(Not So) Vital Times

Records for the band ON might not have the same draw as they did when their 7 inches were initially released back in 2008. Maybe people aren't collecting ON records because this era of hardcore seems to be largely forgotten, or maybe it is because of... reasons. Either way, I still love the songs from those two records, so when I saw a version on Discogs that I didn't have, I added it to my cart that was sitting there with a couple of other records that I was buying from that seller.

The green vinyl for Vital Times was only used for the record release show and for the west coast tour, and back in the day, they seemed like they were very difficult to get a hold of. Things have obviously calmed down for these limited editions, and while the tour pressing once was pulling a $50 to $60 auction price on eBay back in 2009... I was able to pick this one up off Discogs earlier this year for only $10.

Number 44 out of 75 with the west coast tour stamp.

React! And Powered Extras

With my recent Not Afraid orders from React! and Powered, I took the opportunity to grab a couple additional records that I've had my eye on.

First up is the Double Vision LP from ON. This was released back in 2009, and Powered had so many issues getting their shit together to mail this out, kids were nailing them to the wall left and right. Here we are, five years later, and the label seems to be getting it's feet back under itself. The Powered store lists a copy of the Double Vision LP on white vinyl, and I figured that I'd finally grab a copy. Ugh...nice job...this isn't white vinyl.

While it wasn't white vinyl, it did still put me at nine copies of this LP. Might as well take a group photo!

From the React! distro, I ordered the Appraise 7 inch. I'd heard good things about them, so I figured that I'd check 'em out. This is the vinyl pressing of their 2012 demo...pretty solid hardcore out of Spain.

Second pressing. Limited to 300.

On Tour

I empathize. I probably can't even begin to comprehend the hard work and headaches it takes to keep a hardcore label going...let alone an independent label like REACT! that releases quality record after quality record. Aram has sold off large quantities of his personal record collection to keep the label moving forward. That is some serious commitment right there...something that you just can't fuck with.

Once again, the man had to resort to selling off some of his collection, along with some rare REACT! gems from the vault. While some items may be considered a "cash grab" *cough* REACT Showcase box set out of six *cough*, if people are willing to part with their cash for some manufactured rare items, who am I to throw stones? As long as it keeps REACT! afloat, you go for it Aram.

Myself, I kept things a little light this time around. While I did throw some bids on other records that I wanted, I only walked away with the Euro tour press for the ON Double Vision LP. Visually, it isn't too appealing with the plain white sleeve with a sticker in the upper corner... and it probably doesn't help that I photographed it with a white background. Still, when the covers for this LP weren't back from the printer in time for ON's European tour, they put this "Emergency Edition" together so the band would have something to sell while on the road.

Number 124 our of 130 pressed.

Limited Control

How much would you pay for a piece of paper that's been stamped with the words Legitimate Bros? What if only five of them existed? Surprisingly, the answer isn't as much as I would have thought...but maybe I'm slightly retarded for placing so much importance on these things. Who knows? The story from the guitarist of ON, Ben Berres, is as follows:

There are only 5 copies of this version of the record. After selling all the red copies of this record at the record release, we found 4 more copies in a box. A few weeks later, another copy was sent to us strangely by the record pressing plant along with the records plates. So, there are a total of 5 copies of this record and one was distributed to each dude in the band.

I actually picked this up for kind of cheap from Ben on eBay. I'm assuming that part of the reason is that doing a search for "ON" through eBay is not really an efficient way to look for the bands records. Sure you can add "Champion" in the listing name for them, but maybe that isn't even enough to boost your selling price. Good deal for this buyer.

Double Vision, Second Pressing

The popularity of ON has caused REACT! Records to do a second pressing of the Double Vision LP. The first pressing was around 1,150 records, with 5 different versions (which reminds me that I still need the Euro tour cover), and REACT! decided to do do another 1,000 to keep the kids happy.


400 pressed on clear, and 600 pressed on black vinyl.

To differentiate between the first and second press, especially for the black vinyl, REACT! had "33 RPM" added to the a-side labels.

A less subtle difference between the two pressing is the variation of the blue color used on the album cover. The blue on the first press is very dark, while the second pressing looks slightly purple. You can see that, right? Please tell me that I'm not the only nerd here.

Inventory check for Praise. I've got the pink, orange, and the green vinyl. I've got the transition press. All I need is the black vinyl to complete the collection, so I decided to grab a copy when I ordered the ON LP. Hey wait, this isn't black. They sent me the wrong one. I guess I'll have to place another order to get the one that I'm still missing. Shit, it's now sold out.

