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Eric Din – In Another Life – out now on Berkeley Cat Records

Berkeley Cat Records is delighted to foist, the latest power-pop blast of new wave audio bliss from Eric Din. Composed and produced just last week, mastered and released mere hours ago, this is as we like to say, hot off the kittydesk. In the songwriter’s own words, “I think we all wonder sometimes, how our lives might be if we had made other choices, or if random events intervened. I love my life right now, I do. But I wonder. I do wonder!” Lyrics and credits below, out now on Bandcamp, streaming release to follow on July the 4th.

<a href="https://ericdin.bandcamp.com/album/in-another-life">In Another Life by Eric Din</a>

In Another Life

Once upon a time in another life
I called that number on my hand
Words came easy smooth and right
Just good luck on another night

In another life
A fairytale romance at first sight
(In another life)
We got a cheap rental on the west side
(In another life)
Raised two kids saw ’em off to college
(In another life)
They come home twice a year it’s nice

A chance encounter in another life
Around the block I took a left instead of right
So simple randomly to find the one
Happily ever after, this could be fun

In another life
We bought a nice house with the money we saved
(In another life)
Vacation on a sunny isle
(In another life)
Five grandchildren yeah they hit the big time

In another life
I remember birthdays and such dates
(Anniversaries)
Never forget faces to names
(In another life)
Listen well and always kind
(In another life)
Better angels nationwide

I called that number that was on my hand
Before it washed off in the morning shower
In another life I used indelible ink
Instead of that cheap ball point
My kingdom for a pen that writes

In another life
In another life
In another life
In another life

Guitars, Bass and Vocals – Eric Din
Drums sped up, edited, and looped from an earlier session with Michael Urbano and Michael Rosen at East Bay Recorders
Vocals recorded at East Bay Recorders with Michael Rosen

Coalition of the Illin’ releases debut track, Everything Is Stupid And Then We Die

Berkeley Cat Records is dumbfounded to announce the world debut single from Coalition of the Illin’

Working in secret, the Coalition took control of Eric Din’s faculties, producing this before we could intervene. Several neighbors of Berkeley Cat International MegaCorporate Hindquarters have sued for emotional distress and noise complaints, and we have established a secret government slush fund to bribe them off. Meanwhile, this is out in the wild, as of noon on June 5, 2026, on Bandcamp exclusively for now, but we suspect it may breach the streaming walls before very long.

<a href="https://coalitionofillin.bandcamp.com/track/everything-is-stupid-and-then-we-die">Everything Is Stupid And Then We Die by Coalition of the Illin’</a>

FAVES and Larry Lynch swim Upstream on their latest single!

Facing the realities of our peculiar time head-on, here’s FAVES’ brand new original, Upstream, streaming everywhere:

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/faveslarrylynch/upstream?ref=release

Says Larry of the song,

“We wanted to write a song about the mysteries of life. As beautiful as life is, it can be difficult to get ahead and live that dream life that we all want.”

Amen to this, and thanks FAVES, for another crispy hot single. Y’all have an album’s worth at the ready, if my math is right!

In The Court Of The King And Queen Of Doubt by Eric Din

Berkeley Cat Records executive corporate leaderlords are appalled to announce this fiendishly clever a cappella abomination from Eric Din. Our legal team is taking steps to mitigate the debacle, but in meantime, we are duty bound to share. Here is In The Court Of The King And Queen Of Doubt
and may the gods forgive us.

<a href="https://ericdin.bandcamp.com/track/in-the-court-of-the-king-and-queen-of-doubt">In The Court Of The King And Queen Of Doubt by Eric Din</a>

The King of Second Guessing went a’guessing again
Did I really mean it? I’ll delete it, oh no, wait a minute,
Left another message cos the first one was wrong,
Oh no now the second message was too long

The King of Second Guessing wrote a pretty good song,
Dashed it all to pieces by the seventh take,
After its release, recognized his mistake,
And called the Queen of Doubt for to commiserate

The King of Second Guessing said let’s try again,
If we belabor this it will sound fresh again,
The Queen of Doubt said you should just count to ten,
Scrap the whole idea, go home and soak your head

The King of Second Guessing was not having this,
Just you watch, my dear, he said, and hold my beer,
Started in from scratch and played a brilliant track,
But alas, he soon was second guessing that,

The King of Second Guessing asked the Queen of Doubt,
Would you marry me? But then he soon backed out,
The Queen of Doubt said we were not compatible that way,
We couldn’t decide where to honeymoon, anyway.

