[CLICK HERE to jump directly to giveaway]

Back in the early 2000s, I lived in Olympia, Wa and there was a lot of DIY music and media production happening in the small college town.  People were mixing albums in their basements, silk-screening posters and T-shirts in their kitchens, and using DV, High-8, and/or Super-8 cameras to record short films in dusty fields and damp alley ways.  My friend Mac Dawg was taking advantage of the fact that we had a local public access station to create his own programs.  His original idea was to film a fictional, biopic-style sitcom based around Kurt Cobain in the 80s, referencing his tenure as an Olympia resident.  Being a Jewish Puerto Rican in his early twenties who had dread locks and mutton chops at the time, he came to the conclusion that I would be the perfect person to star as the dead, blonde, white grunge-rock icon in the re-imagining.  The project never actually came to fruition, but, during a random house party at Mac Dawg‘s house, I came up with my own idea for another program by the name of “TANGENT.”  The basic premise was that I would have guests on, like an informal talk show, and then just consistently shift the topic on them.  [I only have brief glimpses of memory pertaining to coming up with the idea... I was really drunk.]  One morning Mac Dawg wakes me up with a phone call and asks if I’m ready to do the show.  “What show?” I asked.  I thought that he might be referring to the Cobain thing again.  He explained that it was my idea and that I should get ready, because he was planning to film it that morning.  I threw on a slim, denim 1970s pantsuit (just vest and pants) and a large plastic dollar sign necklace, bought a case of OLY stubbies and came up with/scribbled down some topic ideas onto a piece of scrap paper during the ride over to his basement, where the video equipment was set up.  Between being awaken to sitting in the basement getting miked, it was probably 1/2 hour total.  It was about 9am, I had taken down enough alcohol to get rolling and we went from there.  There was no real podcasting back then and there was no Youtube whatsoever.  There was no real direction for the program either and, although I’d like to believe that it had it’s moments, there was a decent amount of aimlessness involved.  I imagine that doing an improvised standup routine must be similar to trying to carry an unscripted program and helping it to remain interesting; it can get awkward quicker than you may think.  If I we could have harnessed those select moments, expanded them, and worked tirelessly on them for years, I could still only have hoped to yield something half as effortlessly smooth and entertaining as the podcast, “Uhh Yeah Dude.”

Tangent only made it to about 5… possibly, 6 episodes (for good reason).  UYD, on the other hand, just clocked in their 300th episode, since their 2006 inception, just last week.  With no particular frills, regularly scheduled celebrity guests, or even a consistently designated theme, the staying power of the program rests solely on the shoulders of its two co-hosts, their abilities to expand upon and quickly interject life into whatever topics that they do find themselves on, and their undeniable rapport with each other.  Visually somewhat of an odd couple, Jonathan “JAH” Larroquette is a bearded, cigarette-smoking, longhaired, vegan that generally remains seated while sporting either worn-in T-shirts or tanktops, while Seth Romatelli is a clean-shaven character with a finely coiffed do (rockabilly light?) consistently standing and/or moving about in, typically Western-cut, collared button-ups.  If Larroquette‘s name sounds familiar, it’s because he is, in fact, the son of Emmy award-winning actor, John “Dan ‘Reinhold‘ Fielding” Larroquette (Night Court).  He is also 1/2 of the electronic duo JOGGER that was signed to Daedelus‘ Magical Properties label, released an album back in 1999, and went on the Magical Properties tour with the electronic pioneer/label-head and Nosaj Thing back in 2010 (a tour that his dad tweeted about accompanying him on).  If Romatelli‘s name sounds familiar, it’s probably because you are already aware of the Uhh Yeah Dude podcast.  Either that, or you might be a huge fan of his bit part as a “talent organzier” in the Britney Spears vehicle Crossroads (2001) or as an obsessed celebrity memorabilia collector in the Hallmark made-for-tv movie, McBride: Anybody Here Murder Marty? (2005), starring his co-podcaster’s father a year before their hour-long web series was ever launched.  Whether it’s John‘s dad or Seth‘s appearance in a shitty teen film, neither Larrouquette or Romatelli shy away from their history, but that’s clearly not the basis of the program at all and, at the most, those topics might very rarely surface in the midst of their continuous banter.  What really carries the show are the hosts’ unrestrained social commentaries and back-and-forth between each other.  I haven’t listened to that many pod casts in general, but I have always gotten the impression that they were hosted by “experts” in one field or another, or that “experts” were often brought in to weigh in on some subject matter.  What’s great about UYD is that these guys don’t really claim to be experts in anything.  What they do, however, is make their listeners want to be involved in the topics themselves and, regardless of how absurd or trivial the topics may technically be, they definitely get the mental cogs churning and explore some visually descriptive avenues while they explore them.

Here’s a bit of a breakdown on the podcast and it’s success, via the press release:

Described as “A weekly roundup of America through the eyes of two American-Americans”, Uhh Yeah Dude (UYD) is available free via the Apple iTunes store.

Uhh Yeah Dude is a comedy podcast containing discussion and free-form comedy by host Seth Romatelli and co-host Jonathan Larroquette. Episode 1 of Uhh Yeah Dude first aired on February 11, 2006 and quickly gained a world-wide fanbase.

UYD is consistently ranked within the top 10 of Podcast Alley’s 3,000+ comedy podcasts. Additionally, Podcast Alley monthly ratings for almost 50,000 podcasts often rank UYD in the top 100 podcasts worldwide in all podcast categories. Since the summer of 2008, UYD has held a coveted spot on the front page of iTunes’ featured podcasts, where they are consistently in the top 50 iTunes comedy podcasts. Uhh Yeah Dude is recorded weekly and a new episode is available on iTunes every Sunday.

The show has utilized the video format several times. The first, and most famous, was when the duo recorded their 100th episode and posted it as a video podcast. Since then, UYD has engaged more professional video help and posted high-quality video clips of their show on YouTube.

Considering that the best way to really get a grasp on what UYD is all about would be to experience it, we’ve included a few of the aforementioned YouTube video here for your viewing pleasure.  In these following clips they tackle such serious issues as…

DRUGS:

Click here to view the embedded video.

PARENTING:

Click here to view the embedded video.

and…

PARENTING with Drugs:

Click here to view the embedded video.

You’ve likely noticed that some of these clips were filmed in front live studio audiences.  That’s because, occasionally, UYD will go out and do live tapings of their podcasts in venues around the country.  On Friday, January 13th the guys will being make one such appearance at the Neptune Theatre here in Seattle.  Coincidentally, Friday the 13th was one of the topics on their recent 300th episode.  Also, somewhat coincidentally (but not really, because that’s what this post is created for), our friends at the Seattle Theatre Group provided us with a pair of tickets to give away to one of yooz lucky jerk awffs.

Tickets can be purchased for the event HERE

This morning we discovered the work of a Ottawa, Toronto, Canada-based cartoonist by the name of Nick Cross.  Since then, I’ve spent my day watching his various animated shorts and work-in-progress clips, sifting through his print work and reading his blog.  While finding employment through larger animation companies, Cross has managed to make the time to create quite a few gems of his own.  His personal work has been nominated for numerous awards; often transcending the animated world and infiltrating  larger independent film festivals world-wide.  For someone such as myself, who has a very limited vocabulary when it comes to this type of work, Cross seems to utilize a very “classic” style of cartoon illustration in the vein of the New Adventures of Mighty Mouse, Ren and Stimpy, and The Powerpuff Girls.  The dialogue is minimal, if present at all, and the artist is much more inclined to use silent era dialog cards, if anything, to “illustrate” his points.  Beyond the occasional foley sound-effect, the audio is mostly comprised of old stock music, which is used to set the tone and pace.  In other words, the actual animating and the detailed movements of the characters are relied on to relay the storyline and to move it forward.

The video that originally ignited our interest in Nick Cross was his latest animated piece, “The Pig Farmer” (posted below). The video, which we discovered via the great Canadian illustration blog DRAWN!, was created by the cartoonist over the last 10 months and financed through private donations.  It is similar to Cross‘ previous work in that it focuses on such issues as rural innocence and nature vs corporate greed and industrialization.  Another aspect carried over from his past shorts is it’s graphic nature, adult themes, and the fact that this is NOT a cartoon for the children.  Don’t let the cutesy header image we’ve used fool you, this shit gets pretty hardcore.  Plus, it’s chock-full of clever pig-related puns and references (Cops, The Pen, Manson Family, etc.)

View it yourself, after the following description from the vimeo page:

“The Pig Farmer is a short animated cartoon by Nick Cross. A simple tale of a wayward soul, awash in an ocean of tragedy and regret.

Animated using Flash CS3 and a Cintiq 21UX tablet.
Backgrounds done in Photoshop CS4
Composited using After Effects CS5 and Final Cut Pro 5.“

Click here to view the embedded video.

Make sure to view the following videos and links:

VIDEOS:

YELLOW CAKE

-”A lamentable tragedy mixed full of pleasant mirth.”

The Waif of Persephone

-”Persephone, the goddess of spring, is abducted to the underworld, causing an eternal winter to descend over the earth. It is up to the goddess’ servants to rescue her. However, they soon learn that to get help they need to compromise; and compromise does not always lead to an equitable solution for one and all.

Six years in the making, The Waif of Persephone was completed in 2006 and has screened in festivals around the world. ”

Angora Napkin (pilot)

- An Eisner Award winning graphic novel picked up as an animated series by Canadian cable animation channel Teletoon.  Angora Napkin is based on 3-piece all girl rock group that get into hijinks (again NOT for children).  The project was co-created by Cross and friend/fellow animator Troy Little and the pilot is a 2-parter involving zombies, Evil Dead references, violence, and erotic moments with sea life.

