Limited Edition Vinyl Recordings & Handmade Musical Artifacts from Tucson, AZ
VIEW CART
Jeremiah Green (Modest Mouse), Haboob! SM Wolf!

Wow. WTF? 3 emails in less than a month? Maybe I'm listening to the people who said in the survey "You should send out more emails", or maybe I'm trying to get people who don't care to unsubscribe from the email list because I'm 3 people away from having to pay Mailchimp for the upgraded pay plan. Or maybe I'm just broke and need some traveling money, or perhaps I want all these records that I've been working so hard on to see the light of day. It's actually all of the above.

Some of the things I'm up to this summer when I'm not making too many releases:
1) Mobile Vinyl Recorders will be cutting records at Pitchfork Festival and Afropunk Festival this summer. Pickathon - I won't be working, but my kid and I will be there to hang out and camp. If you are around, email me and let's say hello!
2) Lathe Cut Camp 4 - Is full, but let me know if you are interested in a winter camp.

Preorder Updates:
Sugar Candy Mountain are on their way to me! They should ship very soon!
CD-Records - Should have already shipped.
Forest Fallows - Going out this week!
Grey Waves - Going Out This Week as well!
American Monoxide Web Content - We have approved test pressings, just waiting on the plant. But, check out the final product of the PIAPTK bonus lathe cut below.
Saqqara Mastabas - STILL waiting on the pressing plant. Hopefully soon!

In this email:
1) Jeremiah Green (Modest Mouse) CD-Record
2) SM WOLF - Vinyl/Reel to Reel Hybrid
3) Haboob - ST LP
4) American Monoxide PIAPTK Bonus lathe cuts unveiled
5) Meet Fulfilling Sounds! Our fulfillment dude!



1. New CD-Record Series Disc - Jeremiah Green from Modest Mouse!
Jeremiah Green has been my favorite drummer since the night I heard Lonesome Crowded West in a dorm room in Bruce Hall in 1997 at The University of North Texas. I remember where I was sitting, who I was with, what I was drinking. And I finally got the chance to work with him. In addition to drums, he also makes some beautiful electronica.

Pick it up here! And you can now listen to ALL Cd-Record tracks here!


2. S.M. Wolf - Vinyl/Reel to Reel Hybrid

HEAR IT HERE!

S.M. Wolf is the new(er) project of Amo Joy frontman, Adam Gross. This is the second in a series of Dual-Analog releases with two formats in one package (the first being the American Monoxide/Wight Lhite Magic Mirror Lathe cut/Cassette). It includes a lathe cut 7" screwed onto the front of It. It will play the same song, The Awful Spring, on both your Turntable AND your Reel to Reel deck! It also takes some inspiration from one of PIAPTK's earliest releases, the Golden Boots Bland Canyon 10". Like that release, The Awful Spring arrives to you incomplete and requires purchaser customization before you can complete the set.

All tapes were dubbed in Adam Gross' basement on used 7" reels. Some were blank, and some were prerecorded, with everything from Tito Puente to happy birthday messages to grandma. So, some include non-SM wolf bonus tracks! We hope you enjoy whatever is on there!

The complete package is considered to be:
1) Reel/Lathe combo
2) Insert & "Color Your Own" Box, in it's YOU-COLORED VERSION
3) SM Wolf 20 Fountain Paintbrush set (markers)
4) 4" lathe cut record with "The Awful Spring pt. 2" companion song. (NOT INCLUDED.. see below)

However, the package DOES NOT INCLUDE the 4" in it's initial mailing. In order to receive it, you must color your box with the SM WOLF Fountain Paintbrush set and post a photo and tag PIAPTK and SM Wolf on some form of social media and then we will send it to you, or, you can pick it up from the band in Indianapolis (you must still tag us both). WE REALLY WANT YOU TO COLOR THIS BOX.

Instructions:

Step One: Color Box & Take Photo
Step Two: Post photo on Social Media and tag SM WOLF and PIAPTK
Step Three: Send a link or a screenshot via email to: peopleinapositiontoknowshop@yahoo.com AND fulfillingsounds@gmail.com.

Why do we make you jump through hoops? Because we love you and want you to interact with us. We want your box to be one of a kind. We want you to value this record because it was a collaboration between you, the label, and the band. It makes it more valuable and fun for everyone.



