I discovered Ready For Death after my buddy texted me, "did you hear Artie has a new band?" At that time, the band had just released their single for "Cyborg Priest," a thrashy punk hardcore concept.
I ordered the Ready For Death's recently released eponymous debut album (tri-color splatter), and after my first spin through, reached out to them through their Instagram to see if they were into records.
Bassist Luca Cimarusti got back to me almost immediately, and it turns out both he and Artie are both lifelong vinyl collectors. Luca seems like one of those collectors who is just psyched about music in general. Artie, like most of us, hates and loves everything to do with records.
I should mention I don’t know Luca or Artie. When I first started going to shows on Long Island, I remember being terrified when his former band Milhouse played (he's also been a member of such bands as Indecision, The Shemps, and Concrete Cross). The chaos of the group was different than anything I had heard at that point. Artie’s delivery, presence, and message left a huge impression on me, and you can hear that carry through in Ready For Death.
By the way, Wreck-Age Records just announced that they're reissuing Milhouse's 1997 album, Obscenity in the Milk, on vinyl.
I would be remiss to mention that Artie once gave me a dollar for a Snapple outside a venue later called the new PWAC, but that in no way influenced this article. I don’t know why I remember that, but I was happy to learn and hear he was screaming again.
Artie White (vocals, Ready For Death)
How did you get into collecting records?
I grew up around my parents’ classic rock and metal records, so I had an early appreciation for music in that form. I also loved getting toys and comic books, so it was pretty natural to add music as another thing to accumulate.
When I started going to punk shows as a teen, CDs were still a new-ish thing, so bands would usually be selling demo tapes or vinyl records. I would spend every dollar in my pocket on music whenever I went to a show—I couldn’t get enough.
What was the first record you bought with your own money?
Hard to say for sure, but I think it was an order I placed through the mail from Alternative Tentacles. My friend gave me a catalog that came with his Dead Kennedys record and I remember poring over it like it was a rare archaeological find and trying to pick the right things to buy.
I ended up getting Lard’s The Power of Lard, The Witch Trials EP, and a “No More Censorship” T-shirt. I firmly stand by my choices.
We all have one record that we sold that we completely regret, what is yours?
I had a sealed copy of the Straight Ahead Breakaway 12-inch with the plain sleeve and sticker on the shrink. It was given to me by a friend in the ‘90s and I had it for a while, afraid to open it. It’s a landmark record and this was a totally un-played, deadstock copy. In the early '00s, I sold a few records because I needed money for something stupid like rent or food.
I let it go for $100 and knew immediately I would never see a copy like that again. I probably would have opened it by now.
Is there a record or band that you always buy when you see it?
Not on purpose. I do buy multiple copies of things by accident because I forget I own them. This used to happen a lot in the pre-Discogs days but I still do it occasionally even now. I was in a store last week and grabbed the Dystopia Human=Garbage reissue on Tankcrimes and thought, "I can't believe I never got this back in the day!” Then, I got home and realized, duh, I did. I’ll still keep both though; the reissue has a bunch of extra stuff.
Any thoughts on say collecting now, vs collecting 10 years ago?
Yeah, it’s more expensive, but what isn’t? Honestly, very little has changed for me other than access to sellers. All the things record collectors loved or complained about 10 years ago, or even 30 years ago, inflated prices, questionable label practices, people “doing it wrong,” etc., are basically the same things people are complaining about today.
If you accept and embrace the fact that buying and obsessing over music in this one specific (and frankly inferior) format is an inherently absurd habit with imaginary rules and zero logic, you’ll always enjoy it.
Is there a show or band you saw that you wish you could go back to and grab a 7”?
Not exactly, but after I became old enough to drive, I used to hit a store on Long Island called Record Connection every week. They had a really robust punk selection for the time period. I would flip through the seven inches at least once a week and there were multiple copies of the Cop Shoot Cop 7-inch that the band splattered with real pigs’ blood on the sleeve.
I thought it was dumb and gimmicky and never bothered grabbing one, and I ignored the band for years because of how silly it seemed. Keep in mind that simultaneously I was buying Gwar and Pussy Galore records, which is evidence that teenagers are hypocritical morons. Now I wish I had grabbed it because that band rules. And yeah, I know I can get it on the internet for like $50 but it’s not the same.
What’s the last record you bought?
Technically the last record I bought, but have not received yet, was the new Dead Torches LP. The last record I bought, but haven’t played yet, is IX Equilibrium by Emperor. But the last record I bought and fully listened to is Repulsive Nature by Re-Buried, which just came out on Translation Loss Records (who also put out the Ready For Death LP!)
What’s a record or genre in your collection that might surprise the readers?