LINKS

Nick Cross on VIMEO
Nick Cross on YOUTUBE
Pyatyletka.blogspot.com (Nick’s Blog)
Official Angora Napkin production blog

I spent a good part of this morning unsuccessfully looking for an old black & white Halo Benders promotional photo from the mid 1990s.  I’ve been working the same type of hustle that I am now for half of my life and, when I was in high school, I spent the majority of my focus on getting companies to send me free shit for my marketing program’s “trade show” projects.  The Calvin Johnson founded, K Records was one of the most helpful and provided me with tons of merchandise and materials, including that Halo Benders photo, which was intended to hype the group’s sophomore effort, Don’t Tell Me Now (1996).  Two years prior, when Johnson (Beat Happening) first started the side project with Doug Martsch (Built to Spill), I had begun hearing the song “Don’t Touch My Bikini” on the local community college radio station.  Both keeping with and ending their pattern of dropping a new album every other year, Halo Benders released their final album, The Rebels Not In, in 1998.  That release contained “Virginia Reel Around the Fountain“, a song that is still a regular feature on Built To Spill set-lists to this day.  Calvin hopped on stage with BTS for a few random cameos throughout the following decade and the group reunited with a slightly altered lineup for a pair of shows in Boise, Idaho.  There have even been some random non-confirmed rumors of a possible new album and/or comeback but, for all intents and purposes, The Halo Benders were a Nineties band.  At one point or another during that initial run, the side-project even made an infamous, yet rarely seen, appearance on a quintessential 90‘s television program.  Thanks to today’s technology, the footage from that fiasco is just one more thing that has managed to resurface in our current times.

The ’90s were fucking weird, but that probably has a lot to do with the fact that I spent my Jr. High and High School days during them [every decade is fucked up and crazy in one way or another].  Still… Punk returned, but it wasn’t really punk.  Ska broke through, but it wasn’t ska.  Almost as soon as it was coined, the term “Alternative” lost all meaning and became as mainstream of a style of music as possible.  One thing that still held meaning in the ’90s, however, was “Indie Rock“.  It wasn’t until around 2000, when I moved to the Olympia, Wa, (birth place of K Records and Kill Rock Stars) that I truly realized how many other people were familiar with the independent artists and music that I had been exposed to and stumbled across as a teenager.  This was also about the time that I began hearing about The Halo Benders‘ brief run in with the law, that had been documented on the program Real Stories of the Highway Patrol.

A lot of people credit shows like The Real World with spawning the “reality show” craze that we have today, but, before “reality” was used to describe methodically edited footage of carefully selected people placed in extraordinary circumstances, there were already shows like The People’s Court and documentary-style programs like COPS.  Capitalizing off of the popularity of COPS, Real Stories of the Highway Patrol ran from 1993-1999, approximately the same span of time that the Halo Benders existed themselves.  Over the years, the band’s appearance on RSHP had, somewhat, become a part of urban lore.  Although many people knew of it’s existence and the details of a marijuana charge, it seemed as if few of them had actually ever seen the episode.  In an old interview for what appears to be a now defunct website, one person did get an official answer from Doug Martsch after asking about the validity of the legendary television clip.

Q: “…did Real Stories of the Highway Patrol really pull your van over when you guys were on tour as the Halo Benders?”

A: “Oh…it did happen. Yeah. But I don’t really want to talk about it. But…someone got in trouble. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t Calvin. Well, Calvin got in sort of trouble for smarting off. I never saw the episode. To me it was just a dramatic, bad situation. To some people it’s funny, but to us, it was a bummer.“

Thanks to the power of Youtube, the original video has finally resurfaced for all of us that have been waiting to see it.  I first found out that it was available in March, via a Facebook post by my friend Benny P., but have completely slacked on getting it up until now.  Unfortunately, Doug Martsch was right about the video, because it’s not as “funny” as I had always been led to believe and it actually is a “bummer” to see another example of how shady law enforcement can be.  This is especially true for those of us who have been in similar situations with “the man”.  The Highway Patrol officers in this video are from Utah, which may not come as a surprise for many of you.  In 2008, a Utah man by the name of Jared Massey successfully sued the UHP for $40,000 after having the shit tased out of him, when he questioned a speeding ticket, and, as recently as last month, another lawsuit was filed against Utah law enforcement who actually managed to tase a man to his death.  A stun gun wasn’t busted out on the Halo Benders, but they did handcuff Calvin and they definitely put the kibosh on their Freedom Ride.

[Video below, after this MP3, taken from the debut album, God Don't Make No Junk.]

Click here to view the embedded video.

On Christmas day of 2006, James Brown died at the age of 73.   The official cause of death was determined to be congestive heart failure, brought on by complications with pneumonia.   To anyone that remembers his haggard mugshot and takes into account the age of this man and the life he lived, it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise.  He was an amazing innovator who had a great run and left a stamp on the world forever, but it appeared that “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business” was all worked out.  Although the 3 separate New Years Eve performances/appearances that he was slated to make were canceled due to his demise, that didn’t mean that the spectacle was over. In fact, there was 3 separate memorial services held for him instead.  The first was at the Apollo Theater in NY on Dec. 28th, followed by a private memorial for family and friends in North Augusta, SC on the 29th, and then another large scale event on the 30th at James Brown Theater in Augusta, Ga.  Throughout these various services/presentations, the following was included: a open gold casket, a white glass-encased horse drawn carriage to transport it through the streets of New York, nachos, Michael Jackson, Bootsy Collins, a dance by MC Hammer, costume changes for the body, and more (yes… we’re fucking serious).

As is far too common these days with the deaths of celebrities, and even more-so legends, there was a lot of disputes regarding both Brown‘s will and where his final resting place had been.  Much like we witnessed last year with the death of Michael Jackson, family members and others actually argued about where to rest the musician’s body.  They had already transported it all over the goddamn East Coast as it was, so I guess they figured that they could shift it around a bit more.  I’m sure it’s all in keeping with whatever they feel James would have desired because, honestly, who wouldn’t want their lifeless corpse dragged around by horses, redressed constantly, put on display, and then buried and reburied after their death?  First his body was temporarily placed in a temperature controlled room at his estate, before being moved to an “undisclosed location“, as his common-law widow, Tomi Rae Hynie, and his children viciously argued about where it’s permanent resting place should be.  It only took a little over 10 weeks after his death for both sides to come to an agreement “amicably”.  The decision was to build a public mausoleum and, in an effort to keep milking the cash cow, transform the former legends estate into an attraction the likes of Graceland.  Until then, it was chosen for the body to be held temporarily in a crypt at the home of Brown‘s daughter Deanna Brown-Thomas.  Another private ceremony was held at Thomas‘ home, which was officiated by Reverend Al Sharpton, just like the previous 3.  Since that date on March 10, 2007, this is where the body has been laid to rest (or rather, “SNOOZE”) for the last 3 years.  Or has it?

As reported by the New York post, a 48 year-old woman by the name of LaRhonda Pettit is actually claiming that JB‘s body has gone missing. Although Pettit is not one of James’ 6 children that were listed in his will, she is reported to be “one of 12 people to come forward since Brown’s death claiming to be one of his illegitimate kids“  and she has actually passed a blood test to confirm it.  How she is sure that the body has been removed, we don’t know.  What we do know is that she is convinced that her illegitimate father’s death was actually a result of foul play.  Although she acknowledges that he was a 73 year old man with a history of repeated drug use, by stating, “‘It was common knowledge that my daddy took illegal drugs,” she follows it up by claiming, “He was also hooked on various prescription painkillers.  At the very least there were enablers who helped cause his death.“  Pettit also believes that the removal of the body is a part of an elaborate plot to prevent her from finally getting an autopsy done on the corpse.  Much of her suspicions stem from her claim that one was never officially conducted.

I’d like to believe that, if his body is indeed missing, it’s because James Brown got tired of the bullshit, got up by his own damn self, and simply danced the fuck off.  My other vision is very similar, however it involves a re-animation effort by Dr. Funkenstein.  Wherever zombie James Brown is right now, I hope he’s breaking off some crazy-sweet dance moves like the ones below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

WARNING: Zombie Sex Machine on the Loose

If you see zombie James Brown, we request that you do not try to apprehend him yourself.  Please call authorities.  Please also keep in mind that professionals are the only people who can adequately assess if his speech is of the undead or original James Brown himself.

I’ve read a lot of interviews with Sean Tillmann and have noticed some common patterns in many of them.  Usually, there is a lot of attention brought to the fact that he has even managed to obtain any success at all.  Some writers are just generally, confused by Har Mar Superstar‘s antics.   Their closest guess is that he’s some harmless circus clown and expect him to perform or do something “wacky” on cue.  Others have a much better understanding about the level of talent involved in his work, but may still have trouble accepting what he’s been able to achieve from it.  A lot of questions are asked, but most of them stem from a “How?” and “Why?” nature, rather than from “What?” or “Where?“  The “Who?s” are there, but they are mostly used to reference the “whose who” of the industry, which just work as the subjects in the “How?” and “Why?” questions.  “How did YOU get Eva Mendes in your video?“  “How did YOU get ever get Kate Moss to make out with you in a video?“  “How did YOU get a role in a Drew Barrymore film?“  “How did YOU get Karen O to be on your album?“  These questions usually result in the most unsatisfying answers for the questioners.  Simple answers like, “We’re friends“  General inquiries about how he’s been able to attain his successes in different areas of the entertainment industry are answered with, “I’m fucking awesome“, “Just being awesome“, or something along those lines.  That’s how he’s had such a successful career and why he was made the spokesperson for both, Lynx bodyspray and Vladivar Vodka, in the UK: he was just “being awesome.“  Sometimes a writer might desire a little more of an in-depth answer, pertaining to how Tillmann has managed to get into these positions of opportunity.  The answer that they usually get is that he’s accomplished it through “constant partying.”  If the idea is ever suggested that it could be from Har Mar having a remarkable amount of luck and great timing, he always clarifies that the opportunities and offers have, indeed, arisen from his “partying“.

