Chastity Belt Covers “Loaded Painted Red” By 764-Hero For Split 7-inch
Two generations of Seattle indie rock come together on a limited edition vinyl. The Suicide Squeeze labelmates offer a tribute backed by the 1998 original
Today, the group Chastity Belt is releasing their own rendition of “Loaded Painted Red” by fellow Seattle indie rock outfit, 764-Hero. The original appeared as the opening track on the 1998 LP, Get Here And Stay, produced by the legend, Phil Ek for UP Records.
I was recently speaking with a friend who manages a record store when he expressed surprise at learning how widely popular Chastity Belt had become. His comments were not a criticism of their talent or their music, but a reflection of how difficult it can sometimes be to have perspective when something is so close to you. This is especially true when it comes to local artists that one might associate with being somewhat “underground” and/or signed to an indie label. Back in 2000, when I lived in Olympia, Washington, I saw a girl wearing a Sleater-Kinney t-shirt while attending a Bob Dylan and Phil Lesh show in Troy, Wisconsin. Sleater-Kinney meant 2 things to me: a band from Oly and the street in Lacey, WA with the good burrito truck. That was my first sign that people outside of the Northwest even knew who they were.
764-Hero took their name from the Washington State Department Of Transportation hotline to report carpool violators. I remember seeing the signs for the hotline lining the freeways in the 90s. The band was closely associated with UP Records labelmates Modest Mouse, with whom they collaborated and toured. They were of that scene and time. Get Here And Stay was recorded during the years when James Bertram (Lync, Red Stars Theory, Built To Spill) was in the band — many will recognize him as the person next to Beck on the cover of One Foot In The Grave, on which he also played bass. Like Sleater-Kinney, the band’s name was so hyperlocal that it never occurred to me that they had a following outside of the area. I’m still unsure of their broader reach, but that makes it only more special to see Chastity Belt paying tribute to them.
The Chastity Belt cover will arrive in physical form as a split 7-inch backed with the 764-Hero original. The single is being released by Suicide Squeeze with a slated release date of August 15th. Shortly before starting Suicide Squeeze, owner David Dickinson was the one who first introduced 764-Hero founders, John Atkins and Polly Johnson, to one another, so there’s a lot of really cool Seattle music history coming together on this release.
Photo credit: Eleanor Petry
Julia Shapiro of Chastity Belt states the following about the project: “I’ve been a fan of 764-Hero for a while now, and ‘Loaded Painted Red’ is one of my faves! It was hard to do the song justice, because the original is so perfect, but we also had fun reimagining it and making it our own… our first ever recorded cover!“
Photo credit: Pat Graham
John Atkins believes that Shapiro and crew did his old tune justice. “I was so happy hearing the Chastity Belt version of ‘Loaded Painted Red.’ I’m a big fan of them as a band and as people and their rendition really moved me. I feel very lucky to be linked with Polly and James and David and Chastity Belt and this is a memento I will cherish.“
A. Chastity Belt – “Loaded Painted Red” cover
B. 764-Hero – “Loaded Painted Red”
The new Loaded Painted Red single will be released as a one-time pressing on opaque purple vinyl, limited to only 500 copies. Preorders are available now via Suicide Squeeze and Bandcamp.