3. Haboob - ST - Golden Boots' Side Project Jazz Odyssey!
Haboob are a freaky weird Instrumental Jazz/Prog/Funk/Psych band and can be loosely described as a Golden Boots side project, as many of the main players are also in Golden Boots. Led by Jeff Grubic (who frequently plays sax and keys with Golden Boots), Haboob is usually made up of 3 or 4 of the following dudes, who are all Golden Boots: Ryen Eggleston, Andrew Collberg, Ben Schndeider, and Dimitri Manos. Along with organist Nick Letson (who is my roommate and also played on the upcoming Golden Boots LP). Free form Jazz explorations in front of festival sized crowds... and retirement homes, wealthy dinner party attendees and noise show-goers.

Only 100 copies! on Red with Blue flame vinyl! In hand-silkscreened covers! Hand numbered!

Check it out here: https://soundcloud.com/piaptkshop/sets/haboob-st

PICK ONE UP HERE!



4. American Monoxide - Web Content PIAPTK Lathe bonus
As with most projects, I know where I plan to take them, but I never really know where they are going to end up until they are there. This is one of those times. I really love this concept, which came together one piece at a time, and almost wish I had used it for a standalone release, and not just an add-on, but here it is.

Each of these discs was hand cut/peeled by me, and hand dip-painted by my daughter. Each disc has a psychedelic letter that, when combined, spell out the band, title (Robot Walk), and label. Then I scanned them in, combined, and printed them out on 7" sleeves.

Check out a couple tunes from the album here: https://soundcloud.com/americanmonoxide-38622606


There are still a few PIAPTK versions available for PREORDER HERE.

Also, a second plea... for the love of all that's holy, PLEASE check out Almost Halloween Time Records. They are co-releasing this record and are UNBELIEVABLE. If you appreciate vinyl record packaging as art, there is NO WAY you won't love them!!!!


5. Meet Seth of Fulfilling Sounds!
Anybody that has followed PIAPTK and paid any attention or cares at all, knows that I have a million irons in the fire always. I'm also out of town over half the days out of the year, so I can't package all of the orders like I did in the old days. Luckily, my buddy Seth, who owns Baby Gas Mask Records, started a fulfullment company and does the mailing for us and dozens of other bands and labels. He rules. If your orders are delayed, it's not because of him, it's because of a pressing plant, most likely. But, if you ever have problems with an order, I will probably answer the email, but he will be the man making it right. Check out Baby Gas Mask and Fulfilling sounds and give them a "Like" on FB!



Posted on July 4th, 2016
PIAPTK COFFEE TABLE BOOK!

On Halloween of 2016 PIAPTK will turn 10 years old. By that time, I'm guessing we will have close to 250 releases.

In honor of that, and as a present to myself, I'm making a Vanity Coffee Table Book! The book will include images and anecdotes for EVERY SINGLE RELEASE that PIAPTK, Soild Gold, The IVL, and probably a few other weird ancillary projects that even the most diehard PIAPTK followers (if there are any) don't even know exist.

Every PIAPTK release has a story. Blood, Sweat, and Beers/Tears/Jeers went into each and every record I've released. Most of them involve waiting on pressing plants, serendipity, random coincidences, garage sales/thrift stores, having to correct (my own) fuckups, taking those fuckups and turning them into new ideas, steep learning curves, telling myself that PIAPTK has run it's course and needs to end and then immediately finding a project I can't pass up.

I need your help to make this happen. I am notoriously horrible about keeping good records of my .... ummm...records. I've tried to keep at least a few of each release, but many of them, especially in the early days, had unique covers, and at best, I have crappy cell phone photos of them.

What can you do? If you have some of these releases (see list below), and would be willing to take nice, square, well lit photos of them (or even better, scan them or take them to a copy/print shop and have them scanned), I will give you: 1) eternal gratitude, 2) Credit in the book, and 3) a free copy of the PDF/Ebook and/or a printed version of the book at actual cost.