Efforts to utilize this line of questioning, rarely result in the answers that people people are searching for.  Instead, they usually just circle back to a dead end.  For example: a conversation about Tillmann‘s role in the film Whip It, might bring mention of his and Adam Green‘s cover of The Association‘s “Forever My Love” for the soundtrack.  From there, is the story about how the musicians have recorded and slept in bunkbeds at Drew Barrymore‘s house.  The answer to how things like that could happen is, because Sean and Drew are friends.  The answer to how they became friends is, that they met through, Barrymore‘s ex-boyfriend, Fabrizio Morretti, from The Strokes.  Har Mar knows The Strokes because he was asked to open a tour for them.  The Strokes offered him the slot after randomly winding up in the audience of a show that he was randomly performing.  The reason for what seems like remarkably fortunate timing… ?  “Partying.“  The reason that these questions don’t “work out”…?  Because people aren’t asking what they really want to know.  What people really want to ask about isn’t how such things happen, they’re really about how it’s possible that those things could have ever happened.  They want to ask, “Why?” and to receive an answer that’s logical in relation to the way that they understand things.  They want to hear something like, “My parents own a hotel chain“  or “I’m a distant Copolla.“  I thought that their problems came from his answers being too simple, but I’m realizing that it’s actually because they’re the wrong kind of simple.  It makes more sense that there would be an alternative answer to someone’s success beyond talent alone.  Nobody seems to question Keanu Reeves about why or how he gets to be famous, which is odd, because he doesn’t have any talent.  It’s easier to understand that someone could have a career, because they’re labeled as attractive (and/or give hand jobs to men of power?)  Maybe they just don’t understand how the source of Tillmann‘s confidence could come from somewhere other than public opinion.  Whatever the reason is, the sheer idea that Har Mar Superstar has managed to reach any level of celebrity is enough to make much of the straight-world’s heads cave in, like House of Wax.

In 2003, Har Mar did a summer-long DJ residency at the Island of Ibiza‘s super club, Manumission (the Guinness book’s “Biggest Party” in the world).  Currently, Stitch & Bitch, his television project with Ellen Page and Alia Shawkat, is in production for HBO.  In the 5 year span between his last Har Mar Superstar release, The Handler, and the latest album, Dark Touches, he has stayed busy working on his other projects, like Sean Na Na and Gruff Rhys and Boom Bip‘s Mercury prize winning, Neon Neon.  He’s popped up on stage with MGMT in Brazil and even in videos for artists like Ben Lee.  Before any of this,  Tillmann was a member of the Amphetamine Reptile hardcore band, Calvin Krime.  Most publications are interested in mentioning that he’s written songs for Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, The Cheetah Girls, and Kelly Osbourne, regardless of the fact that none of those artists actually ended up recording any of them.  I have a feeling that Tillmann is, at least, as equally proud of projects, like the Crappy Holiday film series, that he makes with friends in his free time.

The most amazing thing about all of Superstar‘s success is that it really is derived from being “awesome” and “partying“.  These answers aren’t given as attempts to stonewall or to be curt/distant with the media.  Tillmann gives the answers that he does, because they are the most truthful ones that he can give.  I first became aware of him, back when I lived in Olympia, WA and he was sharing a bill with my friend Justin (aka: Mac Dawg).  Back then, Har Mar was signed to Kill Rock Stars.  Shortly after, he was signed to Warner Brothers and images of his album began appearing on the stamps of my Columbia House mailers.  Mac Dawg was the only other balding, white man with a hairy torso that I knew of, who loved prince and was all about throwing down R&B jams with his shirt off.  At first, I was just fascinated to discover that there was another person like that in another part of the country.  Apparently, Tillmann never got the memo that people like him aren’t meant to be stars and that there are perfectly good positions for them behind the scenes, recording tracks that German/French, glamor-boy duos in leggings could be taking credit for.  From the beginning,  Har Mar has been armed with little more than a confidence in his abilities  and the ability to be confident.  Confidence is nothing more than recognizing the awesomeness of your true self and living honestly based what that is.  Or, in other words, “being awesome“.  Now imagine you’ve shaken all of that self doubt about who you are or what you deserve and are ready to take your “Celebration of Specialness” on the road.  Instead of worrying about if it’s “realistic” or about the “responsibilities” that you’re “supposed to” have, when someone asks if you want to take that road trip or fly off to that random event or party, you go.  If you continue to live from your soul and in celebration of it, you are likely to come in contact with like-minded individuals who appreciate it.  It becomes infectious.  When you’re ready to go at any time and your routine requires little more than a tape machine or MP3 player, it’s easy to fill in if a set opens up or another act falls through.  It happens organically, while you’re just out “partying” and “being awesome“.  This concept can be difficult to digest for those who believe in building their persona and self-worth from the outside in.  Many people feel it’s necessary to travel to “find themselves“, but Tillmann seems to realize that, once you already know who you are, then you can exist anywhere.  His approach may seem like its backwards to a lot of people but, by that same token, their priorities may also seem backward to him.  The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry, but Tillmann seems to approach things with less of an emphasis on rigid plans, than he does with a respect for the intention behind his actions.  He’s more of a celebrator and less about being a celebrit-ee.  His achievements may be a crushing blow to the egos and mindsets of anyone who spends their time divided between going to auditions, hitting the gym, and waiting tables, but he works as a source of inspiration for many others.  Har Mar Superstar is an example of what can be achieved when someone invests 100% of their energy into doing what they want, in the way that they believe it should be done, instead of dividing it among all of the other preconceived notions and expectations that others may have placed them.  In other words, he is also a prime example of the type of person that I was interested in having a conversation with.

The interview took place on January 24, 2009.  It was the night of Har Mar Superstar’s performance at Chop Suey in Seattle.  It was also the night of the Vikings’ loss in the NFC Championship.  I was supposed to meet Tillmann at the venue at 8pm, but the native Minnesotan was across the street at a pizza joint, where he had been watching the game.  Once he had arrived, I headed back to meet him in the green room of the venue.  He was wearing an orange T-Shirt with palm trees and the words “Sex Tourist” printed on it.  For approximately 25 minutes, we  had a conversation on a variety of topics, which spanned from death to Kool Keith and songwriting to starring in Ghostbusters 3.

I was trying out a FLIP video camera for the first time and my girlfriend, Kim was taping the interview. There were others in the room.  Guitars were being tuned and there was some background noise throughout.  Fortunately, the audio came out pretty great.   The video, on the other hand, is less than perfect, due to the ironic factor of the green room being incredibly red.  Below is the interview, both in text and video.  It has been divided into 3 parts, with the transcription of each individual section below its corresponding video.  I wasn’t sure in which form to present it.  I like the idea of posting the footage “as is” but, when it comes to some less common references or moments of questionable audio, the viewer might get lost.  The transcription is great for reference to what’s being said and it also provides the benefit of referencing that which isn’t being said.  Simply place the cursor over the links to see a box pop-up.  Some may contain an image of a face, in case you recognize a name but can’t place who they are, etc.  Others may contain a video, which can actually be viewed within the boxes.  Some are just links.  All of our articles feature this option, but it’s worth explaining anyway.

thanks,

-Dead C

[PART 1]

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dead C: So, uh…. Let’s just get all of the depressing stuff out of the way

Har Mar Superstar: Ok… wow

*both laugh*

So, you were watching the Vikings game?

Oh, that?  Ok

It gets worse

*in a somber voice* “You’re cat is dying”…
Um.. yeah, that sucked. You know, I don’t really care about sports until the playoffs- of any sport- and then I get kind of excited. It would have been fun to have the Vikings in the superbowl.

Your family- big Vikings fans out there?

No, my family’s not very sports oriented, so I don’t think anybody’s that bummed

Well that’s good

But it would have been fun to have the Vikings in the Super Bowl

[a guitar is tuning in the background]

Oh, I was gonna- I have something for you… because I’ve been watching Hoarders a lot and-

Oh god

So, I start getting rid of things now

Yeah, that’s what I’m doing. You’re not gonna give me something are you?

Yup

Oh fuck

Well you might be able to get more use out of it

KIM: *reassuringly from behind the camera* It’s good. It’s really, really good

*handing a pair of hammer pants to him* It was given to me a while ago and I have no use for ‘em anymore, but they’re Pierre Cardin-

Oh, genie pants. *holds them up and inspects them* These are awesome.  I’ve been into genie pants for a while.  Wow, this rules.  Sweet, thanks man. This I can hoard *laughs*

Well, I used to use them, but now I’m thinking, like-

What’d you use ‘em for?

Just shows and things like that-

Yeah?

- (I’d) wear ‘em just to-

Get wild? Anytime you’d have like, a wind machine on hand?

They come off easy

That’s awesome

So, I did wanna ask you about one thing that’s kind of serious, though

[the door creaks opens]
Hey guys, we’re doing an interview in here that’s filmed and stuff, so you gotta be kind of quiet for a little while
*to me* Sorry.

Oh, I just wanted to ask you about Jay Reatard’s recent death

Oh yeah… ok

This past year I’ve been dealing with a lot of things like that also, so-

Yeah

I heard that he was buried by Isaac Hayes, though

Yeah.  He got buried right next to Isaac Hayes- exactly next to him- which is amazing.  It’s so perfect. It’s like the only kind of… positive, cool thing to come out of (this). Y’know what I mean?  Yeah, that was really shocking.  He was someone that I was just getting to know

You were working on some- “Hamburghini” (a culinary/music project)?

Yeah, we were talking about it.  We never really got to start it

I was just wondering if you had anything, as far as just something that popped to mind- if it isn’t too much- that you think would just epitomize him.  Just who he is- like, a situation..

Um, I think he’s just one of those people who- he had so much nervous energy that he couldn’t stop working and doing things and that’s why he was so prolific.  But that’s also probably what caused him to go down a road-  Just because he was at home with nothing to do, off tour, and I think he was just a guy who needed to stay on tour forever. *laughing, somewhat uncomfortably* You know what I mean?

Yeah.  I’ve just been doing a lot of that.  Of just, not thinking of things and then wanting to.. y’know, celebrate them and bring people’s attention- Instead of blocking out, just say “This is somebody that existed.” And they still exist.

