Quintessence Records was probably best known as the home of Pointed Sticks (who were originally a punk band called Ernie Dick and the Pointed Sticks).
Quintessence also released singles and EP's by AV, D.O.A., The Subhumans, Young Canadians, Modernettes, UJ3RK5, Female Hands, The Cover Boys, and Blue Northern (which was fronted by Billy Cowsill).
Pointed Sticks' debut LP Perfect Youth was the final Quintessence release. The label ran into financial problems, and Pointed Sticks broke up soon after a deal with Stiff Records fell through. An interesting bit of trivia is that many of the Quintessence releases were engineered and/or produced by Bob Rock.
Pointed Sticks have since reunited and have released three full lengths of new material: Three Lefts Make A Right (2009), a self-titled album (2015), and Beautiful Future (2022). Some of the Quintessence releases have been reissued on Sudden Death (Joey Keighley's label): Modernettes, Young Canadians, the singles from DOA and Pointed Sticks, and the Perfect Youth LP.
ELSEWHERE ON JONDERBLOG: the singles discography of pioneering dance/punk label 99 Records was posted here three years ago, almost to the day!
Quintessential Canadian punk, power pop, new wave, art rock, alt-country and more:
ReplyDeletehttps://tinyurl.com/CanadessenceV1
https://tinyurl.com/CanadessenceV2
Full disclosure: tracks 22-26 of vol. 2 are youtube rips.
DeleteAnother disclosure, they're all new artists to me!
DeleteFull disclosure: I once broke up with a girl who said that Modernettes EP was "no big deal". I stand by my decision.
DeleteContinuing in the spirit of full disclosure, I didn't know several of these bands until recently. Had I heard the Modernettes as a teenager, they would have been a VERY big deal to me. I stand in solidarity with your decision, Ape Mummy.
DeleteAre YouTube rips frowned upon? - Stinky (Known YouTube Ripper)
ReplyDeleteI don't frown on them, but I try to find a better source if I can. The first Blue Northern song is in 320kps, but I couldn't find the rest of their EP in similar quality. Couldn't find the Cover Boys' single either. I only mentioned it bc the sound quality is noticeably lower after "Can't Make No Sense" (Blue Northern), and the sound improves again for the final track (the single version of "American Song" by Pointed Sticks). Blue Northern sounds kinda like Rank & File (to my ears).
DeleteApart from the Mighty D.O.A., all new for me too. In them early days, the D.O.A. toured the U.S.A.. And when I say toured, well, they tried to gig everywhere where they were welcome. And they kept a little black book with all the phone numbers, adresses etc of the places they visited. In the years before internet, it was a goldmine for every other band to tour the U.S.A. after them, and thus making them probably and arguably the most important band in the history of independent music of the 20th century.
ReplyDeleteThat's especially interesting to know because Black Flag are often credited as the pioneers of collecting and sharing that wisdom with other bands who were their own DIY tour booking. Whoever started this unselfish practice of sharing knowledge probably wouldn't mind sharing credit for it.
DeleteI also use them as a last resort. Nice comp, Jon!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jonder! Looks great
ReplyDeleteGreat comp Jonder. Love these record label collections.
ReplyDeleteThank you, zipper! I enjoy them too. Quintessence had a short run, but put out so much good music.
DeleteThanks to everyone who commented!
I saw Pointed Sticks at the Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco. Saw D.O.A. at....(mystery spot) that was on Telegraph in Berkeley, a block and a half from my apartment. I think it was a former International House of Pancakes.
ReplyDeleteMan, you saw some great bands. I heard that Chuck Biscuits beats his drums like they owe him money.
DeleteVancouver kid here... now living in Japan. Great music scene in the 80's... still have some of these on vinyl. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGlad you found this! Hell of a scene you had there, man...
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