Author: Henry Owings

Man, I’ve got to learn to update this site more often!

I’m very proud to say that I’m now fully divorced, and moving forth with all vigor and speed to what has been attracting me, which is…….

While I was working on the Pylon box a year or so ago, I started thinking a book of Athens show flyers would be a good idea. And while I was at it, I thought to myself it would be just as easy to to a book of Atlanta while I’m working on Athens. And well, that started in May 2021.

Since then, I’ve personally scanned over 13,000 pieces. Yes. You read that right. To those wondering how I scanned everything, it was done by yours truly using pretty darned good equipment.

Plus 1 Athens seemed like the most obvious place to start, so in August 2021 I started the book. By late October, it was out and sold out of the first printing of 500 within 3 weeks.

The Athens book is a love letter to a city I will always call home. I got show flyers dating from 1967 to 2003 with essays from both Michael and Vanessa from Pylon, Arthur Johnson from the BBQ Killers with a foreword by Dave Schools from Widespread Panic and an afterword by Patterson Hood from Drive-By Truckers. I think I knocked it outta the park.

With the proceeds of the Athens book, I decided to upgrade my scanner. Now I’m a fully self-contained scanning machine. Except the machine part. That’s the scanner.

That’s a photo Stephanie took of me in North Georgia scanning original Brains posters from the 70s. Pretty sweet stuff.

Anyway, the Atlanta book is going to print (fingers crossed) this week. After that happens, I start on the state of Georgia. Yes, the whole state.

In the meantime, you might be asking “How does this affect me, Henry?” Well, simply put, what do you have to add to the collection? And this isn’t just Georgia. No, I’ve already started preliminary work on a book of Alabama and have been asking around in both Pittsburgh and Baltimore to begin a book of those cities. So if you’re a Chunklet fan, this is the direction I’ve been going in recently. Preservation. Gotta say, it’s fun.

That’s not to say I’ve not been putting out records and other nonsense. Silly! No, I’ve been doing that too! Go over to the Chunklet bandcamp site to see what’s up. During the pandemic I blew past 100 releases, so get with it.

Feel free to get in touch about anything. And again, sorry I didn’t update this thing for so long.

I spend all of this money on a new Chunklet website, and I’ve been incredibly negligent in posting things. So here’s an update.

First off, I’ve released my very first single. Of my own stuff, that is. “Micro Impressions Volume 1” is available now on Bandcamp and will be in stores in the very near future. “Henry, what’s your first single?” That’s a good question!

“Micro Impressions Volume 1” is a collection of my one-second band impressions. Recorded live. About fifty of them. Imagine an issue of Chunklet crammed into a vinyl record. I wrote a ton for it and included approximately 100 (!!!!) reviews of the single which were all written by my friends. The sleeve was designed by Nolen Strals from Post Typography and is mighty fancy. There y’have it.

I should also add that our long-time distributor, Carrot Top out of Chicago, folded. Although that’s bad news for us all, Chunklet was fortunately picked up by Revolver almost immediately after the news was announced. So for those that wonder where to get our releases…..well, Revolver. Ask for Bobo.

I’ve also been venturing more and more into releasing records by Georgia-based musicians because, let’s face it, things are downright bonkers here in town. The most recent releases have been by Omni (featuring two outtakes from their first LP on Trouble In Mind) and an EP by drag-dressin’ freaks The Material Girls. Both releases are fantastic.

I also got the crazy idea to release three lathe-cut singles by three Atlanta bands in one night. DiCaprio, Nag and Death Stuff. Even made a cassette collecting all three. Check it out!

Coming up is a full length LP by All The Saints, a single by The Gotobeds and a slew of split singles. One of the splits features Robert Schneider from the Apples in Stereo and Will from the Olivia Tremor Control. The band is called The Patient. Release date is late September. Stay tuned.

I also made some enamel pins because yolo.

That’s about it. Been working furiously and relaxing…uh, un-furiously. Until next time.