Here is what I need to get good scans of:
Golden Boots Handmade LPs
Golden Boots – Burning Brain Collage LPs
191-Globelamp- ShaLaLove 7”
178- Anthony Junior – Magical Evening With 12” Lathe Cut
164 – Grey Waves – Faith/Void 7”
159- LABRYYYNTH – Wrecking Ball (Alt Vers) Lathe Cut
95-Meowtain – Hex/Piggybackrider
83. Viking Moses/Joey DeMarco – Hand painted Covers
73. Amo Joy! Across Nichthemeron 2x8” book
69. Wckr Spgt – Today I Saw Turtles 5x7” flexi
63. Amo Joy - "Straight To Plate" Live to Lathe Picnic Plate 7"
52. Lazer Zeppelin – Highway Hypnosis 12’ Lazerdisc
48. Arrington deDionysio – Unique Lathe Cuts
43. Arrington deDionysio ‘s Malikat Dan Singa Lathe Cut 7”
37. Golden Ghost – Unimaginative Body LPs
31. New Science Projects
14. Casper and the Cookies/Keith John Adams Split Faux Pic Disc 8”
04. Viking Moses – Lands of the Pink

Do you have any of these? Please send me a quick cell phone shot of the handmade covers you have. I will probably put 3-8 images of each handmade record into the book. Some of them are more unique than others. If your covers are the ones I'm looking for, I will PAY for you to take them and get them scanned professionally if you don't have a scanner.

Also looking for customer quotes/stories/anecdotes/one off promo things, etc. Throughout the years, I've interacted with a lot of you. I've sent out weird random shit in packages. Do you have any kind of strange photos or items that I've sent you that are meaningful in some way? Or anything else that you would like to say? I'd love to hear about it and include it in the book.

Want to Sell some oldies? As I went through my archives I realized that there are some records that I either have zero or only one copy of, and I would REALLY like to buy some back from people who no longer want them. Here is what I need:

Golden Ghost: Unimaginative Body
Viking Moses/Joey DeMarco Pic Disc
Miniature and PResidential - LP
New Science Projects 8"
Viking Moses/Joey Demarco Hand made sleeve 7"
Tender Forever/Angelo Spencer Heart Shaped discs

Please email me anything that you think might be interesting toPIAPTKBOOK@YAHOO.COM!

Posted on July 3rd, 2016
PIAPTK Palm Springs Party, Grey Waves, Forest Fallows, Spaceface, Preorder Update, Survey Results

In this Update:

1) PIAPTK Palm Springs Pool Party at the Ace Hotel - July 22-24.
2) Grey Waves - VOID LP
3) Spaceface - Sun Kids 8" transperency pic disc
4) Forest Fallows - At Home LP!
5) Previous Preorder Updates
6) Survey Feedback
7) Lathe Cut Camp 4: Winter 2016




1. FREE PIAPTK Palm Springs Pool Party! July 22-24, 2016
After the last email blast I was beyond honored to be approached by The Ace Hotel in Palm Springs (one of the coolest/hippest/hipsteriest hotel chains in the world) to curate a PIAPTK/Lathecuts.com weekend. "Do a lathe cut camp and a PIAPTK pop-up shop, or whatever you want" he said. What he didn't bargain for was that, in typical PIAPTK fashion, I decided to take it much farther than necessary and blow the entire budget on a weekend full of so much goddamn vinyl programming and fun that your head will spin. Live vinyl cutting, MOOG modular synthesis classes, Mini-Lathe Cut Camp, DJs, PIAPTK showcase (Little Wings, Sugar Candy Mountain, Pall Jenkins, The Blank Tapes, Cy Dune (mems of Akron Family)), DJs, Hip Hop Pool party with some rad Tucson hip hop crews, Indie Label Popup Shop, Used Vinyl Record Swap, Industry Panel Discussion, etc. This weekend is going to be so ridiculous. And so FREE. If you are in the LA area and have a label, sell used records, etc (or know someone who does) and want to be a part of the action, please email me!



Here is the tentative schedule!

PIAPTK Recordings & Lathecuts.com Present: Palm Springs Vinyl Pool Party?/Hootenanny?/Summer Camp?
Join us for a weekend celebrating the history, science, technology, and art of vinyl records! There will be Industry/Artist Panel Discussions, A Live Vinyl Recording Booth, Indie Vinyl Label Pop Up Shops, A Used Vinyl Record Swap, Hip Hop Pool Party, Poolside DJs, and Concerts. Curated by Michael Dixon PIAPTK Recordings and Lathecuts.com.

