Tagalong #02

2005-02-22 to 2006-03-16

Trav tripalot.com/travis Tue Feb 22 10:33:03 2005

Hi, I've overhauled the site's code (from FrontPage to xhtml and css).

Please let me know if you find any problems!

Travis

Oliver goltz olivergoltz@gmx.de Fri Feb 25 09:58:53 2005

Hello Guys, best wishes from Germany, i only want to say that coaleced is a very fine album, especially "Love you" what a magic melody, I can`t get enough from this. Have you any ambitions to play in Germany? It would be nice, to see you here anytime..sorry for bad english..bye

Jude http://www.rhythmonline.co.uk Wed Mar 9 07:41:22 2005

Hi. My partner and I run http://www.rhythmonline.co.uk, an online alternative music store. Just to let you know, we've got For Against releases (and loads more good stuff) on our massive list of alternative / independent music (one of the web's largest lists). Come and take a look. Cheers, Jude x

Words on Music http://www.words-on-music.com Thu Mar 17 13:09:04 2005

[posted by Trav]

FOR AGAINST DECEMBER RE-RELEASE UPDATE

Words On Music's re-release of December, For Against's long out-of-print second album from 1988, is now tentatively scheduled for June 2005. The December reissue has been remastered and will be released in a new six-panel digipack design by Bruce Licher. It will also include two RARE CD-ROM videos for "Autocrat" and "Echelons" from their Echelons album. These videos were shot in 1987 but have never previously been made available to the public.

December is a fan favorite and the album is now considered by critics to be a forerunner of the dream pop scene popularized in England just a year or two later. The album also injects elements of the brooding, Factory Records sound found on their debut, Echelons, which was re-released by Words On Music in August 2004.

Star City Scene http://www.starcityscene.com Thu Mar 17 15:50:24 2005

[posted by Trav]

Starcityscene.com hosts Scenefest, a festival of local music in Lincoln each year, and in this year's show For Against will not only be playing, but they'll be debuting all new material!

Scenefest 3 takes place April 22nd & 23rd at Duffy's Tavern and Bodega's Alley in Lincoln (For Against is playing Friday night 4/22)

Starcityscene.com and the band are all very excited about this, and if you could help spread the word that would be awesome.

Details about the show aren't available at the site yet, will be be online next month at http://www.starcityscene.com/Scenefest3.html

Thanks,
Tery Daly
http://www.starcityscene.com

Trav tripalot.com/travis Thu Mar 17 17:52:56 2005

Here's an updated url for the Star City Scene article:

http://starcityscene.com/ScenefestEvents.html

PaulTired paultired http://www.inthenighttime.it/ Wed Apr 6 09:39:27 2005

Hi there,

I'm looking for 'In The Marshes' lyrics... does anyone can help me?

Thanks
Paolo from ROMA

BDG mupirate@flash.net Tue Apr 12 18:31:30 2005

Anyone going to record/film the For Against set during the Scenefest event in Lincoln? If so please email the details / info. Loads of stuff to trade.

toy toyPrincess@neb.rr.com Sat Apr 16 03:01:51 2005

obviously .....!

For Against are the best

Kevin M. O'Leary kevin.oleary@washburn.edu Fri Apr 29 17:01:23 2005

Does anyone need an original copy of "December" on CD? I have an extra one in very good shape. I can ship it priority mail in the continental USA for $12.00 total. Email me if you're interested. Thanks!

Paul Fredric fritzi@asmodeusx.com http://www.asmodeusx.com Tue May 3 15:27:34 2005

I was so happy to hear For Against are still doing it/doing it again! I think they are probably the first local live band I ever saw. It was 1985 in Debbie Eastman's basement, but it was still For Against One with John Fynbu on vox and Liz Panarelli on bass. It blew my 15 year old mind. I first saw For Against open for Gene Loves Jezebel, 1986 I think - I still possess hearing damage from that show. Later I played in Morphine Angel with Fynbu, and still do music today as Asmodeus X in Houston. I'm totally electronic now, but still cannot deny the influence For Against has had on me. No one in Lincoln at the time carried forth the post-punk sound as cleanly and sincerely. Keep fighting the good fight, guys!

