Volume 1 (CKY album)

Volume 1

Cover used from 2001 onwards
Studio album by CKY
Released February 27, 1999 (1999-02-27)
Recorded November 1997–February 1998
Studio The Ground Hog Studio
(Holland, Pennsylvania)
Genre
Length 51:57
Label
  • Distant
  • Teil Martin
Producer Chad I Ginsburg
CKY chronology
Volume 1
(1999)		 Volume 2
(1999)
Alternate cover
Original Camp Kill Yourself cover
Singles from Volume 1
  1. "96 Quite Bitter Beings"
    Released: 1999

Volume 1 is the debut studio album by American alternative metal band CKY. Recorded at The Ground Hog Studios in Holland, Pennsylvania, it was produced by guitarist Chad I Ginsburg and released on February 27, 1999 by Distant Recordings and Teil Martin International. Since its initial release as Camp Kill Yourself, the album has been reissued by various record labels with different titles and artwork.

Most of the material for Volume 1 was written by CKY frontman Deron Miller before the addition of Ginsburg in 1998 to complete the band's lineup. During this time, Miller and drummer Jess Margera were performing under the name Oil with live bassist Ryan Bruni. Miller performed bass on the album, although Bruni is featured on the songs "The Human Drive in Hi-Fi" and "Lost in a Contraption".

Despite its lack of commercial success, Volume 1 features a number of the band's signature songs, including arguably their best known track "96 Quite Bitter Beings". Many of the songs were originally featured on skateboarding and stunt videos produced by Margera's brother Bam, including the CKY video series with which the band shares its name. "96 Quite Bitter Beings" was released as a single in 1999.

Recording and production

Deron Miller and Jess Margera began recording Volume 1 in November 1997,[1] while still performing under the name Oil. Recording took place at The Ground Hog Studio in Holland, Pennsylvania,[1] where the pair met audio engineer Chad I Ginsburg. They later asked Ginsburg to join the band as a guitarist, which marked the dissolution of Oil and the formation of CKY (under the name Camp Kill Yourself).[2] The trio continued recording of the album (with production, engineering and mixing led by the new guitarist), which by February 1998 had been completed.[1] It was mastered by Walt Mecleary at Master Blasters,[1] who owned The Ground Hog Studio at the time and had originally hired Ginsburg.[3]

According to Miller, the recording process for Volume 1 cost approximately $15,000, most of which (around $12,000) was funded by his father.[3] The band worked in increments due to financial challenges and work schedules, recording one or two songs at a time, and Ginsburg was reportedly paid around $8 per hour for his contribution.[3] Opening track "96 Quite Bitter Beings" was the last song written for the album, with Miller noting that he wrote the riff during a session with Margera at the drummer's house after their normal rehearsal space was flooded.[3]

For the original Distant/Teil Martin pressings of Volume 1, all songwriting was credited to Miller.[1] This was also the case for the Volcom reissues.[4] When the album was reissued by Island Records, however, the album notes listed "All songs written by Deron Miller with Jess Margera and Chad Ginsburg".[5] In a 2015 interview, Miller dubbed the co-crediting of Ginsburg and Margera for songwriting as "fake", reiterating that he had written the entire album and that adding the other members was as a "cosmetic" measure.[3]

Promotion and release

Volume 1 was originally released on February 27, 1999 by Distant Recordings and Teil Martin International limited to 2,500 copies, before another 1,000 copies were pressed from December 12, 1999.[6] The band signed with Volcom Entertainment in 2000, who reissued the album on April 1 in a 2,000-copy run, then a month later limited to 4,000 copies, and finally on October 1 in a 20,000-copy run.[6] Finally, after signing with The Island Def Jam Music Group in 2001, the album began to be released consistently from June 26, 2001.[6]

In promotion of the album, CKY joined the 1999 edition of the Warped Tour, but were later removed after taking part in a protest started by fans regarding vending prices.[7] The group also played on the 2000 tour, at which they first made contact with Island.[2] Later in 2000, the band released an extended play (EP), Disengage the Simulator, which featured tracks from both Volume 1 and compilation Volume 2.[8] In April 2008, a remastered edition of Volume 1 was released featuring a number of bonus tracks recorded live in 2006.[9][10] The album was later remastered by Tom Volpicelli and reissued on vinyl of various colours in 2015 exclusive to Urban Outfitters.[11]

