Jabberjaw No. 6 – Pure Sweet Hell

Jabberjaw No. 6 – Pure Sweet Hell was a compilation box-set that included four 7” records. It was released by Mammoth Records in 1996 (MR0133-7). It was envisioned as a fund raiser for the financially troubled Jabberjaw Café, a coffee house and music venue in a seedy neighborhood of Los Angeles. The club has since closed. Man or Astro-Man? contributed one song: “Earth Station Radio”. There were a total of 16 bands on the compilation, each contributing one song.

The 4 x 7” box-set came in a cardboard box that was designed to look like a pack of cigarettes. Each of the individual records was designed using images taken from vintage smoking ads. The records were pressed on black vinyl, and the picture sleeves were printed in black and white. Here is a scan of the record that featured the MOAM? song:




There were four inserts that came in the box. There was a Jabberjaw postcard, a Jabberjaw/Mammoth Records merch insert, a book of matches and an ashtray. This first scan shows both sides of the postcard, the merch insert and a white book of matches:


And here is a look at the ashtray:


I've also seen the matchbook printed on a yellow card. It could be that there are other colors as well. Here's a large shot of the yellow version:



And I've even seen a version come up for sale with a green matchbook. Here's a screen grab of that variation:

And here is the whole package (with the white matches and without the ashtray):



This appearance by Man or Astro-Man? was one of a few instances where they did not credit a rhythm guitarist. At this point Dexter X was on the way out, as was Starcrunch. The Clone Tour would soon follow, Crunch would leave to join a touring version of Archers of Loaf and MOAM? would regroup with two new guitarists (Blazar and Trace Reading). As for this recording, though, they were a three piece. In this state they would contribute to this comp, to the Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks comp and would release the Ex Machina 7" for Touch & Go.

For vinyl completists, this is a tough box-set to track down. Since it also features tracks by Jawbreaker, Low and Elliot Smith (playing guitar on the Mary Lou Lord track), it ends up being the piece that completes many different vinyl collections. And believe me, there are few things more disheartening than losing an eBay auction to some twit trying to fill out his Elliot Smith vinyl collection. If it’s just the songs you’re after, the set is still fairly easy to find on CD.

Estrus Cocktail Companion

The Estrus Cocktail Companion was a compilation box set put out by Estrus records in January of 1995 (ESBX5). There were twelve songs from twelve different bands, each one exclusive to this set. The Man or Astro-Man? song was “Carbonated Comet.” The twelve tracks were divided over three 7” records, with two songs appearing on each of the six sides. It was meant to serve as the perfect musical mixer for your next bad booze blow-out. It certainly had the look. It came in a hinged box that featured “fabulous five color artwork by none other than Mr. Ed Fotheringham.” The center labels of the records also featured illustrations by Fotheringham. The labels were drab 1950s colors: olive, tan and muted blue. The set included an Estrus Crust Club flyer, a coaster and a plastic swizzle stick.

Here is a scan of the front and back of these three inserts:



The records were pressed on opaque black vinyl. They were also pressed and packaged as a three color translucent vinyl set. The colors were blue, green and purple. Here is a scan of the Astro-specific record, and the trio of EPs that make up the set:





Here are a few shots of the color version (I do not have this on color vinyl so I nicked this from the Apemen’s Facebook page):



And just to cover all our bases, here is a scan of the hinge side of the box:

Saturday Night Special: It’s Good To Talk

Saturday Night Special: It’s Good To Talk was a four-band compilation 7” EP released in 1995 (LEAD-002). Man or Astro-Man? contributed one track, a live version of their song “Eric Estrotica” (the studio version having previously appeared on the first full-length record). It was released by Leadmill Records, an imprint run by the northern England live music venue of the same name. The Astro-Man track was recorded live at the Leadmill on March 18, 1995. MOAM? was the only big name on the EP. The other three bands, Perfume, Blakeman and Back to the Planet, were either from the same part of the country or had distribution deals with the same company that distributed this record. It looks like this was supposed to be the beginning of a singles club of some sort, but I can only find mention of two other Saturday Night Special releases.

The picture sleeve was made from one sheet of folded, medium-weight cardstock. It was printed with glossy ink. It was said to be a limited release, but I can’t find any indication as to how many of these were pressed. They were individually numbered, though—with a four digit stamp on the front of the sleeve (mine is number 0581). There was printing on both the inside and outside of the picture sleeve. Here is a scan of the inside cover:



There was also an insert: a postcard promoting one of the lesser known bands on the comp. Here is the front and back of that:



The record itself was pressed on opaque black vinyl. The vague UFO theme of the record (MOAM and Back to the Planet being the big draws) was underscored with an alien head graphic on the center label. Here is a scan of the record:



The final bit of British jokery? The A and B sides are listed instead as the “maureenlipmanside” and the “bobhoskinsside.” Bob Hoskins and Maureen Lipman are, of course, ridiculously accomplished British actors. Counted among their accomplishments was a series of commercials in the 1980s for the UK phone company British Telecom. This explains the ’80s-era phone on the front cover, the “phone home” reference on the inside cover and the repurposing of the old BT slogan “it’s good to talk” as the comp’s subtitle. I get the joke, I just don’t think it’s funny.

the Call of the Wild flexi-disk

The Call of the Wild flexi was a four-band compilation that was released as an Evatone soundsheet in 1993 (COW001). It was a free insert with a regional southern fanzine called Call of the Wild: a white trash chronicle and review. The flexi included Man or Astro-Man?, Southern Culture on the Skids, La Brea Stompers and the Woggles. Each band contributed one track (MOAM? did "Reverb 1000").

In addition to the compilation record, the magazine included an early write up about the band. Some of the alien mythology was documented here for probably the first time. There was also a thorough explanation of the origins of the band name. The article also described what it was like to catch a period Astroman show, and even gave a shout out to early road crew members Bookman and the Lounge Lizard (Stuart Ellis). And then there's the picture. I'm pretty sure that the sport coat Teasley is wearing is made from old Cliff's Notes books. In all this is a curious little record, and a fantastic testament to what was going on in the south-eastern American surf/garage scenes of the early 1990s.

Here is a scan of the flexi-disk:



Here is the Article:



a big thanks to Brandonio Granger for providing the scans of the magazine and the article.