01 - Piedmont 01:22
02 - Rumble Seat 01:46
03 - Ranch Wife 02:48
04 - Pink Pearl 01:26
05 - Young Friends 02:15
06 - (She Likes The Part) About Wolves 01:07
07 - Somber Town 01:26
I've always been infatuated with this band. They seemed to come out of nowhere, release a handful of great unique songs in '94, then fade away into obscurity. A total mystery band, and pretty much no info to be found about them aside from the fact that Nick Forte (Rorschach) and Danny Leo (Native Nod) were involved. Their sound is hard to describe, but chances are if you're into '90s bands like Native Nod, Moss Icon, Indian Summer etc, you'll love this. Although they sound nothing like any of those bands. They don't really sound like any band i can think of actually. Anyway, they were too short-lived (although Charles of Gern Blandsten/Rorschach says there's an unreleased RTS album sitting in his closet, which gives me chest pains), and totally overlooked. According to my ears, Radio To Saturn should have been huge. So here's all their released recordings, lovingly ripped from my vinyl by my good friend Mark. Enjoy.
Like i said, there's absolutely no info that i can find on this band. The lineup, and who plays what is even a mystery. Here's the lineup as printed in the s/t 7" on Unskilled Labor Records.
Rhythm Guitar - Nick
Rhyming Guitar - Tom
Rhythmic Guitar - Andy
Rhythm - Danny
Tom Doesn't Sing
Recorded Summer 1994 by Chris Pierce and Radio To Saturn at The Lanes, Allston MA.
Unskilled Labor 001
Actual lineup according to Nick Forte (guitar/vocals):
Andy Reuland - guitar / vocals
Danny Leo - drums / vocals
Tom Marsh - guitar
Nick Forte - guitar / vocals
I know i hear a bass in there, so i'm not sure who played bass on these recordings.
I remember playing the song "Young Friends" (from the split with Van Pelt) for a co-worker back sometime in the mid '90s when the record had just come out, and he said it sounded like "punk for pre-schoolers". That always stuck with me. It fits the track perfectly.
So, if you've never heard Radio To Saturn before, do yourself a favor and check it out. Songs like "Piedmont", "Rumble Seat", and my personal favorite, "(She Likes The Part) About Wolves" are just classics of the genre. Whatever genre that is.
If anyone has any additional info on this band, please leave a comment.

01 - April Violence 01:55
02 - Everything's Alright 04:55
03 - Great White Hope 01:52
Let's do this one backwards, B to A. I never saw The Van Pelt. On this split they cover a song from Jesus Christ Superstar. Being my sole exposure to The Van Pelt, I avoided them as my religious rejection was at it's most vigorous when this split was released. I realise now that that avoidance was wrong on the basis of religious rejection, I should have avoided them because they covered a fucking Jesus Christ Superstar song, next thing you know they'll be stealing riffs from The Sound of Music. I whole-heartedly endorse putting this song on a mix tape for a girl though.
I am not cool enough to have ever seen (Young) Pioneers. I like (Young) Pioneers, a lot. Like most bands that I really get into, they broke up soon after I bought and loved an album of theirs. They actually had a lot to do with my later obsession with Woody Guthrie. I've played and taped the two songs on this split over and over. I initially liked this band because I had just ridden a wave called Born Against to the beach and was willing to give anything a try that was mentioned in the same sentence as Born Against. (Young) Pioneers helped my development in a number of ways. They helped me realise that punk music was not something that should have limits. Before (Young) Pioneers, I would have scoffed at a punk band using a harmonica. They were instrumental in my reinvention of a love of folk music. They have been my "most played band of the month" on 6 separate occasions. I don't just like (Young) Pioneers, I love them. Plenty of people have reviewed the band and their records, lots of them have said that the only bad thing about the band was that Neil couldn't sing. To them, I say "Fuck You. He's singing through a harmonica microphone, it's called "art". Try listening right this time."

01 - his steppe is my prarie 03:40
02 - it's a suffering 03:20
03 - shame on you 03:18
04 - magic fantasy (we are provincial) 03:59
05 - you are the glue 05:11
06 - simone never had it this good 02:31
07 - his saxophone is my guitar 03:54
08 - it's new to me 02:59
09 - turning twenty into two 04:15
The first LP from indie outsiders The Van Pelt, ?Stealing From Our Favorite Thieves? quickly drops into upbeat guitar grooves that usher in the instantly recognizable voice of Chris Leo. The formula for the rest of the record is pretty similar: catchy riffs that dissolve into slightly more intricate and relaxed grooves, with alternating singing and off-key screaming. Leo's usually restrained delivery is still 100% rock & roll, but it also makes him out as a likeable guy who knows when not to push it and when to ram it into the listeners' ears. The band did go on to make a much better follow-up record, but this is simply proof that they started out good and only got better. Lyrically, the Van Pelt are a glorious anomaly; there are rarely words that are hard to understand, but the meaning is all but up to the listener. Leo is a preacher of his own ideas, and they flow from his mouth in a jumbled mess that adds the necessary mystery to the group. Guitars provide the necessary safety net for all of the band's escapades, and while the songs seem to blend into one another, the sporadic use of chugging chords and spacious free-flowing notes make for a constantly shifting setting with a unique feel. ~ Peter J. D'Angelo, All Music Guide

