PAPERCUTS CASSETTE SINGLES
In the fall of 1998, Anthony Westcott and Henning Ohlenbusch curated a series of cassette tape samplers from various Pioneer Valley bands. This was a predecessor of Rub Wrongways Records.
A SNIPPET OF THE ORIGINAL PRESS RELEASE FROM SEPTEMBER 1998
PAPERCUTS… A buck a slice… ouch, babe
A new local music record label is upon you. With a twist. Papercuts is a non-profit cassette single record label that aims to illuminate the profile of local music at an inexpensive price.
Maybe you heard good things about a particular band from a friend, read a good review or just liked a flyer you saw with a band’s name on it- enough to pique your curiosity. One mere dollar allows you to hear a few tracks picked by the artists themselves to represent their sound.
Founded by local band Humbert’s Tony Westcott and Henning Ohlenbusch, Papercuts has become a cooperative of sorts with various members of the “scene” chipping in with ideas, supplies and services to run the label with minimal expense. Any profits from sales of the cassettes are donated to The American Cancer Society.
Papercuts cassettes consist of two or three songs selected by the artist and a panel of liner notes to provide info on the band (contact address, titles of other material available by the artist, brief description of the music, etc.) Each cassette is uniformly designed without artwork, the only difference being the color of the J-card of each release. Papercuts Cassettes vary from featuring teaser tracks for full-length CDs or tapes to being exclusive releases not available in any other format.
Currently Papercuts Cassettes can be found in Mystery Train Records in Amherst and B-Side Records in Northampton. The catalog at this time contains eleven releases with two more in production and a growing list of future entries. It’s an easy, inexpensive way to support local music so dig in and pick a Papercut today, tell your friends, collect ‘em all!
A LIST OF PAPERCUTS SINGLES
(This list is likely not complete.) (These cassettes are no longer available. In fact, we don't even have any copies of the originals!)
ANTHONY WESTCOTT
Hell Of A Guy
Rainy Day Grocery Shopping
I Like ‘Em Dead
Anthony Westcott has been confusing audiences since his appearance in a 5th grade talent show in 1982. Here he presents us with three selections from his huge catalog of bewildering songs, a sampling of which can be found on his cassette, “Are You There Margaret, It’s Me God?” Westcott is also a member of the band Humbert.
GIRL SIMPSON
Mouth To Mouth
I’m Game
Depending on the style and mood of a song, Girl Simpson is like a vocal shapeshifter. She’s dipped her toe into traditional jazz singing, Lillith-like lilting and even avant-garde vocal gymnastics in her varied career. This release finds her teenybopping through a Debbie Gibson-esque pop song, “Mouth To Mouth,” backed up by Northampton band Humbert (which they just had to add to their 1997 CD, “The Great White Lunchroom”) as well as serving up an a capella Girl Simpson original, “I’m Game,” that we dare listeners to easily categorize.
ARCHITECTURAL METAPHOR
The Temple Song
Trance To Otherland
If you’ve ever seen Architectural Metaphor (who have shared stages with Hawkwind, Ozric Tentacles and Legendary Pink Dots) live in concert, you probably don’t remember any of their songs clocking in at the 2 ½ minute mark. Known more for their expansive 10 minute-plus soundscapes, Arc Met nonetheless presents here two unedited tracks (which just happen to fit your average cassette single side) from their upcoming third CD. Their second release, “Creature Of The Velvet Void” is on the Black Widow label in Italy. Arc Met can also be found on Cleopatra Records’ 3 CD “Spacebox” as well as “Schizoid Dimension,” Cleopatra’s 1990 King Crimson tribute.
TIZZY
A Quarter and Counting
The Underground Eats Its Own
The two songs are called "A Quarter and Counting" (loud) and "The Underground Eats Its Own" (soft). They were recorded at Zippah studios in Brookline in January of 1997 and will be featured on an upcoming CD. The songs were recorded and mixed by Peter Weiss and Peter Linnane and produced by Robert Fisher and Malcolm Travis. Tizzy is a Northampton based band with a 7" on Chunk Records ("New Jersey/Betty vs. Veronica), a 7" on Pop Narcotic ("Igloo"/"Wives Should Be Kissed and Not Heard") and a CD EP on Pop Narcotic ("Befriend Us"). They also have contributions to compilations too numerous to name. Tizzy would appreciate the pleasure of your company at one of their shows and hopes you enjoy this tape. It's for a good cause.
KING RADIO
SuperPop
Time
One of the Northampton music scene’s richest pedigrees belongs to King Radio. Its five current members have played in bands scanning the spectrum of local music from folk (Scud Mountain Boys) to heavy metal (Behemoth) to garage rock (The Cheetahs) to salsa (Rachel Y Su Nuevo Impacto) to, word is, an upcoming Monkees tribute band! Michelle, Frank, Ken, Jim and Dave have distilled their eclectic resumes into a tight pop/rock unit with an album out on Tar Hut Records called “Mr. K Is Dead, Go Home.”
HUMBERT
Insulation
Alone In Your Victorian
The Screen Door
An audience member at a Humbert show once described their sound in The Hampshire Gazette as akin to “channel surfing.” Indeed, with three lead vocalists genre-hopping from surf-rock to indie-pop to jazz-flavored ditties about pickpockets and crushes on lesbians, you can’t get more eclectic than Humbert’s excitable blending of all pop stylings. These three tracks hail from Humbert’s 20-song disc, “The Great White Lunchroom.” December ’98 will see the release of a new, as yet untitled Humbert CD.
The MITCHELLS
King of Donairs
Sounded Like A 155
Captured on this cassette are two tracks from The Mitchells’ second independent release, a 3-song 7-inch record with its own cryptic title, “None Too Awful Bright.” With an upcoming 8-song release in the works for the fall of ’98 and a live set swimming with icy, bristling indie rock originals like the two songs on this cassette, you really have to wonder about that 7-inch title after all. Both songs were recorded in January ’97 at Zing! Studios in Westfield, MA by Jim Fogarty.
LORD RUSS
Spongey Sponge Sponge
Goin’ To Massachusetts
Behold: Lord Russ. The booming voice, the reckless rhythmic swagger, the swirling psychedelic tapestries he calls songs. It’s all there in “Spongey Sponge Sponge’s” wall of freakout wah-wah squealing, sumptuous strumming and dynamic surges from temporarily restrained to yelping. And then there’s “Goin’ To Massachusetts,” the loony, catchy tale of life on Northampton’s country charts. If you can dig this, don’t deny yourself the groovy gems to be found on “Girl Planet,” a CD by The Aloha Steamtrain, Lord Russ’ full-time rock combo.
HENNING
Autumn’s For Leaving
Mr. Curmudgeon
“Autumn’s For Leaving” and “Mr. Curmudgeon” are two selections from Henning’s fourth solo project, “Big Plans For Underachievers.” They span the range of the album from melancholy to goofy. Henning’s earlier albums are “Henning’s Self-Promotion Tape,” “Farmhouse Henmasters,” and “The Search For Rub Wrongways.” Look for his new release “Henning’s School For The Dead” this winter. Henning can also be seen in the bands Humbert and The Aloha Steamtrain.
RIBBONCANDY
Staring At the Ceiling
Montgomery Ward
Hi! These songs are taken from the latest Ribboncandy extravaganza, an 8-song tape called "Girlfriend Is Mad”. There was a 7-song tape before that one entitled “Dynamic Ribbon Device”, and the band also appears on 2 comps: “This is Stereophonic Sunshine”, a CD on Sandcastle Records, and “Live in the Living Room”, a cassette on Red Hot Records.