5/29/08
Pre-orders are now up for the Double Dagger and Sleepwall 7"s in the webstore. Get ordering!
Go to the "media" page to hear a new song from each band. The records should be ready by the end of June at the latest, but hopefully earlier. We'll keep you posted. See you at Insubordination fest!

5/20/08
The tests for the Double Dagger and Sleepwall 7"s have been approved so things are moving along nicely. Everything should definitely be ready in time for Insubordination Fest (June 26 - 28). Check out the Fest website for more information. Speaking of the Insubordination Fest, we may have some very exciting news pertaining to that blast of a weekend for you in a couple of days. Stay posted.
Things at the pressing plant are a little slow right now, but once we get a better idea of when the records will be in our hands we will get pre-ordering under way. There will be limited colored vinyl for both records for mailorder customers.
We are also hoping to be able to get the Dead Mechanical LPs in time for the Fest. We'll be cutting it close so keep your fingers crossed.
Later this summer will see represses of the Sick Sick Birds and Ergs 7"s. That will be the final pressing for the Ergs - Blue 7" since those songs will be coming out on the singles, splits, and comp tracks collection that Dirtnap Records is releasing later this year.
Clint Maul is currently in the studio working on his full length that we will be releasing later this year. He's recording again with Chris Camden (Liars Academy, Cross My Heart, Brothers) at his Ultrasound Studios here in Baltimore. This Friday you can catch Clint opening for Drag the River at Fletchers. Hopefully we'll see you there.
That's it for news for now. Check back soon for some possibly very exciting Insubordination Fest news and the announcement of the pre-ordering for those 7"s coming next month.

1/24/08
We just sent off our last few copies of the Sick Sick Birds 7" to distributors so we no longer have it in stock. Check Ebullition, Little Type, Interpunk, and Very if you have yet to pick up a copy (and if you haven't yet you're just being silly).
The 2nd pressing of the Ergs - Blue 7" single is almost all gone. Again, check your favorite distro for copies. If they don't carry it, tell them to get in touch with us because we'll be doing a 3rd and final pressing this spring.
We're excited to announce our next two releases, which will both be available late spring/early summer: Baltimore's Double Dagger, who are indescribably sweet as shit, will be giving us two new songs and a remix of their already-classic "I Was So Bored I Wanted To Hang Myself on the Dancefloor" for a destined-to-be-awesome single. Check out www.myspace.com/doubledagger.
Also coming this spring is a 7" from Long Islands's Sleepwall. Sleepwall are new post-hardcore band along the lines of Hum and Sugar featuring ex-members of Robot Whales, Sick of Talk, and the Agent. This is the first time we've ever done a release for a band that we didn't know personally (well, it turns out we do know Anthony, the drummer, but didn't know that he was in the band when we offered to do the 7") so that should tell you how we good we thought this stuff was. If you think that the bands that formed in the late 80s to mid 90s from the ashes of the original American hardcore bands made some amazing music, then this stuff will definitely be for you. Check out www.myspace.com/sleepwall.
Also, thanks to those of you who have patiently been waiting for the Dead Mechanical LP to come out. We're pretty sure it will see the light of day before the summer hits.

9/27/07
The Clint Maul - Ninguna Amplificacion 7" is now available! Check out the webstore link to pick up a copy.
Coming up next is the 2nd pressing of the Ergs - Blue 7". There will be 500 of those on solid blue vinyl available in the next week or so. After that will we be getting started on the long-awaited 12" version of the Dead Mechanical - Medium Noise album. Check back here for updates.

8/20/07
Finally. The Clint Maul - "Ninguna Amplificacion" 7" test presses have been approved and we should have the records in about three weeks, so it is now available for pre-order in the webstore. Pre-orders are guaranteed limited colored vinyl. Go get it!

7/15/07
The recording for the Clint Maul 7" has been sent off to get mastered and plated, so that is finally under way. Expect the finished product back by mid-September. After that is ready to go we'll get started on the LP version of Dead Mechanical's "Medium Noise" album, which should be out by late October. Get psyched.
The first pressing of the Ergs - "Blue" 7" is almost all gone. We're down to about the last 20 or so copies. After they're all gone here, check out some of distributors like RevHQ, Ebullition, ADD, Snuffy Smile (Japan), and Sentient (Germany) for copies.

3/28/07
Just found out that the Ergs records will be in and ready to go by April 15th, but the Sick Sick Birds record won't be ready until the end of April due to some delays with the artwork/layout. Pre-orders for both will go up later this week.

