SHAM! Volume 1

S.H.A.M.! Volume 1
1992 Sonic Hope Records
Riverside, California, USA

The People and Places Side:

1. Mandy Horak – “#3 (Dysfunctional Love Song)”
2. Robert Deeble – “Old Man”
3. Chad Bryant Edmundson – “Speechless”
4. Jason Underground – “Hard Times in San Luis Town”
5. John R. Williamson – “Speechless”
6. Eric Paulsen – “May”
7. Michael Knepher – “I Don’t Care (but it sure would be nice)”
8. Mandy Horak – “The Wren Song”

The Things Side:

1. David Finley – “Hello Kimberly” (labeled as “Holdover from “People & Places” side)
2. Bob – “Snowdogs”
3. John R. Williamson – “Staying in the Realm”
4. David Finley – “Hesitancy (Make That Move)”
5. Chad Bryant Edmundson – “Underhanded”
6. Eric Paulsen – “Someday Soon”
7. Jason Underground – “Copseatflowers (The Ballad of Rodney King)”
8. Robert Deeble – “Shantytown”

As you can see by the picture, S.H.A.M. stands for Sonic Hope Audio Magazine. Its a compilation of various artists that were recording for Sonic Hope Records. I haven’t heard all of the releases on this label, so I don’t know if this is a compilation of songs from those releases, songs that weren’t released, or both. I don’t know if there are albums by Mandy Horak or Michael Knephler – but I assume there are. Both Eric Paulsen songs are listed on this 1993 demo A Backyard Auction, but I haven’t  heard that one yet to know if they are the same versions or not. The Jason Undergound songs are different versions that the ones on Songs of Praise and Protest from 1994 (earlier versions maybe?). The BOB song is from their 1992 demo Logride. The Chad Bryant Edmundson “Underhanded” also appears on his 1993 demo Wonder and Strangeness (but the other track here doesn’t). The Robert Deeble song “Shanytown” is a different version from the one released on The Big Yellow in 1992. Most of the songs here are singer/songwriter songs with just vocals and acoustic guitar. A few tracks add some other instruments, while BOB is a full band doing indie rock. I ran into two copies of this tape with different color covers (orange and blue) dubbed to different blank tapes. The cover is a full page foldout, and the orange one had a contest on the side called the “SHAM I AM Contest for All Ages.” Basically, you would answer trivia questions about the bands and the most creative ones would win all of the Sonic Hope releases and a few other things.

Lefty and the Loopy Dwadlers – Motion Picture Poetry

Lefty and the Loopy Dwadlers
Motion Picture Poetry
1991 Sonic Hope Recordings
Claremont, California, USA

John R. Williamson
Chad Bryant Edmundson
David Finley

Side 1:

1. Glanced and Babbled; Watched and Hushed
2. Swinging on a Star
3. Oh the Hour of Wonder
4. Long Time
5. Passing Property
6. Won’t You Try
7. Coming

Side 2:

1. Missionaries in America
2. Reverberations of…
3. Splash
4. Morning
5. Together for Two

So this is obviously a joke recording of some kind, but the music is not all silliness. Its more satire than goofball comedy. I’m not sure who the Loopy Dwadlers are, but it appears that Lefty is John R. Williamson (since he wrote most of the songs). Chad Bryant Edmundson and David Finley are pictured on the front cover, so they would be a good guess as to the identities of the Loopy Dwadlers. The sound here is the acoustic folk style that you find on many other Sonic Hope Recordings. They bring in some random sounds here and there, from drum machines to a cappella numbers.

John R. Williamson – Purple Blanket

John R. Williamson
Purple Blanket
1997 Liberation Music / Sonic Hope Records
Claremont, California, USA

John R. Williamson – Vocals, guitars

Side 1:

1. Holiday
2. The Pace of You
3. The Afternoon
4. Stand and Speak
5. A Piece of the Mob is Me
6. My Massive Affection

Side 2:

1. Forest Lawn
2. Kindly Honor Everyone
3. Trapper Dick
4. Charcoal Drawings Through the Night
5. Hold on to Your Hat
6. I’m a Pyre for You

This is one of the later Williamson releases I have seen. But since it is a good 4 years after the last one I am aware of (1993’s Make a Songwriter Happy), there may be others that I have not seen, of course. This appears to have been made specifically for a church or community group of some kind, so I also don’t know if this got distributed very widely. I think this is just Williamson and his guitar, but there also appears to be a bass guitar in the background of some songs. But it could also be Williamson doing those as well.

