We Do Not Have A Dinosaur

A while ago, I got it in my head that I wanted to make a run at collecting all the pressings for the Slap Of Reality records. It probably wouldn't be that difficult of a task, as I don't think there is really anything all that rare, but I do love the band when I'm in the mood for that early 90's hardcore vibe. The thought, however, didn't stick for very long as I was soon chasing other things. Still, at the time it was on my mind, I did throw a few things onto my Discogs Wantlist in hopes that something may show up that I could grab for cheap.

A couple years ago, I managed to pick up the Fletch 7 inch, and since then I haven't been motivated to buy any other Slap Of Reality records. When I was recently picking up some stuff from the Armageddon Shop on Discogs, I noticed that they had a Slap Of Reality record with a great price tag, so I quickly added it to the cart. Damn. It will be good to not have this show up in my Wantlist notification anymore.

The We Do Not Have A Dinosaur 7 inch was originally released on Break Even Point, which I believe was out of Italy, so it wasn't readily available overseas to me back in 1992...in fact, I don't even know if I was aware of it until a few years ago. Prices have stayed pretty flat on this record, and 25+ years later it can still be picked up for $3.

Truth be told, this 7 inch isn't that great, and probably ranks at the bottom of the Slap Of Reality pile. The band were in a weird place at the time, and had a new singer step in before they broke up later that year. The band recorded this Dinosaur 7 inch, plus a tour pressing of a four song cassette (three of those songs ended up on this 7 inch, and the other song was on one of the split Suburban Voice 7 inches that came with an issue of the fanzine). I saw the band in Portland Maine during this tour, and can't remember if we knew the band had a new singer prior to the show, or if we discovered it at the show. Either way, it was fun to see them play even though the crowd at hardcore shows in Portland back then were the worst. Things escalated as some people started throwing things at the band while they played, and the drummer came out from behind the kit and offered to go toe to toe with any of them. Props to the band for not backing down.

Stuck In The 90's: Part 3 - 1991 Fletch Of Reality

The Discogs wantlist feature is a fucking curse. Each day it provides me with an email reminder of all the records that I want, and how many are available for the taking with just a click of a button. She is a dirty hustler, calling to me from some darkened back alley, tempting me with the promise of a ménage à trois involving records and my paypal account. I mean, I'm only human. How much temptation can I be expected to resist?

At some point I added the Fletch 7 inch from Slap Of Reality to my wantlist. I can't remember the exact reason, but it most likely went something like this, "Hey, I own the first two Slap Of Reality 7 inches, so if I can pick up Fletch on green vinyl for cheap, I might as well go for it". And like that, it was on the list, and I was getting occasional reminders that sellers had it available...the problem was that everyone on Discogs selling it was from overseas. The price was right, but I wasn't too excited about the prospect of paying more for shipping than the cost of the record...so I decided to wait it out, when the time was right, I'd grab it.

Well, when I was picking up the Hunger Farm album from an overseas seller, I noticed that they had the Fletch 7 inch available as well. Bonus!

As for the songs on this record, it really isn't anything "new", as both Radiate and Where's It Going ended being recorded for the Three Lefts Make A Right album...but here, on this 7 inch, the songs sound more raw, with more of a Hardcore edge. I'm sure that most people don't care about Slap Of Reality records in 2017, so why am I so excited to finally own this 25 years after it's release?

Slap Back To Reality

I'm a sucker for collecting early 90's Hardcore vinyl. Around 1990 I was starting to get into Hardcore, so I've got a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in those records...the problem is that I wasn't really collecting vinyl at the time...Hell, I didn't even know that people collected records back then. It was a concept that I didn't comprehend or understand. Now, I'm trying to make up for lost time.

A month or so ago, I was digging through some old 7 inches from that time, and stumbled across a couple early records from Slap Of Reality. I ripped mp3s of the songs, and proceeded to listen to them like crazy. I'd forgotten how much I liked this band, and after giving my CD copy of Three Lefts Make A Right a few spins, I knew that I needed to track down the vinyl.

Finding a sealed copy on eBay for only $6.00, made it apparent that I'm probably one of the few that still care about this band. That's cool with me. Collecting vinyl for these kind of forgotten bands is what I do best.