Hey Sandy: 'Pete & Pete' Band Polaris Prep Deluxe Vinyl Reissue

Hey Sandy: ‘Pete & Pete’ Band Polaris Prep Deluxe Vinyl Reissue

Polaris Pete 21 — ORDER NOW FROM THE MEZZOTINT LABEL

Polaris, the Miracle Legion side-project “band that lives in your TV,” is coming back to your turntable with a very special reissue this year.

Music From The Adventures Of Pete & Pete is being reissued this month by frontman Mark Mulcahy’s Mezzotint label, pressed for the first time as a double LP on white vinyl. This “Deluxe 21st Century Edition” will also come with a CD of 15 previously unreleased demos. Series co-creator Will McRobb has penned liner notes, and for the first time, a lyric sheet will be included with the album.

Mulcahy will autograph the first 300 copies, and a T-shirt bundle is also available featuring a new design by Luke Cavagnac. All who pre-order will be entered into a drawing to receive a Polaris prize pack featuring the new vinyl, the album on CD, a band hat, handwritten lyrics and a genuine Petunia tattoo – just like the one Danny Tamberelli sported in the show. Two runners-up will receive a cassingle of the band’s 2014 single “Great Big Happy Moonface” with a label-themed Walkman to play it on.

“Hey smilin’ strange / you’re lookin’ happily deranged…” Unusual words to kick off a TV show for children, but there was little usual about Nickelodeon’s cult hit The Adventures of Pete & Pete, about two identically-named brothers (Michael Maronna and Danny Tamberelli) growing up in a surreal suburb. The airtight teleplays, wistful nostalgic tone and cameos from iconic rockers like Iggy Pop, Michael Stipe, Marshall Crenshaw, Syd Straw and Kate Pierson have helped the show live well beyond its three seasons, airing from 1993 to 1996 (following a smattering of short features and specials on the kids’ channel from 1989 onward).

For the members of Miracle Legion, becoming Polaris couldn’t have come at a more interesting time, following a legal struggle with their collapsing label, Morgan Creek Records, which had put out their 1991 effort Drenched. (Miracle Legion guitarist/co-writer Ray Neal in fact opted out of the request from Pete showrunners McRobb and Chris Viscardi, disillusioned with the Morgan Creek fiasco.) Operating under “TV names” – Mark Mulcahy became “Muggy,” drummer Scott Boutier became “Jersey” and bassist Dave McCaffrey was “Harris Polaris” – the irresistible jangle-pop they created became part of the show’s DNA, from the opening theme song (“Hey Sandy”) to oft-heard tracks within the series (“Waiting For October,” “She Is Staggering”). One notable episode was even built around the tune “Summerbaby,” which younger Pete hears Polaris practicing in a garage and forms a band to recapture his new favorite song. (Straw and Crenshaw, playing a math teacher and a meter reader, respectively, were part of the band.)

Years after Pete and Miracle Legion bade farewell in the mid ’90s, Music From The Adventures Of Pete & Pete was issued – and various Pete & Pete anniversaries and nostalgia have kept the memory of Polaris alive. In 2014, the memories became real again with a new one-off single and tour, ahead of Miracle Legion’s own reunion treks. (Another Polaris go-round was planned this year and will hopefully re-commence when it is safe to do so again.)

Pete & Pete starts shipping September 18 and can be pre-ordered below!

Music From The Adventures Of Pete & Pete: 21st Century Edition (Mezzotint, 2020)

LP: Original album (released as Mezzotint HSV16008-2, 1999)

Hey Sandy
She Is Staggering
Waiting For October
Saturnine
Everywhere
Ivy Boy
Summerbaby
Coronado II
Ashamed Of The Story I Told
As Usual
Recently
The Monster’s Loose

CD: Polaris In The 21st Century! Demos of Space and Time and The Unknown (previously unreleased)

The Monster’s Loose
Coronado II
Holy Holly
Waiting For October
21st Century Space Walk
Hey Sandy
As Usual
Ashamed Of The Story I Told
Recently
Wating For October (Electric Guitar)
Saturnine (Instrumental)
As Usual (with Drums)
Waiting For October (Acoustic Instrumental)
Coronado II (Instrumental)
Look At That Rocket Go!

Mike Duquette

Mike Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he was a teenager. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small. His passion for reissues turned into a career, having written at and worked for all three major catalogue music labels and contributing to Allmusic, Billboard, Discogs, City Pages and Ultimate Classic Rock. He's penned liner notes for Verve, Chess, Mondo and Soul Music Records.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with his wife, a cat named Ravioli, twin daughters and a large yet tasteful collection of music.