JOHNNY LUNCHBREAK acetate MINT PSYCH PROG LP Modern Lovers Velvet Underground

	£		19
	$		25

JOHNNY LUNCHBREAK acetate 1974/1975
After an obscure acetate turned up in Connecticut in 2004, Zero Street Records issued a 300-copy limited edition LP of the complete works of Johnny Lunchbreak. The non-album was a mélange of post-Velvets New York mixed with the upturned collar of the Modern Lovers’ New England. 
The cover is in EX condition. The record is in MINT condition. Has the insert. Handnumbered 124/300

Johnny Lunchbreak, never even released an album. The band had roots at King Philip Junior High in West Hartford, Conn., and their story is a prototype for thousands of groups-- start out playing because it's fun, get serious, find success elusive (complete with cool reception by the NYC press), call it quits in frustration when you realize that feeding your child is more important than gigging at bars in Vernon for chump change.   But what most of those other bands didn't have was an album's worth of really good, unique songs that show a band tantalizingly close to a breakthrough. "Tinsel Days" has a colossal power pop hook and a great independent bassline, but the killer is "Not a Dry Eye in America", which shows off their harmonies and fakes you into believing it's a ballad before ramping up to a moody, blues-inflected climax. The recording quality is clean but not clear (these are demos in the true sense), but these guys had it, and it shows through the relatively murky sound.   While Johnny Lunchbreak, an early-seventies post-Velvet's rock band from Connecticut, never recorded a full album, an acetate of nine demo recordings made between 1974-75 had turned up mysteriously and been released as a limited LP. Originally issued in an acetate pressing of four (one for each member),on Zero Street Records a few years ago, made it into a full cd release. Like the Modern Lovers and other East Coast rock bands of the era, Johnny Lunchbreak have a softer New York sound, clean but Velvety riffs with sort of a surfy twist and vocal melodies that are less insistent then either Jonathan Richman's or Lou Reed's. Apparently the band was trying for an early Bee Gees sound, but didn't quite reach that potential.   It’s the common story these days: friends form band, make rudimentary demos, nothing happens. Several decades pass, someone picks up on them and decides they deserve to be heard now. Sadly, Johnny Lunchbreak’s tale throws tragedy into that mix. By the mid-70s (after an onish-offish career that began in 1966) it seems that the Lunchbreak were on extended hiatus when mainman Andy Merritt died in a motorcycle crash in 1984, putting paid to bandmate Michael Clare’s belief that they “would continue together… after the turbulence of life during your late 20s and early 30s”. In the early 80s, however, fellow bandmate John Gengras made acetates of the two demo sessions Johnny Lunchbreak cut across 1974/75, calling them Appetizer and Soup’s On. After being accidentally sold, found again, and pressed in a vinyl run of 300, Asterisk (an offshoot of Numero Group, who dedicate themselves to unearthing mega-rare soul and funk) now release them on CD. What do these nine West Coast-influenced rock tracks say of the band? Very little, other than that they were competent, and that maybe playing sporadically in and around Connecticut wasn’t a big enough arena to get them… connected. It could never set the world alight, though, then or now. the songs are pretty catchy, and for a band that spent its two years of existence focusing more on merchandising than playing live, the songs are surprisingly well-written and recorded. Worth checking out!    “Found circa 2004 while digging through Connecticut, a mysterious nine-track 12-inch acetate housed in a stickered jacket. No real info, other than the aforementioned sticker giving the band a name, a photo giving the band a face and a psychedelic style drawing pulled from a notebook tucked inside. The label on the record gave a general idea of location...the Gallery Recording Studios in CT. The ‘detective work’ was started by calling the recording studio. They didn't remember anything. With no names, I posted a pic of the acetate and two MP3s up on the Yahoo psychedelic web board to see if anybody knew anything. Some unknown Swede noticed the drawing was signed by a chick and managed to track her down right away. She, in turn, got a hold of an original member who in turn got a hold of me. All within a day or two of my original post. Amazing how that works out sometimes! The acetate was impressive...all originals showing healthy influences of their heroes the Kinks, Bee Gees (Odessa era) and the Stones. Yet the band retained an identity much of their own. Since the acetate went unreleased, I thought it fit to press up 300 copies to share with the world. Had these sessions been pressed up on a private label back in the day, the resulting album would surely be on many a want list now. This reissue is a real gem for fans of early/mid-’70s underground rock. Strict pressing of 300 numbered copies with minimalist hand assembled packaging. Also includes liner notes (um...kinda) by an original member. The reissue is mastered from the original found acetate (and is by no means of ‘audiophile’ quality).”   Tracks 1. A Very Papal State - 5:33 2. Tinsel Days - 3:50 3. The Same Could Happen To You - 2:42 4. Never Found - 2:29 5. It's Got A Hold On You (Tom Ekwurtzel) - 5:16 6. Take Me Baby (John Gengras) - 3:36 7. Amazing Pain (Tom Ekwurtzel) - 3:24 8. Not A Dry Eye In America - 4:06 9. The Best That I Had - 5:43 All songs by Andrew Merritt except otherwise stated.   Johnny Lunchbreak *Andrew Merritt - Guitar, Vocals, Drums *Michael Clare - Bass *John Gengras - Lead Guitar, Vocals *Guy Gengras - Drums, Vocals, Congas *Tom Ekwurtzel - Guitar, Piano, Moog
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