''No Epiphany''

Son of Heaven, The Sun of God...

Sleeve - Front: The Sun

Vinyl - 'A' side: The Sun

Sleeve - Back: The Sun

Vinyl - 'B' side: The Sun

Insert - Front: The Sun (and a boat)...
Image originally used on ''Carried Out To The Sea" 7" (Which doesn't exist)

Insert: The Sun
Top: Unidentified 'Solar Calendar'. Sun surrounded by repeating pattern of four symbols contained by ouroboros
Bottom Left: Final lyrics by 10K
Bottom Right: Original Lyrics by Mr Jo - this version appears on 'Couple Tracks'

Stats:

General:
Tracks: No Epiphany B/W No Epiphany (No Age Remix)
Released: 2009
Label: Matador Records OLE 838-7
Matrix A: OLE 838-7-A         GOLDEN
Matrix B: OLE 838-7-B          GOLDEN
Pressing Info: One Time Pressing of 3000 (February 3, 2009)
Inserts: Regular insert as pictured above
Variants: No variants

Notes:

FU Tom Jones 'Poison Idea' Shirt -  Front

FU Tom Jones Shirt - Back

LFG Post (Feb 11 2009): 

Hi, we are releasing the No Epiphany 7" single on March 10 ... it's the 3rd single off the ChemCom album, the first being Crooked Head, which you can get anywhere, the 2nd being Royal Swan, which you can get nowhere.

As you can see from this picture the single arrives fraught with mystery and hilarity. Why did the NME name it "Single of the Week" 4 months before it was even released? What on it made Katy Perry call us "good musicians?", and why did Tom Jones admit that it was "not something (he) would play"?

Originally this 7" was planned as kind of a double aside - the actual aside containing the album version of the song, and the more symbolic aside (ie the bside) containing a demo version of the track.

When we recorded the song we did a few versions of it. Jonah wrote this song, and he really likes punk, so No Epiphany was originally conceived as a faster piece. I kind of like punk, so I decide it would sound cooler if it was slower, and had some ridiculous guitar tracks all over it...if you are on this website you've heard the press - No Epiphany has 1546 guitar tracks in total, mostly all written on the spot. I digress - the bside for this 7" was originally going to be the faster version of the song that was eventually completed - the faster music and lyrics written by Jonah Himself. Also he played all the instruments. We got No Age to do a remix of the original album version, and now thats on the 7" instead, but I feel bad for Falco, because his version got bumped (twice now), so here is a little tribute to his vision:

Jonah's Lyrics:

- the sun of heaven, its message sent

- gaze in the blaze of incendiary judgement

- present a life or a static catastrophe

- no epiphany

- regard the victor - his splendour, foiled

- unveil the laggard in all his spoils

- worst of its vision makes all liquid boil

- no epiphany

- perchance to glance a glimpse thereof

- a salty tear tended by a mother's love

- reveals the sun-kissed shade of ennui

- no epiphany

- I see the cover but never the book

- you can change but i'll only ever look

- no amount of time can be took

- no epiphany

- nothing new and nothing old

- facet the diamond or burn the coal

- the gleaming essence of miscellany

- no epiphany

- do what you will to incense, to make irate

- shatter life's foundations with a pathetic shake

- a callous smirk at the shifting plates

- no epiphany

Epiphany:

An epiphany (from the ancient Greek ἐπιφάνεια, epiphaneia, "manifestation, striking appearance") is an experience of sudden and striking realization...

The word epiphany originally referred to insight through the divine. Today, this concept is used much more often and without such connotations, but a popular implication remains that the epiphany is supernatural, as the discovery seems to come suddenly from the outside.

No Epiphany:
Where none of the above happens.


Son of Heaven...

Hidden World Show Poster:
Dante and Beatrice gaze upon the highest heavens ''Dude, is that like a big 'F' in a circle?'';
from Gustave Doré's illustrations to the Divine Comedy.

Commodity Fetishism:

Test Pressing - No Epiphany - No Picture

Haymaker / Split

''Who are the Nazis and who are the rats?