Look, if you voted for this sociopath, I’m sure you had your reasons. However, one week into his illegitimate presidency, lives are being destroyed. America isn’t safe. The world isn’t safe. I’ll be damned if I will sit by idly and let this happen. Let history reflect that we, the majority, didn’t participate in this.

Shirts are being made and all proceeds go to benefit the American Immigration Council. Buy now.

The Elephant Six collective’s family tree is beyond diverse. From The Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel to Elf Power, Of Montreal, Beulah, The Minders and countless others. But don’t fool nobody, the very first vinyl release, the starting point for all that came after it was The Apples self-released EP in 1993. As with all of their material, it was recorded and produced by Robert Schneider.

The band released a subsequent single on the Bus Stop Label the next year and a peppering of split releases before their first full length, Fun Trick Noisemaker, which came out in 1995.

Long out of print, Science Faire collects the band’s very earliest material in the original format that all of these releases came out: on seven-inch vinyl!

Complete with posters, stickers and books, Science Faire is painstakingly reproduced exactly how they were originally. Each side of vinyl is stretched to their absolute limit with maximum times per side. Again, just like the originals. The third single (“Time For Bed”) also includes never before seen artwork by The Olivia Tremor Control’s W. Cullen Hart from back in the early 90’s. Additionally, the track “Onto Something” is included here which wasn’t included with the original release.

All three singles are housed in a special package created by Chunklet’s in-house designer Henry Owings.

Mail order copies will come on special colors of vinyl and a reprint of the very first Apples shirt.

A limited edition of 500. 

Also available on Bandcamp.

Pre-orders ship some time before Christmas (we hope).

I’m not going to lie. This past week has been an absolute beast for me. You start thinking that the national narrative clearly wouldn’t veer towards a racist, homophobic, tax-dodging pig, but here we are with said pig a mere flick of the finger from the bomb. Thanks, America. You’ve really disappointed me. Anybody that’s not a rich white man should be ashamed of themselves for allowing a man who very openly hates all of us get the presidency. We went from a Harvard Constitutional Law professor to a reality show judge who marginalizes everybody. Congratulations, America. Or what is left of it.

In a genuine effort to keep my spirits up and my general level of malaise down, I’ve taken myself off social media which, to be honest, hasn’t been all that bad. However, in one of my last peeks into Facebook, I saw that my good pal Nolen Strals posted an image of his beaten up “We’re All In This Together” t-shirt which had to be over a decade old.

Now, to those who may remember, this design was entirely thought up back in the late 90’s by Mark Wasserman from Plinko in San Francisco. A wildly successful design for the time, I’ve decided to resurrect this shirt indefinitely in a vague way to cheer myself up amidst the steaming shit sandwich that our country will be forcing down our gullet for (at least) the next 4 years.

Every printing of this shirt has been on a different color, and no, I don’t remember which was the first, but I’ve made literally thousands of this shirt and it’s now available for sale on navy blue American Apparel 2001 shirts. Also! Every order comes with the design you all love printed on bright red vinyl stickers. Just like that.

And again, in an attempt to cheer myself up, I saw that Jeff from Wilco gave Chunklet a tip of the hat regarding this shirt. Surreal to have folk at that level notice what I’ve done, but so be it. Top of the world, ma!

Also available on Bandcamp.

“Randy Bewley and Michael Lachowski’s simple lines display untoward rhythm and melody, respectively. Curtis Crowe bangs away so obdurately it’s hard to understand why he didn’t become rich. Vanessa Briscoe Hay barks and brays whatever incantatory phrases seem called for. Timeless. Cool.” Robert Christgau, Dean of American Rock Critics 

“[Pylon] stands as shockingly modern and unparalleled these many years later.”  Michael Stipe, R.E.M. 

1983 was a banner year for Pylon. The Athens quartet released their second album, Chomp, on Atlanta-based DB Records, toured the country extensively, and played several opening slots for then-up-and-comers U2. And then, without a hint of explanation, they quit. 

