POPSICKO (Santa Barbara, CA)

BIG STIR RECORDS invites you to discover and celebrate the legacy of POPSICKO, and the forthcoming first-time-on-vinyl reissue of the much-missed Santa Barbara band's lost classic LP OFF TO A BAD START. A pair of singles -- "Nastassja" and "Ashtray Mouth" -- have set the stage for the release and brought the band's work to the attention of the global guitar pop scene of today, and that wider recognition is long overdue. Legends of their music scene and beloved on the road, POPSICKO possessed everything it took to rule the airwaves in the '90s heyday of the pop punk sound: the jagged guitars and rocket-fueled rhythms, the sweet hooks, and, in Keith Brown, an electrifying frontman capable of crafting indelible and often heartbreakingly beautiful tunes. Seemingly destined to join the ranks of Weezer and Green Day (with whom they shared stages) on the charts, the band's trajectory was tragically halted by the 1995 death of Brown in a car accident. A heartfelt oral history remembrance of the band's history and Brown, from writer and SB scene veteran S.W. Lauden and featuring remembrances from the surviving band members, is part of the lovingly-assembled reissue.

The songs left behind are cherished by those who were there, and await discovery by those who love the perfect short-and-sweet pop song delivered with power and passion. “Nastassja” is just that, emblematic of POPSICKO's charm and energy in their prime and the potential for what could have been. The lead track and its flip side, the tough, tender and radio-ready “Gettin' Used To You”, both featured on the band's sole and too-long-out-of-print album OFF TO A BAD START, an auspicious debut which drew comparisons to The Replacements, Cheap Trick, early Soul Asylum and Nirvana. The surviving members would go on to build impressive resumés of their own – guitarist Tim Cullen with his band Summercamp and solo career, bassist Marko DeSantis with Sugarcult and Bad Astronaut, and drummer Mick Flowers with stints in bands including The Rentals, but the music they created with Brown has stayed close to their hearts.

“No doubt had Popsicko stayed together, they’d have been at the very forefront of the ‘90s pop punk explosion,” says Pat DiPuccio, co-founder of Flipside fanzine, and contemporaneous reviews of the band's celebrated live sets and the debut album bear out that claim. “Living up to its name and then some, these Santa Barbara pop rockers evoke memories of the late great Plimsouls, except with more (and better) guitars,” the LA Times wrote on the occasion of one of the band's many West Coast tours, and the band's hometown alternative weekly The Santa Barbara Independent noted in a cover story that the band played “songs stocked with simple chords and catchy refrains that you can shout along to, yet blissfully devoid of overproduction and triteness.... This is rock and roll that’s informed of every pop music phase since the British Invasion, yet reinvents itself like none of it ever happened.”

All of that is abundantly clear on Off To A Bad Start, a record that's gone too little heard since its 1994 release. The new single is just the start of an attempt to rectify that, as the surviving members of Popsicko, Brown's family and Big Stir Records hope to draw the global pop community's attention to a lost chapter of a vibrant local scene and the history of '90s guitar pop as a whole. “The description of our music is supposed to be in our name,” Brown was known to say of the band, and those who suffer from the malady of craving that perfect pop tune shot through with punk abandon and glam finesse will find a cure that's been there all along in the music of POPSICKO. With the songs already back on the airwaves and more news to come in the months ahead, they'll have another chance to discover it.

Ashtray Mouth/Same Old Me

Popsicko

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BIG STIR RECORDScontinues our celebration of the legacy ofPOPSICKOwith the release of a new double A-side digital single, “Ashtray Mouth” b/w “Same Old Me”, setting the stage for major news on the long-awaited first-time-on-vinyl reissue of the beloved Santa Barbara band’s only album. The new release pairs an exclusive non-album track “Ashtray

BIG STIR RECORDS continues our celebration of the legacy of POPSICKO with the release of a new double A-side digital single, “Ashtray Mouth” b/w “Same Old Me”, setting the stage for major news on the long-awaited first-time-on-vinyl reissue of the beloved Santa Barbara band’s only album. The new release pairs an exclusive non-album track “Ashtray Mouth” sung and written the band's much-missed late frontman KEITH BROWN with “Same Old Me”, a cut written & sung by guitarist TIM CULLEN (who would go on to form and front SUMMERCAMP). The “Ashtray Mouth” / “Same Old Me” double single sees release on February 10 and is up for pre-order and pre-save at https://orcd.co/popsicko-double-a-side now, with details on LP reissue to follow soon.

Legends of their regional music scene and beloved on the road, POPSICKO possessed everything it took to rule the airwaves in the '90s heyday of the alternative rock & punk-edged power pop sound: the jagged guitars, sweet hooks, acerbic lyrics, and, in the late Keith Brown, an electrifying frontman capable of crafting indelible and often heartbreakingly beautiful tunes. Seemingly destined to join the ranks of generational peers like Weezer and Green Day (with whom they shared stages several times) in the mid-'90s wake of Nirvana, the band's trajectory was tragically halted by the death of Brown in a car accident in late 1995. The songs left behind are cherished by those who were there, and await discovery by those who love the perfect loud fast pop song delivered with raw power, conviction and passion.