(Mixtape 1 Side A)

Sleeve - Front

Sleeve - Back

Sleeve Folded Out - Front: Hitler Youth Rally & 'Rat Catcher'

Sleeve Folded Out - Back: The Rats

Stats:

General:
Tracks: Fucked Up @ Signal To Noise Studio 7/22/02 B/W Haymaker @ The Music Gym 2/31/02
Released: Feb 2005
Label: Deep Six Records DS#52

Matrix A: FUCKED UP R-19103 DEEPSIX#49-F

Matrix B: HAYMAKER R-19104 DEEPSIX#49-H

Pressing Info:
1st Press - 1000  (Comprising 200 White and 800 Black vinyl)
2nd - 500 Grey vinyl
3rd - 1000 Clear vinyl, labels on wrong side of disk
4th - ? Translucent 'camo green' vinyl, plain black labels
5th - ? 'Marbled'
6th - ? Green

Variants: 

Different vinyl colours as picture below.

Inserts:

No regular insert. 

Someone at Deep Six missed the memo about not doing variants...

Top L-R: White, Black, Grey (1st & 2nd press)
Middle L-R: Clear, Camo, Marbled (3rd, 4th & 5th press)
Bottom: Green (6th press)

Notes:

The Fucked Up tracks were recorded 3 years earlier in July 2002, during the same recording session as ''Police''. The notes below are copied are cropped from a  2010 "fake'' about the band's first CIUT session in 2001 and hopefully relate to three of the tracks on this record...

FU song title AKA's

1. Black Iron Prison  - AKA - "A Light That Never Comes On"

2. Dove of Wood - AKA - ????

3. Dove of Wood  -  AKA - "Red" - AKA - "The Lurking Fear"

4. The Black Rats - AKA  - "Quick"

5. Surrounded By Boys -AKA - ????

1. Black Iron Prison is a reference to the concept of social control described by Philip K Dick in his novel VALIS.  This track is a polished version of ''A Light That Never Comes On'' one of the songs included on their Demo tape. 

Dove of Wood (Track 2): Does this title just symbolise the opposite to a black iron prison? I don't know. Is there another recording of the song somewhere else under a different name? I thought it might be an almost unrecognisably improved and updated version of ''Sleep Tight'' from the demo, because both seem to have a line ending ''...life away'', but other than that it's a different song altogether and all the better for it...

Dove of Wood (Track 3): There are three different recordings of this song on the Epics CD comp, it was originally called ''The Lurking Fear'' but was later named ''Red''. There are 3 versions of it on the Epics in Minutes CD comp (Deranged version). Here it gets a 4th recording and a 3rd name, but it has to share it with track 2.

The Black Rats: FU have a long association with rats. They have also been associated a zine that had it's name changed to 'Quick', which is also what this song was called when played with less skill for the CIUT session.

Surrounded by Boys: Like track 2, this might be a version of an early song with new lyrics and music; something only it's mother would recognise in its mature form, to anyone else it first appeared here as a fresh new 2-minute wonder. 

Following, is another early song claimed to appear on this split under a fake name (see ''fake'' link above). See also tracks 2 & 5. See also history of fake claims made by FU.

Sleeve Notes:


The Rat Catcher
When the sleeve is unfolded, this panel is arranged with its upper edge meeting the upper edge of the  main sleeve image. In this context it can be read as a metaphorical reflection on the Hitler Youth Rally via the Pied Piper of Hamelin, with the Nazi's as self styled rat catchers who end up leading the children away.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commodity Fetishism:

Test press from first press

Test press, probably for one of the later presses, with 'Psychotic Little Man' hand-drawn cover by Jeff Beckman (Haymaker)

(1) LFG Blog 2010 Re CIUT session 2001

Two Fakes(Fake Dangerous Fumes & Baiting with Wrong Labels)

Same Vinyl - Two Records

After the first press of ''Baiting The Public'', (a release designed to frustrate and confuse), the band received another 250 copies of the record; these new ones had accidentally been pressed with the same labels as ''Epics in Minutes'' - the so-called 'Secret' 7''. 

''Fake Epics'' Vinyl - Looks a bit like the Secret 7".

As any nerd knows, different record pressings can be identified by the unique matrix code in the vinyl run-out, near the centre of the record. However the Baiting 'mispress' came with (almost) the same matrix text as the 'Secret' 7'' and the matrix was therefore a red herring.

Both records came in a generic white dust sleeve;  in their original form they look identical. This could prove confusing - a cynical person might think this version of 'Baiting' was pressed with the intent of extending the original prank;  not so much a mispress, more a fake version of the Secret 7".  

''Fake Epics'' Generic sleeve, conveniently annotated

It seems the band were aware of the trouble this might bring and so after they'd given away a bunch of ''Fake Epics'' (maybe at the same time as the Secret 7'' and maybe inadvertently mixing the two up a little), they helpfully attempted to avoid further confusion by taking a bunch more and gluing new labels on to make the ''Fake Dangerous Fumes''. 

''Fake Dangerous Fumes'' Left: Photocopy sleeve showing 'uncropped' image used for Dangerous Fumes - the container in the foreground was cropped out of the final version.  Right: Disk with Litany labels glued over Epics labels

The real ''Dangerous Fumes'' was not released at this point, so for a while it was a fake copy of something that didn't exist. Also, because it didn't exist, they didn't have Dangerous Fumes labels, so they used the ones from ''Litany'' instead. The vinyl has a big hole and the labels have a small one so they are a bit flimsy in the middle...

''Fake Dangerous Fumes'' Sleeve folded out

Stats:

General:
Tracks: Baiting The Public (Split over two sides)
''Released'': ''Fake Epics'' - 2003. ''Fake Dangerous Fumes'' - 2005
Label: ''Fake Epics'' has the same labels as ''Epics in Minutes''. ''Fake Dangerous Fumes'' has the same labels as the first press of ''Litany''
Matrix A: REDHERRING-RED
Matrix B: REDHERRING-HERRING

Pressing Info:
250 in total, divided into two 'bunches':
Bunch 1: ''Fake Epics in Minutes'' looked the same as ''Epics in Minutes'' and given away.
Bunch 2:  Made into''Fake Dangerous Fumes'' and sold on first West Coast Tour (2005)

Inserts:

No regular insert.

Notes 1: Fake Epics

From FU Board:

How were the ‘baiting with epics labels’ put to use? Was there a kind of Situationist thing going on where hapless folk were tricked into thinking they’d got hold of the ‘secret’ 7″ when really they just had a baiting the public disk, which paradoxically the actual vinyl was rarer than both epics and the regular baiting?

October 22, 2013 at 5:49 pm#1829

10k

the epics baiting labels i think were a misprint because we got baiting and the secret 7″ pressed at the same time and some came back with misprinted labels so we gave a bunch of them away.

Notes 2: Fake Dangerous Fumes

From 'Couple Tracks' LP insert notes regarding ''Dangerous Fumes'' 7":

This song has been kicking through the FU discography for a while. Nerds will note its first appearance as a fake 7" that we sold on our first west coast tour. It consisted of a ''Baiting The Public'' 7'' with ''Litany'' labels that we glued on, and a photocopied ''Dangerous Fumes'' Cover. 

Sleeve Notes

Dante's Inferno: Back image of Fake Dangerous Fumes is an extract of a picture showing Bertran de Born  ''who carries around his severed head like a lantern (a literal representation of allowing himself to detach his intelligence from himself)'' (1).
The scene is from Bolgia Nine in the the Eighth Circle of Hell (Dante's Inferno). Significantly, the eighth circle is for those that commit FRAUD, also Bertran de Born is portrayed in the story as a sower of discord.

vBig gap v

Fake: Big gap between 'Red Herring' & 'Red'

Not Fake: Small gap between 'Red Herring' & 'Red'.
 'RE1' opposite - see top right

David J Eliade - Part 2

TWO DAVID ELIADES:

Extract from LFG post (October 23 2007):
Speaking of privacy, we're about to print up special Fucked Up privacy face-masks in response to this. Get in touch with Octavio St Laurent, our privacy expert to get your own pair (for both of your faces).

DAVID ELIADE #1 - The Masked Man:

David Eliade: Visuals, spiritual and political guidance. Eliade is the "fifth Beatle", so to speak, and manages Fucked Up from behind the scenes. He has designed their logo, records, and influenced most of their lyrics. (From Wikipedia):

David Eliade #1 uses a mask (and sometimes other people), to conceal his true identity. You can read more about him in Part 1

Two Faces of David Eliade - an artists impression, by Brian Walsby

DAVID ELIADE #2- The Man Behind The Mask:

David Eliade #2 is a fictional character who appears in a number of Fucked Up songs. He may be related to his namesake, but comes across as a lesser being; maybe a Clark Kent to David Eliade #1's Superman, but lacking the comfort of knowing his alter-ego.