Their final show at the Mad Hatter in Athens, Georgia, was, as was always the case, a frenzy of minimal disco thud, post-punk guitar scree, and deliriously inspired howl. Oh, and dancing — always dancing — both in the crowd and on stage. The gig was recorded (both audio and video) for a failed PBS pilot called Athens Shows, and the tapes were put away and forgotten. That is, until now. 

Around three years ago, after Pylon’s DFA reissues hit the street, Chunklet CEO (and card-carrying member of the Pylon Fan Club) Henry Owings emailed the band bemoaning the lack of bonus material on the CDs, which sparked a larger conversation. “My favorite Pylon is live Pylon,” said bassist Michael Lachowski, with which Henry wholeheartedly agreed. Following a cordial sit-down at Michael’s apartment over the New Year’s holiday of 2015, an exhaustive search began for live recordings by Pylon. More specifically, live recordings from Athens in the early ’80s. Oh, and that sounded as good, if not better, than their proper full-length albums. 

Numerous dead ends followed, but finally, and somewhat fittingly, the multitrack recordings of Pylon’s final performance at the Mad Hatter in 1983 were unearthed. Once the tapes were transferred and subsequently mixed, the explosive and compelling sounds raised one very significant question: Why in the world did Pylon quit? 

For a band whose legacy, in their original incarnation at least, was two full-length albums and a handful of singles, Pylon were first and foremost a live band who weren’t as interested in working in a studio. Pylon’s raison d’être was performing for a crowd, and now there’s conclusive validation. 

Pylon Live is a double vinyl album recorded on the band’s home turf at the culmination of their powers, and the results could not be more stellar. An all killer, no filler set with nothing left on the cutting room floor, Pylon Live includes powerful versions of the Pylon canon from their first and second LPs and even the hard-to-find song “Party Zone” (previously available only on a DB Rec comp) and their never-before-released rendition of the “Batman Theme.” 

When compared to the band’s prior body of work, Pylon Live bookends all of it; some might even say it’s a better representation of this Athens quartet, who thrived on bouncing around on stage infinitely more than sitting in a studio. 

There’s little arguing that the Athens powerhouse trifecta of R.E.M., the B-52’s, and Pylon is peerless. And while all three bands have achieved great critical acclaim, only the first two had the commercial acclaim they deserved. Pylon Live intends to correct that. 

Pylon Live is being released on July 25, 2016, the birthday of deceased Pylon guitarist Randy Bewley, with release events scheduled for this summer in Atlanta and Athens. 

Pylon Live is for sale at chunklet.com, chunklet.bandcamp.com, iTunes, Amazon, and wherever digital music is sold. 

Limited to 200 on magenta vinyl. 

Limited to 200 on clear vinyl. 

Unlimited on black vinyl.

At the height of their powers, Pylon performed their final show at the Mad Hatter in their hometown of Athens, Georgia in the winter of 1983.

Two enterprising gentlemen professionally filmed and recorded this show as a pilot for a potential Austin City Limits-style show called “Athens Shows,” but quickly abandonned the project. Shelved and forgotten about for over 30 years, this single marks the first newly released Pylon since the early nineties.

The sounds of Pylon are nothing new to hardcore fans, but this propulsive and powerful recording will be sure to keep you dancing and waiting in blissful anticipation for their double LP “Live” which will be due out on Randy Bewley’s birthday in late July.

Limited to 500 copies. ORDER HERE ON THE NEW CHUNKLET STORE. OR HERE FOR BANDCAMP. 

Features:

First newly released Pylon in over 25 years

Live show professionally recorded

Mixed by Derek Almstead

Mastered by Drew Crumbaugh

Design by Pylon bassist Michael Lachowski

Cut direct to lacquer at Chicago Mastering Service

The kind folks at iNSECT asked us to curate a podcast. A pretty solid collection of jams. And we have nobody else but Tim Kerr (!!!!!) to thank for that lovely drawing of our beloved owner.