Working Holidays

"Starting December 1992 Simple Machines will be releasing a 7" every month, with each record dedicated to holidays of that month. But we're not just sticking to the standard holiday fare. We're going to delve into holiday history and spotlight those neglected, passed over dates, like Stonewall or Guy Fawkes Day. Every 7" will have songs from two bands, plus a lot of information about the feature holidays and issues surrounding them. "

(original ad fall 92)

We love a good challenge - in fact we love to take a good challenge and make it so challenging that it's hard to love. The idea for the Working Holiday Series was conceived on one five-hour drive from Arlington to North Carolina. Even though we live and work together and have for 6 years, we rarely seem to spend more than a few waking hours on the same floor, much less chatting.

Strange as it may sound, roadtrips are our conference rooms. Locked in a conversation away from a telephone and mailbox we forget for a short time the practical concessions we make daily in order to meet deadlines. In a car, everything seems possible. On that day, we were in the process of finishing the fifth of six of the original Simple Machine 7"s, and with only one left to go we began wondering what was next. Talk of compilations turned towards "another series" turned into "a monthly series" turned into "one with a theme" turned into a record club.

That was back in spring of 1992. Working Holiday became a daily part of our lives for over two years. In 1993 we released 3000 split 7"s every month, each with two bands. There is no way to describe two years, to do justice to the range of exhilaration, depression, and even (at times) boredom or lack of emotion surrounding a project this long-term or ambitious. We'll have to let the music speak for itself.

Since many of the 7"s went out of print almost immediately it seemed natural to release a compilation. The Working Holiday CD includes all the songs from the monthly series except two: the Bratmobile and Swirlies songs were left off at their request, and we had to cut one of the two Jonny Cohen songs from the April 7" just to make the whole CD fit under the 80-minute limit. We've also included for everyone's reading pleasure, some tidbits and stories from the Year of 36,000 7"s, all handsomely documented by photo wizard and mailorder master Patrick Graham.

Compilation CD

The Singles

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