12 facts about The Stand GT’s most celebrated release, the cassette-only Blur Your Cool

Thanks to our good pal Rob Seaton, the infamous and long lost ‘Blur Your Cool’ has been lovingly resurrected, tweaked, mastered and beaten into submission. It is now available for digital download for the first time since its release 22 years ago.

Blur Your Cool was The Stand GT‘s message in a bottle. It was a release that blew open doors for us and provided the opportunity for the band to travel far and wide, put out records around the world and meet friends we still keep in touch with today. There was magic in that tape.

We’ve compiled 12 fun facts you can read while you download it here.

#1

Blur Your Cool was released on En Guard records in Montreal, Canada, cat number ENG 014. It was only ever released on a limited run cassette.

Blur Your Cool
3 copies of Blur Your Cool remain unopened in the band’s vault.



#2

A video was shot for The Wait at Concordia University on 16mm film. Sadly it was never edited or released. Yet, anyway.



#3

Kurt Bloch from the legendary Fastbacks heard Blur Your Cool and liked it so much he offered to record the band. Our first LP, They’re Magically Delicious was recorded by Kurt at Egg Studios in Seattle as a result.

He also recorded the Mint Records 7″ EP, The Crackle Fan.

Outside Egg Studios, Seattle
Outside Egg Studios (l to r): Chris, Wally, Colin, Kurt, Doug, Zimmy



#4

Colin from The Stand GT bought Blur at Sam The Record Man in Toronto. He was soon playing the songs live.

Colin takes off
Colin catches air on tour in ’94.



#5

The tape was recorded, for the most part, at Studio 365 by Rob Martin. Studio 365 is located at 365 Beaubien St in Montreal and still exists as a practice space today. Listen carefully to the start of Cut My Hand and you’ll hear the band in the next room rehearsing.

Paul Gott from the Ripcordz sang backing vocals. (You guess which songs).

Studio 365
The doorway to Studio 365. And some random running dude.



#6

Away From Your Sway and Into Downs were recorded at an earlier session by Pierre Perrault and Andrew Frank at Studio DNA in Montreal. Sad Bunch of People is also from that session.

Sad Bunch Of People 7
Sad Bunch of People 7″ released by En Guard 1992, Cat number ENG 008.



#7

I’d Tell You was a retake of an earlier version that appeared on a demo cassette called ‘Out Standing In The Field’. It was eventually covered by Ottawa’s Dead City Rebels.

Dead City Rebels
The Dead City Rebels 10″ ‘Rock and Roll Enemy #1′. I’d Tell You was not on this.



#8

Choke also appeared on an Australian compilation on AuGoGo records called ‘On Guard For Thee‘. It featured ‘A Collection of Canada’s Youth Gone Bad‘ including BUM, Chixdiggit, Von Zippers, Huevos Rancheros, Cub, Punchbuggy, The Smugglers, Crash 13 and more!

Dave Cooper and Pat McEown, the crack creative team responsible for the cover of Apocalypse Cow, also did this cover.

On Guard For Thee



#9

Away From Your Sway also appeared on a early En Guard comp called ‘2 Solitudes‘ which featured 50% Franco bands and 50% Anglo bands. It featured artists such as Ripcordz, Banlieue Rouge, Bliss, Velcro Soul, American Devices and Les Bons A Rien.

2 Solitudes
One of En Guard’s first releases, the compilation ’2 Solitudes’ cat number ENG 006CD. Look! You can see Wally on the cover.



#10

Jamie’s Mile was rerecorded and originally appeared on the band’s first label release, a cassette EP called ‘Another Round‘.

Another Round
Another Round, En Guard records cat number ENG 003C.



#11

Many of the songs from Blur Your Cool remain in The Stand GT set today and some of them will definitely be a part of our Ottawa Explosion 2014 show.

OXW



#12

As a bonus track, we’ve included ‘Sad Bunch Of People’ for the digital download!

As we’ve stated, it only ever came out on cassette on a limited release. Wanna release Blur Your Cool on vinyl? Get in touch with us here: campradio(at)gmail(dot)com.

So here it is, for the first time ever offered as a digital download. Stream and download Blur Your Cool!