Collecting 7-inch vinyl records has been a hobby of mine, for some decades now. From browsing the bins at Hogwild Records to find something new, to scouring the internet for someone who is selling a piece of my personal history, the search for music has been a never ending trip.

I recently picked up a split 7-inch release by Texas bands Shaft and The Nimoys. When I first bought this release, it was something I could listen to over and over, for days on end. Now, I was a bit of a Shaft fanboy, as these dudes were some of the best people I ever met. I sadly never got to see The Nimoys perform, but their side of this split is killer.

For years I had bee searching for a copy of this 7-inch to replace the one that went missing during my drunken haze of a life. At one point, a few years ago, I thought I had found a copy from a seller on eBay, but it turned out that the seller “lost” the item after listing it. Whatever.

Fast forward a few years, and I got the itch to find my white whale, once again. Discogs was my starting and ending point for this digital trek, as I now own a copy of Shaft/The Nimoys, and I couldn’t be happier. “For Dad” has been stuck in my head for years, and being able to actually listen to that song again is almost surreal.

In short, thank you Shaft el Grupo de Rock for existing during a really tough time in my life.* The friendship you guys always extended to a young punk kid at the Showcase will never be taken for granted, even though we haven’t spoken to each other in forever.

“Rubberband” is the only song available on the internet from this release. Check it out:

_{*I might talk about it sometime, so get ready for that ride into Traumaville, USA.}