Gaining Control

I recently dropped a ton of money on pre-orders from REACT! Records. The label had 3 records go up at the same time, and since I needed 3 different colors of each one, it quickly added up to a big chunk of change. That was it, I told myself, I'm done spending money for the month. Then Jim Hesketh, the singer for Champion and ON, posted a link on the REACT! board for some stuff that he was selling on eBay. Fuck. How am I supposed to just walk away from that? I don't know, there is just something special about buying a record from someone in the band...but maybe I'm just a geek fanboy like that. Jim was selling some crucial records, and since the ON test press was going to be out of my league, I focused on the record release of the band's second 7 inch.

The record release comes with a nice alternate cover and was pressed on red vinyl.

The back of the cover is hand numbered out of 100, and has the date of the record release show. The date looks strange to me. I'm not sure why they didn't just put March 3, 2009, instead of making it March 3RD. Just doesn't look right. The record also came with a mini flyer for the show, which was a great touch.

Finally, the record release date was included on the lyric sheet insert. Quality release all around.

Losing Power

In addition to the REACT! and Reaper Records pressings, Powered Records did the Euro pressing of the Double Vision album from ON. I love how Powered uses a different color on the album cover to really differentiate between the Euro and US pressings. They have done this in the past when working with Six Feet Under Records on the True Colors stuff, and it adds a nice touch with the Double Vision LP as well.

Powered pressed 200 pieces of red vinyl. 150 of them were used for the pre-order, which were stamped and numbered on the lyric sheet/dust sleeve. Number 78 of 150.

Pre-orders for all three record labels went up in June. I think there were some delays in getting these out, but even while Powered posted that the records were going to start shipping at the end of October, I didn't get mine until the end of December. 6 months is a long wait for a pre-order. It seems like this release really took it's toll on the Powered guys, as they included a note apologizing for the delay and stating they will be taking a little break from putting out records.

Pre-eBay Sale From React

It's about time that I got these records posted. I friggin' received them back at the beginning of November, and then they got buried in the stack of new vinyl. Bear with me, this is going to be a long post.

When I got my REACT! order for the new ON album, I was surprised to see that Marcus got a copy of the LP on blue vinyl. It is limited to 150 and I was pretty disappointed that I didn't get one. So disappointed in fact, that I let it be know in the comments for his post. That night, I got home from work and had an email from Aram waiting in my inbox. He had a copy that he was willing to part with, and said that if there was any other REACT! stuff that I was missing, then to just make an offer and he'd see if he could hook me up.

When Aram first told me that he had the blue vinyl for the ON LP available, I fired an offer to him. I was so excited to have the opportunity to get this pressing that my offer was a "little" high, and being the gentleman that he is, Aram countered my offer with a lower dollar amount. The blue vinyl pressing for this looks amazing next to the record cover.

I had seen some pictures that people had posted on the REACT! messageboard of the Gone But Not Forgotten 7 inch with an alternate cover. I asked Aram about it, and he said that they were copies for the band, and limited to 100. Word. I'll take one.

The next one that I was fucking stoked to pick up, was the Mindset 7 inch with the record release cover. I love the look of this cover.


The labels on side A and B are hand stamped


Number 6 of 78. 6 7 8...cool.

Speaking of Mindset, I took the opportunity to catch them in Boston a couple weeks ago. They were playing with Alert, Police & Thieves and Rival Mob...just a great line up. Leading up to the show, I couldn't find anyone to make the drive down with me. New England's first snow storm was in the forecast, and I almost just bailed on it and stayed at home. In addition to the great bands playing, the main thing that pushed me to get out and go to this show was that it was an opportunity to finally meet, face to face, some guys that I've met either through this blog, or through last.fm. I met up with Adam, and his brother-in-law, and hung out with them throughout the whole show. I finally met up with Keith from Alert, and talked with him Alert's singer, Mike. I also got to say hi to Carlos from Police & Thieves. In addition to all the cool people that I met, Sweet Pete was there and I got to hang with him for a while too...we got talking about the old Boston bands that were around when we first met at shows...bands like Kingpin, Said & Done, Endless, and Third Degree. The show itself was great. Alert played a couple of new songs that sounded really good, Police & Thieves were pretty tight and did a great Chain of Strength cover (see picture above), but Mindset just killed it. After seeing this band live, you can't help but have a greater appreciation for how good they are. Awesome gig. Awesome night.