Friday, July 22 –
10pm – 2am - Junkbin Jukebox -
Join PIAPTK/Lathecuts.com founder, Michael Dixon, AKA DJ Bored-Er Lord, in the Amigo Room for a night of Obscure, Private Press, and Deep Cut Forgotten Honky Tonk Country 45s and LPs

Saturday, July 23rd-
11-5pm – Indie Label Pop Up Shop –
Some of the best labels focusing on vinyl records and the art of packaging will be on-site displaying and selling their releases. PIAPTK, Soild Gold, Joyful Noise, Burger Records, Wooden Tooth, Baby Gas Mask, Folktale, Dionysus Records, Lightning Records, Fine Print Zine, Philthy Phonographic Records, Kerchow Records, and Hocus Bogus and more TBA.
12-1 pm – Lathe Cut Camp – The vinyl mastering record lathe and cutting process has remained relatively unchanged for more than 100 years. Come get an up close look at the equipment and process that makes up the first step of the vinyl pressing process.
1-2 pm - Moog Camp - Moog will be here hosting a modular synthesis class and debuting their new synth modeling app!
12-3pm – Live Vinyl Recording Booth – Come out and play a Moog, sing a song, recite a poem, or tell a joke and walk away with your own one-off record!
11-5pm – Poolside - Hip Hop Pool Party – Join Lando Chill and Jivin’ Scientists for an afternoon of live performances and Dj Sets.
6-7:30 pm – Industry Panel Discussion/Q&A – Meet movers and shakers from all areas of the vinyl industry. JJ Golden (Vinyl Mastering, Golden Mastering), Nathan Sabatino (Audio Engineer, Loveland Studio), Jake Ingalls (Guitarist, Spaceface/The Flaming Lips), Jake Sullivan/Kellen Fortier (Owner, Wooden Tooth Records).
10pm – 2am – Show with Little Wings, Sugar Candy Mountain, Pall Jenkins (Three Mile Pilot, Blackheart Procession, Mr Tube and the Flying Objects), The Blank Tapes and Cy Dune (mems of Akron Family).

Sunday. July 24th –
11-5pm – Record Junkies Used Vinyl Swap –
Used and rare record dealers from all over the Southwest will be on hand selling everything from rare psych, dollar bin country, modern reissues, to classic rock staples.
12-1 pm – Lathe Cut Camp – The vinyl mastering record lathe and cutting process has remained relatively unchanged for more than 100 years. Come get an up close look at the equipment and process that makes up the first step of the vinyl pressing process.
1-2 pm - Moog Camp - Moog will be here hosting a modular synthesis class and debuting their new synth modeling app!
2-5 Recording Booth – Come out and play a Moog, sing a song, recite a poem, or tell a joke and walk away with your own one-off record!
11-5pm – Poolside – DJs spin whatever summer jams seem like a good at the time.





2. Grey Waves - VOID LP (with bonus lathe cut!)

Debut record from Seattle band, Grey Waves! Bonus lathe cut 7" in handmade covers available to the first 50 orders! 300 hand assembled/stamped/numbered jackets, hazy purple records and a lyric zine designed by Alison Pate.

Add on the Grey Waves - Faith/Void pressed 7" for only $4.99 (usually $6.99!)

If you haven't heard Grey Waves, they are sort of a Gothy/Grungy Replacements! Listen to some here! https://soundcloud.com/grey-waves

PICK THEM UP HERE!



3. Spaceface - Tour & Sun Kids/Anything At All 8" Square Lathe Cut Picture Disc

Spaceface is going on tour! And to celebrate the occasion, we made a special Lathe cut 8" picture disc with two brand new songs! With art by Annie Lynch, these beautiful 8", double sided pic discs are limited to 81 copies and come in custom made heavy duty picture disc sleeves with a transparency side bar. Also, we used some new prototype cutting needles on these, and the fidelity is a serious step up from our previous cuts. We are really looking forward to getting more of the needles made and using them on all of our lathe cuts!

Listen to it here!

BUY THEM HERE!


Go see Spaceface live:

6/30 STL, MO @ Heavy Anchor w/ Minor Characters
7/1 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas w/ Minor Characters
7/2 Grand Rapids, MI @ On The Moon w/ Hi-ker + Mikaela Davis
7/3 Toronto, ON @ The Piston w/ Ginger Ale and the Monowhales + Mikaela Davis
7/4 Montreal, Quebec @ Divan Orange w/ Wizaards
7/5 Albany, NY @ The Hollow w/ Mikaela Davis
7/6 Boston, MA @ Middle East w/ Magic Island
7/8 NYC, NY @ Alphaville w/ Corbu
7/9 Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle w/ Needlepoints & Gods
7/10 Ashbury, NJ @ The Yachtsman w/ Needlepoints and Gods
7/13 D.C. @ DC9 w/ Paperhaus
7/14 Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle
7/16 Birmingham, AL @ Syndicate Lounge w/ Swear Tapes

Pick the Pic Discs up here


5. Forest Fallows - At Home LP

FINALLY the vinyl version of this excellent LP from Tucson's Forest Fallows have arrived! This will be your new summer time jam! Influenced by early/mid 90's indie rock like Yo La Tengo and The Sea and Cake, with a fresh atmospheric psych twist, Forest Fallows in one of my favorite bands (and full disclosure, next door neighbors).

