Dan Sartain – Bohemian Grove / Atheist Funeral 7″
Buying things with no intention of ever using them. In the current economic climate, this is behaviour that ranks alongside having the heating on full blast and the windows open, or filling your car with petrol at a station exactly a full tank of petrol’s drive from your house. Just for a laugh.
But it’s the curse of the limited-edition record buyer.
Imagine my excitement when, two years since his last release and after a scotched rumour about a triple-album odyssey, Dan Sartain announced a new limited edition single on Jack White’s fledgling Third Man label.
Even more excitingly – of the limited run, 150 were being released on sexy tri-colour vinyl. Now, the only way to get one of those was to visit the label’s store in Nashville, or send a pre-order request and hope you got lucky – 100 were 
being sold in-store and 50 were being randomly inserted into the pre-orders.
While trekking to Nashville was a (brief) consideration, I placed my order and hoped for the best. After a three week wait, the postman rang with a package for me, I tore it to pieces and what was inside – only the bloody tri-colour version!
What a dilemma. I wanted to hear Mr Sartain’s new tunes, but I had to respect the limited edition vinyl. How could I possibly play something so beautiful, so fragile, so perfect?
So, the order goes in again and after another couple of weeks, I finally get my hand on a standard black vinyl version, which I have no qualms about playing.
What’s it like? A very laid-back affair, Bohemian Grove is built around a nagging piano riff while Dan croons about burning effigies, druids and suchlike. The demo version of Atheist Funeral, which has been knocking around for quite a while (and is still available to hear on his MySpace), is a rockier number with distorted vocals - this version, produced by Jack White, is stripped back spooky Addams Family gothabilly and makes me annoyed at missing his recent UK dates.
But not to worry – in what is possibly the greatest line-up ever, Dan is supporting God’s own band The Night Marchers at Camden Underworld on November 24th.
I won’t be bringing the tri-colour vinyl for Dan to sign though. The heat in the venue and the amount of perspiration vapour in the air could compromise the integrity of the vinyl, reducing phonograph noisewave viscocity and resulting in fidelity retardation of up to 8 per cent. Hmm.
For a taste of the solo Sartain live experience, the video below is a good place to start. Be sure to seek out his superb full-band shows too…
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This is what makes this site special. Just heard Besame Mucho from the album Join Dan Sartain, and it is so cool. And here it is, thanks to YouTube!
If you like that, try Mariachi El Bronx…