17 July, 2020
on the cookie record #001:
Josh Cheon
To count down the release of our first edition handbook in a month’s time, we’re going On The Cookie Record once a week with our favorite Chief Scouts and we couldn’t think of anyone else other than the faithful vinyl guardian and enthusiast, Josh Cheon, to pop our cookie record cherry.
Josh’s love for records began when he was a young teen in suburban New Jersey, 15 minutes away from New York City, where he spent his weekends dancing and digging for records at the goth club, The Bank. He held internships with Metropolis Records, Beggars Banquet/4AD, Matador, and DFA before moving to San Francisco in 2006. Somewhere along the way during the spring of 2009, he stumbled into a love affair with the underground 80s and that’s when his record label, Dark Entries, was born.
Vinyl-focused DJ and collector established Dark Entries to preserve sound qualities and commemorate the esthetics of artists. Dark Entries release out of print and unreleased underground music and contemporary bands. All their releases are independent 80s DIY record labels. At Fantasy Studios, Dark Entries consigns all their projects with the prolific engineer, George Horn, who re-masters each release with his over 40 years of expertise in the industry.
For our first On The Cookie Record series, Josh shares his top three classics and delivers a delectable review of each record and artist, pledged to escort you back in time to the golden days.
Vinyl-focused DJ and collector established Dark Entries to preserve sound qualities and commemorate the esthetics of artists. Dark Entries release out of print and unreleased underground music and contemporary bands. All their releases are independent 80s DIY record labels. At Fantasy Studios, Dark Entries consigns all their projects with the prolific engineer, George Horn, who re-masters each release with his over 40 years of expertise in the industry.
For our first On The Cookie Record series, Josh shares his top three classics and delivers a delectable review of each record and artist, pledged to escort you back in time to the golden days.
Josh:
Maxx Mann were the gay New Wave duo of Frank Oldham Jr (vocals, lyrics) and Paul Hamman (music) from New York City formed in 1981. Frank studied voice and acting at the Herbert Bergdorf School idolizing Eartha Kitt, Nancy Wilson, Johnny Mathis, and Shirley Bassey. Paul was playing piano for a cabaret singer at a bar in Greenwich Village where Frank met him and their friendship began. Paul and Frank worked together 3 to 4 times a week recording their debut self-titled album released in 1982, limited to 500 copies. Songs provide interesting insights into the homosexual experience before the AIDS crisis: cruising backroom bars, BDSM, and one-night stands. The music is “Neo-realistic rock” heavily influenced by punk, titillating, synthesized body and soul with Frank’s dramatized vocal styling. The original press release sent to radio stations stated, “Because this is a completely innovative sound, we hope you will give it several listening. It is adventurous, daring, and certain to cause reactions from your listeners.”
Josh:
Patrick Cowley is one of the most revolutionary and influential figures in the canon of disco, Cowley created his own brand of Hi-NRG dance music, “The San Francisco Sound.” In 1979 Patrick was contacted by John Coletti, owner of famed gay porn company Fox Studio in Los Angeles. Patrick jumped on this offer and sent reels of his college compositions from the 70s to John in LA. Coletti then used a variable speed oscillator to adjust the pitch and speed of Patrick’s songs in-sync with the film scenes. The result was the VHS collections “Muscle Up” and “School Daze” released in 1979 and 1980. “Afternooners” is the third collection of Cowley’s instrumental songs, recorded between 1979 and 1982. Some of these recordings are demos from the album “Mind Warp”. All songs were originally untitled, so we’ve used the titles from Fox Studio’s 8mm film loops.
JOSH:
Leather Strip is the solo-project of Danish electronic industrial artist Claus Larsen. Influenced by Fad Gadget, Depeche Mode, and Jean Michel Jarre, Claus began creating synth-pop melodies at age 14. Though the melodies were catchy and upbeat, they had a hidden melancholy because Claus knew that he differed from others. “Dreaming” was his first attempt to “come out” to himself as a queer kid.
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