many cracks in my memory.

 

 

Well, it’s time to remedy that right now with this slab of marbled purple vinyl.

 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

 

Mukilteo Fairies was a punk band from Olympia, Washington that existed from 1993 to 1994. Part of the ‘queercore’ movement, they were distinctive by virtue of their extreme style of hardcore punk that has often been described as grindcore. Members included Jason Reece, Jon ‘Quitty’ Quittner, Joshua Plague, & Rebecca Basye. After the band broke up, Jason Reece moved to Texas to form …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Rebecca Bayse moved to Columbus, Ohio. There she started The Emerald Down. Jon Quittner & Joshua Plague stayed in Olympia, creating a new queercore band Behead The Prophet, No Lord Shall Live. After that group broke up, Joshua’s next outfit was Lords of Lightspeed.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Started in San Francisco, CA in 1995, Go Sailor was mainly a side project for Rose Melberg (The Softies, Tiger Trap, Gaze), Amy Linton (Henry's Dress), & Paul Curran (Crimpshrine). After 3 great singles & 2 tracks on compilations (one here on Periscope), Go Sailor called it quits in 1996, much to the chagrin of twee-popsters everywhere, in order for the members to focus on other projects. Later that year Lookout! Records released all their songs on one CD.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

 

Excuse 17 was a punk rock band from Olympia, Washington that performed & recorded from 1993 to 1995. Carrie Brownstein (of Sleater-Kinney & Portlandia fame), Becca Albee, & CJ Phillips came together to form Excuse 17, a band that would only last a few years but would prove to be influential. Carrie & Becca both played guitar & sang while CJ played the drums. After its inception, the band quickly recorded a demo tape. They then began playing & recording for various compilations on independent record labels. Their first full-length recording, Excuse Seventeen, was released jointly on Atlas Records (LP) and queercore label Chainsaw Records (CD).They would later release their second & final album Such Friends Are Dangerous on the indie label Kill Rock Stars in 1995, which displayed a boost in recording quality. They often found themselves playing shows with Heavens to Betsy, including touring, not surprisingly since both bands were an active part of the Riot Grrrl scene; as well, they both appear on the compilation LP/CD Free to Fight. Corin Tucker from Heavens to Betsy struck up a friendship with Carrie Brownstein. The two women decided to form Sleater-Kinney, a side project that soon evolved into their main focus as their respective groups ended. However, Excuse 17's recordings are still valued by fans of Sleater-Kinney, those interested in Riot Grrrl, & queercore recordings. Becca Albee is currently a photography professor at the City College of New York.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

 

Olympia, Washington’s Fitz of Depression began back in 1988. They have been plugging along on & off in some incarnation or another ever since. Over two decades they've amassed a large number of releases, a laundry list of famous bands they've played with, a large number of tours & live shows, & more than a few ex-band members. Two things that have remained constant are: their blend of heavy rock mixed with catchy punk; & frontman Mike Dees. 

 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

 

Love as Laughter was the brainchild of Sam Jayne after the 1994 dissolution of Olympia, Washington’s mess-rock poster children Lync. Leaning more toward Thin Lizzy/T-Rex/early Tom Petty instead of his previously thick, sneering Lync work, Jayne’s Love as Laughter songs are brilliantly disheveled pop gems about dirty tricks, regret, miscommunication, bathroom graffiti, & misadventure. One of Love as Laughter’s recurrent thematic calling cards has always been Jayne’s tongue-in-cheek wit, manifesting itself in the form of sly musical allusions and lyrical innuendo.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

 

I don’t know anything about the band Tummy Ache other than that on this compilation Tummy Ache contributes an great ode to racial confusion entitled, "Purple Violet Squish."

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

Sheila Burgel & her friend Jen started a band in the early 90s as sophomores in high school in New York called Wednesday, where they played lots of Bikini Kill & Babes in Toyland covers. Towards the end of high school they formed the band Raggedy Ann. They played all originals & somehow got to record for Pat out in Washington who featured their song "Orange Juice Star" on this compilation.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

 

Cub was an indie rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia that formed in 1992. The band was made up of Robynn Iwata on guitar, Lisa Marr on bass, & Lisa G. on drums. All three provided vocals. They disbanded in 1997. They played a melodic, jangly form of pop punk. Their song "New York City" was covered by They Might Be Giants on their album Factory Showroom. Neko Case played drums on some early recordings as well as on tour in later years (she sang live in front of an audience for the first time ever during a Cub show in Ohio - the song was Cub's "So Far Apart").

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

 

The Crabs were a Portland, Oregon based indie-rock band. Originally formed as a duo with Jonn Lunsford (vocals & guitar) & Lisa Jackson (vocals & drums), the pair later added keyboardist Sarah Dougher.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

 

Appleseed???

