Dan Yemin of Paint it Black is also in the bands Lifetime and Armalite, and used perform in the now defunct Kid Dynamite. Since that time, this punk-rock icon has released some of the greatest sounding, and LOOKING, vinyl. Here, Punknews gives us a quick history lesson. Love it:
You're the lucky reader of the 26th edition of the Punknews.org Vinyl File. This column aims to keep you informed with upcoming releases as well as spotlighting interesting releases, your favorite bands' own collections and labels with an history of vinyl releases worth talking about. As always, Vinyl File is brought to you by Ben Conoley.
This week Vinyl File takes a tour through Dan Yemin's vinyl history, including detailed discographies of Lifetime, Kid Dynamite, Paint it Black and Armalite. We've also got news of upcoming vinyl releases from a whole bunch of bands you'll want to know about.
THE VINYL FILE SPOTLIGHT
With all the buzz surrounding Paint it Black's upcoming album The New Lexicon, Vinyl Collective thought it would be appropriate to take a look back at the band's vinyl discography. While we were at it, we thought, "Hey, why not throw in everything Dan Yemin related?" With no good reason not to do it, here we go. Special thanks to Christopher Michon, Adam Bender and Frank Müllenhoff for their collection photos.
Lifetime
Lifetime's first release was a self-titled 7" on New Age Records back in 1991. It contained four songs including 'Dwell,' 'Find,' Souvenir' and 'Gone.' The album was only pressed on black vinyl. The songs of the 7" were later featured in Jade Tree's Somewhere in the Swamps of Jersey release.
Break Even Point Records released the Ghost 12" in 1992. The album features ten songs and had only one pressing on black vinyl limited to 1,000. Available only in Europe, it was followed up by a return to New Age Records with Background in 1993 which featured the same songs as Ghost and was featured in a remixed and remastered form on the second disc of Somewhere in the Swamps of Jersey.
Glue Records released the band's second 7", in 1994. It had one pressing on black vinyl, but those who pre-ordered the record received photocopied sleeves rather than the printed ones.
In 1995 Lifetime made their debut on Jade Tree Records with Hello Bastards. The 12 song LP has become one of the bands most praised albums. Jade Tree ran a number of pressings including black vinyl /1000, purple vinyl /500 and white vinyl /550. It's long since out of print, but black copies can sometimes be found for good prices.
The Boys No Good was released as a 7" on Jade Tree in 1996. The label printed 500 copies of it on clear, 500 on solid red/pink and an unknown large quantity on black vinyl, which are still fairly easy to come by. The title track would appear on Jersey's Best Dancers while the b-side would serve as the title track for Somewhere in the Swamps of Jersey.
Lifetime's second full-length for Jade Tree was 1997's Jersey's Best Dancers. Jade Tree pressed 1400 copies on black vinyl, 500 on clear red and 500 on grey marble vinyl. Like their other Jade Tree releases, it is out of print.
Lifetime didn't release any records until they got back together in 2006 to record their self-titled album. However that release was preceedeed by the Two Songs 7" on Decaydance Records. It featured the songs 'Hair Cuts and Tee-Shirts' and 'All Night Long.' 800 black vinyl copies (still in print) were made as well as 300 clear blue and 30 clear yellow copies. It was shortly followed by Lifetime later that year. The band's latest full-length, Lifetime was also made available on colored vinyl with 250 printed on clear red vinyl and the remaining 850 on black vinyl. It is set to be re-pressed on No Idea Records
Kid Dynamite
Kid Dynamite made their debut with 1998's self-titled LP on Jade Tree. The limited release featured 500 copies on clear red, 500 on solid red and an undisclosed number on black. The following year they released a split 10" with 88 Fingers Louie on both clear red and black vinyl through Sub-City Records. They also released a three-way split with Sunday Evening Dinner Club and Elliott, with an issue of the zine, I Stand Alone. It was released on black vinyl. The band's last release was Shorter, Faster, Louder through Jade Tree in 2000. 500 were pressed on clear green, 500 on solid green and more on black vinyl.
Paint it Black
Paint it Black's first album was CVA. Released through Jade Tree in 2003, there was a total of 1,300 albums printed on a mix of transparent and solid blue vinyl. Although out of print, they can usually be found for a reasonable price if you dig around.
Until recently, Paint it Black's only non-LP appearance was on a 10" titled The Philadelphia Sound which also featured The Curse, Knives Out and Go! For the Throat. It was pressed on clear vinyl.
The band had a lot of fun with their second album, 2005's Paradise. In addition to the 1,000 transparent green copies, there were 250 on lime green marbled colored vinyl with hand numbered silk screen jackets. There were also 25 lime green marbled colored vinyl with hand-numbered sleeves and spray-painted jackets and another 203 solid green European tour copies with screened covers.
A few weeks ago Paint it Black gave those who attended their record release show a free copy of Golliath, which featured just the one song with the b-side etched with artwork. All 500 copies were on clear vinyl and were hand-numbered. Rivalry Records also put up a pre-order for The New Lexicon which should see at least two color variations as well as some special edition covers.
Armalite
Armalite's only release this far is a self-titled album put out by No Idea Records. The first pressing was of 500 on yellow vinyl and came with gatefold jackets. A second pressing, which is still available was of 525 on white vinyl, although with a regular jacket.
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