Yeah, exactly. It’s like a lot of (Jay Reatard’s) songs, posthumously, make a lot more sense

*checking my notes* And here’s the one last thing that’s not that positive; you got the swine flu

*chuckles* Oh, yeah. I did.   That was on the tour in, like… November, I had the swine flu

I’ve never actually talked to anybody that got it

Oh yeah, Jeff (“Catfish” Quinn) got it too. *pointing at him*From the band. The guitarist, “Catfish”.

JEFF: I think we got it from Canada. We got it from Toronto.

Yeah, we might have got it from Canadians

What triggers it actually? I mean, what makes you go, “Oh, I’ve got the swine flu”?

Well, you know because you’re really tired and sore for like, 3 days and-

[another squeaking door distracts him]

– and then uh.. and then.. sorry. What were we talking about?… The swine flu?

You know what? *laughing* I’m over the swine flu question.

It’s just a sickness that sucks *laughs*

Also, I noticed that your birthday in on (February) 6th.

Yeah

Do you have any plans for that?

I don’t know.  I’ll be in L.A. hanging out with my friends, but I’ll probably be celebrating the birthdays of Bob Marley and Axl Rose, Zsa Zsa Gabor…

*adding to the list* Ronald Reagan

*nods* Ronald Reagan

Babe Ruth

*still nodding* Babe Ruth… and… a few others. There’s another good one too, but- yeah, I’ll be celebrating their birthdays more than mine

Do you take stock in any of the astrology type things? ‘cuz, I don’t really pay attention to it, except the fact that I’m an Aquarius and then when I find out (that someone else is), I’m like, “Oh that makes sense.” And everything else, I kind of just-

Yeah, I don’t know. You can read anything into it, so I’m always like, “Yeah, it’s totally me!”  Even if 50% of it’s right, you’re like, “It’s pretty true!”

*both laugh*

One thing that I’ve noticed is that- from the things that I gather or speculate- it seem like you’re the type of person that just has all these ideas all the time-

Yeah

-and some of them happen; some of them don’t happen-

Yeah

-and I have a couple of things that I’ve picked up on that you’ve mentioned that you were interested in… and you might have even forgotten about

Ok

One of them was an idea to do an all women group

Oh yeah. And just play bass?

Yeah

*laughing* Yeah, that never happened.  That would have been awesome.  I kind of want to put together a girl group, but now it’s kind of been done.  And now with producers just making records and stuff, and putting them out under their names, it kind of happens a lot.  So, that’s cool, but it was gonna be more of a band situation. And also, I don’t really need to start a whole band that I spearhead again right now.

Well, yeah. I mean, people remind me that I thought of things, like 10 years ago

Yeah

And I’m always like, “Wow, that’s a good idea!”

*laughing* Yeah

And they’re like, “That was you!” So, I’m like, “Ok. I’ll take credit for it. Whatever.”

*both laugh*

Yeah, that’s awesome

Also I read- I think it was a Thrasher magazine interview- where you were talking about doing a Scooby Doo (style) cartoon

Oh yeah.  Well there was this idea that we wrote out awhile ago that we were gonna take to Adult Swim and then, that just sort of all fell by the wayside, after a record came out or something.  But it’s still there; I think it’s still a good idea.  So, yeah… that would be awesome.  I’d like to do that.  I have a pretty good idea for it.

The whole Shoot To Kill thing; did they just shelve that project?

Yeah.  They shot the entire thing, it was edited, they went through post and everything and then, there was a shake-up with someone leaving VH1, right when the show was about to go into airing- being scheduled.   So, the new guy came in and shelved it, just because he didn’t feel like it was like a “VH1 show.”  Which it totally wasn’t, because it was more classy than that. Y’know what I mean?

*both laugh*

Yeah

They really went down the road of being like, “Oh, we’ll take that stupid idiot that even bigger idiots wanna be in love with and then there’ll be like 15 of ‘em.  And then this idiot will pick another idiot and then they’ll probably just fuck, or whatever.”  That’s what they did.  Shoot To Kill was a pretty cool idea.

Yeah, well it sounded like it

Yeah, we were remaking videos and stuff and getting young filmmakers to do no budget videos for these classic acts that would come in.

I know that you’ve seemed to have relocate a lot and then, when you landed in L.A., you of stayed there.

Yeah

Do you think that has anything to do with the fact that you have all these concepts and that it’s an area that there’s a lot of people that are hustling- is that what keeps you there?

Yeah well, I mean, I think that and that there’s a lot of people ready to do stuff, ‘cuz everybody is kinda making a living out of art and everybody knows that, if you just keep doing it-  I mean, I have a friend who has a camera that’s awesome and all his own gear, so he’s a director.  And then me and my friend John (Ringhoff) write.  Stuff like that; It’s just like, everybody does something, so no matter what project you wanna do, you can do it immediately for free.

Yeah, in a lot of small towns-

It would take a long time

- there’s a lot of people talking but-

Yeah, but then people have to go to work, and then people lose the interest.  I feel like more people are just putting it on the line to just make it happen.  So, that’s the way it goes.

Yeah well, I’m from Olympia

Yeah

So I’d have people who are down to do things, but the resources they have are different. There’s somewhat of a similar energy or focus, but then-

- it’s pretty laid back

-it’s not all there

Yeah, yeah

Um… *checking notes again* Oh! This one’s pretty straight up. Have you saved the strip?

No. We tried for like a year but then, we moved.  We got the fuck out of there.

Just a lost cause?

After like a month, we realized that wasn’t happening. *laughs*

[PART 2]

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’ve noticed that there’s a Cha Cha (lounge) in L.A. now, and there’s one a block from here

Oh yeah.  I like the Cha Cha, both of ‘em are good.  I haven’t been to um-  I guess I’ve been to the new Cha Cha here a couple of times.

My sister’s friends with Jason Pierce. Y’know, from Spiritualized?

*nodding* Yeah

We took him in there and he was just like, *looking from side to side* “This is faux primitive art”

*laughing* Yeah

His whole thing was that he couldn’t get over the fact that there was a factory churning everything out to look primitive

Yeah, that’s hilarious

That was his big focus about the Cha Cha

After Glastonbury two summers ago, I rode back with Spiritualized and I think I snorted the entire way home on the floor of the van and that was pretty hilarious, but it was like, “This is insane”

It was funny because, when they were here, they just all talked about their kids and everybody was like, *in a shady whisper* “Hey man” and he was just like, *shrugs*-

He’s chill

- “so my daughter’s in…”

*nodding* He’s a chill guy

Here’s something that I noticed that I think’s really odd- is that, people keep referencing that “Candy Coated” song and J-Lo and they put it in every article or interview-

I know, that’s so weird

-and that never even happened, did it?

It never happened.  I mean, I went into the studio- Yeah, because I wrote it for her, it wasn’t like anything that moved forward, ‘cuz I think the record was like- I don’t even know what happened anymore.  I wrote a song for Kelly Osbourne and it was the same producer.   On the Kelly Osbourne song, they told me to write really dirty and in French.  And I did and then, when they got it, it was too dirty.

*both laugh*

I just think it’s funny because (the media) keep using that and they go, “…and J-Lo”

Yeah, it’s weird

Because, it’s someone that you blatantly called out, kind of like, that didn’t work out

Yeah

-and you’re not interested-

Yeah

-and it’s tied to you as if it’s suppose – Well, I mean, I guess that’s how people look at things

I know, I guess it’s like one of those things where people see an article and they’re like, “Yeah…”-

They look at it as something positive

*both laugh*

Yeah

So, they tell you it’s something positive

Yeah *shrugs*

When you were writing that, did that affect anything as far as what you wanted to do and what you took on?  Because I know that you had like, a week to do it, it didn’t seem like you were that “in it”…

Well, I was like-  Yeah, I was in the middle of touring and doing an album and, you know, it was like one of those things where nobody had a mobile studio to record at that time.   It was like 6 years ago.

Yeah

We didn’t have it together yet, so it was hard to do.   But it was also like, “Y’know, I’ll give it a shot.”  It was sort of a half-ass attempt, I guess.  It was one of those first song writing sessions for other people, so I was just getting used to it.

I’ve noticed that they also segue that into the whole “Tall Boy” thing. You know, everyone keeps going, “Tall Boy.” “Britney Spears.” “Britney Spears.”

Yep

But you wrote that a long time ago, didn’t you?

Yeah, like 4 years ago, or something

So, this whole album (Dark Touches) is a lot different than The Handler, because that one was done in a short period of time. Was this just kind of pieced together?

Yeah, a bunch of different sessions; different producers and stuff.   The Handler was all one producer and we just did it in a month.

Was that John Fields?

John Fields, yeah

So last night-… I’ve had so much going on, I’m like, “I’m gonna hunker down. I’m gonna read everything”. So I read like, all 70 interviews, or whatever, that you have on your site.

Yeah. Shit

And, since you started doing this 10 years ago, every one is like, “About to be a star!”

*both laugh*

And it’s 10 years later and they’re just like, “Here he is… He’s gonna break!”

Yeah, well. *shrugs* You know, I don’t really think about it in those terms or really care about “breaking.”  I feel like I’m-

Yeah, but it’s just kind of interesting because- It’s like, I read this thing with Charlie Murphy- or I heard this radio interview- and he goes, “Black people knew who Charlie Murphy was for the last 20 years.”

*laughing and nodding* Yeah, exactly. But that’s kinda cool, I guess. At least they haven’t lost faith. *laughs again*

There’s a video with you squirting hot sauce on yourself

Oh, yeah.  That’s at the Warner Brothers offices

(So) that is what that is?

*laughing* Yeah

I just wanted to make sure, because I’ve never seen any reference to it, except for like, a youtube video, where is says it’s like an industry (showcase).  So that is what that was?

Yeah, I was playing lunch time at the Warner Brothers complex. *chuckles deviously* So that was pretty sweet.   I like, went in the kitchen and was rolling paper-towel rolls out in front of me like a red carpet, sort of thing.  Walking on them across the room, just-  Yeah, people loved it.  It was awesome. Then they let me go and take all the records I want.  It was amazing.

