Dead Center

Dead Center is a compilation album from Game Theory, a California power pop band fronted by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Initially released in France on Lolita Records in 1984, a newly remastered version was released on CD on November 24, 2014 on Omnivore Recordings. Background By mid-1982, Scott Miller had assembled the first iteration of Game Theory, which consisted of Miller (lead guitar, vocals), Nancy Becker (keyboards, vocals), Fred Juhos (bass, guitar, vocals), and Michael Irwin (drums). The first Game Theory album was the Blaze of Glory LP, released on Rational Records in 1982. With Dave Gill replacing Michael Irwin on drums, two 12-inch EPs followed. In 1983, the group released the six-song EP Pointed Accounts of People You Know, recorded at Samurai Sound Studio, which was co-owned by Gill. The group then recorded the five-song Distortion EP in December 1983 (released 1984), with The Three O'Clock's Michael Quercio producing. Flexidisc A long version of the song "Dead Center," a rare promotional single, was recorded in 1983 as a 7-inch flexidisc for distribution with the music magazine Option, and appeared on the 1993 Alias Records compilation CD Distortion of Glory. This version of the song included an introductory portion that featured, over instrumental music, layers of Scott Miller's spoken responses to an interviewer's unheard questions. It appears as a bonus track on the 2014 CD reissue of Dead Center.