Big Stir Records has already reignited interest in the POPSICKO sound with the single “Nastassja,” paired upon release with a heartfelt oral history of the band penned by rock writer S.W. Lauden (a close friend of Brown and the band) published in The Santa Barbara Independent. This single brings us one step closer to the 2023 re-release of OFF TO A BAD START in a limited vinyl edition packaged with an expanded book version of the oral history with contributions by all of the surviving band members and full-color images of Popsicko memorabilia (flyers, set lists, original handwritten lyrics, photos, etc.) unearthed from the band’s personal archives.

The tracks on offer here demonstrate the depth of both the album and the potential for so much more. Looking back and listening again now, Popsicko bassist MARKO DESANTIS (known for his subsequent work with SUGARCULT and BAD ASTRONAUT) says: “I’m proud of the work we did in our day, but even more so, I’m amazed at how well the songs we made still hold up now, nearly 30 years later! After Off to a Bad Start we wrote & recorded a bunch of new songs. One of my favorites of the bunch was 'Ashtray Mouth'; that song represents the darker, heavier direction we were headed as a band. It’s both a clue as to what our next album might have sounded like, and sadly a candid insight into the demons Keith was battling at the time.” Meanwhile, Cullen's album track “Same Old Me” stands as a sign of more positive things to come in his own work: it was singled out by Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett (a close friend of the band and contributor to the oral history book) as his favorite Popsicko song.

POPSICKO's music has more than stood the test of time, as underground rock fans worldwide are about to discover. “The description of our music is supposed to be in our name,” Brown was known to say of the band, and those who suffer from the malady of craving a new dose songs in the spirit of bands like The Replacements, Cheap Trick, Soul Asylum and Nirvana, will find a cure that's been there all along in the rediscovered music of POPSICKO. Expect details on the LP reissue this Spring from Big Stir Records.

Expected release: February 10, 2023

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Ashtray Mouth 3:44

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Same Old Me 3:00

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Nastassja (Big Stir Single No. 140)

Popsicko

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BIG STIR RECORDS invites you to discover and celebrate the legacy of POPSICKO, with the first-ever standalone single release of the much-missed Santa Barbara band's classics “Nastassja” b/w “Gettin' Used To You”. The new digital single is out now, up for download at www.bigstirrecords.com/popsicko and www.bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com and streaming

BIG STIR RECORDS invites you to discover and celebrate the legacy of POPSICKO, with the first-ever standalone single release of the much-missed Santa Barbara band's classics “Nastassja” b/w “Gettin' Used To You”. The new digital single is out now, up for download at www.bigstirrecords.com/popsicko and www.bigstirrecords.bandcamp.com and streaming everywhere July 16. Legends of their music scene and beloved on the road, POPSICKO possessed everything it took to rule the airwaves in the '90s heyday of the pop punk sound: the jagged guitars and rocket-fueled rhythms, the sweet hooks, and, in Keith Brown, an electrifying frontman capable of crafting indelible and often heartbreakingly beautiful tunes. Seemingly destined to join the ranks of Weezer and Green Day (with whom they shared stages) on the charts, the band's trajectory was tragically halted by the 1995 death of Brown in a car accident.

The songs left behind are cherished by those who were there, and await discovery by those who love the perfect short-and-sweet pop song delivered with power and passion. “Nastassja” is just that, emblematic of POPSICKO's charm and energy in their prime and the potential for what could have been. The lead track and its flip side, the tough, tender and radio-ready “Gettin' Used To You”, both featured on the band's sole and too-long-out-of-print album OFF TO A BAD START, an auspicious debut which drew comparisons to The Replacements, Cheap Trick, early Soul Asylum and Nirvana. The surviving members would go on to build impressive resumés of their own – guitarist Tim Cullen with his band Summercamp and solo career, bassist Marko DeSantis with Sugarcult and Bad Astronaut, and drummer Mick Flowers with stints in bands including The Rentals, but the music they created with Brown has stayed close to their hearts.

“No doubt had Popsicko stayed together, they’d have been at the very forefront of the ‘90s pop punk explosion,” says Pat DiPuccio, co-founder of Flipside fanzine, and contemporaneous reviews of the band's celebrated live sets and the debut album bear out that claim. “Living up to its name and then some, these Santa Barbara pop rockers evoke memories of the late great Plimsouls, except with more (and better) guitars,” the LA Times wrote on the occasion of one of the band's many West Coast tours, and the band's hometown alternative weekly The Santa Barbara Independent noted in a cover story that the band played “songs stocked with simple chords and catchy refrains that you can shout along to, yet blissfully devoid of overproduction and triteness.... This is rock and roll that’s informed of every pop music phase since the British Invasion, yet reinvents itself like none of it ever happened.”

All of that is abundantly clear on Off To A Bad Start, a record that's gone too little heard since its 1994 release. The new single is just the start of an attempt to rectify that, as the surviving members of Popsicko, Brown's family and Big Stir Records hope to draw the global pop community's attention to a lost chapter of a vibrant local scene and the history of '90s guitar pop as a whole. “The description of our music is supposed to be in our name,” Brown was known to say of the band, and those who suffer from the malady of craving that perfect pop tune shot through with punk abandon and glam finesse will find a cure that's been there all along in the music of POPSICKO. With the “Nastassja” single and more news to come in the months ahead, they'll have another chance to discover it.

1

Nastassja 3:24

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Nastassja

Popsicko

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2

Gettin' Used To You 4:47

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Gettin' Used To You

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