-Paul Fredric

Eve McGivern seance83@yahoo.com Thu Jun 2 15:55:16 2005

I was wondering how 'rare' the vinyl numbered "In the Marshes" 10" really is? Just curious. :) I acquired one of these years ago brand new and have only taken it out of the wrapper once to look at it and play.

Thanks,
Eve

Trav tripalot.com/travis Fri Jun 3 09:39:19 2005

Eve - Hi, no idea how rare the "In the Marshes" 10" is. I don't remember ever seeing it for sale. I justed checked amazon and ebay and don't see it there.

As soon as I got "In the Marshes", I copied it and "Echelons" to a single cassette. When I got a CD burner, I copied them both to a single CDR. I'm so used to hearing the two together that I half-expected the band to re-release "In the Marshes" as bonus tracks on the "Echelons" CD, but I guess the band preferred keeping them separate for artistic, business, or personal reasons.

I've read so-so reviews of "In the Marshes" but I actually like it. It lightens up "Echelons", IMO. I think I'll burn another "combo" CD for myself: the re-released "Echelons" plus my old copy of "In the Marshes".

Of course, I don't intent to ever sell my copy of "In the Marshes". If you are trying to sell yours, you definitely should *not* be burning copies!!! That would be piracy.

My suggestion is that you hang onto it and burn it to CDR so that you don't have to worry about wearing it out (and thus de-valueing it). Hopefully by the time you are willing to sell it, the band will have re-released it on CD, and you will have bought the CD version; this would let you sell the 10" w/ a clear conscience.

Trav

Trav tripalot.com/travis Thu Jun 30 17:13:58 2005

Hey, does anyone know anything about Electrolyte or The Living Dolls (other than that members of the Millions joined them)? Anything at all?

Trav

Jason Sun Jul 3 12:23:56 2005

"In The Marshes" is on sale here for about $8

http://mobilization.com/catalogipr.html

As an aside I've been meaning to make a burn of the band's first single (diff versions of Autocrat & it's a lie) but haven't gotten around to it. Eventually I will, promise.

Trav tripalot.com/travis Fri Jul 22 18:43:37 2005

The December reissue is now for sale at:

http://www.words-on-music.com/WM16.html

It includes 2 videos! :)

Awesome album, can't wait to hear the reissue! :)

Trav

Trav tripalot.com/travis Thu Sep 29 09:47:47 2005

Hi guys! Scott F. sent me a very interesting email, and is allowing me to post excerpts from it. Here's what he's written:

--start-quote--

I saw For Against in Lincoln this weekend!

You probably heard that they were playing the Lincoln Calling festival like they did last year, and I figured that as few and far between as their shows are since they reformed, I should go while I had the chance. After all, it's pretty much a miracle that they reformed at all! It didn't really sink in for a while that I was actually going to witness in person this band I had built up so much over the last four years, and then there they were!

I was really just sort of awestruck watching them set up, trying to connect them with all the songs I've listened to so many times. They're all such down-to-earth looking people.

And then things got interesting: I got Jeff's attention to ask if he minded pictures being taken during their set, and he looked up at me kind of distractedly and said, "I don't care." I wondered why he wasn't making eye contact until I realized he was staring at my shirt (the cover of The Sound's "Jeopardy") and he said "That's a Sound shirt. You know that, right?" I guess he figured someone my age wearing a Sound shirt with no writing on it might not actually know what it was! But I gave the affirmative and he kept talking to me while he tuned up, asking if I liked the Comsat Angels (I told him I could never find their stuff) among other things.

He then invited me outside to chat [...] where he told me some really interesting things like how much he revered so many bands' second albums as statements of purpose (The Sound, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Cure, but NOT The Banshees). It occurred to me that his own band very much follows that pattern! He also told me that "Aperture" is his favorite FA album, and he remarked humorously that it seemed like nobody else likes it. I told him that "Mindframed" was one of my favorites, and he said, "Mine too!" He said it was one of his proudest songwriting moments, and he mentioned (I may have misunderstood him on this one) how the "You Only Live Twice" single was a bid to be signed to Creation Records!