Sinead O’Connor’s Throw Down Your Arms, her reggae album, is a fucking masterpiece that I have loved since the first time I heard it. I am a Sinead superfan because of the raw sincerity, passion, and despair she holds in her voice. These songs are truly beautiful, which is a word I rarely use. I could hear this every day for the rest of my life and never get sick of it!
I have owned this on CD forever (one of the few CDs I kept after ditching most of them about 20 years ago) but last year I inexplicably decided I needed the 2x LP version. It had not popped up on Discogs or eBay for a while, and I had notes into multiple Chicago stores asking them to call me if a used copy came in.
Of course, the harder it got to track down, the more I had to have it, which is record collecting in a nutshell really. Eventually I found a reggae collector in Brazil that sold me a copy. I overpaid for it for sure, but I have no regrets.
What are the records you think everyone should own on vinyl?
None. No one should buy vinyl. It’s dumb. Why spend your money on a format that’s ridiculously fragile, hard to store, needs perpetual cleaning, and can only be listened to at home, on expensive equipment, usually in a single room? Leave it alone, listen to music on your computer, or your phone, and spend your money on drugs and cryptocurrency.
However, that said, you should still buy the Ready For Death LP. It comes in pretty colors:
Do you see yourself ever not collecting?
My brain is deteriorating at such a rapid pace that at some point in the not-too-distant future I will basically be unable to feed or bathe myself. My kids will, understandably, deposit me into a state-funded care facility and/or organ harvesting mill. At that point, record collecting will become a secondary priority.
I will have the last laugh, though, as my kids will have to haul thousands of records out to the curb on a cold and icy trash day in the year 2099 or so. They really hate cleaning the house.
Bands with or without vinyl we should be on the lookout for?
Chicago is unleashing a ton of great bands lately that have criminally low visibility outside the city, which is unfortunate for the rest of the world. People who aren’t total dipshits should immediately scope Black Cross Hotel, These Beasts, Sweet Cobra, Negative Scanner, Immortal Bird, Consensus Madness, and Cloakroom.
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Luca Cimarusti (bassist, Ready For Death):
How did you get into collecting records?
I've always been a collector. When I was a little kid I would collect Ninja Turtles figures, Ghostbusters toys, comic books, etc., so when my love of music blossomed it was pretty much all over for me.
What was the first record you bought with your own money?
I picked out the In Utero cassette from my parents' Columbia House catalog—15 CDs or tapes for a penny! I didn't realize at the time that it was kicking off a life-long obsession with Touch and Go-style noise rock.
We all have one record that we sold that we completely regret, what is yours?
I've recently been having a sort of rediscovery period with CDs, where I've been finding a ton of really cool titles for next to nothing. I've even bought a nice "vintage" CD player for my stereo.
About a decade ago, when it seemed like CDs were completely obsolete, I took a ton of them that I had grown up with and just dumped them in the trash. I really wish I hadn't! There were a handful of them that I can't find anywhere.
Is there a record or band that you always buy when you see it?
Always looking to get anything from the vast catalogs of Guided by Voices, George Jones, Grateful Dead, or King Crimson.
Any thoughts on say collecting now, vs collecting 10 years ago?
I can't get over how expensive records are now. Sometimes I'll find records in stores for around forty bucks that I bought 15 years ago for less than ten. I always think about how expensive it must be to start a collection from scratch these days. I feel like there was a golden era where record collecting was beyond affordable, and that's over now. Sorry, kids.
What’s the last record you bought?
Optical Waves by Tangerine Dream
What’s a record or genre in your collection that might surprise the readers?
As mentioned earlier, I'm a huge Grateful Dead fan. I realize that this is the least punk opinion ever, but the Dead in their prime was maybe the best American band of all time.
What are the records you think everyone should own on vinyl?
There are some classic double LPs whose four side flips and gatefold aesthetic really lends itself to the listening experience—Exile On Main Street, the White Album, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Tusk, and Something/Anything?
Those just aren't the same without the side breaks, picking up the records and turning them over. I don't love double LPs, but those are all done really well and kind of take you on a trip when you jam them front-to-back.
Do you see yourself ever not collecting?
Probably not. It's one of the few things in this grim life that brings me joy.
Bands with or without vinyl we should be on the lookout for?
We have so many friends in bands from Chicago that are worth checking out: insane spooky industrial goth metal from Black Cross Hotel; dissonant punk rock from Meat Wave; sludgy noise rock from These Beasts; doomy noise from Bruges... the list goes on.
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The vinyl for Ready for Death is available now and shipping via Translation Loss Records.
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Tagged: indecision, milhouse, ready for death