Very nice

Yeah, it was good.  That was a good day.

And then, another thing that is always brought up is the U.K. VS the U.S., type of thing.  And I found one thing where you mentioned that the first Reading Fest that you played was like, The Hives letting you take over half their… DJ set?

Yeah, yeah

Was that like the big turning point for you? Was that like a moment where you just blew up?

I think that was because, like-  Well, I went to do that tour- that was the first time I toured the U.K.- but, by the end of the week of tour, I already had a booking agent and a publicist.  So that was really weird.   It was really whirlwind, like that.  And, by the end of the week, that’s when that Reading thing was.  So then, my new publicist was doing publicity for The Hives and then, it started raining and we were in this tent backstage and they were DJ-ing and then, yeah, they gave me half their set.  So, while it was raining, every photographer who was outside taking pictures of the Foo Fighters came in, because they were getting rained on.  So, I was just walking on tables and kicking peoples drinks in their faces and stuff.  And just like… being an asshole.  Which was awesome, because everybody was just taking pictures and that’s where it really all spread really fast.

Yeah because, just based on everything that I saw, I noticed that one reference to that and I thought, that seems like a moment where people in the U.K. were like, “Hey, wait a minute!”

Yeah, it was really fun.  Just a wild solo show.

It seems like a lot of momentum.  Like the whole rush of you getting all these things offered to you, there was a lot of momentum behind it.  And so, I’m less interested in- ‘cuz I know you’ve done projects for- You’re constantly doing things, so you haven’t disappeared for 5 years

Yeah

But, as far as the U.S. is concerned, it’s like you’re starting the momentum over again.

Yeah

Is that exciting for you?

Yeah, I’m just really excited about all the new stuff.  Like, I’m just doing more stuff with TV and film, touring, being able to kind of combine it all in one thing.

It’s pretty neat. What I think’s interesting is, I saw you at the… what was that?… the Lebowski Fest.

Oh yeah.

And I haven’t seen you with a live band yet.

Oh shit

Like, I remember you came to Oly, when I lived there.

Yeah

And my friend Justin played a show with you- Mac Dawg

*smiling and nodding* Yeah

Oh, and he wanted me to say, “Hello”

Awesome, tell him I said, “Hello”

Yeah, I went to high school with that kid. I asked him if he was going (to the show) today and he said that he stayed with you-

Yeah

It was when he was doing his Human Jukebox thing

Yeah

- and he said that you got him into a free Cheap Trick show

Oh yeah *chuckles* Yeah

And it was the place where they filmed Purple Rain

Yeah, totally.  They were singing “Erotic City” the whole time

Yeah

*both laugh*

I could see Justin singing “Erotic City” the whole time.

*still laughing*

So, that actually goes into one of my questions I have.  Appolonia or Vanity?

Appolonia for me, definitely.

Is it “Sex Shooter” or just the whole movie?…

Yeah, just her naked in Purple Rain is like the hottest thing ever.  It was probably like my first boner.  For sure.

Does Prince actually go door to door and do that?  Because I’ve heard-

I’ve heard he does. I don’t know, he didn’t come to my door but, yeah, I’ve heard you have to if you’re a Jehova’s witness, right?  It’s part of the deal

Yeah

So… *shrugs* I guess he showed up at somebody’s door

So, you’re on a dodge ball team with Eric Wareheim?

Yup

It’s like a Juggalo…?

Juggalos.  Well, we’ve been the Juggalos.  We’ve also been the Dad’s, where we dressed like dads.  And we’ve also been World War 4, for awhile, but yeah, every season it’s a new kind of theme.

And he’s in the “Tall Boy” video.  You worked with Greg(Kurstin) and Inara (George) from The Bird and The Bee, and he did a video for them

Yep

Do you guys have plans to, maybe, have him film?

Yeah.  Yeah, we were talking about it.   I definitely wanna do a video with him.   In fact, we have an idea for something we’re gonna do, hopefully later on.   But yeah, that will definitely happen.  He’s awesome to work with.

Just schedule conflicts, kind of?

This one, yeah.  He would have done something in the past, but he just gets really busy and then he’s not.   Then he is.  So yeah, there’s one that we’re gonna do in the next few months, just whenever.  He’s doing the relax thing.  I think he’s off for a little while.

[PART 3]

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s another thing I read. I know you have P.O.S. on this album

Yeah

And he went to Perpich (Center For Arts Education). Did you go there at the same time?

No, uh…. Stef was, like… a young kid.  Like, when we were like 16 and 17, he was like 14 or 15 and he would come hang out at the smoking area.  He’d come from his High School and he just wanted to hang out with awesome, weird art school people.

But you all knew him, right?

So, he was obviously gonna go there.   It’s like, “Well, you’re gonna go here, I’m sure.  Like, next year.”  But yeah, we all knew him, he was awesome.  But then he went there.  It’s only a 2 year school, so I probably missed him by, like a year or two.  And then, yeah, he just started doing awesome stuff.

So that was like… a FAME style?

Yeah, it’s like a FAME *laughs* …. arts High School.

I have a few more questions here for you, that deal with Rap music and, specifically, Kool Keith, who you just did a show with.

Yeah

I went to junior high with this kid who films his videos now.  And this guy, Jason McHugh, who deals with Cannibal the Musical and things like that- he sent me an email once and he was like… – (basically) Everybody has a story about Kool Keith.

Yeah

I know that I read that you, kind of, don’t really know if you want to meet Prince-

Yeah

-because you’ve got this idea of him

Well, no.  I just don’t feel like we have much to talk about in common, so why even go there?  Why risk humiliation or just… a bad time?  I just want to enjoy his music and not feel like, “That guy’s a dick.” *laughs*

How was the Kool Keith show?  I mean, was he throwing out chicken?  Because every time I see a Kool Keith show-

Not at that show.  I’ve seen him throw out chicken.  My favorite story is when Alkaline Trio were on Warped Tour that he was on.  They were telling me that each band got like, a little motorized, little moped thing to get around- or a scooter thing- to get around on the grounds.  And by like, the end of the first week, Kool Keith and all of his entourage had stolen all of ‘em.  They were just riding in packs together.  Just like *making a little saluting gesture*, “Fuck you.”  And that was amazing.  I thought that was the best.

*both laugh*

Like, about a year ago, I was gonna do a review of a show and they actually offered me tickets NOT to review the Kool Keith show.

*he laughs*

And they sent me an email saying “Keith doesn’t like reviews. You should interview him or review his album.”  I was like, “Well, (the show’s) like.. tomorrow, man.”  I just thought it was really weird.   And I was in contact with Jason (McHugh) one time and he said to me, “Ask him-“  Well, because, every time that I mention him, people are like, “Ask him about his crazy cousin”

*nodding* Yeah

Or like, “We hung out with him when we were making Orgazmo; ask him about the porn shoot”

Yeah

I mean, he’s gonna be here in a few days and I thought, “You know? Why not do the Har Mar interview instead of the Kool Keith interview?  That’s…the future”

Ye-e-ah.  Well, thanks man

And you performed with Rudy Ray Moore, as well?

Yeah, that was a while ago. But that was good.

But, that’s impressive to ME.

Yeah *laughs*

Well, basically, I’m reading interviews and I’m like, “What didn’t anybody dig on that?”  Y’know, that’s kind of…

That was good.   That was kind of like, the first mostly black audience that I played in front of, and it was totally awesome.  At the beginning, everybody was kind of going, “What the fuck?”  And then like, within 2 0r 3 songs, they were like- by the end, they were dancing and getting into the mix and it was awesome.

Was the Sugar Hill thing after that?

I think so, but that wasn’t- That was like, totally white kids, SXSW kind of thing too, y’know.

I just had like, one more thing that I wanted to talk to you about. I noticed that there’s this really weird- ‘cuz I know Kimya (Dawson)

Yeah, I think she’s coming tonight.

Oh, really?

Yep

Well, it’s not really “weird”, if you think about it, because people know each other and there’s connections, and things happen. But there’s this Moldy Peaches… um, Strokes- because you guys have all toured

Yeah

And then there’s like this weird Arrested Development, Ellen Paige crossover

Yeah, totally

And I know that this is a couple of degrees away but, I know that Jason Reitman’s dad (Ivan Reitman)- I’ve heard this rumor- that he’s working on a Ghostbusters 3

I’ve heard about that too.  I haven’t really heard much confirmed about it but, yeah, I heard that it’s actually happening.  I’m pretty excited.

Well, that’s a nice inside scoop

Well, that’s not even an inside scoop at all

*laughing* Well, it will be.  It will be, in the article

It’s just like that thing at a party; everybody’s like, “Hey, have you heard about Ghostbusters 3?!” Everybody has a different story.  Nobody knows exactly what it actually is, yet.

Is that something that you would be actually interested in, if it fell in your lap, kind of?

Oh, to be in Ghostbusters 3?   It would be amazing.  Yes, of course!  Are you casting me?

No, but I figured-

*extending his hand* Here, wanna shake on it?

Let’s do it!

*We shake hands*

*to the camera, with a smile* I’m in Ghostbusters 3!

In my head I think, “If you throw something out there…“ *shrugging* “…and it’s out there…“

Yeah, you can just tell ‘em-

.. and you just post it, then…

Don’t tell ‘em I said that I’m rumored to be in Ghostbusters 3, but start the rumor, “I’m rumored to be in Ghostbusters 3.”  And then it might become true.  And then, I’ll just be in Ghostbusters 3.

*both laugh*

What would you- I mean, how would you fit in there?  Would you be like, filling in the…uh?

I don’t know.  Maybe I’ll be like, Moranis’ son or like… sidekick?

Nice.

*he laughs again*

Well, thanks

*we shake hands again*

Awesome.  Thanks, man.