This is a co-release with Joyful Noise. The first pressing come in hand silkscreened covers, with a bonus track (which won't be on subsequent pressings of the LP) called Comfort Lime, and is on "Comfort Lime" Green Vinyl with hand-stamped labels. Hand numbered out of 350 copies.

Listen to the Entire Album HERE!

The story of this record is LONG, TWISTED, and FRAUGHT with FRUSTRATION. It involved 16 months, 4 rejected test pressings, a rejected first run of records, 2 phone calls a week for 8 months, countless broken promises, the new owner of a pressing plant telling me my "little indie label can fuck off and never come back, because (they) were going to be pressing MAJOR LABEL records, and didn't need my business.". Do not ever press records with a plant in Dallas, TX that used to have two letters separated with an & sign for a name and was bought out by an opportunist "business man" who owns a record store (and now pressing plant) named after a woman.

BUY FOREST FALLOWS "AT HOME" HERE!



5. Preorder Updates

So, it's no new story that pressing plants are backed up, unreliable, and a constant pain in the ass of an independent label. This goes for CD manufacturers as well as vinyl pressing plants. If you preordered the Saqqara Mastabas, American Monoxide or Sugar Candy Mountain LPs, or any of the new CD-Records, we are REALLLLLY hoping these things come in soon. We've been told that they will "ship next week" for the last month. One of these days, it really will happen (hopefully it won't end up taking 16 months like the Forest Fallows LPs did). We will ship them out as soon as they arrive, PROMISE.

New CD-Records (Nau, RudyWaltz, Floating Action) - these finally arrived the day before I left on vacation in Colorado, and I woke up at 6AM to get them cut before I left. We started shipping them out on Friday, so they should arrive soon!


6. Survey Results

I sent this survey out last time, and had an overwhelming response… My guess is that only people who actually LIKE the label read the emails, and therefore took the survey, but I’m super flattered and inspired by the responses I got. Most of them were extremely positive.

There were a few pieces of “need improvement” feedback that I got. I wish I could respond to each survey personally, but, like an idiot, I forgot to include a field for name/email address, so despite the fact that I would probably recognize a lot of your names from years of patronage, I have no idea who said what. So, to address the big concerns for those who posted them (and those who didn’t), below are my feedback to your feedback.

PLEASE ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME PERSONALLY AT ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON.

If you didn't take the survey last time, but want to, you can do so here!


In business school (can you believe I have a marketing degree???), they say to never publicly respond to your weaknesses, but here I go.

International Shipping:

I know this is expensive, unfortunately, there is NOTHING I can do. The USPS has almost tripled their international shipping prices since I started this label 10 years ago. I would love to get international distribution, but I make/sell so few records, and my releases are so limited (out of necessity), that no international distro will touch me. The more you buy each time, the cheaper the shipping gets per item.


Lathe Cut Lo-Fidelity vs Pressed Records:
Some people requested I do more pressed records vs lathe cuts because of the lower fidelity of lathe cuts. I am ALWAYS working on improving the fidelity of lathe cuts. Unfortunately, the only way to improve the fidelity is to quadruple the price due to an insane difference in the cost of the materials, cutting needles, and hi-fi capable machines for higher fidelity lathe cuts. I wish that EVERY record I did could be a pressed record, but unfortunately, I honestly don’t sell many pressed records. 90% of pressed records I’ve released (even though they are all limited to 300-500 copies) are still in print, (aka haven’t broken even, financially). Also, because of the labor intensive nature and (and usually found/thrifted/garage sale/dumpstered) unique materials and processes involved, I wouldn’t be able to do nearly as cool packaging if I had to make more than 75-100 copies of something. And a lot of the weird formats (shaped discs, eulerian circles, etc) that people really seem to like are completely impossible to make as pressed records. I try really hard to keep a balance. Records that MIGHT sell enough to press through a plant, I do, and ones that are either not possible, or require being kept limited due to artist obligations are done as lathe cuts.


