Scone Ca$h Players Founder Adam Scone Compares & Contrasts 2008 & 2020 Versions of THE MIND BLOWER (Mango Hill Records/Flamingo Time)
Scone Ca$h Players make "Heavy, Heavy No Bullsh*t Funk" and have often been described as "Organ Funk band from Miami, Florida." Sconce Cash Players founder and organist Adam Scone has released three full-lengths between 2008-19, The Mind Blower, Blast Furnace! and As The Screw Turns all with a mixed bag of talented players. Although, their 2008 debut has effectively been re-mixed, re-mastered, re-packaged, and re-released on super-limited edition vinyl for the first time EVER on Jason Joshua & The Beholders frontman Jason Joshua's own Mango Hill Records and their Flamingo Time sub-label. We spoke with Adam Scone himself about the varying similarities and differences between the 2008 and 2020 versions of The Mind Blower and Mr. Jason Joshua was kind enough to provide us with an intro/foreword, both of which you will now see below, lightly edited for your enjoyment...
"The Mind Blower revisioned and enhanced for your enjoyment. Mango Hill & Adam Scone spent a lot of time with this project because it was, technically, released, so we didn't want to give people the same album with just a new cover. We took our time with this record in every aspect, shape, and form. From the design, which was all done in-house over here by Jackson Cochrane and myself. The building [on] the cover is, actually, Scone's apartment in NY—I forget which floor—but that is his place and that is where The Mind Blower was originally conceived. When I first heard this record, all I thought about was New York and it reminded me of that Beastie Boys album, Paul's Boutique. So, I took that reference and ran with it and [on] the back, we used the classic Mango Hill background that [is] on a majority of our LP's and 7-inch picture sleeves.
Another thing: as we listened, we thought to add something that has been added to the Scone Cash Players live line-ups since then and that is percussion. So, Adam hit up Kevin "Bujo" Jones and they arranged the sessions and made that happen. Now, once we had the record compiled with Kevin, we took it to [our] friend, Alex Abrash, who has mastered everything from Bob Marley, Fania All-Stars to Lee Fields (and, of course, all the Mango Hill stuff.) Once Alex created the one-of-a-kind lacquer for the record, we sent it Kindercore Pressing Plant in Athens, Georgia and the magic was made. Scone wanted to make this a special LP, so only 500 were made. With out further [ado], here it is: THE MIND BLOWER."
The answer to your question, in short, as to "how does the 2020 vinyl release contrast with the original CD release of 2008?" [The] 2020 version of THE MINDBLOWER has added percussion, it has been re-mixed (to remove some distortion flaws in the original,) re-mastered, re-packaged, and, most importantly, the first time as a full-length vinyl LP. Now, let's get to the details.
The Mindblower was the very first album I made with my band, Scone Cash Players. I'm not sure exactly when it was, but my best guesses are [it was] recorded in 2007 or 2008. At that time, I was touring playing Hammond organ over 10 months a year with another band as a sideman.
On a cold rainy winter night between tours, I assembled this premier incarnation of Scone Cash Players to record. The band is a line-up of NYC legends and we were playing a lot of gigs around NYC, at that time, when I was in town. Al Street is on guitar. We spent years with Sugarman 3 touring the world and backing up Lee Fields. Cochemea Gastelum on saxophone and Eric Kalb is on drums. They went on to become [The] Dap-Kings and back-up Sharon Jones for years amongst a lot of other incredible things. We met out at Menahan Street in Brooklyn. Tom Brennick engineered the session and we got the basic tracks on tape.
It was an all analog situation. Tom had an Otari 5050 1/2-inch 8-track. I had a Tascam 388 1/4-inch 8-track and with luck, so did saxophonist Cochemea. So, Tom dumped the Otari to the Tascam tape. Then, I took those tapes to my apartment in Harlem, Manhattan. Al Street & I finished it up there.
A day later, it was back to the road for me. There was an uncelebrated, badly flawed mix. It wasn't even mastered. I printed about 100 CD-R's to make some extra cash for me to spend at truck stops while I was traveling.
Luckily, a select few people heard the record and really liked it. Including Spasibo [Records] in Russia that put a few tracks on 45 a few years back. This was all despite the sh*tty packaging and lack of focus I had. The music and the songs were strong and I didn't think much more about it.
Years later, I had ended up in Miami after leaving the road life. Jason Joshua & I had been starting to cook things up with his label, Mango Hill Records, and my vision of Flamingo Time Records. The Pandemic struck. We thought, "what are we gonna do?" We both have a lot of new music in-the-works, but we wanted to save it for when we can tour again. Jason came to me and said, "let's put out The Mindblower record for the first and only time ever on vinyl. Do it right and release it how it was always intended to be."
My first call was to percussionist extraordinaire Kevin "Bujo" Jones to lay down the extra-nasty groove that I always wanted for the record. If you don't know the name, you know the sound from years of recording with The Isley Brothers & Whitney Houston. We did many tours together in South America.
It has been re-mixed by yours truly, re-mastered by the great Alex Abrash. New art and cover design by Jason Joshua & Mango Hill. I love it, I always did. But before, I was ashamed because it was as half-a$$ed as you could get. Now, I'm at 100 percent about it and we hope you love it, too."
Best Regards,
Adam Scone (@adamscone)
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