The David Ewen Collection consists of materials which pertain to several aspects of music, ranging from composers to opera houses and festivals, as well as his personal life and work. The papers follow the original order established by David Ewen.
The bulk of the collection contains information and some correspondence pertaining to American and foreign composers and serious and popular performers such as George Gershwin, Charles Ives, Igor Stravinsky, Gustav Mahler, Maria Callas, Bing Crosby, and other notable 20th century composers and performers.
FAULTY PRODUCTS 1978-80. Small archive of official records from the Independent Label, "Faulty Products." Various concert fliers, correspondence between owners of the record company, and newspaper articles from different sources on the bands signed by the label. This label was established by Miles Copeland initially to distribute a welter of new musical talent that emerged in 1977, in the period of "punk rock," via its three in-house record labels, Illegal Records, Step Forward Records, and Deptford Fun City Records.
"An archive of ephemera detailing the short-lived Miami punk band, Screaming Sneakers, compiled by their drummer Mark Evans. The collection includes artwork, flyers, 28 letters, 12 photographs, maquettes, newspaper clippings, promotional material, and other items collected between 1981 and 1983 by Evans.
These items show the early days of the band in 1979 and their do-it-yourself rise to their only recordings in 1982. Featured throughout are various letters from fans and inquiring music writers including Mick Mercer of the English zines, ZigZag Mag and Panache Fanzine. In his letter he writes to frontwoman, Lisa, asking for an interview and saying, 'you seem to be a special sort of band.' Another letter is a retained copy of a note written by Mark to Blondie guitarist, Chris Stein, asking if his new record label, Animal Records, would be interested in the band. A group of 12 black and white band photos showing them posed around New York is featured here. A promotional poster for the band features a piece from the Miami News on Lisa which reads, 'she is more interesting simply sitting at her table than any of the bands cavorting on stage.'
Formed in 1979, the Screaming Sneakers were a punk, New Wave band based in Miami, Florida. The band consisted of then 17 year-old front woman Lisa Nash, Mark Evans (drums), Bud Gangemi (bass), and Gary Sunshine (guitar). Part of South Florida’s fleeting punk and new wave scene, the band was active mostly throughout Dade and Broward County. In 1982 they cut a four-song EP titled Marching Orders, which prompted new management, a move to New York, and a brief glimmer of fame, but despite their best efforts the band slowly faded into obscurity. Little enough is written on them, though they were recently featured in Gary McLaughlin’s 2012 documentary Invisible Bands, which covers the South Florida music scene between 1979 through the mid-1980’s.
An interesting collection of ephemera following a female fronted Miami punk Band’s short-lived time in the 1980s punk scene." -Between the Covers Rare Books