3/17/07
We have received the test presses for the Sick Sick Birds and Ergs 7"s and both sound great and have been approved. We're expecting to receive the finished product for both around April 9th, but once we have a better idea of when that will actually be we will start taking pre-orders. The initial pressing info for these is 100 on yellow and 400 on black for the Sick Sick Birds 7" and 1000 on blue for the Ergs 7". More info to come as things progress.

3/2/07
The Firestarter webstore is now up and running. Click the "distro" link and pick up all Firestarter and Toxic Pop releases and browse the distro that grows every day.

2/26/07
All four mp3s in the media section are now working.

1/31/07
Alright, alright...lack of updates...I know, I know...let's skip the excuses and get right down to business.
The Sick Sick Birds recording has finally been sent off for mastering and plating. I'm still waiting on the cover art and insert from the band but if all goes well the record will be out for their show with Paper Dragons, For Science, and So & So at the Charm City Art Space on March 10th. An mp3 of their song "the Connects" has been posted in the media section of the site. Soooooooo good. I'm pumped.
We are proud to officially announce that we'll be releasing a 12" LP of one of Baltimore's best new indie/pop/punk bands, Dead Mechanical. This is a band bursting with talent featuring members of Sick Sick Birds, Paper Dragons, and A Study In Her. Think a less depressive Jawbreaker with a bit of a pop-punk sensibility. As soon as we get the recording from them we'll post an mp3. Don't miss their CD release show at Charm City Art Space on March 17th.
Thanks to the fine people at Wallride Records we get to co-release a single by one of our current favorite bands. Out in March is the "Blue" 7" single from the Ergs featuring an original on one side and a similarly named cover on the other. I can't tell you how excited we are about that. You may recognize "Blue" if you have their "F'n" EP, but it's been re-recorded for this single and the cover is worth the price of admission alone.
Finally, let us have the pleasure of introducing you to Richmond's Clint Maul. You may recognize Clint from past hardcore/punk bands such as Bladecrasher and Bombs Away, so you know the guy can write a song, but these days Clint is going unplugged for the most part and bringing us some of the best southern-influenced pop/rock we've heard in a long time. Part Replacements, part Lemonheads, part Jawbreaker, and part Merle Haggard...this stuff is damn good. We've got to plans to release a few acoustic EPs and an amped up full-length with Clint so expect great things to come of this partnership. In the meantime, head over to the media section and check out an mp3 for "Opposite Illuminous" off the upcoming "Ninguna Amplificacion" EP that will be out this spring.
More info on all of these releases as they near completion.
In some sad news, you may or may not have heard that Baltimore's Greasegun has decided to call it quits, so their planned EP will no longer be coming out. Bummer. They did leave us with a great demo though so be sure to check out their myspace page and give those songs a listen.
In a bit of unrelated trivia, I'd like you all to know that I'm writing this all on my birthday with my right hand all bandaged up and two pins in that pinky. Good times.

7/23/06
Hello from Baltimore. Sorry for the lack in updates on what's going on around here, but we've been waiting patiently to have some news for you. Sick Sick Birds are finished with all the tracking of their EP, which will be titled "Chemical Trains", and are set to mix this week. We're super excited about this release as we got to hear the songs live last night at a small show and can't wait to hear the recording. If all goes well, we'll be set to press by the middle of August. Get excited.
With the good comes the bad, and we're sad to announce that Greasegun are calling it quits in the near future. Guitar player, Nick Vance, has decided to move south to the fertile punk soils of Richmond, VA, and the band just wouldn't be the same without him, so finding a replacement would be out of the question. They won't be playing many more shows, so if you see them on a bill, make sure you get your ass to that show! If you haven't heard this band yet, please do yourself a favor and check out their MySpace page to hear their demo.
Clint Maul is steadily writing songs for his Toxic Pop release. He's playing shows and BBQs around Richmond regularly, and even making the out-of-town trip here and there to bring his songs to the people. We'll keep you posted once we get word of some recording dates from him. Until then, you can order his 5-song demo from us for $3 ppd. See the "contact" page for Paypal and snailmail info.
In the meantime, go pick up the new Replacements "best of" CD on Rhino and check out the two unreleased songs. You won't be disappointed.

5/13/06
Welcome to Toxic Pop Records, brought to you by the fine people at Firestarter Records. We are bringing you this alter-ego label to satisfy all of our power-pop, pop-punk, and rock interests. TPR will be kicking things off with the Sick Sick Birds 7" EP, due out in early July. After that we've got releases from Clint Maul and the American Powerpop Revival and Greasegun lined up for you. We're currently working on getting the website up, but in the meantime, be sure to check out www.myspace.com/toxicpoprecords for the latest info. Get psyched!

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