Every week, we’ll be posting a new illustration by David Lester. The Mecca Normal guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 42-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.
With Sitting On Snaps being released 30 years ago, it seems fitting to take a look at that era through Mecca Normal’s eyes. A switch to Matador Records resulted in three new albums, tours included Europe and New Zealand, with press interest related to DIY, riot grrrl and grunge, but almost all press was generated by touring. DVDs were invented in 1995, but the common use of the internet was still years away. Tours were booked by landline phones and fax machines. Passports were not required to travel between the U.S. and Canada until 2009. Scenes were the backbone of everything, from putting up posters to finding a place to stay after shows, although I don’t think we referred to them as scenes—it was just normal life. Overlapping communities sharing information with touring bands connecting based on who was on your bill and who came to the show.
“Pamela Makes Waves” from Sitting On Snaps (Matador, 1995) (download):
