2019 is the 30th anniversary of Black Tape For A Blue Girl’s 3rd album, Ashes in the brittle air. I’m gathering together material for a deluxe edition. Howard will remaster the album from the original source; I had my guy in Canada transfer the 1/4-inch 2-track mix to high-resolution digital. I also had him transfer 6 unreleased tracks from the 1/2-inch 8-track tape; I’m almost done mixing them for the bonus disc (they sound amazing!). I’m going through my cassette archive to find interesting demos and early mixes for you. I’m already at 45 minutes of bonus material for disc 2, and there’s still more to gather.

With CD sales the way they are these days, how can I afford to do this?

The simple answer is you allow me to do this. Some of the band’s hardcore supporters pledge at my bandcamp patron area which provides the funding to pay for this pre-production work, and also a bit to me for my time. It’s great knowing people are moved by the art I create and want to help me make more of it!

You can help for as little as $5 a month.

In the past two weeks, I digitized the cassettes shown above, making them available for my patrons. Cassette vol. 4 + 5 pre-Ashes 1987 contains 15 tracks & Cassette vol. 6 pre 15 April 1988 contains 18 tracks. A good chunk of these pieces have never been heard before (some for good reason!). They’re a real slice of the 80s, for those of you interested in the genesis of this classic album. Most of those tracks will not be on the bonus disc. Click the links for track listing and read my recollection. They are available streaming or download; I will transfer a couple more cassettes before the month is over.

Patrons get a lot of exclusive material!<

I’m unearthing all of this in advance of the upcoming Ashes in the brittle air Kickstarter for a 1-LP clear vinyl edition and a 2-CD deluxe edition. I expect the CD will ship before the holidays and the LP in early 2020. There’ll also be cool memorabilia and exclusive items for those who want to help out with a larger pledge. Plus a very reasonably priced download of the 2-CD edition.

I’m finding all sorts of cool images, old press, etc. in my files — this will be really great. Thanks to everyone who has given me encouragement. It’s so nice to read that Ashes is some people’s favorite album, along with little recollections of where you were when this album touched your lives. That makes it so worthwhile!

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