Forbidden Fruit: Original Sin

Alternatively the relationship might be considered akin to Father and Son; not the traditional family relationship, but one where the Father is omnipresent and the Son is a manifestation of the Father, that gets sacrificed and resurrected.
Or something.

Alternatively the David Eliade character appearing on Fucked Up records and  merchandise can be viewed as a form of commodification, whereby David Eliade, the ideas man becomes a concept used to market Christmas records and rock operas.

Alternatively the first David Eliade might just be an idea, and the second version might be the idea coming to life.

David: Despairing child. 

Alternatively they might be twins... There are lots of other alternatives once you get going, but leaving them aside, the rest of this page considers the available information regarding this David's character.

In the material released prior to the "David Comes To Life" LP,  David Eliade is portrayed as a despairing individual, someone who craves the reassurance of religious faith, but can't make sense of it.

He is represented in pictures by different individuals and seems to be an everyman character, for anyone that has questioned fundamental things, such as the point of life, etc.

David was a boy, just a letch - A simple means of birth, oh so sick - Another wasted life, like so many before - But David wanted better, so much more. (''David Comes To Life'' lyric, 2006)

David: Despairing adult.

Damian Abraham: "I'm still wrestling with the same problems, I hope that someone can look over the entire catalog of the band, and what would begin to emerge, hopefully, would be this image of a band that's constantly questioning. We're not trying to provide answers for anyone, because we're just as flawed as anyone else. I think that's what we're trying to portray in David, too. He's not a smart person. David's a dumb person like everyone in this world is dumb. Everyone here is capable of making incredibly stupid decisions. It is questioning the God above, questioning the God below, but also questioning the world that needs the God in order to function." (NPR Interview May 30 2011)

It's an abomination to the old gods that we have finally made our own - It delivers us divinity, let's celebrate him one and all - It's the First Noel, put the mask up on the mantel, stare into the hollow eyes... ("David Christmas" lyric).

David: A Letch wasting life.

Josh Zucker: We had this David Eliade character for a long time in the band. We wrote the songs "David Comes To Life" and "David Christmas" and "David's Plan", which have been like more and more this story about this amorphous character. (Quote from "David Comes To Life" LP Preview Video) 

Let them try to tell us that he is kind and understands - Well I don't believe in fairy tales, or take stock in an invisible man - The only thing that makes this life seem worse is having stood before the pearly gates and having seen St Peter first - Let them trudge through life so convinced of his love - I stare into that starry night and see the terror that looms above. ("David's Plan" lyric) 

David: smiling brightly. For a moment.

Damian Abraham: David Eliade fills a void that we need filled. He's more than just a person, he's an idea and as such he fills all the roles we need him to fill. (Interview Extract MIXTAPE 4 SIDE ONE 2011)

Jonah Falco: We made David a character in case we needed a character to base the rest of our lives around... It gave a point to all the meandering and silly tangents that we’ve been involved in over the years. (Extract from Now Toronto article Nov 10 2011)

I was born when God was looking away. Life couldn't be this hard, I must be a mistake. When she left me, I thought I'd seen my last day. I was so close to the end, I was just a letch. Another wasted life, pushed to the edge. ("Do All Words Can Do'' Lyric)

David, literally not looking on the bright side.

David: Miserable again.

DAVID ELIADE - A LIFE IN LYRICS

He Wasted a Lifetime
In the lyrics for the song "David Comes To Life" ("Hidden World" LP), we are told that his is 'another wasted life', this is repeated in "Do All Words Can Do" and could mean his life has been squandered, or that it's barren, or both. The 'wasted life' theme is repeated in the lyrics of "Crusades", a song referencing systems of control and zealotry, perhaps hinting that his life as been wasted by an acceptance of these.

He's Just a Letch
This reference precedes the 'wasted life' description in both songs. Most commonly associated with themes of desire and lust, an interesting alternative use is attributed to De Quincy: Some people have a letch for unmasking impostors, or for avenging the wrongs of others.

He's Forever Going on About God 
Paradoxically David seems to blame God for his problems, whilst doubting his existence.

He's not Bright
Described variously by adjectives such as 'dumb' and 'dim', he needs illumination or maybe illuminationism, which is perhaps why he sought employment in a light bulb factory.

David, wondering why his cup is half empty and whether the ornamental knight on horseback lamp has anything to do with the Parsifal reference in the Jade Tree Profiles picture below?