Things That Sell Out Too Fast
This one was kind of confusing to me. At least 75% of people listed this somewhere in their survey. Very few of my releases sell out in less than a week. Usually, anyone that opens my email in a timely manner is able to get them. The reasons that they are limited when they might be highly sought after are:
1) They are uniquely handmade by the artist: in which case, the artist only WANTS to make 50. And then they want some to keep for themselves. Therefore, we only have 25-30 to sell.
2) The artist has other label obligations that require a TINY run. Scott McMicken, Flaming Lips, etc are great examples of this. Their official labels would NEVER agree to a full run that was kept in print. We are only able to work with artists of this caliber because what we do is so weird, limited, and immediately out of print. Would I love to keep these releases in print forever and actually make a little money on them? Sure! Unfortunately, that isn’t possible. I’m honored to just be able to work with these artists at all, and I have to do so on their terms.

Sound Samples
This is another one that confused me. Almost everyone requested more sound samples, but we’ve tried for the last year to upload everything to soundcloud and include it both on the site description and in the email. I will try harder to make it more apparent where you can hear the tunes in the future!


Website difficulties
Some people reported having a hard time navigating the site. The platform we use is FAR from ideal, but I’ve done the best I can to categorize everything and link from the artist page. I’m too busy making these fucking things to sell them appropriately, and I admit that I’m not super thorough and organized with it, but there are several different ways to navigate the site (clicking on the ALL category will take you to all products in reverse chronological order).

More newsletters?
My philosophy has always been to not send out too many emails. I always wait until I have at least 4 or more things to talk about before I send out an email. Because I, personally, ignore or immediately delete, all emails from companies that send out too much spam unless they are few and far between. So, I usually save up and drop multiple things at once. This also plays into the ridiculous shipping cost debate. I would love for people to be able to lower their overall cost by being able to buy several things at once, rather than buying/shipping a new thing every week or two.

Shipping Time/Preorders
A few people mentioned the wait time for shipping. Sometimes we have to release things as preorders, before they are ready/back from the plant. We have to do this for several reasons. 1) The record is being pushed through a PR company. 2) The artist is touring 3) The pressing plant is backed up (as always) 4) we have a new email going out and won’t do another for a month or two. 5) we are broke as hell and need to pay the final payment on the run.

Also, these things are really time consuming to make. I’m only one man, but I do have an awesome buddy (his name is Seth) that does the majority of mailing now (thank GOD). But, he only mails out once or twice a week (largely because we don’t get enough orders to justify daily trips down to the studio and then to the post office). We are a tiny weirdo indie label run by people who are out of town a lot, not a mega-corp like Amazon. Believe me when I say, we never make you wait longer than absolutely necessary. I am the most instant gratification guy in the world, and I will never slack (and neither will Seth). We are conscientious about getting things out as soon as humanly possible.

Pricing
Most people that listed this qualified it by saying they understood why things were expenses. Records and Lathe cuts are insanely expensive to make, in materials, in time, in packaging. AND, because all of our releases are one time pressings and we don’t really sell on-going digital on most of them (we made $138 on over 100 digital releases available through our site in 2015), we pay the artists up front in VERY generous artist copy percentages of 35-50% of the run. This is NOT 35-50% of PROFIT, this is of actual copies. Meaning that if we make 100 copies of a record that we sell for $10 that costs us $6 a disc (cutting time, labels, packaging, needle wear, materials, poly bags, etc) to make ($600) and we give the artist 35 copies, we sell 65 copies for $650, netting us a cool $50 profit. And we keep a few for our self, so at best we break even. Also figure in the fact that many records (pressed records especially) never sell out at all. Even some lathe cuts take YEARS to sell out (we’ve still got some of the 100 hand-colored copies of the excellent Juston Stens lathe cut from 2011, if you are interested). So any potential profit is sitting in unsold copies of records that will be buried with me in the Maricopa County Landfill when I die. PIAPTK, as of Dec 2015 was $76,000+ in the negative. And that isn’t accounting for the $49,000 in inventory (most of which probably won’t sell) that we have taking up space in the studio. So, a total of 1/8th of a MILLION dollars is how much I’ve lost so far on this label in the last ten years. And that’s ok. Just understand that I always try to keep the pricing as reasonable as I can.


TAKE THE SURVEY HERE!



7. Lathe Cut Camp 4: - Winter 2016

We've sold out the last 3 Lathe Cut Camps, and are now looking to book one for the winter. If you are seriously interested, please email me at lathecuts@yahoo.com and let me know which dates work/don't for you and I will try to schedule around ya! For more info on the lathe cut camps, go here!