Title and packaging

Volume 1 was originally called Camp Kill Yourself, acting as a self-titled release for the band.[1] The original Volcom reissue credited the band as "Camp", with the album released under the name CKY, before the names were reversed on later editions.[4] The album later took on its final name, Volume 1, once released by Island in 2001.[5] The original album cover featured a painting depicting the infamous public suicide of politician R. Budd Dwyer in 1987.[12] The artwork, produced by Rob Erickson,[1] was later changed when CKY signed with Volcom, as they deemed it too offensive.[12] For Volcom's reissues and most future releases, the cover was changed to artwork featuring a photo of Ginsburg performing on the 1999 Warped Tour.[6] This cover photo was taken by Remy Stratton.[5]

Reception

Commercial

According to Deron Miller, as of August 2015 the album had sold over 222,000 copies, making it the second best-selling CKY release behind Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild.[13]

Critical

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Slant[14]

Media response to Volume 1 was mixed to positive. Writing for the website AllMusic, critic Bret Love praised the album for its variety of musical styles, describing it as "all over the musical map".[2] Describing the release as "a mix of moshpit-friendly skatepunk", he awarded Volume 1 three out of five stars and highlighted the tracks "96 Quite Bitter Beings" and "Disengage the Simulator".[2] Slant magazine's Aaron Scott was similarly positive, praising the vocal and guitar performances on the album, which he described as "more entertaining (and refreshing) than the misogyny that has plagued hard rock of late".[14] Scott went on to note that the band's sound was "not revolutionary", but found value in their individuality.[14]

Track listing

All tracks written by Deron Miller, except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."96 Quite Bitter Beings"  3:22
2."Rio Bravo"  3:10
3."Disengage the Simulator"  3:04
4."The Human Drive in Hi-Fi"  3:20
5."Lost in a Contraption"  3:23
6."Knee Deep"  3:36
7."My Promiscuous Daughter"  3:17
8."Sara's Mask"  5:01
9."To All of You" (includes hidden track "Rio Bravo Reprise/Halfway House")23:44
Total length:51:57

Personnel
  • Tom Volpicelli – mastering (Urban Outfitters reissue)
  • Rob Erickson – artwork and layout (original release)
  • Bam Margera – photography (original release and Volcom reissues)
  • Remy Stratton – photography (Volcom and future reissues)
  • Ryan Gee – photography (Volcom reissues)
  • Lance Dawes – photography (Island reissues)

Release history

Date Label Format Catalog Copies Notes
February 27, 1999 Distant/Teil Martin CD 1DCA3522 2,500 Credited to Camp Kill Yourself as Camp Kill Yourself
December 12, 1999 1,000
April 1, 2000 Volcom CD YAE-49 2,000 Credited to Camp as CKY
May 1, 2000 4,000 Credited to CKY as Camp
October 1, 2000 20,000 Credited to CKY as Camp Volume 1
June 26, 2001 Island CD+ 314 586 070-2: IN01 5,000 Credited to CKY as Volume 1; purple cover
314 586 070-2: IN02 5,000 Credited to CKY as Volume 1; blue cover
314 586 070-2: IN03 5,000 Credited to CKY as Volume 1; orange cover
314 586 070-2: IN04 Unlimited Credited to CKY as Volume 1; red cover
April 22, 2002 Mercury CD 586 070-2 Unlimited Available in Europe only
July 5, 2003 Distant LP CKY-V1 2,000 Picture disc
April 13, 2007 Distant CD none Unlimited Credited to Camp Kill Yourself as Camp Kill Yourself
April 7, 2008 Distant DL 685747038624 Unlimited Available from CD Baby and iTunes only
November 20, 2015 Distant LP B018A7B6HU 1,000 Exclusive to Urban Outfitters exclusive; random colours

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Volume 1 (Media notes). Camp Kill Yourself. Distant Recordings/Teil Martin International. 1999.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Love, Bret. "CKY, Vol. 1 - CKY". AllMusic. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Sinner's Ball Radio Show : Episode #6 With DERON MILLER from CKY". BlogTalkRadio. July 12, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Camp Volume 1 (Media notes). CKY. Volcom Entertainment. 2000.
  5. 1 2 3 Volume 1 (Media notes). CKY. Island Records. 2001.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Discography". CKY. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  7. ↑ Prato, Greg. "CKY Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Disengage the Simulator - CKY". AllMusic. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Vol.1 (Remastered + Bonus Tracks) by CKY". iTunes. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  10. ↑ "CKY: Vol.1 (Remastered + Bonus Tracks)". CD Baby. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  11. ↑ "CKY - Volume 1 LP". Urban Outfitters. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  12. 1 2 Leatherman, Benjamin (August 17, 2007). "Future Shock: She Wants Revenge, The Donnas, CKY, And More". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  13. ↑ Miller, Deron (August 10, 2015). "Interesting...CKY record sales as of 8/9/2015...". Facebook. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  14. 1 2 3 Scott, Aaron (July 10, 2001). "CKY: Vol. 1". Slant. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
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