May, 2006. Karoline (right) and Robert (left), At the office.
Lauren, Subhumans 2006 US tour manager, with band in snow in errr,
Minneapolis or somewhere.
awwwww. Dick (with glasses) and Bruiser (red collar) at Fat Wreck HQ, San Francisco
subs by a lake on the way to Scotland, 2005ish.
RIP John Loder, a name, if not a face, that many of you will
recognise from the back of the Subhumans records.
John recorded the Subhumans as well as Rudimentary Peni, Crass, Fugazi
and countless others at his Southern Studios in London, and was
instrumental in the release and distirution of those records. His
passion for the music of those bands and his finely-honed, intensely
detailed engineering skills, (we'd nod off on the comfy sofas and wake
up half an hour later, utterly bemused that he'd still be tweaking and
fine-tuning the same sound) are as much a timeless archive of John's
skills and vision as they are invaluable time capsules of those bands
captured at their freshest in their earliest days.
John was the architect behind our first trip to the States in 1983, as
a bunch of wet behind the ears, wide-eyed teenage innocents from the
country. (He chaparoned us over there and gave us some good fatherly
advice on the plane). It was, without doubt, a life-changing experience
for us.
We didn't see John that much in the later years, but it was great
catching up with him when he turned up for a blast from the past at a
little gig we did in Hackney a year or two ago. Still the same John,
big grin, but with his grey beard he'd taken on a kindly, womble-like
air!
John will be fondly remembered by us, standing in the corner
of the studio, with yards of tape around his neck, editing "the old
way", blackmailing Trotsky to stick the kettle on or risk losing his
drums from the mix, and when asked if the bass was loud enough in the
mix, giving the reply- "look, if I take it out you can tell it's not
there....."
And of course for that grin. Cheers John!