 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

 

Bloodthirsty Butchers were a long-running indie rock & punk band from Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. Although little-known in the West, they have contributed to two compilations from the Yoyo label. The band has also released a split single with Rocket from the Crypt. The members were Hideki Yoshimura (vocals & guitar), Masahiro Komatsu (drums), & Takeshi Imoriya (bass). On May 27th, 2013, Hideki Yoshimura died unexpectedly of acute cardiac failure. He was 46.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

 

Neutral Milk Hotel. If I have to explain this band for you, you must be dead & I’m just wasting my time.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

 

Long Hind Legs was a side project of Vern Rumsey of Unwound. Unwound was a post-hardcore band based in Tumwater/Olympia, Washington that formed in 1991, consisting of Justin Trosper (vocals, guitar, songwriting), Vern Rumsey (bass), & Brandt Sandeno (drums), all of whom had previously been in a band called Giant Henry. Rumsey & his friend Greg Allen formed the enigmatic New Romantic-styled pop band Long Hind Legs in the 1990s. Rumsey used the pseudonym ‘Wolfgang’ & Allen used the alias ‘Paul’, with only astute Unwound fans aware of their real identities. Following a slew of singles, their debut self-titled album came out in 1997 on Kill Rock Stars. The 12" EP "Open Wide" (+ remixes)/ "Alphabets of Unreason" was released simultaneously. Atop peppy, carnival-esque backing music, "Alphabets of Unreason" features the odd lyrics, "Atoms, boys' cars, dead-end fags/ God, his image, & Jerry's Kids/ Love-making noon orgies/ I want to kill, I want to kill.../ Pills, quinine reveries... Scornful tramps, unwitting vamps, wasted xenophobes & all the young zeroes/ I want to kill, I want to kill..." (note the first letter of each of the main words in the verses, then refer back to the song title).

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

 

Tattle Tale was a Seattle-based music group formed by Jen Wood & Madigan Shive in 1992 at the ages of 15 and 17 respectively. Tattle Tale existed between 1992 & 1995. They were well known in the Riot Grrrl scene, playing what was later to be termed folk punk.They played on numerous compilations before releasing their first single, titled "Early Daze," which was followed by their second single, "Alderwood Mall." On November 9, 1993 they released a self-titled demo-cassette on the record label Kill Rock Stars. On July 14, 1995 they released an album titled Sew True, which is now out of print. In 1995, the band broke up, with Wood pursuing a solo career & several collaborative efforts including vocals on 2005 releases by The Postal Service, while Shive fronted the chamber-punk group Bonfire Madigan.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

 

Team Dresch is an punk/riot grrrl band from Portland, Oregon, originally formed in Olympia, Washington, which was initially active from 1993 until 1998. In the early 2000s, Team Dresch reunited, & they continue to perform. The band made a significant impression on the DIY movement queercore, giving voice to the passions & concerns of those in both the LGBT community & the punk movement. The line up of the group was originally Donna Dresch (guitar & bass); Jody Bleyle (guitar, bass, & vocals); Kaia Wilson (guitar & vocals); & Marci Martinez on drums. All were veterans of other musical outfits; Donna Dresch had previously played & recorded with such bands as Dinosaur Jr., Dangermouse, Screaming Trees, Rastro!, Fifth Column, Some Velvet Sidewalk, Lois, Mary Lou Lord, & The Go Team; Jody Bleyle was simultaneously in the bands Hazel & Lovebutt while playing in Team Dresch; Kaia Wilson had been in the band Adickdid; & Marci Martinez in Calamity Jane. 

 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

 

Noisy rock quartet from Japan with a heavy junky barrage of detuned guitars, neurotic vocals, & hard drumming. Lo-fi tunes for a lo-fi world. Members are Enemoto Zero of Copass Grinderz & Molugu (guitar, effects, & vocals); Yukio Nagoshi of Copass Grinderz, Mi-Gu, & Vasilisk (guitar, percussion, keyboard, strings, & vocals) Daisuke Oochi (drums); & Hideki Yoshimura of Copass Grinderz & Bloodthirsty Butchers (guitar & vocals). 

 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

 

Beck. Same info as Neutral Milk Hotel

 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>  

 

 

Various – Periscope: Another Yoyo Compilation, Yoyo Recordings, 1994.
decryption code in comments

Side A –

Bloody Breath – Mukilteo Fairies

Last Year – Go Sailor

Sevenwhateverteen – Excuse 17

Piss Butt – Fitz of Depression

Super Christ – Love as Laughter

Purple Violet Squish – Tummy Ache

Orange Juice Star – Raggedy Ann

Flaming Red Bob Sled – Cub

Chubbette – Crabs

High – Appleseed

Side B –

I Hate You – Bloodthirsty Butchers

Bucket – Neutral Milk Hotel

Dress in My Bed – Long Hing Legs

Girls Go to Heaven – Tattle Tale

Fake Fight – Team Dersch

Bakuonki – Copass Grinderz

The World May Lose its Motion – Beck

Enjoy,

NØ