Twins:
Gemini, which is Latin for twins, has taken on many identifications and meanings through the ages. Gemini is most commonly understood to represent the twin brothers Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology who were fraternal twins, born of the same mother, but having different fathers. The Tarot card associated with Gemini is "The Lovers", which portrays Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve are thought to have been created at the end of the age of Gemini—the inseparable figures being an allusion to the beginning of mankind. (Cropped From Wikipedia)

Life imitating art

UPDATES:

• April 18 - ''Hidden World'' LP added...
• April 15 - Work has been a bit of a distraction recently, but David Eliad Pt 2 is getting there. In the meantime a ''Glass Boys'' page has been added...

Please keep it coming - send stuff HERE. 

''Year Of The Dragon''

See where we came, came to this place, the place that has become our reality... 

Sleeve - Front

Sleeve - Back

Vinyl - 'A' Side:
First press on white vinyl

Vinyl - 'B' Side:
First Press on white vinyl

Insert - Front:
Dragon image by Andrei Bouzikov

Insert - Back:
Lyrics & credits

Flexi disk:
Left: The 7" flexi comes with the white vinyl version and has an edited version of Year of The Dragon.
Right top: Records bought direct from Tank Crimes often include some nice bonus stickers.
Right bottom: Sticker from celophane cover; no need to keep these if you don't have some kind of OCD

Stats: 

Tracks: Year Of The Dragon B/W I wanna be a Yank / Disorder
Year: 2014
Label: Tankcrimes
Matrix A 117554E1/A YEAR OF THE DRAGON
Matrix B 117554M2/A FUCKED UP - TANKCRIME

Pressing Info: 
First Press: 2000 White vinyl

Second Press: 1000 Black vinyl

Test Pressings: 20  (The TP's include a test pressing of the 7"; these are on white flexi but have no foil stamp)

Inserts:
Lyric sheet as above

Variants:
White vinyl + 7" flexi
Black vinyl

Black Vinyl - Second Press - 'A' Side

Black Vinyl - Second Press - 'B' Side

Notes:

Year of The Dragon: 

Influenced by Ride the Lightning and Humanity is the Devil. 

Dragons are not real. 

(From credits on insert)

Chris Cory of MIND ERASER made this shortened edit of the 19-minute long Year of The Dragon that we released this year (2014) on Tankcrimes records run by our friend Scotty Karate of Oakland. This is an edit of that edit. It appeared on a flexi (our first flexi) included in the first pressingsof the YOTD 12". Fun Fact: Scotty booked our first west coast tour back in 2004 and we have been promising him a record since then. YOTD reflects that it sometimes takes 10 years to make good on a promise. 

(Above text taken from liner notes in Mixtape 5) Nerd fact: The Looking for Gold 12" and the fake Dangerous Fumes 7" were sold on the same west coast tour.

Year of the Dragon on Tankcrimes, April 2014 (Post on FU Website - Oct 1, 2013): Hey all, we’re very happy to say that our friend of many years – Scotty Karate of Tankcrimes – will be putting out Year of the Dragon next April. He booked our first west coast tour. We’ve stayed at his house probably 50 times. He is like a lover who understands us deeply. Dragon is 7/12 in the zodiac series. Hare is #6 and is recorded and coming out sometime in 2014 too.

Year of The Dog
(Tankcrimes Bed where FU stayed probably 50 times)

'B' Side:

The 'B' side features two covers of early Toronto punk bands; "I Wanna Be a Yank" by Cardboard Brains and "Disorder" by The Ugly's.

PG Banter (Post on FU Website - March 6, 2014): A few weeks ago we rolled out of bed on a Saturday morning and into the Horseshoe Tavern. We set up in the empty club, and played four songs from the hallowed history of Toronto punk, as written by The Last Pogo back in 1978. With the exception of “Picture My Face,” which at this point has been fully canonized into the Canadian Punk songbook, the songs we chose are from only slightly more shadowy corners of Toronto’s birthing punk scene. You also get a minute of quality PG banter about the Last Pogo from myself and Pink Eyes
More info here
Watch everything here

Or watch 3 of the vids below.















Commodity Fetishism

Test pressing pics: Courtesy of Scotty at Tankcrimes

12" Test Pressing - 'A' Side

12" Test Pressing - 'B' Side & 7" Flexi Test Pressing

Desk of The Year
(Tankcrimes Office)

Year of  The Deep Dream