THE MATCHHEADS "CADILLAC"1981 KBD ORIGINAL SLEEVE RARE

$

400

THE MATCHHEADS 1981 ORIGINAL BAY AREA 45, "CADILLAC" (3:00) b/w A."PEARL HARBOR" (1:40) B. "FAT BITCH" (2:23). RELEASED IN 1981 ON THE ARTISTE RECORD LABEL. THIS IS CAT.# 5206 THE SIDE WITH "CADILLAC" IS THE "SIDE Z" THE FLIP IS LABLED "SIDE 9". THIS HAS THE INCREDIBLY RARE ORIGINAL GLOSSY STOCK FOLDOUT COVER (MORE ON THAT BELOW) NOT A REPRO. THE VINYL IS SUPER CLEAN, NO SCRATCHES, DINGS, SCUFFS OR BLEMS. THE LABLES ARE IN GOOD SHAPE, THE VERY CENTER HOLE ISN;T THE CLEANEST CIT AROUND,BUT A LOT OF D.Y.I. 45'S ARE THAT WAY. THE FOLDED SLEEVE IN EXCELLENT CONDITION, IT THE PAPER IS LIKE PHOTO STOCK, VERY GLOSSY AND FOLDS IN THE MIDDLE AS YOU CAN SEE IN ONE OF THE PICTURES ABOVE. AM SELLING ON BEHALF OF A FRIEND, THIS IS THEIR TAKE ON THIS HIGHLY COLLECTABLE 45...

 

"ORIGINAL copy of the Matchheads' only 45, classic KBD, 1981.  Complete original item, containing the original disc on the Artiste label plus the RARE, much sought-after full-color glossy heavy photo-stock foldover sleeve.  I am posting this on behalf of the owner, who has requested I put a reserve on it.  This record & sleeve have undergone recent repros, but here is the REAL DEAL.  Incredibly scarce, which Popsike and GEMM will verify.  Only 2 of these with the heavy sleeve appear on Popsike the past 4 years.  The owner's background on the record is as follows:
"I was a participant in the original punk scene in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I saw the band in 1982 or '83, then bought this record in 1983 or '84.  I actually bought it twice.  The first time I recall the sleeve artwork was on a regular, normal type of paper, possibly a color xerox.  Then, within a year later, I happened across a copy of the 45 in a SF-area indie record store and noticed that particular copy had an unusual sleeve which was really high-quality and printed on glossy heavy photostock.  I bought this better version (and proceeded to trade in the one with the regular/flimsier sleeve).  The high-end one has sat untouched in my collection since purchase ever since.
"'Fat Bitch' is crass but hilarious.  Lyrics 'Who do you think you are / You try to make me feel guilty / When you cannot even fit into your car.'  Also reference to Embarcadero, which at the time was a wealthy/upscale business and shopping area in San Francisco."       HERE IS SOME INFO OFF THE WEB THAT I'VE FOUND ON THIS BAND AND RELEASE, THE SHIPPING & HANDELING INFO IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE, THANKS FOR LOOKING    

Selections from The Punk Vault [The Matchheads]

The Matchheads – Cadillac 7? (1981 Artiste Records)

My first exposure to The Matchheads didn’t happen until about 20 years after this record was released. In fact if it wasn’t for a couple of songs from this single being included on a compilation, you wouldn’t be reading this right now and I could possibly have missed out on this great single. A couple years ago I received a compilation in the mail from former White Pig, Keith Grave. Keith in his spare time puts together compilations of old punk for various labels and this one was called Meet Me in the Time Tunnel and it was on the Wizzard in Vinyl labelout of Japan. The compilation itself was quite good but the real standout for me was this band, The Matchheads. There was a tiny bit of information in the CD booklet and a contact email address, but sadly when I wrote to the address, I never received a response. I was hoping that a former band member might have had a stash of the original 7? and would be willing to part with one.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago and the subject of that 7? came up on the KBD mailing list. Someone posted a link to a website put together by one of the original members and wouldn’t you know it, he had some copies available for sale! I got in touch and ended my search for a copy of this record which now has a happy place inside The Vault. I asked the band member in question, Dan Garcia, if he was cool with my doing one of these features and if he’d share some history for it and he gave me the green light and said to lift the history off his website, which is what you are about to read.

The Matchheads originally came together in the late 1970?s. Patrick Wickler, lead singer and main writer of the songs was an avid fan of punk music. Dan and Pat met in the fall of 1977 and they, along with a few others, were the only people at school that liked punk music. They were excited by the new sounds of the Sex Pistols, Ramones, Clash, Buzzcocks, Jam, etc. and often raced to the local music stores to buy expensive import records of these and many other bands of this era.

Pat and Dan decided to put together a band of their own in 1980. Dan played guitar and wrote some songs. Pat and Dan were joined by Steve Johnson on lead guitar, Ross Wilson on bass and Mansfield on drums. Ross had never played before but was drafted in the same manner that Paul Simeon was brought into the Clash. Ross was a friend who was interested in the music. Mansfield lived down in San Mateo, was married for the second time, a little bit older, and was looking for some action. Mansfield was a big fan of new wave, power pop and mid-60?s British Invasion music. He was brought in by Steve who had jammed with him at a party. Steve was a talented guitarist and was working towards his Broadcast Arts Degree at SF State. Later, Steve worked as a sound man at the On-Broadway Club in San Francisco.

