One of the things that was important to me when starting this blog was to give a space to write about some of the obscure and/or random music I have collected over the years, as well as some of the more quirky and weird stuff I have accumulated too and the odd random piece of merch or other interesting ephemera. A lot of the music I do have in physical format, but some only in the digital realm and never had in a physical form. The one thing that unites it all is that all are things that likely are not to be talked about very much in other music blogs.

Sure I want to have reviews of new releases and show coverage and all the good stuff. But to me, the really good stuff is a long dissolved band I saw once in 1998 and I got their demo tape, or a 7inch with a grainy black and white cover that a band put out in the late 80s before promptly dropping off the face of the earth, leaving me to find their record in a run down shop for $2 in 1995. Or even much more recent things like one-off Bandcamp projects that 12 other people downloaded at the time. And let us not forget the gems of thrift stores or the used bins of far off record stores I have gotten to explore while touring (or the demos by bands I got to play with along the way).

So this is the place for it, the Undercroft, where I will pick random things from my collection that I enjoy, to not only talk about about why I like it, but share how I came to acquire it (if I know/remember…and there’s a good chance that I will) or any particular memories around it either as a physical item or the music itself; not much is really off limits here. The other FTA staff members may join in from time to time as well. 

I will also to the very best of my ability share a link so you can hear said music too (or peppy workout record from the 70s…I went through a phase, it was a whole thing…) and invite your thoughts on it as well. These are all things that have stuck with me for one reason or another, maybe I loved something or maybe I just couldn’t stand to throw it away. But the common thread is I either want to bring wider attention to it, or giggle at myself over it (see above RE workout records). In any case, I look forward to sharing some of this epic randomness with with you so stay tuned!