Analogue Books Records and Bar: Presents:
Analogue Volume One LP 300 pressed
SIDE: A
Spyderland x Machu Linea - Intergalactic
The Marietta Dolls - Invisible
Berkley - Email
Tensas - Funeral March
Morgan J. Cox - Flying if I'm Lying
SIDE B:
Mineral Palace - Matter and Time
Addie Tonic - Brutal
RV BOMB - 8th Street
The Hardly Nevers - Mixtapes
Pueblo Chieftain Release Article Below:
Some seldom-heard Pueblo bands are featured on a new vinyl record that enables them to share their music with a whole new audience.
From haunting dark lyrics to upbeat pop, country music to raucous heavy metal, the "Analogue Books, Records and Bar: Volume One," album has something for everyone. It is described as a greatest hits recording featuring six of Pueblo's local bands and three others from around the state.
"It fits the region and like Pueblo, it has got a little bit of everything going," said Mike Hartkop, Analogue owner and record producer. "It's cool and kind of what I've always wanted to be able to do — share music."
Chela Lujan's Pueblo band, The Hardly Never, recorded a song for the album. She said when she first took the record out of its wrapper, laid it on the turntable, placed the needle and listened to the music through her speakers, she had a realization.
"The music just sounds so much better," Lujan said. "We are so used to MP3s and digital recordings but it's supposed to sound like a vinyl record."
The inspiration for the record
When he was growing up "back in the day," Hartkop said he often would sit by the radio, waiting for his favorite songs, and hitting record on his cassette player. He would amass those beloved songs on one mix tape and later do the same with recordable compact discs.
His father, Thomas Hartkop, was recording acts and putting out CDs for local musicians in Oregon.
"He always told me it is an opportunity to give back to the community and now I am doing that and sharing what I like — coffee and music," Hartkop said.
As an adult, Hartkop has opened several Solar Roast Coffee houses, the Analogue Books and Records store and the Analogue Bar. In 2021, he also took over Nick's Dairy Creme. Many of the musicians whose songs are featured on the vinyl record are regulars who have performed at the Analogue Bar, 222 N. Main St., every Friday night during the past year.
When Hartkop approached each of the groups to ask if they wanted to be a part of the recording, he asked for two songs, got a bunch of submissions, and narrowed them down to his favorites.
"A lot of these bands don't get heard because it costs a lot for a recording. But I can spend three grand once a year to share their music," Hartkop said.
"Long after Spotify is gone, the recording will still exist," he said.
Hartkop's first foray into producing a vinyl record came last year when he helped Pueblo's Morgan Cox launch "Musica Vessel." Cox, who is a soul and hip hop artist, also is featured on this year's recording with his new single "Flying if I'm Lying."
Other Pueblo acts featured on the recording are The Marietta Dolls, a folk/rock band; pop artist Berkley, who grew up in Pueblo and lives in California; RV Bomb, a young band that performs hardcore metal; and Mineral Palace, a local grunge band whose Jesse McCoy mastered the tunes for the vinyl at Bedfires Music. Colorado bands on the recording include the pop band Sypderland, featuring a rap from Machu Linea; Tensas, a country band performing murder ballads with dark lyrics; and Addie Tonic, an alternative rock band.
'To have a song on a vinyl record is exciting': The impact on local bands
"I think anytime you can be on a vinyl recording, it is super cool. For those of us who have been musicians our whole lives, to have a song on a vinyl record is exciting," Lujan said.
Lujan spent 12 years playing banjo for The Haunted Windchimes before splintering off and starting The Hardly Nevers, inspired by a few jam sessions with Tim Kelly on drums and Charlie Hayden on bass. Today she plays electric guitar and enjoys the fun switch in instruments.
"That brought out a bunch of new stuff and I started writing songs again. I describe the music as post-grunge, pop-Indie with a 90s vibe," she said with a laugh.
The band's song, "Mixtape," is about a mixtape Lujan made for a guy she liked.
"It's about crushes and it's also about being late for things because you are doing things you should not be doing like making a mixtape. The best part is it is on Side B of the record and there is an actual lyric in the song about flipping to the B side of a record," Lujan said.
Where to get the record and hear some of the bands
The Solar Roast Records release is exclusively available at all Analogue and Solar Roast Coffee locations in Pueblo and Colorado Springs. A vinyl release party is slated for 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at Analogue Books, Records and Bar, 214-222 N. Main St.