This lineup put together a set of songs, recorded some demos and the single, and played at places like Mabuhay Gardens, Sound Of Music and other venues. The single was recorded in late 1980 at John Altman Studios and was released in the spring of 1981 on the local (SF) Artiste (Sky-Fi) label. The owner of the label, Gordon Whitting currently lives in Oakland, California and is working on a solo album. The single contained the tasty “Cadillac”, a slow moody number and two fast songs, “Pearl Harbor” and “Fat Bitch”. The record got some airplay on the SF State radio station and made number one on its playlist in 1981. Two pressings were made of this single. The first featured a colored picture sleeve on photograph quality paper and was released to many record stores. Copies were found as far away as Santa Fe, New Mexico. . A second pressing was done later that year and copies are still available without the glossy original picture sleeve. Cuts from the single also appeared on the bootleg compilation “Killed by Death”.

Pat was chiefly responsible for penning the songs on the record and had some help from Jan Gyn, a brilliant guitarist and friend who now plays in a SF band called Peddle. Jan briefly played in the Matchheads from late 1981 through the end of the band (August, 1982). Pat dictated what sounds he wanted and Jan transposed them. Pat didn’t know how to play an instrument but was savvy enough to know what sounds he wanted. It was a matter of searching for the right chords, getting approval from Pat and completing the songs. Pat wrote other brilliant songs during this period including “Wanted Man”, “Top of the Slide”, “Perfect Guy”, “Young Capitalist”, “Standtime”. Jan, Steve and Dan would help out with the transposing/interpreting the desired chord changes. Dan brought in “Who Am I”, “I’m Dragged”, “Broken In Half”, “Modern Way”, and “Inside/Outside”. Pat wrote a lot of the lyrics to “If They Unionize”, “Broken In Half”, “Modern Way” and a verse in “Inside/Outside”. Covers included The Byrds “Why” and the Stooges “Beyond the Law”. The band was confident and cocky but soon found it tough to navigate the very competitive local music scene.

The punk scene changed into speedcore and The Matchheads didn’t fit in musically nor with their image. The Matchheads image was similar to Oasis’; sort of a casual mod look. They thought the “punk look” was lame and generally considered people like that to be “posers”; not really in it for the music or the “cause” (i.e. rock rebellion). The music business being very competitive in nature, was not kind to the band as little interest was generated outside of the band.

The band also suffered through personal changes. Steve and Ross left in late 1981 followed soon after by Mansfield. The band recorded a four-song demo tape with Jeff Rees on bass, Jan on guitar and Lenny Albert on drums. This version of the band never gigged, quickly became demoralized, and was ready to pack it in.

Jeff left to join Fade to Black, an early Goth band. Lenny left to join Silhouette, led by current Guitar Player magazine Editor-in-Chief Mike Molenda. Ross and Mansfield rejoined the band and the band cut a fine demo tape including the following songs: “The Underside”, written by Dan, Jan and Pat, “Ceremony”, written by Dan and Pat, “Japanese Mothers” written by Jan, Pat and Dan, and “Young Capitalist”, written by Pat with some help from Steve. The band played two gigs, a fiasco at The Stone, and a gig at the On Broadway. In August, 1982, The Matchheads broke up due to flagging interest within and without the band. The band’s final gig was recorded (and is now available on CD) and featured many of the previously written songs as well as “East Berlin” written by Pat and Dan. Some of the band members carried on after the break-up. Ross left the music scene and works as a high-tech consultant in the S.F. Bay Area. Steve joined the army, got married, moved to St. Paul, Minneapolis, and fathered two sons. He put out his own CD of Christmas songs in a rockin’ vein in 2000. Tragically, he was struck by cancer and passed away in August, 2001. His passing is still felt deeply by all those who knew and loved him.

 

ALL 7” SINGLES WILL BE MAILED OUT IN PADDED ENVELOPES WITH EXTRA STURDY CARDBOARD TO PROTECT THE ITEM. I DO COMBINE SHIPPING WITH OTHER LIKE SIZED ITEMS. ADDITIONAL 45’S .50 EA. IN THE U.S. VIA MEDIA MAIL OR OTHER USPS SERVICES. INTERNATIONAL $1.50 EA. ITEM. IF YOU WIN AND ARE FROM CANADA, LET ME INVOICE YOU SEPERATELY. IF THE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING COSTS ARE LESS THAN STATED I WILL REFUND MOST OF THE DIFFERENCE AFTER COST OF PAKAGING MATERIALS. THE $4 COST OF THE MEDIA MAIL INCLUDES MY COST OF PADDED ENVELOPES, PACKING MATERIALS & TIME. THANKS! BOB IF THIS IS SOLD TO AN INTERNATIONAL BUYER AND WE CAN SHOW PROOF OF MAILING FROM A U.S. POST OFFICE OR SHIPPING FIRM WE WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ARRIVAL AND CONDITION OF THE RECORD UNLESS ARRANGEMENTS ARE MADE TO PAY FOR A SERVICE THAT IS ABLE TO TRACK THIS PACKAGE AND ANY OTHER SERVICES THE HIGH BIDDER REQUESTS. THE HIGH INTERNATIONAL POSTAL COST I AM PUTTING ON HERE IS TO INCLUDE SOME KIND OF TRACKING OF THE RECORD, IF THE COST IS LESS THAN THE AMOUNT BELOW AND YOU PAY THAT AMOUNT I WILL REFUND THE DIFFERENCE, CHECK MY FEEDBACK. THANKS