VOTD 6/09/2023

 Penn Sembles: Introducing the Penn Sembles (Marjon)

Purchased at that weird hoarder store in Greensburg

I've just checked out of the library Dust & Grooves: Adventures in Record Collecting. It's a coffee table book about record collectors, with pictures of their collections, holding prized records, with a few interviews. Perusing it at the library, I opened the book almost directly to the pages with Jerry Weber of Jerry's Records. One collector hunts down so-called private pressings, the kind that sometimes have the same cover image with different text superimposed. 

I say so-called because, well, is that what my one and only LP is? I knew I've never be able to sell 300 hundred copies, why press even that many? I'm referring to the Flexure LP, by the way. Each has a unique cover, sometimes painted and mutilated records glued to the cover, sometimes torn-up record covers. https://www.discogs.com/release/5080382-Flexure-Insert-Title-Here

There are particular kinds of records I collect without hopefully being too obsessive about any of it. I'm always on the hunt for early electronic music LPs, old school industrial records, in addition to always looking for recordings of particular artists. It's rare that I'll pay premium prices for things, just as I'm trying to resist the temptation to buy too many $3 Duquesne University records put out at Jerry's. 

Almost surprisingly, there is a discogs.com page for the Penn Sembles, for a listing of one record. It's on a regional label, Marjon International Records, from Sharon, PA. This is listed under their "Custom Series." Does that make it a private pressing? The artist page lists them as starting in 1969, the release as being from 1974. From the indistinct pictures on the front cover, I doubt anyone is younger than their 50s. 

It's Tamburitzan music. Lots of tremolo-plucked strings, mostly with vocals and largely choral. Imagine being in a Slavic social hall, with a group of about forty pluckers and singers, playing songs that everyone knows. Professional it ain't, even if there is a strong solo voice or two in the bunch. 

I don't know if I'll put this on ever again. My wife and I were in Greensburg, where in the center town there's a major hoarder thrift store. I mean, really, I wouldn't be too surprised if the floors were to cave in one day. And typical of stores of this nature, he generally wants too much money for his junk, with an occasional deal to be found. On a previous visit, I found a decent copy of the Mothers' We're Only In It For the Money for $10, a very reasonable price. This record was a dollar or two, which I bought with a couple of other things, just so we could buy something without spending too much money on trash. 

How many of these types of western Pennsylvania records are there? There's a pretty serious Slavic presence in the region, particularly when you head towards Johnstown. 

How many copies of this even still exist, in playable condition? Who cares about them? Nearly fifty years later, do any of the Penn Sembles players remain alive?