A Spectacular First Release: Mike Lundy Recap

First and foremost, thank you all who attended the release parties in sunny Honolulu and chilly Chicago and London. We had a great time making this record available in-person to those who attended the events. (Unfortunately I was only able to supply Chicago with 5 copies, so big ups to the ones who got to Punch House early to grab one!). The label launch party at Bevy coincided with our monthly Soul Time In Hawaii gig, which I found to be the perfect way to celebrate: good vibes, good drinks, and good music with myself and Oliver Seguin as the DJs, and Mike Lundy in tow to hang out with everyone. Mike was ecstatic, to say the least. At one point in the evening he turned to me and said, “Rog, I can’t believe this! We never had a release party back in 1980 when the LP came out. But now it’s official... even though it's 35 years later!” That was Thursday, January 29th. That same evening in London, Cedric Bardawil and Mark Taylor (sans Laura Coxeter, who caught a cold just before the event) were celebrating the label’s launch at Rye Wax in the Peckham neighborhood. A good turnout with an unexpected amount of teenagers buying the record—exciting to know that a younger generation is into it! And then Saturday, January 31st. The official release day. Chicago celebrated the debut of Soul Time In Chicago, The latest sister monthly party in the soul time series, led by DJ Solson and DJ Darryn. Despite (or because of) the cold weather out there, people packed the Punch House for this special party which featured hours of quality vinyl selections from Solson, Darryn and their guest Al-Bumz. You can listen to the first three hours of Soul Time In Chicago on Soundcloud: Which reminds me, there is a full six hour recording of Soul Time In London in the pipeline. Guest DJ Red Greg graced the crowd at Brilliant Corners with his set that included a handful of Hawaiian gems. Brilliant Corners was well attended, and those who arrived early secured there a copy of the Mike Lundy 7-inch. As for us here in Honolulu, Saturday held a relaxed, casual vibe as we celebrated the release in store at Hungry Ear for a couple of hours midday. We set up a turntable to play local LPs in full, talk story with everyone who walk to the doors, and encountered a few serendipitous surprises — including one devout Lundy fan who procured an original test pressing of Mike's LP, The Rhythm Of Life, to sign. Only three were ever made. Mike was absolutely floored to see one in real life. Another surprise: Hungry Ear co-owner Ward Yamashita brought out his personal copy of a 45 that Mike recorded with this first band, The Deltones, at the age of 16. At that same moment, the original drummer of The Deltones walked through the door. Mike had no idea he was coming. We immediately put the record on and a Deltones reunion was in effect before our eyes. As I write this, something is happening that I had anticipated although not this early on. Within 10 days of the records release date, copies of AGS-7001 have popped up on Discogs for three times the original retail price. I knew it was coming, and I know there is no avoiding it either. Considering how massive the response for the first release has been, I think it's safe to say that Mike and I happy to give more people the chance to own, love and be inspired by his music. After all, we should let the music live on while we still have time.

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The next release (AGS-7002) will be another 7-inch featuring two songs from Mike Lundy's The Rhythm Of Life: "Nothing Like Dat Funky Funky Music" b/w "Round And Around". AGS-7002 is tentatively scheduled for a release on June 22, 2015. A full LP reissue (AGS-LP001) is slated for November 28, 2015.