The interview was “officially” over, but we talked for a moment longer.  I explained the story about how I had originally come into possession of the gold “Hammer” pants.  High on mushrooms, leaving a casino, and given an unregistered car with switched up license plates to drive, I had been hoping that the axl wasn’t going to snap on the freeway.  When I finally got home, I was bugged the fuck out from stress.  Then, a friend of mine gave the pants to me as a surprise and it instantly turned my night around.  Laughing, Har Mar Superstar responded with the following antecdote:

Oh my god.  That always happens to me on mushrooms; props come out of nowhere.  Like, I was in the middle of the desert and took mushrooms a couple months ago and somehow ended up with a do-rag.  Y’know what I mean?   Somebody was like, “I got you a do-rag” and I was like, *making a do-rag wearing motion* “Perfect!“ And then all of a sudden, I’m like, “do-rag guy” for the next 3 hours and it’s awesome.  Props come out of nowhere.  Stuff you would never find, not on mushrooms.

Kim and I said to goodbye and headed back out to meet with our writer, O.G.  Later we met up with artist, Thea Wolfe and her husband, photographer, Lars Peterson.  We watched an opening set by rap duo Team Gina.  Unfortunately, they were breaking up and it was the last show that they plane to play ever.  I noticed that Kimya had made it, so I went to say hello before the Har Mar Superstar set.  She had recently gotten back from L.A. and showed me the chastity ring that she had purchased at the Pee Wee Herman LIVE performance that she had seen down there.

When Tillmann finally took the stage, he did it with “Age of Aquarius“, as his entrance music.  He rocked the house as usual and  Thea and Kim kept each other busy with the crazy dance move breakouts.  At one point, Kim and Kimya were throwing dance battle moves out at each other, from across the venue.  The entire band was on point and turned Chop Suey out like Filmore Slim.  The show contained the expected element, like Superstar‘s strip down, neck stands, and classic jams, but there were also cuts from the new album, dancing on the bar, and Denver Dalley balancing his bass on his face.  For the encore, Tillmann came out wearing the genie pants that I had given him and was gracious enough to throw out props to me for kicking them down.  It was an all out dance party but, at the very end, the band left the performer alone on the stage, with nothing but his voice and his microphone.  He finished off the show with a cover of Boys II Men‘s acapella version of the Motown classic, “It’s so Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday“.  In short, it was the fucking jam.

LIVE VIDEOS:

We were able to catch some video of the performance.  Click the links below to view the corresponding songs, or simply view in the pop-up screen:

“Alone Again (Naturally)

“TRANSIT”

“Game Night”

To view our photoset from the show CLICK HERE

More Links:

HarMarSuperstar.com (official site)
Har Mar Superstar on Myspace
on TWITTER
On Facebook
Official Youtube
Crappy Holidays on Youtube
Flickr Pool

Now you can join the “CASTING HAR MAR SUPERSTAR IN GHOSTBUSTERS 3″
Facebook Group and do your part to help make this whole thing a reality.

Ever since the 1950‘s, when folks like Ken Kesey began stealing LSD from controlled scientific experiments and leaking/distributing it out to the masses, adolescents and young adults everywhere have made the determination that they could learn more by eating paper than writing one.  Often, previous interests like sports fall to the wayside and are replaced with hiking, dance, and/or a more intent focus on exercising one’s mind.  Mental and spiritual “advancement” may overtake the desire to become a creature of physical dominance.  For the most part, it has become widely accepted as a “truism” that psychedelic drugs and sports are not to be mixed.  Fortunately, those of us who have digested an adequate amount of the blotter and cube have realized that the mass acceptance of a concept doesn’t have much bearing on “reality”.  In fact, in the early Seventies, former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher, Dock Phillip Ellis, Jr. disproved the theory that psychoactive drugs and sports should always remain mutually exclusive, once and for all.

In 1971,  Ellis gained a championship ring with the Pirates and performed as the starting National League pitcher for the All-Star game but, as is often the case, the MLB pitcher is more well known for his actions of controversy.  Among these incidents is a 1976 episode where he intentionally beaned Reggie Jackson in the the face (said to be in retaliation for a homerun that Jackson hit on him during the ’71 All-Star game), his 1974 attempt to bean the entire Cincinnati Reds roster before getting pulled from the game, and a 1972 altercation with a security guard in front of Riverfront Stadium that resulted in him being maced.  Arguably, his most infamous feat took place on June, 12 1970, when he pitched a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres, while hopped up on speed and dosed out of his gourd on Acid.  In fact, Ellis actually obtained his very first stolen base in the Major Leagues, during this game.

The following statements from Ellis, regarding his no-hitter, was printed in an issue of Lysergic World from 1993

“I can only remember bits and pieces of the game. I was psyched. I had a feeling of euphoria. I was zeroed in on the (catcher’s) glove, but I didn’t hit the glove too much. I remember hitting a couple of batters and the bases were loaded two or three times. The ball was small sometimes, the ball was large sometimes, sometimes I saw the catcher, sometimes I didn’t. Sometimes I tried to stare the hitter down and throw while I was looking at him. I chewed my gum until it turned to powder. I started having a crazy idea in the fourth inning that Richard Nixon was the home plate umpire, and once I thought I was pitching a baseball to Jimi Hendrix, who to me was holding a guitar and swinging it over the plate. They say I had about three to four fielding chances. I remember diving out of the way of a ball I thought was a line drive. I jumped, but the ball wasn’t hit hard and never reached me.”

As somebody who has unsuccessfully tried to go bowling on LSD, I can only imagine how difficult and bizarre pitching a Major League baseball game can be.  Shit, I’ve experienced enough paranoia by just thinking that people were watching me, let alone knowing that thousands of them actually were.  But, as I’ve stated in the article Worst Places to be High on Acid in Seattle (Volume 1), previously, “The ‘best’ places to trip out are also often the “worst” and vice-versa“.

Drugs and alcohol played a huge role in Ellis‘ life and he eventually became a drug counselor in his later years.  Unfortunately, the former All-Star died last December due to cirrhosis of the liver, related to his own alcoholism.  The year before his death, Dock was recorded explaining the LSD no-hitter in detail during a radio interview.  Now, NYC‘s “Sport and Culture” web-mag, No Mas has teamed with artist James Blagden to transform Ellis‘ story into a animated video short.  This amazing and highly entertaining video was created by using the original audio from the Ellis‘ radio interview and combining it with Blagden‘s original animation.  The music heard in the background is taken from Rufus Thomas‘ classic track, “Do the Push and Pull“, also from the year 1970.

The video is posted below, after the following YOUTUBE description provided by No Mas:

“In celebration of the greatest athletic achievement by a man on a psychedelic journey, No Mas and artist James Blagden proudly present the animated tale of Dock Ellis’ legendary LSD no-hitter. In the past few years weve heard all too much about performance enhancing drugs from greenies to tetrahydrogestrinone, and not enough about performance inhibiting drugs. If our evaluation of the records of athletes like Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Marion Jones, and Barry Bonds needs to be revised downwards with an asterisk, we submit that that Dock Ellis record deserves a giant exclamation point. Of the 263 no-hitters ever thrown in the Big Leagues, we can only guess how many were aided by steroids, but we can say without question that only one was ever thrown on acid.

Sadly, the great Dock Ellis died last December at 63. A year before, radio producers Donnell Alexander and Neille Ilel, had recorded an interview with Ellis in which the former Pirate right hander gave a moment by moment account of June 12, 1970, the day he no-hit the San Diego Padres. Alexander and Ilels original four minute piece appeared March 29, 2008 on NPRs Weekend America. When we stumbled across that piece this past June, Blagden and Isenberg were inspired to create a short animated film around the original audio.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

PEEP OUT THE FOLLOWING LINKS:

The No Mas website
No Mas on Youtube
JamesBlagden.com
Do the Push and Pull (audio)

I know how reckless you crazy kids are today, with your LSD and your magic mushrooms. You smoke your salvia divinorum, get “digital” with your delinquent adolescent cronies off that Dimethyltryptamine, and liquid dance all night to happy-hardcore beats while hopped up on synthetic mescaline and designer drugs likes 2C-I.

Nobody’s going to tell you what to do, with your teenage attitudes and misguided views of invincibility. I’m not even going to try to attempt it.  What I am going to do, however, is break a few things down for you as far as hallucinogens go.

1) The environment is possibly the most important factor in how your night is going to turn out.

2) There are some locations that will increase the likelihood of your experience going South fast.

3) The “best” places to trip out are also often the “worst” and vice-versa.

Here are some of the riskiest spots to get spun out and act-a-fool in the Seattle area.

10. The Space Needle

It’s common knowledge that the placing of this gigantic rig in the middle of the city has played a key role in subliminally forcing people into smack addiction and the growth of the black-tar problem here in Seattle.  But, how does it affect those who are simply spun out of their gourds and wandering around aimlessly in Seattle Center, you ask?

First off, it resembles a glowing UFO that is beaming you up inside of its futuristic lair.  It’s only a matter of time before you’re peeling your clothing off with the knowledge that human garb is unnecessary in the afterlife and that you cannot ascend to space/heaven with the rest of the chosen people, who are moving on to the next dimension, unless you’re naked and pure.

Not only do they serve overpriced swank meals to yuppies, that would be uncomfortable to be surrounded by, but they also have an observation deck that is very loosely barricaded by wiring.  Keep in mind that this is the view from the bottom, so you can only imagine what the view from the top would be like.

9. The Pacific Science Center

(imax & Laserdome)

You may be thinking, “What?! Laser shows are the perfect place to get all whacked out and trip!” Sorry, but I disagree.  Sure, I could probably do a Dark Side or maybe even the Radiohead shows that they’ve had going on there, but I couldn’t spend the night lying on my back forced to listen to Linkin Park or Korn.  It’s not that they are “spooky” or have dark lyrical content; it’s just because they are so fucking terrible and epitomize a bad trip waiting to happen.

What may be even worse, is that they host a highly educational bug exhibit.  Sound interesting?  Really?  It’s in IMAX and 3D.  It might sound like like a good idea to watch a giant, 3-dimensional praying mantis from Borneo crawl around, inches from your face, in the dirt and grime but…   How about this?  Why don’t you just let us know how it works out for you?

