Maxx Mann were the gay New Wave duo of Frank Oldham Jr (vocals, lyrics) and Paul Hamman (music) from New York City formed in 1981. Frank studied voice and acting at the Herbert Bergdorf School idolizing Eartha Kitt, Nancy Wilson, Johnny Mathis and Shirley Bassey. Paul was playing piano for a cabaret singer at a bar in Greenwich Village where Frank met him and their friendship began. Paul and Frank worked together 3 to 4 times a week recording their debut self-titled album released in 1982, limited to 500 copies.
Songs provide interesting insights into the homosexual experience before the AIDS crisis: cruising backroom bars, BDSM and one-night stands. The music is “Neo-realistic rock” heavily influenced by punk, titillating, synthesized body and soul with Frank’s dramatized vocal stylings. The original press release sent to radio stations stated, “Because this is a completely innovative sound, we hope you will give it several listenings.
It is adventurous, daring, and certain to cause reactions from your listeners.” For this first time vinyl/CD reissue we’ve added two bonus instrumental tracks, so the album now contains all four original vocal cuts and their corresponding instrumental versions. Paul sadly passed away in 1986 aged 33 from AIDS-related illness and we dedicate this reissue to him. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. Each copy is housed in an exact replica of the 1982 jacket and includes a fold-post poster with photos, lyrics and notes by Frank Oldham Jr.
Dark Entries was born in the spring of 2009 to release out of print and unreleased underground music as well as contemporary bands. A project of Josh Cheon, a vinyl-focused DJ and collector, Dark Entries takes great care in preserving sound quality and respecting the aesthetics of its artists. All of their releases are a carry over from the DIY days of the 1980s independent record labels.
Josh grew up 15 minutes outside of New York City, and more specifically The Bank, a goth club that laid the foundations for his obsession with dark synthesizer driven music. Dancing to Q Lazzarus, Cetu Javu and “With Sympathy” era Ministry as well as newer acts like Wolfshiem, Beborn Beton and VNV Nation he eventually got a summer job with Metropolis Records in Philadelphia who released modern EBM and synthpop bands like Wolfshiem, VNV Nation and Covenant as well as classic darkwave band Clan Of Xymox and Bunnydrums. While attending Rutgers University, he became the Music Director for 90.3FM The Core for two years and held internships at Beggars Banquet/4AD/Matador and DFA Records.
These internships gave Josh a first hand look at independent record labels and how they operate. Moving to San Francisco in 2006, Josh fell into the disco revival with Honey Soundsystem and secured a weekly show on West Add Radio. He noticed a lack of post punk and dark wave parties in San Francisco, so he started a night called Radio Lines at the Transfer. Sharing the decks with another avid record collector, Phil Mailer who ran the blog A Viable Commercial, Josh learned about the band Eleven Pond, whose debut LP was going for inflated sums on ebay. Luckily Jeff Gallea from Eleven Pond left a comment on the blog post and Josh contacted him. After obtaining a copy of the master tapes, he had the songs remastered for vinyl and released the LP in July 2009 with a silk screened cover like the original LP had.
All of our releases are inspired by the DIY nature of independent record labels. Our designer Eloise Leigh is responsible for all reproductions and original concepts. Dark Entries entrusts all of their projects with the best engineer in the state, George Horn at Fantasy Studios, who remasters each release using his 50+ years of knowledge in the industry. With over 100 releases under our belt from Severed Heads, Crash Course In Science, Patrick Cowley to the Dark Entries Editions series focusing on hard to find Italo Disco and Synthpop 12”s.
And for those of you who are wondering Dark Entries was the first 7″ released by UK goth band Bauhaus.