Bob – Logride

Bob
Logride
1992 Sonic Hope Records
Glendora, California, USA

Chad B. Edmundson – Vocals, rhythm guitar
J.D. Carnes – Lead guitar, vocals
John R. Williamson – Bass guitar, vocals
Eric C. Paulsen – Drums, vocal

Side 1:

1. Aspect
2. Short of a Revolution
3. Snowdogs
4. Eric’s Song
5. Logride

Side 2:

1. Underbelly
2. Thank God
3. Lackluster
4. Saving Grace / And for a Reason
5. Bob

So this is not the Bob that was on Fingerprint Records that released Tales From the House of the Wholly Bobble as far as I can tell. This seems to be a super-group made up of various solo folk artists from the Sonic Hope Records label. Except they are not doing folk rock – it is more like alternative/indie rock that seems to share many influences with Joe Christmas. Which makes me wonder if this is a later version of Household Morgan? Chad Bryant Edmundson and John R. Williamson both have solo tapes, and maybe the other two do as well that I just haven’t heard (Paulsen has played on tapes by Edmundson and Williamson). “Lackluster” is a cover of a David Finley song, but they start off with the chords from the 77s “I Can’t Get Over It” before transitioning into the song. The song that I have labeled as “Bob” is not listed – it’s basically people singing “Bob” in a bunch of funny ways.

John R. Williamson – Make a Songwriter Happy

John R. Williamson
Make a Songwriter Happy
1993 Sonic Hope Records
Claremont, California, USA

John R. Williamson – Vocals, guitars, other instruments?

Side 1:

1. Where They Meet
2. The Observant Scout
3. 14 Adjustments
4. Trying to Love Clayton Ides
5. The Breadth of My Will
6. Hot Jazz

Side 2:

1. Exodus Revisited
2. Friends
3. From Russia With Love
4. The Ballad of Funnycuzi
5. The Death of the Rough Rider
6. Hart Overboad
7. Thanks a Lot

From what I can tell, this is at least Williamson’s 4^th or 5^th demo (depending on when the undated Sketches came out, or if there are other earlier demos I haven’t heard of. Since Canvas of Blues was also released in 1993, but ’m not sure which one came out first. There is also a missing song on Side 1 – seven are listed, but only six are played. I can name all of the tracks except for track 2 – so it is either “Roley Poley” or “The Observant Scout.” Based on the liner notes, I went with “The Observant Scout” – but I could be wrong. This tape follows other Williamson releases, in that it is mostly folk rock with many other instruments thrown in. That makes some songs come across as more Americana Rock than folk rock.

John R. Williamson – Sketches

John R. Williamson
Sketches
199? Sonic Hope Records
Palo Verde, California, USA

John R. Williamson – Vocals, guitars

Mike Harkins – Trombone
Korby Paulsen – Guitar
Eric Patton – Drums
Mandy Horak – Singing

Side 1:

1. Reckoning
2. The K-Mart Song
3. Morning Storm
4. Spiney Snake
5. Alone With a Will
6. Ode to Keaton’s Young Sherlock

Side 2:

1. I’m Breathing
2. Ray Horne
3. Eyes
4. Clinging to Jesus’ Cloak
5. Poetic Prophetic Musical Sketches
6. Such is Love

This is another John R. Williamson release, but without a date on it. I assume it was in the 1990s like his other ones, but I have no idea where it falls in the order with other tapes like Canvas of Blue or Do I Dare to Eat a Peach? The sound is also similar to his other tapes, being mostly acoustic alternative rock. Sometimes it’s folk-ish, other times it is singer-songwriter-ish, but it also seems to be a bit outside of those genres as well. This could be due to the occasionally bass guitar, percussion, or other instruments that get thrown in the mix. Unfortunately, the first song on side 2 (“I’m Breathing”) was a bit mangled on this copy, but you can still kind of make it out, and that issue goes away by the next song.

Missing Information: what year was this released?

John R. Williamson – Canvas of Blue

John R. Williamson
Canvas of Blue
1993 Sonic Hope Records
Claremont, California, USA

John R. Williamson – Vocals, guitars, other instruments?

Chad Edmunson – Vocals on “Where Did the Doctor Go?”
David Finley – Vocals on “Where Did the Doctor Go?”
Eric Paulsen – Strumming and croaking on “A Humdrum Conundrum,” boost guitar on “Chess With Death”
Michael Knepher – Strumming and croaking on “A Humdrum Conundrum”
Korby Paulsen – Drums on “Temecula”

Side 1:

1. Danish Straightjacket
2. Bigger Than Blue
3. Our Guilt-Ridden Alchemist
4. Chess With Death
5. Where Did the Doctor Go?
6. Temecula
7. A Humdrum Conundrum

Side 2:

1. Juggler Treading Water
2. Captivity
3. Move It Along
4. Arise
5. Sarah and Abraham
6. Landing in a Family
7. Testimony in the Mother Tongue

This is one of several recordings by Williamson on Sonic Hope Records, the same label home as Robert Deeble of Days Like These fame. As one would guess, this is acoustic folk music, but with a more noticeable rock ‘n roll sensibility in that there is more percussion and upright bass than you usually find on these types of albums. Also some more electric guitar here and there. There is kind of a rollicking Hee-Haw-ish groove underneath some of the songs, but with Williamson doing something more like acoustic Indie rock over the top. Which makes for a more interesting listen across the whole album than it would be if he was just doing the acoustic singer/songwriter thing for a dozen or so songs. The cover is actually a near full page color laser-printer printed page, folded to the size and shape of a j-card.