8. Teatro ZinZanni

ZinZanni includes a 3 hour show and a 5 course meal that you won’t be able to eat, while you’re swallowing excessively from your bony dehydration.  It’s not so much the chaotic circus like surroundings, because a Cirque De Soleil show wouldn’t be anywhere near as bad.  The issue is that the show is interactive and that they will actually pull your ass up on stage.

I was in there once, a long time ago, and will not soon forget it.  I was somewhat out of my mind for a different (powder related/sleep deprivation) reason.  They led me out into the middle of the restaurant and the floor raised up from the ground.  I had a spotlight shining in my eyes and I was encouraged to shadow box a Russian clown.  Two young Canadian twin sisters, dressed like French maids and holding number cards, took turns sitting on my lap in between fake rounds.  It had been “a while” for me and I was at my “rapiest”.  I had blinding spot-lights in my eyes in the center of a packed restaurant and I was so disoriented that I forgot where I was at.  I was unreasonably close to throwing a jab at that clown’s chops and grabbin’ a squeeze of a finely toned lady performers areas.  Later, when I was urinating in the Men’s room, there were adult businessmen patting me on the back, while congratulating me on my stage presence and involvement in the show.  For some reason shit like this unites impressionable people and their boundaries completely evaporate.  Not awesome.

Here’s an example of the chaos that is ZinZanni:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjGsEdTQjmc

7. COURT

Seriously, why would you even consider doing that to yourself?

6. Ye Olde Curiosity Shop

It’s a local establishment down by the waterfront that’s full of wacky and creepy shit.  If you want to see a jar with a fetus floating in it, a mummy, or a shrunken head, this is the spot.  You can even purchase an apple flavored sucker with a real worm inside.  This one is probably best described with images so….

…here’s a little example of what Ye Olde Curiosity Shop has to offer a psychedelic mind:

5. The Aurora Bridge

Rapidly climbing up the list of bridges for the highest suicide rates, behind front runners like The Golden Gate Bridge in SF.  Just having this type of knowledge in your head makes it that much more dangerous for you to be chillin’ out on it’s rails.

Added Note:  Watching The Lost Boys before hand, may heighten the risk factor.

4. Regrade Park

It’s an off-the-leash dog park on 3rd Ave.  This means that not only are you going to have to deal with Pit bulls running around and barking at you but, this is Cracksville pal.  It’s great if you plan to get a hit off some rock but, otherwise….. bad idea.  The fiends must not have gotten the memo that they were cleaning this place up.

Homeless crackheads swarm this area in groups like a zombie attack.  The last time that I was down there at dusk, was the first time in my life that I ever regretted not owning a chainsaw.

3. Harborview Burn Center

Being taken to the hospital on LSD is frightening enough.  If you are on your way to the burn center, the worst has probably already happened and it’s, most likely, for the best.  This list, however, is about places that you could go to voluntarily but that we would not recommend.  For that very reason, the burn center has made it toward the top.

The smell of sterilization and fear.  Screaming children and bright fluorescent lights.  Again…. why would you want to do that to yourself?

2. The Firing Range

You’ll spend your time wondering if it’s more dangerous for you to be holding a loaded weapon, or if you should be more worried about the fact that the other people have them.  You will inevitably find out that answer, one way or the other.

1. DUI Victims Impact Panel

So, you have received a form like the one above?  Maybe you can’t wait to show the man how little you give a fuck about his “laws”.  Maybe, just maybe, you decide that you are gonna do one better than roll the establishment’s subpoena into a fat spliff and take it to the dome.  Perhaps, you think the most rebellious angle to take is laying this legal document in a vat to soak up some of that sweet L25 and use it to dose up before attending the mandatory court-ordered lecture on the dangers of drunk driving.  If so, you are a goddamn fool.  Not only have you been reckless with the lives of others but, now you’re risking the future of your own psyche in the process.

This is much worse than attending a court date.     Now you get to sit at a Victims Panel where those affected by vehicular manslaughter tell the stories of their loved ones lost.  You may even get the chance to view some graphic images through photos and/or video?  If you think that this is the time to eat that sugar cube you’ve been saving in your freezer, then something is definitely wrong with you.  I’ve seen the traumatized look on a friend’s face who had to attend one of these and he was completely sober during it.   One thing is for sure, though; the message will definitely sink in.

The title of this post pretty much explains it all.  Of course, if the recent Phish reunion shows were held on the West Coast, I would have titled it “Hella fools get arrested…”  Thousands of excited concert goers arrive in Hampton, VA to see their favorite 4-piece throw down the crazy funk jams that they’ve been dreaming of for the last 5 years, only to be fucked with imercifully by the local Po-Po.  You may have heard about this on various websites or even on your local TV news, but I’m calling bullshit on many of these reports and the operation as a whole. I’m also going to tell you exactly why.

The mugshots I’ve provided in the gallery were taken from thesmokinggun.com after our writer Onsen emailed me a link.  Apparently, these images are public property.  I originally checked them out to see if any of my friends were featured but, although this is only said to be a small sample of those reportedly arrested, so far…so good.  Cross referencing the smokinggun post with an Associated Press article sent to me by another writer, A.Misallati, the general consensus seems to be as follow:

* There were 194 arrests
* Most were for “possession” and “distribution”
* Nearly 200 officers were working the event
* $68,000 was seized
* Street value of drugs confiscated was $1,213,882.80

Yep, and “80 cents“.  The exact calculation of the narcotics seems ridiculous, since street value will fluctuate, especially in a concert setting.  My belief is that the number was inflated by authorities in the report because, this is the type of shit that freaks out soccer moms across the nation.  I can almost guarantee that the amount of cash collected, on the other hand, was severely higher than reported.  My bet is that it was at least twice that and the rest was pocketed.  Sixty-eight grand sounds like a lot of money but not compared to the 1.2 million dollars worth of drugs that they are claiming to have seized.  This gives the impression that the officers were so on point that they were able to prevent most of the distribution from even occurring.  Most of this must have gone down outside the venue and within the time that the fans arrived and showtime, because I doubt that many arrests took place in the venue during the performance.  It’s true that a number of “phans” without tickets were probably getting popped in the lot outside of the venue but, from what I remember, Hampton Coliseum does not provide a camping area.  Coupled with the fact that the venue is known to be a historically sketchy spot to try and work anything illegal, not many people were likely to stay behind too long after the shows; limiting the amount of time for law enforcement to work their magical brand of justice.

I was stopped and grabbed on my way to a Honey Bucket during Bonnaroo 2005.  I wasn’t doing shit at the time, either.  I was laughed at and told, “Sorry.  Looks like you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.“  My hands were placed on a vehicle and $1,200 in cash was taken from my pockets.  I was then simply thrown out of the venue and sneaked right back in.  That year, someone had built a strip club in the lot (complete with pole), girls were being pimped down Shakedown, and people were slanging rock everywhere.  It was dirty as fuck but I got stopped trying to take a piss.  People were getting stopped for things like drinking from glass bottles.  They would then get searched and arrested or “legally robbed”.  After the festival, we read a police report much like this one and, although I can not recall exact numbers, the cash that was claimed to have been seized was comparable to that mentioned here, if not less.  I saw people who’s confiscated money would have attributed to 1/10 of what they reported, all by themselves.  The ration of cops on hand, versus the arrested attendees, means that each and every cop is averaged to have made one arrest a piece.  Think about it.  Plus, most of the busts for “distribution” did not take place during a sale to law enforcement.  If they went down during a transaction between concert goers, then officers probably swiped the buyers loot as well or, at least, searched them and, undoubtedly, found something else.  The rest of the busts for distribution were likely because the arrested parties had narcotics that were bagged separately and/or the weight of what they possessed was beyond a possession charge.  Unless the parties involved were openly walking around holding giant buds in there hands, I have questions about how most of the possession charges occured at all.

(Click photos to enlarge)

I know that these are only 25 of the mugshots provided out of nearly 200, but look at these people.  Some are blitzed out of their gourds, a few were probably busted legitimately, and the rest are just too stereotypical.  These are the first shows of the tour so why do so many of these people look like they’ve been sleeping in a Toyota Chinook for the last 3 months?  These kids were getting grabbed on hunches that panned out.  Once you’re found with something, there’s not much you can say.  You don’t see people getting patted down on the way into Celine Dione shows like you do at rap concerts.  It’s a shame too, because you know that they have to at least be on some heavy meds to attend that bullshit.

FUN TIP:
Get out an old copy of the boardgame “Guess Who” or purchase one at your local thrift store.  Cut the mug shots out and glue them to the pictures of the original game characters.  Play your own version.

“Do you have dread locks?”
“Nope”
“Are your eyes tweeked out?”
“Yes”
“Are you sporting a hoodie”
“Nope”
“I guess you’re Tom!”

-Dead C

After seeing the Joaquin Phoenix appearance from last night’s episode of Letterman, I was reminded of a couple of other choice interviews conducted by the late night host over the years.  In the 80‘s, Crispin Glover was on the show and that got really uncomfortable.  The weird moments were brought by Harmony Korine in the 90‘s.  I figured that now would be a good time to try out our new polling feature and see if anyone had any feelings about which one of the interviews was actually the most awkward.  They all have unorthodox names and are groomed nicely so, I figured that part of it was a toss up.

Check out the videos below and vote.
(Remember: if you ever want to conduct any polls of your own, they can be posted easily in our forum, the Soapbox)

Joaquin
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBoGNBSLYRY

Crispin
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NloYrP-SLBA

Harmony
httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=4-IGcCfLdAo[/youtube]

WEEN’s latest offering is the sixth live recording that the duo has released since 1999. “AT THE CAT’S CRADLE, 1992” is a juicy nugget of Ween goodness which, features an audio disc of a 21 song live show, recorded at The Cat’s Cradle in Chapel Hill, NC, as well as a 21 track bonus DVD.  It’s just Dean, Gene, and  a Yamaha Digital Audio Tape Deck and is charged with all the energy, chaos, and, apparently opium, that you would expect from classic Ween. I think it was a great idea for them to release this, and the DVD was a lot of fun to watch.

