The Working Holiday series
 
 
 

We've always been fond of complicated projects, as well as involving people in a special event. As members of the Sub Pop singles club in the late 80s, we remembered the anticipation and joy of receiving our monthly present from Sub Pop, and we wanted to recreate those feelings with a Simple Machines project. But, in typical Simple Machines style, we took everything a step further.

We spent all of 1993 knee-deep in the Working Holiday project. We released a two-band 7'' every month, celebrating holidays and often-overlooked events in history. Each month's 7" was mailed out to the 633 series members, and the remaining 1200 were sold through mailorder and stores. On top of receiving a 7'' every month, members also got a 1993 wall calendar designed by Hatch Show Print chock full of interesting facts about every day of the year, a stylish box to keep their singles in, and a birthday gift.

After a year's worth of stuffing, stamping, boxing and shipping 36,000 7''s, we were ready for a party. We capped off the series with a Working Holiday 3-Day Weekend from January 7-9, 1994. Over eighteen bands from the series and 500 showgoers braved blizzard conditions for a weekend of revelry at DC's Black Cat Club. The show included a cocktail party, incredible performances by all the bands, raffles and confessions, all tied together with words of wisdom from MC Jason Noble of Rodan/Rachel's. Best of all, the entire show was recorded by Bob Weston and Geoff Turner, which eventually showed up as a limited edition release in the Working Holiday compilation CD.

The Compilations

SMR 26 Working Holiday CD 1994
CD: $11

Compiles all the tracks from the entire 7" series onto one handy 80-minute CD. That means tracks from Versus, Scrawl, Lungfish, The Tinklers, Codeine, The Coctails, Eggs, Jonny Cohen, Veronica Lake, My Dad is Dead, Rastro, Lois, Nothing Painted Blue, Small Factory, Tsunami, Jawbox, Crackerbash, The Grifters, Crain, Pitchblende, Swirlies, Caterpillar and Superchunk! Geez, on one CD?! The hefty booklet includes photos and stories from the year when 7"s took over our lives.

SMR 26 live
Working Holiday Live!
live CD 1994 out of print

Includes live performances from Danielle Howle, The Tinklers, David Greenberger, The Coctails, Crain, Pitchblende, Eggs, Archers of Loaf, Superchunk, Tsunami, Bricks, Jonny Cohen, Rodan, Franklin Bruno, Caterpillar and Versus. Recorded at the Black Cat in Washington, DC January 7-9, 1994 by Bob Weston and Geoff Turner.

You can get the Working Holiday comp CD from Dischord mailorder.


The Original Working Holiday 7"s

JANUARY:
Scrawl
Versus

FEBRUARY:
Lungfish
Tinklers

MARCH:
Codeine
The Coctails

APRIL:
Eggs
Jonny Cohen

MAY:
Bratmobile
Veronica Lake

JUNE:
My Dad is Dead
Rastro

JULY:
Lois
Nothing Painted Blue

AUGUST:
Tsunami
Small Factory

SEPTEMBER:
Jawbox
Crackerbash

OCTOBER:
Crain
The Grifters

NOVEMBER:
Pitchblende
Swirlies

DECEMBER:
Superchunk
Caterpillar

 

 


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