Comment by lordfrito

1 hour ago

> If there were recordings at all, they probably ended up in a cardboard box in someone's flooded basement. At times, it's been kind of odd to think about how far all that goes back in time, like, probably as far as there have been people playing music. The idea that we could somehow track these incredibly short-lived events that touched a vanishingly small group of people at all would have a meaningful trace that you could pickup at a granular level is a bit odd to me.

I think that's part of the excitement and wonder of this type of lost media. It perfectly captures a period/moment in time. We think we remember that time, but the details get smoothed over and lost in our memories. But many of those discrete details are captured on that old media. These old recordings are "of their time"... and for me it's fun to reach out and touch that past in a tangible way. To recognize how it still influences/echoes today.

For example, my father sort of casually played acoustic guitar his entire life. You know, taking the guitar out when sitting around the campfire and playing a few songs. Turns out he and his friends "made music" while in high school in the 50s. I'm pretty sure it was just them noodling in someone's basement. But about 10 years ago one of his old friends contacted him, they had found a reel-to-reel tape that one of them made while they were goofing around so long ago. And they digitized it and sent him the mp3. Was an incredible thing to be a fly on the wall listening to these 1950's teenagers jamming and talking/laughing with each other in the way they did back then.

I think preservation of lost media is critical for anyone trying to keep perspective in our modern age. Everything is so ephemeral now, and even nostalgia is repackaged and resold to us for profit or political influence. Lost media lets you experience some of it directly yourself, fly on the wall style, and I think it's one of the few ways we can keep a firm grasp on where we've come from, what we've lost, and what we've gained.

> unless you can find the folks who were in that band (which is not unlikely) your quest to find the other tracks will likely be fruitless. You would have a lot easier time finding Dave Laredo and company (whoever that is) personally.

Well I've found Dave L's website and channel on YouTube and have reached out, to no avail. Looks like the site hasn't been touched in 18 years. I also reached out to the owner of Throbbing Lobster records (their label), who has a storefront on Discogs. Again, no avail.

I'm just excited for my find, and that these digital tracks eventually make their way to other Cowboy Mouth fans.