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Showing posts with label Buzzoven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buzzoven. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 09, 2002

"Notes in the Head Phones"

"Notes in the Head Phones"
The secret to our success: Head Phones. People ask me what I listen to and since I parted ways with a lot of cool records when moving into the van like the Obsessed, Neurosis, Cathedral, Only Living Witness, Stones, Beatles, Helmet, Deep Purple, Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Leafhound, Groundhogs, I mostly listen to cd's bands on the road give me. But here are a couple thoughts on my favorite spins:
Buzzov*en - to a frown. We had the fortune of kidnapping Kirk for a four day stint through the Carolina’s. Kirk is a glorious piece of work. Angel-prophet by day, white devil by night. Rumors of our K.Llyod adventures spread, and so...we were told "what the hell are you doing with those guys? that's the worst thing you could do. imagine 12 guys, a van, blacked out windows, smashed in lights, living like maggots, guys hanging together just to see how gross they could be." Could you expect anything less from the creators of "To a Frown" and "At a Loss". The songs are pained, dark, angry and infectious. Kirk's lyrics and vocals are raw and overwhelming with emotion. He makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up when he sings. The grooves gallop like a pissed off rabid beast in a swamp: thunder-footed, hungry, and irritated by the vermin under its claws. "I can feel your anger, as you crawl to the front. I will never know why, i will never get hurt.(forget it)" -sing it, kirk! i love you.

Spirit Caravan - jug fulla sun, dream wheeler
Just when i think i can't, i jug fulla sun. "Infinite sadness becomes ultimate wisdom." The record shines in a world filled with ugliness. it's a pearl in and ocean of crap. You've heard it before, i'll say it again: No rocker on the planet is more inspiring than Wino, after all "Wino is God", and Sherman and Gary complete the trinity. A ride with Spirit Caravan is a trip through paradise in rockland. It's in the riff, it's in the groove, it's in the soul, brother! Live, Spirit Caravan is solid. If you ever catch them flam a beat, i'll be a monkey's uncle and eat my boots, and just think where they've been on this tour. They are the perfection of the heavy riffage and 'jug fulla sun' is overflowing in 'em. Surrender yourself to the higher forces and dance like a bad motherfucker, if a bad motherfucker would dance. If you don't know how to dance, just follow Sherman's lead. He's got it down.

NICK DRAKE - Pink Moon, Five leaves Left, Way to Blue.
"Time has told me not to ask for more" Nick drake makes me cry. Sweet, dark melancholy lullabies "for a troubled mind". Nick died mysteriously shortly after recording his fifth full length record back in the late 70's. He was a mysterious guy, and his songs are more. My favorites are his acoustic ditties recorded on his four track in his apartment like: Smoking Too Long. Unfortunately, a lot of killer songs have been orchestrated (most post mortem) which is a shame and a crime because the beauty here is in his guitar playing and mesmerizing voice and poetry.

FuManchu - In Search of.....
Eddie Glass, Eddie Glass, Eddie Glass forever!
Years back a boyfriend and I went cd shopping on St Mark Place in NYC.. At Venus
Records we found a used copy of Fu Manchu, In Search of..... A primo rare score! Giddy,
we ran back to the studio to crank it up on the big speakers. Holy God damn! I was reborn. My dying faith in rock'n'roll was restored. By track two, I was on the floor rolling in joy and delight. Track four, I was on the phone, calling my drummer, "dude, you gotta hear this." By the time the 'Falcon had Landed', I was plotting ways to steal my friend's new favorite disc. Two weeks later I had out-smarted my friend of his prideful possession. I was a closet-FU junkie, all evidence was hidden under my mattress. He would come over and ask, "have you seen that Fu Manchu cd?" My coy response, "gosh, no. you can't find it? that sucks."

NEBULA: To the Center.
More focused, powerful and complete than Nebula's first EP, "Let it Burn", "To the Center" is the rebirth of Eddie, Mark and Ruben. Eddie, Mark and Ruben are chock full of heaviness and freer than Fu Manchu could ever be. The Nebula guys can do things nobody else can. Eddie can fly while he plays, Mark can hold down bass lines with a broken middle finger that's held together by 15 stitches, Ruben plays with fire better than anyone, and the three of them can make a three letter word into three syllables, ready set, you try: RRRrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaddddddddd!Live they are thunderous, and eddie's solos sound like an eagle drenched in acid flying across the heavens. Eddie once told me "I play simple shit, I just make sure the grooves are interesting." He's too modest.
I repeat: eddie glass, Eddie Glass, EDDIE GLASS forever!

