"MAX LOAD was formed and began playing live shows around Belleville in 1978. They soon were playing in St. Louis as well, but they never would be treated as equals. They were often forced to play first, before much less competent bands, or dead last, when the St. Louis crowd was anxious to get to the after-party. Last often meant playing to an empty room, rather than being the coveted headlining spot. Out shining most of the Missouri bands around at the time, they released a scorching two song 45 (X-Rod" b/w "Magazine Sex") in 1979 on their own label. It was mostly intended as a calling card to secure gigs, but some copies were sold locally and a few even distributed by Bomp! Records in CA. The band would go on to record studio demos in 1980 at the request of Epic Records and would commit countless songs to tape with their own 4-track recorder. They were also the only punk band in the area to pay attention to and be featured on the short-lived cable access TV show, Street Beat. Although Max Load started out with a fairly traditional punk sound, by 1981 they started writing more post punk and art punk influenced material. This new direction can be heard on the included 4-track demos. Like so many other bands, they never got that record deal or big break they were hoping for. By late 1982, most members had moved on to new projects and the band was gone by 1983. The Max Load release is comprised of all studio recordings from 1979-1983. The X-Rod 45 is included, along with 22 never-before-released 8-track and 4-track demos. The package includes a 14-song LP, a 24-song CD and a DVD that features a 20-song live performance, recorded for cable access TV in 1981. The CD and DVD come with a title card in a protective sleeve thats tucked inside the LP jacket, along with a double sided 11"x17" insert featuring numerous photos, gig posters and extensive liner notes." - BDR.
After nearly a decade of false starts, multiple game plans veering off the rails, and a handful of shattered hopes and/or dreams, the odyssey is finally complete—the new Fusetron site is here.
This is the first phase of a multipart rollout that will span the next few months: the currently browsable stock includes miscellaneous new releases from the past 8+ months (we have a lot of catching up to do), plus approximately a third of our backstock. Note that we’ve reduced/slashed prices on many titles and will continue to do so in order to make room for new stock. We’ll also be expanding / tweaking / improving / debugging the site itself (for example, we still have work to do on the automated international postage system, not to mention the inevitable inventory discrepancies that come with transferring an ancient and massive database to a new system).
Over the next few months, as we take inventory, clean house, and delve into our storage, we will be uploading thousands of additional items, gradually, on a near-daily basis. This will include the majority of the LPs, as well as many titles, in all formats, once thought long-gone. Many currently “sold out” items are likely to resurface.
Finally, once our general backstock is up (probably in the next two or three months) we’ll begin making our extensive stockpile of rarities available online for the first time: tons of random out-of-print titles, "deadstock," warehouse finds, secondhand collectibles, etc., accumulated over the past few decades.
Frequent/returning customers will be getting early access to these items. Details to follow on how this will work (a priority mailing list? a 'frequent flyer'-like program?), but it will not be based on dollars spent. We want to reward those who consistently support us, especially in the discogs marketplace era (to those who show up trying to poach five copies of a one-off rarity, and nothing else, ever… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ).
So—we suggest you take some time to dig through the site—even we’ve been surprised by what’s been turning up, and there’s much more to come.
