Please HO, Don't Hurt 'em

Think different, listen different: It's a brave new millenium a-comin' and we're filling it with brave new music. As we look back on the receding 1900's and note that no one said fin de siecle this time around, Home Office Records is the proud Daddy of five wonderful albums -- and we want you to hear them. This is why we have joined hands with Napster, which is a great way to get music into ears. We hope ours gets into yours (yummy)! So settle in and discover new music with us.

Of course we also want you to buy the music, for this simple reason: if you don't then we go out of business, the bands don't get paid and we can't make any more music for you to hear, and in general we all get plunged into a gray garrison state of mournful top-40 pop with no new voices and no new sounds to thrill you through the days. So let's make a deal here -- listen and trade all you like. And if it rocks your world, then buy the Real Thing (accept no substitutes!) and support the music and the musicians. For our part, we'll keep on bringing you the newest and wonderfullest sounds out there.

Speaking of which, the newest bumper of our crop is Natural Selection, by The Dan Emery Mystery Band. A serious raucous light-hearted dance through this our life and all the trimmings, this album hits stores by early June of 2000, and is also on sale in the usual Internet spots. We are currently revamping our little HO online store, and while it's being spiffed and buffed you can also buy it direct from us by sending us an email. We'll get back to you with details.

Last year's Total Vegetility by The Cucumbers is a deep and darkish uptempo delve into roles, expectations, lives, loves and memories by this long-jangling New Jersey quirk-pop foursome. "It's our grunge album, if you can imagine a Cucumbers grunge album," notes the band's Jon Fried. Total Vegetility is available here, from the usual on-line music emporia, and nationwide in music stores just about everywhere. If it's not out in your neck of the woods, please email us so we can correct this situation.

We partied like it was 1998 too: In early October, we launched Pawnshop's first full-length recording, Three Brass Balls, with a rousing show and subsequent debauchery at Luna Lounge. Three Brass Balls is a meat-and-potatoes four-square pop/rock record that rings and jangles in great style, and it is available in stores as well as on the Net. Again, if you can't find this album near you please let us know and we'll reach out to your local stores.

And then some: The debut solo CD by the East Village's RAW Kinder cleared the seawall that summer with a grand ol' party, complete with fine music, roses and tears at CB's Gallery. This EP is a limited edition not available near you -- but you can get it here in the Home Office Records on-line store. While you're here you can also nab the delightful Burner compilation which started the whole shebang, unleashing a kaboodle of fine new and eclectic tunes (indie pop/rock, jazz and postmodern guitar, all on one disc) into the estuary as our very first release. Burner includes four early tracks each by HO recording artists RAW Kinder and Pawnshop as well as featured friends bluecowboys, Rob Schwimmer and Mark Stewart.

What's coming up? We'll let you know. We're looking closely at a few choice bands making glorious sounds, and beyond that it's a big wide world, full of plans and dreams. To stay strictly up to date, take a moment to join our Home Office mailing list so we can keep you up to speed on what everybody's been busy doing.