1. The Top (T.Johnstone) 2. Top Of My World (T.Johnstone) 3. Slow Downer (vapour trail) (T.Johnstone) 4. The Point (T.Johnstone) Produced and performed by Tam Johnstone. Recorded and mixed at home and Ground Zero rehearsal studios, Brighton. All instruments and vocals Tam Johnstone. Deleted. Expanded version coming soon. The making of 'How Massacres Start' In November 2000, while still living in Brighton, I began work on the follow-up to 'Local Honey', which at that time was still yet to have a commercial release. It was a crisp, sunny Autumnal day and I was excited to be working on new material again as I loaded my equipment into a taxi and headed over to Ground Zero rehearsal studios in Hove (interesting fact: now based in Brighton, the original GZ Hove studios have long since gone, ripped out by myself and other local musicians one extremely hot and dusty weekend, in exchange for free studio time.) Having set up in the wooden-floored live room, I began recording the drums onto my digital 4-track recorder with a couple of microphones and, by early evening I'd recorded drum tracks for eight songs (along with some bass and harmonium) onto which I would later overdub the other instruments and vocals. This was probably when I first started thinking about the 'Mountain Rescue' project (or 'Mountains' as it was originally known.) Around this time, interest in 'Local Honey' was starting to spread, in no small part due to the enthusiasm and hard work of Karen Shook and Tim Hall. Labels and publishers were keen to see The General Store play live but, since there was no actual band at that time, I had to hastily assemble a group of musician friends to help me out. By late November, I was playing the first General Store live shows with the "Blind Lemon Meringue Temporary Jug Band": Julian, Pete, Casey & Jim. For me, it was a part-nerve-shredding/part-cathartic experience, particularly at our first gig, The Water Rats. The room was full of friends & the atmosphere so calm yet so electric. That particular show is still my favorite General Store live performance so far. While there appeared to be genuine interest in the band there were no serious offers being put forward so, sensing it would be smart to get something out to introduce the band to the world, I sent four tracks from the Ground Zero sessions to the internet-based label, Peoplesound.com (including an early version of "The Point", re-recorded for 'Mountain Rescue.') This EP has now been expanded to include 'Local Honey' outtakes and other tracks recorded around the same time. The title, 'How Massacres Start' refers to a conversation I had with Gilded Palace Of Sin head honcho, Tom Sheriff that somehow managed to end with the immortal phrase, "...and that's how massacres start." God knows how. The EP originally surfaced on Peoplesound in early 2001 and judging by the initial reaction, it seemed there was definitely a place for The General Stores' home-made brand of country-tinged, West Coast pop. Album review by Peoplesound "This week we bring you The General Store: purveyors of fine, country-tinged rock that evokes the likes of Neil Young and Sparklehorse touched with the left-field sensibility of Pavement. Built around the songwriting of main man Tam Johnstone; a man who had been experimenting with music from an early age (maybe prompted by his father's own status as long-term guitarist for Elton John!), the band was formed in May 2000 and recorded their debut EP, How Massacres Start, in just a week. A memorable body of work it is too. One listen to the fragile beauty of 'Slow Downer' and it's Neil Young style alt.country, or the jaunty banjo and pop stylings of 'The Point', will make a convert of any conscientious pop fan. Recorded on incredibly lo-fi equipment to great effect, How Massacres Start demonstrates the inherent talent of this band. To be able to produce such a professional sounding and entertaining piece of work with such meagre resources is nothing short of miraculous. The band are based in Brighton and regularly gig around the South of England. Peoplesound's own A&R guru, Steve Farris, managed to catch the band at Brighton's Freebutt recently and proclaimed them to be a "fine live experience, with some excellent songs and loads of potential". In the words of Tam: "It may not be original, it may not be cool, but what you see is what you get: human experiences in song-form performed by inexperienced humans." What are you waiting for?"