The band has come a long way over the years and has become a bigger part of Pop Culture than most people realize. They have been on countless Motion Picture soundtracks and have had cameos on numerous movies and T.V. shows. Their music has been featured in Honda commercials, and they even did a song for Sponge Bob Square Pants.  It is impossible to fit them in to one category although, I’ve seen people attempt to do it. They are commonly lumped into the “Alternative Music” category with the likes of The Cure or, perhaps… The Red Hot Chilli Peppers?  I don’t think that they quite fit in there. They’re not Indie, Grunge, Gothic Rock, new wave or Punk.  I once heard them classified as “Geek Rock”, with They Might be Giants, Ben Folds Five and Weezer.  Nope, they don’t belong there, either.  In a way, they incorporate something from all of these genres so, it’s common for someone to like a Ween song but, still, not really “like” Ween.  I know grown men who can’t listen to the song “Spinal Meningitis” ’cause it’s too creepy but then, you have little kids running around listening to “Ocean Man”.  It seems like the only way I’ve ever heard their music accurately explained is by comparing it with drugs.  I guess you could describe their sound as Pure Rock and a whole lotta Soul, injected with opiates, shaken in a bag of weed, mixed with LSD, with intricate melodies and raw emotion floating in a sea of amazing guitar and noise, laced with PCP and doused with a gallon of whiskey.  I remember once when I was 14 and I played “Push the Little Daisies” for my big brother’s  friend.  He was a lot older than me and knew quite a bit about music. “So… What kind of music IS this?” he wondered.  I told him I thought that maybe it was, Punk?  “No, no. I know a lot about Punk. This is definitely not punk.”  He said.  I just smiled, shrugged, and said “It’s Ween!”  What it comes down to is that there are two kinds of people: People who “get” Ween, and People who don’t.  If you are in the category of people who do, you’re gonna love this shit.

If you ARE a hard core fan, you may think that you have heard and seen it all before.  I know that is what I came in to this thinking but, trust me; you will totally dig “At the Cat’s Cradle“.  The set list mostly consists of songs from their first three studio releases, God WEEN Satan: The Oneness (1990), The Pod (1991), and Pure Guava (1992).  They do, however, perform one song, “Buckingham Green”, that the rest of us wouldn’t get to hear until it was released on their album, The Mollusk, in 1997.   At the end of “Buckingham Green”, they start to play a little bit of Pink Floyd’s “Breathe”.  In fact, they play lots of little riffs from different classic rock songs throughout this recording.  They also talk about Boognish (the demon that they made a pact with back in Jr. High), and about how they smoked too much opium before the show.  A lot of what Ween’s music is all about stems from the chemistry between the two of them and, In a way, this release is pretty intimate.  You get to see them fuck up a lot, and you get to see them just screwing around. The last live album/DVD, “Live in Chicago” (2004), was pretty much what you’d see if you went to a Ween show today and, if you were to compare the two of them, you could really see the changes that have taken place in the band’s live performance over the years. This new album is so awesome because it’s something that you otherwise wouldn’t have gotten to be a part of unless you were actually there.   Inside the case you’ll find Dean Ween’s personal thoughts on the matter.

“From our first “real” concert in 1987 until the release of Chocolate and Cheese in 1994 we played concerts as a duo–Aaron on vocals and acoustic guitar and me on electric guitar with the bass and drums played from a cassette deck. Later on we purchased a DAT machine for the backing tracks and this speeded up our show a little. A typical Ween set was no more than an hour long, and we’d play about 24 songs in that amount of time. There was no jamming at all whatsoever. Things are a lot different now. Every night we had to face the crowd pretty much naked, there was nowhere to hide, no room for an off night. We did a lot of talking to the crowd and one another between songs, we pretty much had to. We faced a lot of hostile audiences when we were the opening act on a show. There was a lot to hate about us but we won over a lot of people in the process because of our sheer nerve. A lot of our closest friends feel that Ween live pretty much ended when we switched to a traditional band format with a bass player and drummer; I dunno about that but by the release of Pure Guava our show was no longer interesting to us. We were doing a lot more touring and playing the same songs with no room for improvising had gotten boring for us. Once we started releasing records and touring more as a duo we got a lot better at it, we stopped caring about what the audience thought of us and just focused on having fun onstage. This was when we maximized our brownness. I don’t remember too much about this concert other than the fact that we played the Cat’s Cradle a lot of times and in a few different locations. Public Enemy had played the club a few nights before and blown up the P.A. and our sound man Kirk Miller was pissed. I thought it was great because Public Enemy are one of my favorite bands of all time and I was just happy to be playing on the same stage. Our touring party consisted of Me, Aaron, and Kirk Miller, our soundman and driver. Once we signed to Elektra we added a tour manager, Paul Monahan, who would stay with us for many years. Anyway, this is pretty typical of what we sounded like on a good night those first few tours.”

The CD kicks off the show with “Big Jilm”.  I still have no idea what that song is about but, I once heard a rumor that Big Jilm was their drug dealer.  Who knows?  What matters is that the song is still great.  I also heard somewhere that Nine Inch Nails’ album “Pretty Hate Machine” is all about one girl and that seems to be the case with early Ween, too.  Not entirely, but you get little insights about stuff like the fact that “Nan” and “You Fucked Up” are both about “That bitch”.   I love “Nan” because … Come On! Who hasn’t always wanted to shout “He’s a fucker…And you’re a fucker too!” at their ex and the person they screwed around on you with?  It’s insane! It sounds so juvenile, and it is but, it’s also pure.  Right before “Nan“, Gener forgets the words on “Don’t get 2 close (2 My Fantasy)”, then the equipment shits out on them, and the tape is skipping…. It’s a disaster!  At the end you get to hear them talk about how badly that song went.  It’s so great!  Even with all the stuff that goes wrong, it still sounds amazing and it seems so personal.  Then there is a song like the ballad “Birthday Boy”.  Oh Man, this song could make anyone cry.  It’s sad and beautiful, and you can understand all the words.  It has the kind of lyrics you don’t just make up. You know when you hear it, that this really happened.  They go from this totally emotional song, into “Fat Lenny” where they scream about how Fat Lenny’s gonna lick the shellac off of the window sill.  It’s Brilliant.  They end the set with “Reggaejunkiejew”.  I always thought this song was about exactly what it is.  We learn that it is indeed about a dreddy , Jewish , heroin addicted , white dude who stole Gener’s girlfriend.  The incident still seems to be fresh in their heads.  They seem to be genuinely pissed off about this dude and how ridiculous he is.  Dean keeps repeating:  “Addicted to heroin“… “Addicted to heroin“…”Addicted to heroin“.

The simplicity of this recording (If you could ever call WEEN “simple”), and the unadulterated chaos of early Ween, is enough to give real fans that crazy feeling of excitement in the back of their spines.  The same one that made them realize that they loved Ween in the first place.  Their music is powerful enough to permeate your whole being and, although it isn’t on this album, before you know it, you’ll  find yourself listening to a twenty minute long song about a turd.  I guess that is one thing that makes this set so great; you get to feel like you are in on the joke too.  It’s amazing that they have the ability to write these songs that can strike a chord inside of anyone, painting these really vivid images inside your head, and making you feel as if you know exactly how they feel, while, at the same time, they can write songs that seem like nothing other than big inside jokes, without any conventional meaning.  With that being said, I still feel as if all of their songs are relevant.  Even if you don’t know what a “mega-weedge” or a “Marble Tulip Juicy Tree” is, it all comes together, making sense inside you, anyway.  In fact, I remember the first time I was aware that the then unborn being living inside of me could actually hear. I had turned on my car and “Pumpin’ for the Man” came blasting through the speakers.  It felt like all of my daughter’s limbs flailed out at once! It was amazing.

The bonus DVD is the cherry on top of this choco brownie sundae and consists of parts cut from three different performances.  Two of them are from concerts (Vera, Groningen, Netherlands 10/31/91 and Staches, Columbus, OH, 3/6/92) while the other is from an appearance on a radio show (WTSR radio, Trenton, NJ, 1/10/92). It’s funny to see how young they were in 1991!  I like the footage from the radio performance because you get to witness that spark that makes them what they are.  They are just fucking around in the studio, and you can tell that they totally feed off and get high off of each other (and a variety of drugs I am sure).  At one point, Gene randomly goes off on a magical tangent about being a Jew.  In watching their shows, you can see that some people in the audience had no idea what they had gotten themselves in to.  If you think about what was popular in ’92, it’s no wonder.  Def Leopard was on it’s way out with “Let’s Get Rocked”, everyone at your Jr. High was slow dancing to Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road”, and Right Said Fred was singing “ I’m Too Sexy”.  In the midst of all of the crap that was floating around, you have Gene and Dean singing “The Going gets Tough From the Get Go” while wearing goggles and a chef’s hat.  It’s Genius.

Even If you are not a big Ween fan, there is still a chance that you could really like this release.  Of course, those chances would be greatly increased if  you are on acid when you see /watch this, or if you have been up on methamphetamines for three days,  while continually drinking hard liquor, and you just ran over a bird.  I have often said that if I could somehow obtain WEEN in a liquid form and shoot it intraveniously, I totally would.  I’d say “Live at the Cat’s Cradle” comes pretty close and I’d hope that all of my fellow fans will agree when I say that “this disc is like a big shot of Boognish right in your ass!” I loved it.

-Minty

For more information, listen to audio, and check out video clips from this release please check out the At the Cat’s Cradle, 1992 mini site

We recommend purchasing the CD/DVD through seeofsound.com to receive a limited edition silk screen of the cover art SIGNED BY WEEN!

Ween has also recently just released a limited edition coloring book created by artist Thea Wolfe which can be purchased @ Chocodogmerch.com
Click thumbnails below to view the cover art and a sample page.