The King of Second Guessing replied, Yes we could,
The jesters in the Court piped in, This is not good!
The Queen of Doubt doubted her self-doubts and decreed,
I accept your proposal sir, now take a knee

The King of Second Guessing said What have I done?
Bolted for the door, and he did away run,
O’er hill and dale he fled with lightning speed,
Then second-guessed this action from the next county

Woe is me, he said, I miss the Queen I love,
How could I have doubted you, my doubting dove,
The Queen of Doubt sent armies to make him dead,
Changed her mind and invited him back to bed

The jesters in the Court exhorted, Can you not make up your minds?
Divorce or make some babies, and the song is fine,
Soon there was a prince and princess, making edits and remixes,
Vassals did rejoice across the land

Even as the jesters pestered Old King Second Guesser, yessir,
He, wisened, realized with his last breath,
That all the while he guessed and messed with endless takes and breaking fixes,
In the end, the first take was the best

All Hail the Queen or maybe not
Down with the King on second thought
Exile the princess and her bro
Long live the common people though

Opening Up Valentines Day with Larry Lynch and crew!

Reprinting from our Mewsletter of this morning:

Larry Lynch of FAVEs and Greg Kihn Band fame has released a single, purrrfectly timed for Valentines Day. We at Berrrkeley Cat Records are late to this party, actually, as the video from Larry and Debra Knox is alrrready stirring hearts on the YouTubes! The song, composed by Mr. Lynch and his lifelong musical comrade Robbie Dunbar, was produced in the FAVES’ fave studio tradition at 25th Street Recording in Oakland.

Larry Lynch among his many talents is that rare case of a great drummer who is also an excellent singer, AND, can do these things expertly at the same time in live performances. Robbie Dunbar, as I’ve mentioned in these pages, is a lifelong guitar hero to me, going all the way back to his work in Beserkley legends Earth Quake when I was a kid, long before I met any of these gents. They are joined on this single by Bass guitar wizard Jonathan Bassil, and the magnificent Tony Malfatti on Sax.

Writes Larry about the conception of the song,

“Robbie and I wrote Open Up in my garage, where we usually come up with all our songs and ideas. We wanted this song to be fun and not try to be so serious about it. So with that, I went back to when I was a shy kid and couldn’t even talk to girls, (except as friends) which made me so frustrated with myself because I loved them so much. This is how I really wanted to be in my imagination! Having confidence and courage to believe that yes, I can ask girls out and really let them know how good they make me feel. So with this song I’m acting that out and it feels so good to believe that hey, I can do this!”

It’s an honor and a pleasure to release this new original song on BCR, and fitting that it lands on such an appropriate holiday. Recorded and mixed and mastered by the masterful Gabriel Shepard, Open Up is now available in your fave streaming services worldwide.

The cover art is Paul Jackson’s 7” vinyl-themed label, built with Shannon Wheeler’s cat-on-record-player logo. (Thanks, guys!)

Open up this widget for links to some of said streaming services!→

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/larrylynch1/open-up

Others will likely be added there soon.

And this is Eric Din, Beserkley Records superfan and Berkeley Cat Records catnip vendor in chief, opening up a new day, with curiosity and cute lil’ candy-hearts for all. <3

Doin’ The Things That We Used To Do by Eric Din

Despite our best efforts we have been unable to curtail Eric Din’s wanton record-making. He writes a song, produces it, and releases it before we’ve had a chance to adequately process or mention his previous singles. This irresponsible “flooding of the zone” with good vibes has not gone unnoticed by the Berkeley Cat Records International Corporate Overlords (BCRICO) and we are considering appropriate measures. Meanwhile, here’s this “happy accident,” and it’s Ska-Pop, no less.

<a href="https://ericdin.bandcamp.com/track/doin-the-things-that-we-used-to-do">Doin' The Things That We Used To Do by Eric Din</a>

Here is it in all the places:
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/ericdin/doin-the-things-that-we-used-to-do

“What The Universe Knows” – cosmic new single from Eric Din

The very latest from Eric Din is a cosmic California reggae-rock remedy, pairing well with stargazing or beachwalking and pondering the infinite universe. Produced the day after it was conceived, released the following morning, What The Universe Knows
fits Din’s “insta-single” tradition, and he’s quite pleased with this one, enough to speak of himself in the third person. Din invites you to enjoy and share, on Bandcamp or any of the many streaming implements.

<a href="https://ericdin.bandcamp.com/track/what-the-universe-knows">What The Universe Knows by Eric Din</a>

Artwork is a printout of Shannon Wheeler’s BCR logokitty, plus Din’s penmanship, then scanned to create the insta-single-cover.

Here are the lyrics and credits, because why not,

What The Universe Knows

Standing in the summer air
Thumb over the moon
Milky Way above shines
As it’ll do

Floating down the river Time
And wondering, what next
Gazing at the night sky
As one does

Since we ever had eyes
And tried to understand
With senses to perceive, and
Words to describe

I don’t know
What the universe knows
Can’t say
What the universe holds
OK, I guess we find out
Someday
Not in a hurry to know
All the universe knows
What the universe knows

Don’t mind a mystery
Always good to see
Stars from a distance
Guide us at sea

Had a dream of flying
Weightlessly rising
Fearlessly falling
And lettin’ go

I don’t know
What the universe knows
Can’t say
What the universe holds
OK, I guess we find out
Someday
Not in a hurry to know
All the universe knows
What the universe knows

Guitars, vocals, drum wrangling and hand-percussion: Eric Din