SALTINE - "The Live Room," KCMU Seattle, January 15, 2000

I can't believe it's been so long since my last Posies related post. What the hell am I thinking?

Here's a great little set from Ken Stringfellow's short lived but awesome band Saltine. I got this from a trading site via the Posies Website some years ago, posted by Kelly Minnis, someone who's done more to chronicle the 'unofficial' history of The Posies more than anyone else. He's the guy behind the 'Broadcasts' series of bootlegs, currently being posted on the simply superb Wilfully Obscure blog. ( I am insanely jealous of WO... it's SO COOL...) Anyhoo, I'll leave it to Kelly to tell you about Saltine:

"Saltine was the short-lived solo outlit for Posies co-frontman Ken Stringfellow. Saltine began as a Posies side project in 1997 and became Ken's main vehicle for songwriting until he disbanded the group in 2000. The band recorded several sessions and released an EP in 2000.

Saltine were like a more indie·rock Posies. They had two guitarists, harmony vocals and were a dynamic rock band. That said, Saltine had an edgier, more pointy, less "big rock" kind of sound to it than The Posies. This radio show is pretty much the penultimate recording of that band. You get most of the songs from that EP plus songs that were later released on Ken's official first solo album "Touched" with much more subdued arrangements. The only thing you miss is actually being in the room when Saltine would go galactic at the end of "Silence" and whenever Ken's filter pedal would hit the high end of its sweep it would nearly implode your eardrums. Good times."

He's a fan. So am I. You will be too.

(Thanks to the mighty Pop Fair blog, I've added the six EP tracks that came out in 1999 - sorry it's taken me so long to add you to my blog roll!).

Saltine: The Live Room

Jon Auer

Do you, Dear Reader, find yourself pondering life's many unanswered questions? Does life speed up? Why is a carrot more orange than an orange? Does Paris Hilton prove Darwin was wrong? Well, the one that passes through my mind with alarming regularity is - 'Why aren't The Posies goddamn international ultramegastars?' It baffles me. What are they doing wrong? All their albums (yep, ALL their albums) are ace, they are one of the best live bands I have ever seen, the songwriting is breathtaking and all the band members are good to their dear ol' mums...well, they look like stand-up chaps in the photographs..

Helming the band (along with his workaholic musical partner Ken Stringfellow) is Jon Auer. One of the finest vocalists in the U.S. today. Nifty guitarist too. His first, full length solo album 'Songs From The Year Of Our Demise' was one of the best albums of the last decade, but practically anything he puts his name too (and there is a lot of stuff, believe me) is worth checking out.

This ain't just some barrel scrapin' throwaway kids...this is prime Posie. The version of 'Tuesday' on the freebee makes the other versions he's recorded wilt by comparison. And when you consider they were pretty damn good in the first place... Chuck in a couple of tasty cover versions and you've got an essential addition to your Posies collection...you HAVE got a Posies collection, haven't you...?

You download this on the condition that you buy a copy of 'Songs From The Year Of Our Demise'. Don't mess with karma!

Jon Auer: The Bonus Disc