High on Fire - The Art of Self Defense.
My favorite Mans' Ruin release ever! I've always been a Sleep fan. But HOF, just do it with more fire. I heard Matt went up a mountain, saw a burning bush and came down with this testament. It must be true, because this music is from somewhere else. It's music from the ancient past, music sent by a greater being. And while it may look like Matt, George and Desi are standing up there on stage, holding those guitars, hitting those drums, even tweaking those glorious Matamp knobs, I assure you its a rouge. They are just toys of the gods, cleverly disguised as PBR donning stoners. In actuality, these boys from San Jose are channeling the music from the prophets, speaking in tongues, if you will. As a disciple I can only mission, and help convert the masses.

Monster Magnet - Spine of God.
Essentially, there are three things in life, the world above, the world below and the area being pulled in both directions. "You don't yank on the Spine of God", yeah----but the bull god sure knows how tug on god's benevolence long enough to con him out of some unearthly tunes. Satanic gypsy, poet, doper, sex fiend, mythical anti-Christ, savior, high school burn out, Wyndorf paints pictures so clearly you can reach right into your stereo and touch the frayed KISS patch on his army coat, while exhaling a huge bong hit. The lyrics, melodies, riffs, and rhythms are too perfect, it makes me wonder if god, the devil and dave wyndorf are all the same being. It's too good, too evil, and too human all at once.

Barkmarket -L.Ron
"Here comes the brick faced boy, let's kick him hard and long." This band is brutal and swings harder than any. Drummer Rock Savage is a genius, playing in 5, 7, 11, 13, 21, while bassist John plays in ....well every note to John is the 1, and Dave everything is in 4, just ask him. Sardi is a poet, Sardi is insane. John is a genius. Rock is a genius. They're all genius. This band is filled with genius. I play the fuck out of their catalog and so should you. The productions are top notch, clearer than AT&T, smoother than 25 year Tamnavulin, rawer than road kill. On top of the swing and hardest grooves is melody like no other. Sardi's melodies and lyrics linger like a hangover you feel for days. The dynamics are unprecedented. Sardi is the master of draw 'em in, draw 'em in, real close now, one baby step more, SUCKER PUNCH, fuck you! Sardi once told me: "it's hard to be quite AND interesting, make them pay attention when you whisper. Then kill 'em."

Kyuss - ...and the Circus Leaves Town - Blues for a Red Sun - Sky Valley
There really aren't words to describe how I feel about Kyuss. Kyuss is magic. Kyuss is a
classic. Brant Bjork is one of this decades most innovative rock drummers, Josh Homme the master of the stoner riff, Scott Reeder/Nick Oliveri both wizards du bass guitar and groove, and John Gracia- well the most emotional singer in rock'n'roll. Kyuss is one of those phenomenon where the whole IS greater than equal measured parts. Don't get me wrong, I dig all their side projects: Queens of a Stone Age, Unida, and FuManchu, Desert Sessions. But Kyuss is where it's at, its the real Royal Gem. Their ethereal lush desert rock sound has influenced more bands than I can count, mine included. I remember the first time I heard Kyuss, I sat pinned to my stereo for hours, finger to the rewind button, trying to figure out what this j. homme character was doing. Turned out to be the simplest shit ever, but that's the beauty. Stoner bands far and wide have listened to it, eaten it, digested it, regurgitated it, desperately trying to emulate it, but they're never be another Kyuss. The Queen is dead, boys.....Long live KYUSS, Long Live Kyuss!
Pantera : Vulgar Display of Power I don't know what I love more about this record, the painful riffs, the iller singing or the picture of the guy getting beat to shit on the cover. "Are there no standards anymore?" screams Phil in the pre-chours of Walk and after the hairs on my arms lay back down, I gotta say Pantera is the standard for hard, brutal, and in your fuckin' face, boy! I dig it. I'd love to have Phil Anselmo's voice, but Nila reminds me then I'd have to shave and facial hair ain't pretty on a girl. Oh well, but a girl can dream, can't she? Someday, I might get to meet Phil and maybe together we could bread some snake-eyed, god-sized offspring. I've been told he looks like Jim Morrison pre-bathtub these days, but who cares I'd be glad to take him on and whip his ass in shape. And when I say that, I mean, getting him signed up for one of those fat celebrity TV shows.
Black Sabbath : Sabbotage It's no mystery, I love Sabbath. But what can a peon like me say about the almighty Black Sabbath. I have so many favorite Sabbath records it would be impossible to pick out on favorite. Three I reach for the most is Sabbotage, Vol. 4 and Black Sabbath. One of my four t-shirts on this tour is hand made blurry Vol 4 t-shirt made by Laurie Es(Higher Octane). I stole it from my ex-boyfriend. A couple years back, Laurie asked BOTTOM to play a Sabbath tribute to be held on a Good Friday in Wheaton Maryland. We said, "Sure. a SabbathFest sounds cool. We love Sabbath, all BOTTOM jams end in Sweet Leaf, should be great fun." For the christian high holiday, we choose 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' and 'Fairies Wear Boots'. Holy god Damn, No brainer? my ass! You never really know how far away from Sabbath you really are till you really try to play Sabbath.So what else can a yout' rocker like myself say about Sabbath? Only a god like Iommi could play like that missing parts of his fingers and: Why didn't he ever get something better than that rubber stub prosthetic? That said, since I'm listening to "Symptom of the Universe" right now, I'll declare it as my favorite Sabbath tune, no it's the Writ. No..snowblind, no....wicked world, no…Spiral Architect, no... the Wizzard....wait.... All I know is that I can't stand that song, "Changes" and "I'm going Insane" makes my skin crawl. Some A&R guy must have had a gun up to their heads for those two. See, even Sabbath were mortals!