Posted on June 21st, 2016
Grey Waves - VOID LP! With Bonus Lathe Cut 7" (also in handmade covers)

3. Grey Waves - VOID LP (with bonus lathe cut!)

Debut record from Seattle band, Grey Waves! Bonus lathe cut 7" in handmade covers available to the first 50 orders! 300 hand assembled/stamped/numbered jackets, hazy purple records and a lyric zine designed by Alison Pate.

Add on the Grey Waves - Faith/Void pressed 7" for only $4.99 (usually $6.99!)

If you haven't heard Grey Waves, they are sort of a Gothy/Grungy Replacements! Listen to some here! https://soundcloud.com/grey-waves

PICK THEM UP HERE!

Posted on June 9th, 2016
New CD-Records (M. Nau, Modest Mouse Side Project, Floating Action), Simon Joyner, Lathe Cut Camp, Sugar Candy Mountain

I know it's rare for us to have this many updates in the same month, but there has been a lot happening. So, here we are... again...


In this update:
1) New CD-Records (Michael Nau (Cotton Jones/Page France), RudyWaltz (mems of Modest Mouse, Band of Horses, Carissa's Weird), and Floating Action (covering the Stones!). ALL TRACKS ARE NOW STREAMABLE!
2) Simon Joyner Lathe Cut 10"
3) Sugar Candy Mountain - 666 LP Preorder!
4) Lathe Cut Camp
5) Rarities and Outtakes and Test Pressing Private Stash restock
6) New Distro - Advance Base Nephew in the Wild, Burger Records, K Recs, Polyvinyl, etc
7) Survey - PLEASE take this and let us know what you like (and don't) about PIAPTK. A little feedback goes a long way in helping us stay motivated and on track.





1. New CD-Record Series Discs!

Rudy Waltz - We are so excited to have the debut release from Pacific Northwest Supergroup, RudyWaltz, who will be on tour with Built To Spill this summer. RudyWaltz is Eric Judy (Modest Mouse), Robin Peringer (Modest Mouse, 764-Hero, Band of Horses, Carissa's Weird), and Mat Brooke (Grand Archives, Carissa's Weird).
Floating Action - Seth Kaufman does it again, with a one-man, full-band take on the Rolling Stones classic, Lies.
Michael Nau - The man behind Cotton Jones Basket Ride and Page France

Pick them up here (will ship in early June). And you can now listen to ALL Cd-Record tracks here!



2. Simon Joyner & The Ghosts - Salt Across Your Wound Lathe Cut 10"s

A limited edition 10" made for Simon Joyner's upcoming tour. Only 100 lathe cut 10"s made. 32 on Clear Records with Yellow Dust Sleeves, and 68 on White Discs with Green Sleeves. Black sleeves silkscreened with silver ink. Originally released as part of an 8x Cassette boxset on Unread Records.

Tracks:
The Sirens Sound Like Laughter
Deluge
Paralyzed Man
This Is The Ache I Was Talking About (Another Midnight Special)
Every Sin Is The Result of a Collaboration
A Simple Wish
The Sailors They've All Scattered

PICK THEM UP HERE!


3. Sugar Candy Mountain - 666 LP Preorder!

Joshua Tree's Sugar Candy Mountain and PIAPTK have a ton of mutual friends... The Blank Tapes, Graves, etc and we are super excited to release their new LP!

We only have 100 copies of the Pink Vinyl, which will never be repressed! All pink vinyl preorders include a bonus Lathe Cut with a cover of the Zombies' Beechwood Park!.

Pick them up here




4. Lathe Cut Camp 3 - Aug 12-14, 2016

Lathe Cut Camp Number Three! Aug 12-14, 2016, Downtown Tucson, 9am-4pm daily.

Spend three days in scenic Tucson, AZ learning (almost) everything you need to know about DIY Record Cutting! The focus of this camp will be on mono "semi-professional" machines, with particular focus on Presto 6Ns, which are one of the most common and affordable vintage machines around. You can do some amazing things with these incredible machines, and I will show you how. Bring your own music and we will put it onto discs for you to take home. We will touch on professional record mastering/pressing, but my main interest and experience, and the focus of this camp will be on the more DIY and experimental side of the hobby. There are only 8 spots available, so buy early!

