Now Playing: Spring (UK)
Topic: Entry data revision
One of the more absurd stories in the Acid Archives book dealt with FRUNK, a group of young women who pressed up an LP of themselves singing along with various famous recordings from the early 1970s. Due to the album's obscurity it seemed the story might end there, but not so -- recently a person involved with the Frunk "project" popped up on internet, and better yet, he had a few copies of the rare LP stashed away which he offered up, along with the Frunk story!
"The album was released in the Summer of 1972. There are 8 copies available and we believe the initial pressing was 25 records, not 100. We have also located the original Master as received from Frankford-Wayne Recording Labs at 212 N. 12th St. in Philadelphia PA. I have also located the original master tape on which I recorded all of the sessions, then mixed them down via a TEAC 4 channel mixer, to the final set. The record was recorded on a Teac 3340 10 1/2" reel 4 track recorder. The tape is exactly as it was when it was delivered to the pressing company. If you would like details of how the record was created and the group formed: Back in 1971 I was just getting into serious electronics and high end audio was my current compulsion. I was living in Haddonfield and I build a recording studio in my basement. One day my sister in law and her friends were visiting and I was playing “500 miles”, Peter, Paul & Mary in the studio and they came in and started singing. It sounded interesting, so I suggested we record. Over the next few weeks we recorded many takes on my Teac 3340 4 channel recorder. As there was no karaoke in those days, I dubbed the girls voices over the original music from the turntable. Eventually we got “acceptable” material. I mixed it all down and created a 10” reel with the master on it (which I still have) and took it to Frankfort Recording Labs and had 25 copies made. We created covers, pasted them up and poof! We had a record. I gave the girls each a 3 copies and asked if they could sell them (for $5 each to help off set the cost of the project. I think my Mom bought the only copy sold, but I felt sorry for her and gave her a refund)..."
From this detailed account we can derive not only a release year and locale, but also a press size. The run turns out to be RPC's minimum of 25 copies, making Frunk a rare as Mystery Meat, the first Phantasia, and Drywater (if memory serves me). The musical experience is somewhat different, but nevertheless unique, and it also offers Steve Drake Kaczorowski tight competition as to who did in fact invent karaoke rock. The few remaining copies have now been sold one by one to the tune of $400-600, with those interested hopefully realizing that these are the last spares anyone's ever going to see of the Frunk record, much like the Mystery Meat frenzy 10 years ago.
FRUNK (PA)
If At First... 1972 (R.P.C. Z69821) [25p]
