Toys for Elliot - The National Tapes [MMM018]

About Toys for Elliot:

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The Toys for Elliot cassette was the very first release issued on My Mean Magpie (then called My Mean Mustard) with six songs in May of 1 995.

Consisting of Kymberly Drake and Five Seventeen, Kym was an accomplished self-taught pianist and Five was still figuring his way around a
fretboard. From 1 994- 1 995, they would get together whenever they could and try to come up with a few songs. A purchase of a 4-track and a
year later they compiled a few of their songs onto a cassette and dubbed a reserved 30 copies.

From 1 995- 1 999, they continued to get together to play and record as often as they could. Kymberly began to work on her solo performances
and joined Hamilton's The Winter Market as singer and songwriter Meanwhile Five began to work with College friend Patti Kim in Georgia and
The 25^ Soul Project while also doing noise experiments under the name 5MP During that time Toys for Elliot would bring out their
instruments when they got together and continued to play. Toys for Elliot never broke up.

In September of 1 999, Kymberly who was born with cystic fibrosis, died in the week following a lung transplant. In the weeks following her
death many of the songs presented here were remixed and compiled for a cassette called A National Tape (mmmOl I). In 2001 , with the
purchase of a CD burner the songs were again revisited and put together in a definitive collection of the bands output.

Of the 5 1 tracks presented here, less than 1 0 were ever recorded to the best of the band's limited abilities. It is presented with the intentions of
archiving the music of two friends.

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Toys for Elliot

A complete collection of Toys for Elliot. Compiling
recordings from their single cassette release and dozens
of practice cassettes. Recorded on Tascam PortaOS, and
several portable recorders using one Radio Shack PZM, a
Sears and Radio Shack microphone, and built in
microphones. Many were taken from second or third
generation copies and have been salvaged as best as
possible. Noise reduction and equilisation have been used
to enhance the recordings where possible. Tape hiss, drop
outs, electrical hum, clicks and pops are characteristic of
the original recordings.

< a sessions tape >

0 1 ...we have to warm up*

02... throw it all away

03. ..one chord song - improvisation

04...swell- attempt

05.. .swell

06... i learned how to spit*

07...little black book*

08... shadows ~ attempt

09... we can have a sessions tape*

1 0... how's your throat?*

I I ...shadows intro*

1 2... shadows

1 3... no control

1 4.. .levels cheque -- improvisation
1 5. ..go away ~ improvisation
1 6... come away intro*
1 7... come away
I8...michael intro*
I9...michael -- attempt
20...michael (m. kozelek)
2 1... buy this tape*

22...stompin' on the floor -- improvisation

23. ..an april secret intro*

24... an april secret

25... glass waltz

26...calgon take me away

27.. .the old man and the lemon*

28...ramona pipkin quimby ~ improvisation

29... we have too much coughing on the tape*

30...sleepguitar intro*

3 1 ...sleepguitar

32.. .songs we'll never do*

*spoken