Recorded live 2004 - 2007 by Jay Bozich  (#1 through #13)
Recorded live in 1997 by Jay Bozich  (#14 & #15)
Recorded in 1994 by Jay Bozich and Mark Sten at Concert Sound  (#16)
Mixed by Jay Bozich at home
Released in June 2009 as Reptilicus #006

   The Oblivion Seekers Live CD began with a few songs the band recorded at a show marking the 25th anniversary of a compilation 
album called 10/29/79 - Portland Punk Live at the Earth (the Earth Tavern).  I arranged for Jay Bozich to make a 16-channel recording 
of the 2004 show, which featured 4 1/2 of the 9 bands from the original show.  I had hopes of issuing another live compilation album, 
but the results were mixed, and I had a lot of dental expenses that year, so I dropped the idea.  Bankrolling another mediocre live 
compilation album seemed like the lesser priority. I did like some of the Oblivion Seekers cuts, which motivated me to record a few 
more of our sets over time, with more mixed results.
   Our first problem was the suitcase-sized PAs provided by most of our venues.  They were all great venues, but most of them 
lacked the 16-channel mixing boards we needed to route 16 individual channels to a tape deck.  Our second problem was that I 
started freezing up at the shows we did record because I was worrying too hard about the recording.  After a few of these shows 
the band recommended that I stop recording and relax.  We ended up with a dozen live songs, where I'd been aiming to get at least 
18 or 20 of our main covers on tape.
   Then I discovered how much money I'd saved by cutting the project short.  Apparently everyone actually has to pay for copyrights 
from now on. Who knew?  I asked around if this was true and word came back that it was - nothing gets pressed these days without 
certified proof that rights have been bought and paid for, at about $100 per song per 1000 CDs.  Add up all the local punk and DIY 
records with one or two covers on them, all the small-time releases over the years that haven't always sold out their press runs of 
even 500 or 1000 copies, and that's not where the music industry lost their money.  They lost their money because of their own 
cocaine-addled stupidity, or maybe because of home burns and illegal downloads, which is what really put the fear of death into Show 
Business.  Now I feel like I'm paying for someone else's larceny on top of my own.

SECURITY - You can play a piece-of-shit guitar like the one below if you think it makes you look good - and it probably does - but if you want to 
sound good while you're at it, replace the tuning pegs with an expensive high-quality set.  I do this as a matter of routine.  That's why 
I felt especially betrayed when my high E-string went flat as a board during the last chorus of Security.  That top note sounds like it's 
diving for pearls.

COLT .44 - This song came out of a King Bee practice in 1978.  Fred Cole tried out the title and the chorus riff and then he dropped it.  
I picked up that much and gave it verses, architecture and a plot.  The Bop Zombies played it while we were active and the Range Rat$ 
did it a few times, but after that I bagged it until the 10/29/79 anniversary show.  I felt obliged to dust it off at that point because 
(a) I was playing with the Oblivion Seekers instead of re-uniting with any of the original Bop Zombies, and (b) I was not in the mood to 
play Bop Street, our cut on the original 10/29/79 album.  (Artist's prerogative.)  I also wanted to get it down on tape so I could rest 
easy in the knowledge I'd never have to play it again before I died.  (More artist's prerogative.)

HIGHWAY OF LIGHT - Or, sendero luminoso . . . a nice phrase . . . very catchy . . . too bad it doesn't apply . . . I wrote a song in the mid-90's 
that broke in two, with one part turning into End of the Line and the rest of it emerging after a decade as this stillborn twin.

GET OUT OF THE CAR - This is the only full-fledged Oblivion Seekers out-take.  The song worked for us live and the basic track was tight, but it 
was a novelty to begin with, and the lead vocal came out so eccentric that I didn't trust it at all.  Before Snake Eyes came out 
I gave rough mixes from the LP to about a dozen people connected with the band, and asked them what they thought.  And their opinions 
were fascinating - like when half of them told me I should drop the instrumental - but I ignored them all anyway, except for their 
reactions to this particular track, which was voted down by a 3-to-1 margin, and most of the No votes were pretty emphatic.  
However . . . many of those same No voters have changed their minds in the intervening years, and the song is now a **BONUS TRACK** 
on this CD.

Mark Sten, Louie Samora, Ivan French, Jeff Larson, Heidi Hellbender, Tina Purdy,
Robert Parker, Ralph Porter, Angela Crepeau, Roby Williams, Brian Berg, Bonnie Sue Hartog