MILIGRAM
Jonah's from Only Living Witness has a new project, which I have to say I listened to with a very skeptical ear. Only Living Witness 'Innocence' lp is one of my favorite records. It's huge with badass vocals, perfect lyrics and killer guitars. It was going to be a challenge for me to dig this new stuff as much. but I dig it. Jonah did it again. It's way more stoner rock than OLW with riffs complements of darryl. The grooves are tough, driving, and solid. But again. it's Jonah's vocals that make me play this thing over and over again. Which is weird cause each of the songs only have about 6 lines of lyrics. Pretty clever minimalist concept, milligram, but perhaps a more fitting name would be 'Monster Riff'.

MOTORHEAD
Motorhead, motor head and more Motorhead. there's so many killer record to choose from: Overkill, Sacrifice, 1916, Iron Fist, Another Perfect Day, No Sleep till Hammersmith, Overnite Sensation, March or Die, No Sleep at All, Everything Louder Than Everyone Else, Ace of Spades, Snake bite Love. To describe how i feel about this monster of a band, I'll just quote Lemmy, 'Rawk'n'roll so raucous and rowdy, if we move in next door to you, your lawn will die.' Nuff said.

Blessing the Hogs.
Come and be clobbered. Here it is boys. Metallic hardcore that’s guaranteed to beat you silly. They’re from San Francisco and can be reached on line at
www.blessingthehogs.com. Not for the faint of anything, but I’ve you enjoy a good punishing, BTH is ready. 'I can’t believe you fucking killed me', yeah I can’t believe how fucking good this cd sounds, course Billy Anderson plays guitar and produced it so, I shoulda known. I would write more but I’m off to the emergency room, my ears are bleeding.

Slayer
No Mercy….with some luck BOTTOM got hands on three back stage passes to the Slayer concert a couple years back at Roseland in NYC. At the time, we were courting a 2nd guitar player, so I volunteered up my pass and headed to the pit. As it should be, I thought. Psyched up, I ran to the front, to mark my territory, I would show no mercy. I was on a mission to be in spittin’ distance of Kerry King, Tom Ayara and Jeff Hanneman. As I grabbed on to the front barricade, I turned proudly to face the army of testosterone, shaved heads and army coats. A large gulping sound came from my throat, and I lost the feeling below my knees. I was the sole female for stretches, perhaps all the way to the balcony. There was no turning back, I had crawled to the front, I had already waved to my compadres in the VIP seats, who were coincidentally sitting among famous people sipping vodka and cranberries, and coyly waving back, cheering me on. I was too far in, The only thing to do was to commit and quickly scratch out a strategy of survival. It was too late. The thrashing, the sreaming, the mayhem, the violent seizures had begun. Chanting louder than that used to pull down the walls of Jericho grew… slayer, slayer Slayer, SLAYER, SLAYER!! Elbow to the ribs, shove from the back, headbutt, feet lift from the ground, elbow to the head, shove from the right push, kick, jostle, slam, SLAYER! SLAYER! SLAYER! All this before Slayer even hit the stage! I was in for the ride. Soon they came to take the stage, to crank out hit upon thrashing hit, Evil Has No Boundaries and Face the Slayer. No matter when, where I hear Slayer I think of that! The good ol’days. the high-pitched satanic screams, and the thinTom Araya. All kidding aside they slay, they’re relentless with high-powered riffage.
Melvins : Ozma
Black Flag : The Process of Weeding. War.

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