As for the show, the whole set was brand-new material, save for "Medication," "Echelons," and "December"! Unfortunately, they had "Clandestine High Holy" and "Broke My Back" at the end of their setlist, but ran short on time and had to stop before they got to them. The new stuff was interesting, and I don't have the best memory to describe it, but it seemed more in line with the Hinrichs/Engelhard era than with the Dingman/Hill era, though Harry throws in some guitar heroics and stuff that I couldn't really hear Mave Hinrichs doing. He's such an animated guitarist! My friend Justin, who attended with me, remarked that a lot of their new stuff has something of an angry edge, with I thought was fairly accurate, though also maybe having something to do with the fact that the drums were mixed pretty high and Paul plays hard to begin with. I put in a special request for "The Last Laugh" with Jeff before they went on, but he said that Paul had never learned it.

I talked to both Harry and Paul a little more briefly, and Paul told me some cool stuff about his playing, like how his hi-hat functions as his bass drum (again, it was loud and I might be misrepresenting the statement a little) and how it's his most important component. He said that he's had the same hi-hat stand (he described it as "rickety") since the mid-'70s, and he said he'd be lost without it. He also recommended Red Temple Spirits to me, and to pick up just about anything I could find that was IPR.

[...] Jeff told me they are planning on a European tour to promote their upcoming album (I'm assuming this is the purpose, as plans are to record it around year's end). He said that Europe is where their records sell (which makes sense stylistically but surprises me since they're such an obscure, American band), and he didn't completely deny the idea of an American tour, but it didn't sound too hopeful in my opinion. We can cross our fingers, though!

[...] Have you checked out the revised FA bio page on the Words On Music site? It's got a ton of new info and obscure tidbits, even new pictures...really fascinating stuff! http://www.words-on-music.com/foragainst.html

--end-quote--

Thanks, Scott! It's awesome to get an update on the band's new songs and (tentative) touring and recording plans! :)

The re-release of December is getting a nice amount of exposure. It's available from Amazon although I ordered it from Words on Music. It's also mentioned The Ideal Copy ( http://www.theidealcopy.com/ ), which is an awesome post-punk store/news resource.

I recommend everyone checkout the link Scott gave us: http://www.words-on-music.com/foragainst.html -- there's tons of info on that page, great for getting you psyched up to have your own marathon of For Against CDs! :)

Trav

Trav tripalot.com/travis Thu Dec 1 12:25:10 2005

Hi, I moved us to my new server (tripalot.com)

pam hinzman pamhinzman@comcast.net Thu Dec 22 11:48:28 2005

Message for Harry Dingman~

Hello my long lost friend. I was reading my most recent issue of Magnet, when I stumbled across a blurb pertaining to your reissue of "December". How very cool!!!!!

What does this mean for you and yours?

I hope you are well, Harry.

I live in California these days with my elderly cat, a lazy hound dog, a sugar baby boy, and my saint of a husband (would have to be to put up with my incontinant cat).

Drop me a line and check out my website... www.pamhinzman.com.

xo~Pam

Trav tripalot.com/travis Sun Jan 29 11:13:51 2006

Hey guys, I just got a notice from Words-On-Music about the For Against Archive:

http://www.words-on-music.com/ForAgainstArchive/

It has lots of pictures, a complete discography and "gigography", and lots of biographical info. Check it out!

Trav

Brandon Hurley job0476@netscape.net Tue Mar 14 20:20:02 2006

Hi Everyone,

This is my first visit to the site. I just discovered the band on emusic.com and, in less then a day, I've been toally hooked. I downloaded "Echelons" off of emusic and then "December" off of ITunes. All I can say is I'm really impressed. It's too bad that a band as good as this has been heard by so few people. Looking forward to checking out the rest of the catalog and to new music. Maybe the guys will come tour Baltimore/DC some time.

Trav tripalot.com/travis Wed Mar 15 06:38:48 2006

Hi Brandon,

Glad you are enjoying the music! I see that emusic has "Coalesced" too. Do you pay per song or is it a subscription service? (I'm a CD person myself).

Trav

Tagalong #02

2005-02-22 to 2006-03-16