Perfect if you are interested in:
Vinyl records and how their masters are cut
Learning how this strange black art works
Buying a lathe to make your own records
Ordering lathe cuts from a lathe cut service
Cutting your own music to disc

Topics covered:
The science behind vinyl record cutting
Lathe Operations and equipment
The pressing process
Lacquer dub plate cutting
Experimental and alternative materials (plexiglass, laserdiscs, picnic plates, etc)

Please Note: You are responsible for your own transportation to/from Tucson and your accommodations. However, the hotels here are pretty damn cheap.

About the Presenter: For more info on me, please visit the About page of this site

Only Six Spots Available! Pick one up here!


5. Rarities & Outtakes/Test Pressings Stash Update

With every release, we put back a handful of copies ito the archives for us to keep, for problems with shipping, for cases of website glitches/oversales, artist/friend requests, etc. And when we get desperate for cash, we have to dig deep and bring out one or two of them at a time. This time we've pulled out releases and test pressings from Scott McMicken, Grandaddy, Flaming Lips, Eric Slick, Ariel Pink, R Stevie Moore, and a ton of other old stuff.

Check them out here.


6. New Distro from Orindal, Burger Records, Polyvinyl, K Recs, etc!

We occasionally do some distro and label trades. We recently got a new stock of stuff from Owen Ashworth at Orindal Records, AKA CFTPA AKA Advance Base. We got some copies of his excellent new record, Nephew in the Wild on both lavender and black vinyl.

We also still have a ton of other new Orindal, K Records, Burger Records, New West, Polyvinyl, Folktale Records, Electricity and Lust and other releases in the Distro section, so Check them out here.

Some of the NEW DISTRO TITLES we have are below:

K Records:
Calvin Johnson & The Sons of the Soil (with Kyle Field)
D+ ST (Phil Elvrum, Karl Blau, & Bret Lunsford (Beat Happening)
Mirah - Changing Light

Orindal Records
Advance Base - Nephew in the Wild
Casiotone For The Painfully Alone - In Cambridge LP
Casiotone For The Painfully Alone - In Sydney LP
Advance Base / Concern - Traditionals 7"
Advance Base - Our Cat 7"
Advance Base - World is in a Bad Fix Everywhere

Burger Records
Natural Child - Hard in Heaven (Colored Vinyl!)
King Tuff Is Dead (Blue cover, blue with orange splatter vinyl)
Nirvana - Cult (60s psych band) - Colored 2xLP
Jaill - Brain Cream
Dead Ghosts - Love and Death and All the Rest
Jessie Jones - ST
Natural Child - Hard in Heaven
Nobunny - Raw Romance (has a golden Boots cover!)
White Fang - Chunks

Polyvinyl Records
Pillar Point - ST
IDA - Tales of Brave IDA 2xLP
Mates of State - My Solo Project
IDA - I Know About You
David Bazan - Fewer Moving Parts EP
Of Montreal - Aureate Gloom
Sonny and the Sunsets - Talent NIght at the Ashram

Folktale Records
Whitman - Restoring Darkness

New West
Benji Hughes - A Love Extreme 2xLP 180g
Steve Earle - Townes 2xLP 180g

Browse Our Distro Titles Here!

7. Survey - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TAKE IT.

PIAPTK is a serious passion project. It's an addiction that is arguably as expensive as many other addictions (though I would imagine more fun and rewarding) in it's costs. It is something that I have done for almost ten years, with varying waves of feast and famine, intense public interest and equally universal apathy for what I do. But, let's be real... I do it how I want to, with whom I want to, and don't get too hung up on whether anybody cares or does not. I do it as a creative outlet that allows me to work with artists that I adore. I do it to amuse myself. And I do.

However, PIAPTK is also an extremely personal "business" to me, and I would really love to know about every hand that my releases get into. Each release is put together with an unbelievable amount of love and sweat. It would really mean the world to me if you would just take a few minutes to answer ten questions about your experiences with PIAPTK, what you like/don't, etc. It's sometimes hard to understand what customers want/like/feel, when you are just a faceless Paypal order. I've always tried very hard to keep PIAPTK very personal, to let you know who the weirdo behind the releases is, to be accessible and to meet as many of my customers as I can. I think I'm up to well over 100 IRL encounters/new friends from this endeavor.

Give me the good AND the bad. I can't grow and improve in a one-person vacuum.

If you would take this survey, I would be SOOOO appreciative!

TAKE THE SURVEY HERE!


As always, I am extremely grateful for your support, and even just bothering to read this email.

With love from the quickly-overheating-desert.

Your Friend, Mike.

Posted on May 17th, 2016