Friday, June 8, 2012

The Late Show - Portable Pop REISSUE


Reissue Available May 29th via Trashy Creatures Records

Formed in 1972 at North Central High School in Indianapolis, The Late Show’s original line-up included drummer Mark Cutsinger and guitarist Kevin Kimberlin, along with Don Main and Mark Moran.

With a move to New York City in 1974 the Late Show caught the attention of producer Jack Douglas (John Lennon, Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, Artful Dodger, New York Dolls, The Knack). After a series of recordings with Douglas at the Record Plant, and major label offers from CBS, Epic, Windfall, and Don Kirshner’s record label, all of which the band turned down expecting a bigger deal to be around the corner, Kimberlin left the band.

The band continued as a three piece from 1975 until 1979, when Steve Lester was added on guitar and keyboards.

By late 1979, guitarist Rick Clayton had replaced Steve Lester and Chris Pyle joined replacing Mark Cutsinger on drums.

The band entered Soundsmith Studios in Indianapolis with producer Greg Riker and engineer producer Mike Petrucci to record their first record, Portable Pop. The band had trouble getting the sound they wanted in the studio. Main recalled, “Don’t get me wrong, it was a nice studio, it was just too sterile sounding. So we literally set up in the loading dock area of the studio with monitors and recorded the entire album live.” Portable Pop, released in 1980 on Rave Records was the only official release by The Late Show, and was only available at the time on vinyl. The record has been out of print since the early 80′s. This power pop classic will be reissued May 29, 2012 by Trashy Creatures Records.

The band recorded their second record in Memphis, TN with producer John Hampton (The Raconteurs, White Strips, Alex Chilton, The Cramps, The Replacements, Gin Blossoms) in 1983. The record entitled, Recordio in Stereo, was shelved just weeks before it’s independent release by the band's lawyer, who assured them a contract with Atlantic Records was a done deal. As it it turned out, the deal fell through and the record has remained unreleased since 1983. It will finally see the light of day with bonus tracks later this year on Trashy Creatures Records. Between 1986 and 1988, the band recorded demos in Los Angeles and their hometown of Indianapolis with producer Ian Ritchie (Roger Waters, Godley & Creme, Gary Numan, The Beach Boys, Dead Or Alive, Howard Jones, Laurie Anderson). Atlantic Records was responsible for paring producer Ritchie with the band, but once again a deal with the label failed to materialize. The band are currently working on a album of new material to be released through Trashy Creatures Records and Burger Records in 2013.

In the summer of 2012 The Late Show will be featured in a new book called “Power Pop 360” and the song “Take a Chance” will be featured on the CD Compilation that will accompany the book. The book covers 360 of the most essential power pop records in history.

 

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