Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Gimcrack / Candy Snatchers Split 7"

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Gimcrack / Candy Snatchers Split 7" [Stiff Pole Records, 1995?]

I was fortunate enough to pick up this little gem during one night when Gimcrack played my town back in 1995. I remember popping a dubbed cassette of these two cathartically melodic jams every day into my tape deck when I was 17, on my way to my summer job (also bought a t shirt that was too big, and wound up cutting up and pinning it to the back of my jacket that fall). I understood at the time they were from Birmingham, Alabama, but fortunately for all of us, they've got a Myspace that clears up any speculation. Turns out they're from a tiny town called Atmore which I'd never heard of. The rest of the story, in their own words, is as follows:

Four kids, who grew up in the south, started kicking back at their one horse town. They formed Gimcrack in a rotten old shed in the country and pulled out the sounds that were beating around inside their heads. They played various places around the gulf coast, but gravitated towards Pensacola where they were able to share the stage with many cool local and touring bands. Gimcrack hit the highway two summers in a row to spread the infection and see the country. The band was alive from ’93 to ’96, had an album and an EP on Stiff Pole Records, another EP on Backspin Records, as well as songs on numerous compilations. Moving on as many bands do, Gimcrack was able to leave a deep impression in the thick mud of south Alabama and make many friends while doing so.

The Candy Snatchers also have a myspace, but their bio is way too long to post here. This was a substantially more popular band from Florida, but I never gave their side of this record much of a listen. Not sure why, because listening now, it's pretty damn good. If you want to know more about them, check them out here.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

so, i was wondering if you have the song "Dear Mr Preacher" by Gimcrack? It's not on their Myspace and it's, in my opinion, their best song. It's about how the preacher ruined his life and he blames him for every bad day he ever had...and the preacher is his dad and he never wants to become like him. Now, of course, that guy from Gimcrack is a preacher.
--retsevraH gerG

Seth Graves said...

i'm afraid this is all i have as far as Gimcrack, goes. I only saw them place that once and picked this record up at the show.

very cool update, though. thanks for that.

Anonymous said...

hey! i was the bass/vocalist player for gimcrack, and i have a copy of dear mr. preacher that you could post on here, if you'd like...it's funny to hear how people interpret the meaning of this song. the person who was asking for it said the same thing that "the spirit of st. louis" issue of cometbus. anyway, yeah, it's a good song. feel free to write me at floatinspace@gmail.com

mattpunk77 said...

Candy Snatchers were not from Florida. They're from Virginia Beach, VA. The split 7" with Gimcrack was merely on Stiff Pole records out of Florida.