On April 18th Bloc Global will release First Hellos and Last Goodbyes, a collection of Chuck Mosley live performances
The guys at Bloc Global and author of Reintroducing Chuck Mosley : Life On and Off The Road, Doug Esper, are doing their very best to keep Chuck’s memory alive. For Record Store Day 2019 Bloc Global released The Joe Haze Sessions which included Chuck's studio covers of Take This Bottle (Faith No More) and Nothing Compares To You (Prince).
Doug toured with Chuck during 2016 and 2017 on what would sadly be his last live appearances before his untimely passing. The tour took Chuck and his band mates throughout the U.S and UK with stops in other European countries.
First Hellos and Last Goodbyes is eight live recordings from this tour, remastered and available on Record Store Day April 18th on Electric Blue Vinyl - with a stunning booklet packed with photos. The release will be limited to 700 copies.
Doug issued this statement about the release.
"Before we had even played a show together, Chuck had his eyes set on a live album. There were many reasons involved, such as not having money for a proper studio recording or new songs to record. As we played out, I tried to record each show on my phone. A few people brought cameras or microphones to get better quality recordings.
When Chuck started writing new material he planned on adding those onto the live record as well, assuming he’d never get them down in a studio (Unless he recorded them for the next VUA record). Since we came back from the UK in 2016, I’ve been chopping up various songs/banter/mistakes/sound checks/practice recordings in preparation for the live record to be completed. It has gone through a million iterations, songs have been switched in and out and in again. Shows have also come and gone. This is not your typical live record with multitrack recordings and a coached audience and post-show studio overdubs.
This is Chuck, raw and (mostly) unedited. I mean, look, he and I talked way too much onstage and as a band we started and stopped songs way too much, so I took the liberty to chop enough of that out to achieve more of the sound Chuck envisioned for our sets. He wanted to start quiet, build, build, build, bring it back down, and then build into a chaotic wall of noise at the end. He wanted the set to be one continuous movement as each song melded into the next one. Anyway, Don’t overthink it. Grab a copy and enjoy the work Chuck put in and the great songs he wrote. The Reintroduce Yourself to was the first chance many of us fans got to see him perform and the last time many old friends were able to hang out. First Hellos and Last Goodbyes. I hope you dig it."
A Side
1. Sophie (Live in Manchester) 2. Blue Heart (Live in Knoxville) 3. Come Around (Live in Huntsville) 4. Song #2 (Live in Huntsville)
B Side
1. Nameless (Live in Manchester) 2. Tractor (Live in London) 3. Bella Donna (Live in London) 4. Bob Forest (Live in London) 5. C to G (Douglas' unapproved hidden track)