01 - Nanzen Kills a Cat 04:14
02 - The Good, the Bad & The Blind 04:30
03 - Yamato (Where People Really Die) 02:57
04 - My Bouts With Pouncing 03:00
05 - Don't Make Me Walk My Own Log 03:56
06 - The Young Alchemists 04:04
07 - We Are the Heathens 03:20
08 - Pockets of Pricks 02:44
09 - Let's Make a List 03:33
10 - Do the Lovers Still Meet at the Chang Kai Shek Memorial 03:06
“The second and final full-length release from THE VAN PELT is really so good that it makes their breakup one of the most painful aspects of listening to the record. Their formula works brilliantly on this ten-track CD, with Chris Leo's grueling spoken vocals clearly paving the way for the evocative rock the rest of the band contributes. Over climaxing guitars and airy build-ups, Leo's abstract musings brim with emotion and, on tracks like "We Are the Heathens" and "Let's Make a List," his creative wording gives amazing credibility to his thoughts on social outsiders and the business of teaching. The arrangements are still pretty heavy on this record, unlike some of the more arty restrained rock on his later releases with The Lapse, and the band is as unafraid to rock out as Leo is to bring himself to the sort of unrestrained and slightly unmusical screams that give true feeling to "Don't Make Me Walk My Own Log." The Van Pelt do what they do in a smart and original way.” ~ Peter J. D'Angelo, All Music Guide

The Van Pelt, основан- ный Крисом Лео (Native Nod) функционировал и к имевшемуся в первом наборе составу присоединилась Токо Ясуда, с которой Крис познакомился, по его же словам, в бытность свою продавцом магазина, куда она принесла пачку отличных записей. На этой благодатной почве завязалось знакомство, поход на концерт Blonde Redhead и участие Toko в текущем проекте. Позже она присоединится и к Blonde Redhead, потом к другой группе Криса. Сейчас же, она является участницей весьма успешной команды Enon, играющей пост-рок. В начале своей краткой истории The Van Pelt выпустили следующие релизы: «Demo» на WGNS Studios и split 7» с Radio To Saturn из New England, где в то время стучал на бараба- нах Дэнни Лео. Но в группе происходили постоянные перетряски состава — восемь человек побывали в различных ролях.
Токо была лучшая басистка (по словам Криса), и на следующих релизах она сменила некоего Бэрри на басу. И уже тогда опять же на Gern Blandsten были изданы сначала «Stealing From Our Favorite Thieves» (их первый полноценный лонгплэй 1996 года) — и самый золотой состав, когда в группу входи- ли: Крис Лео гитара и вокал, Токо Ясуда бас и бэки, Брайан Мэрьянски гитара и бэки, а также Нейл О`Брайан на барабанах. Это был хорошо сыгранный, депрессивный инди-рок. С трагичным чтением текста под не менее печальную музыку. Душераздирающе и чрезвычайно просто, эмоций не убавилось ни на грамм хотя стиль сильнейшим образом разнился с первым опытом Криса. Вскоре затем последовал The Van Pelt 7» (split with Young Pioneers) после которого, Токо и ушла в Blonde Redhead без всяких скандалов и жестоких обрывов отношений, затем последовал последний логплэй «Sultans of Sentiment» (уже без всякого участия Токо) и самым последним релизом, видимо, стали « The Van Pelt 7 Inch/CDep» на Art Monk Construction осенью 1997 года, а группа прекратила своё фактическое существование хотя участники не окончили даже колледж.
Команда The Van Pelt сформировалась в 1993 году в университете штата Нью-Йорк. Музыка команды представляет с собой приятный и успокаивающий инди с влиянием эмо музыки 90-ых. Группа записала три сплита, и выпустила два полноформатника (ключевая часть их творчества) на лейбле Gern Blandsten. Состав у них тоже мего:
Крис Лео - вокал, гитара (также вокалист Native Nod, также брат Теда Лео)
Брайан Марьянски - гитара (также Jets To Brazil)
Токо Ясуда (также Blonde Redhead, также девушка Криса, вместе с ним позже создаст The Lapse)
Нэйл О'Брайан - барабаны.
Распалась группа в 1997 году, оставив после себя следующее: