I first discovered Wesley‘s work when I was in high school and I was immediately drawn to it (pun intended).  Clearly the man had some obvious points of comic appeal, such as extreme moments of profanity and graphic references to bestiality, but there was definitely something deeper to him, even if it wasn’t always easy to determine exactly what it was.  The documentary Wesley Willis’s Joy Rides has successfully managed to capture and express those difficult to verbalize qualities, which made Wesley such a remarkable and inspiring individual.  One quote from the film, which most aptly sums up this phenomenon, was made by Willis‘ friend/art patron, John Stulgate, who said,  “You could see people’s hearts through their interactions with Wesley Willis.”

Although I had been a long time fan, I didn’t get a chance to see Wesley live until 2002.  The show took place in Seattle at The Graceland (now, El Corazon) and Grand Buffet was opening.  I’ll never forget walking from the bar through the doorway into the venue.  I saw Wesley immediately; he was staring frighteningly out of the corner of his eye and in my direction from behind the merch table.  Due to his immense size and weight, Wesley could be a daunting figure and his breaths were loud and heavy like a tranqued hippo.  I, eventually, made my way over to the table to say hello.  I had brought a sniper deployment manual and a 25¢ hardcover book about rottweilers for him to sign, in lieu of my Book of Mormon and 100 Deadliest Karate Moves books, which I had temporarily left in California.  He signed the sniper book but, once he got the rottweiler book in his hands, he was mesmerized.  “Can I keep this book“, he asked.  “Sure“.  After that, it was like I wasn’t even there, so I slipped away as he focused intently on pictures of similar looking dogs.  When the show ended, Wesley headed back behind the table to flip his wares.  I bought a live EP and asked him if he liked the book.  “I got that right back here!” he said.  Then he added, “I wrote a song called ‘Suck a Rottweiler’s Ass‘.  I’m gonna write a song called ‘Suck a Rottweilers Dick‘!“  So I told him, “You need to write a song called ‘Suck the Stripes off a Zebra’s Dick‘.”

“Is that a song called ‘Suck a Zebra’s Dick’?”
“Suck the stripes off a zebra’s dick“, I clarified.
“Yeeah… Which words- whatcha say?”
“Suck the stripes off a zebra’s dick.”
“Suck the stripes off a zebra’s dick.  I’ll write that- I’ll write that for you right now.”

As he signed the CD booklet, he began spitting out some partially nonsensical verses, until he was distracted by the rest of the crowd.  Then I bumped his forehead and, with his giant paw on the back of my skull, I repeated after him as he directed.  “Saw ‘RAWK!‘…..Say ‘ROWL‘!” etc.

Wesley was massive and he performed his entire set sitting down.  The table next to him was littered with over a dozen empty cups that he had drained of beer before leaving the stage.  My girlfriend, at the time, was concerned about the health of the schizophrenic rock star, but I assured her that he was fine and of better health than he appeared.  By the following year, she already had left me; moving from our duplex and into the van of a schizophrenic man who had been secretly stalking our home (seriously).  Lost in this wingnut felon’s fucked up delusions and influence, she was misguided regarding just about every decision and intuition that she would have from then on.  Unfortunately, out of everything, the one thing that she would be correct about was Wesley‘s well-being.  Willis died of chronic myelogenous leukemia on August 21st, 2003 and it was the only time that I had ever felt a legitimate sadness and emptiness by the death of a public figure.

4 months prior to his death, a documentary about Wesley titled, The Daddy Of Rock ‘n’ Roll was released.  One thing that the film showcased was Wesley‘s constant search for additions to his animal book collection; something that I was unaware of when I gave him rottweiler book.  As a fan of his work, I enjoyed seeing random footage of the artist in his day to day life but, as a fan of documentaries and film in general, Wesley Willis’s Joy Rides is much more well rounded.  While it’s predecessor works well for those that were already familiar with the artist’s work, Wesley Willis’s Joy Rides is the type of documentary that is powerful and well-constructed enough for anyone.  Filmmakers Chris Bagley and Kim Shively, created a documentary that sheds light on every aspect of Willis‘ life that I ever wanted to know about.  His troubled upbringing and home-life are more heavily addressed; Wesley has multiple siblings, which appear in the film along with his father.  I was also introduced to the amazing, yet unorthodox, techniques used to produce his drawings (see: 52 seconds into trailer #2).  I can stare at the piece that I have in my home, endlessly boggled by it’s simplicity and depth, not unlike the man who created it.  Knowing that he often ignored the use of rulers and other tools to replicate some of the perfect lines of his cityscapes, makes it even more impressive.  His friends, colleagues, hustling, creative processes and more are all addressed thoroughly.  Most of all, Wesley Willis’s Joyrides shines the spotlight on the intangible aspects of Willis, his life, and what made them so compelling.

You may remember that, back in 2008, our writer, Memes viewed a screening of WWJR at the Noise Pop festival in San Francisco.  [His detailed review of the showing, which featured a Q&A by Jello Biafra, can be read by clicking HERE].  This post is slightly more focused on the DVD release, but my deductions are in full agreement of what Memes has already stated; this film is a “success“.  The only major difference is that I can now add “it’s worth owning.”  Along with the art and photo galleries, the 50 minutes of additional footage only add to the value of this documentary.  Fans of Scream Club and/or Old Time Relijun may be excited to discover members of each group appearing in the extra scenes.  When I first met Cindy Wonderful (Scream Club) and OTR drummer, Germain Baca, they were both members of a Denver-based, all-female group known as Rainbow Sugar.  Not until a few years later, when Cindy gave me a split 7″ feat. Rainbow Sugar and Willis, did I realize that they had worked together.  While Baca does make a quick appearance or two in the actual film, the deleted scenes offer even more footage of that time period and even contain video of Rainbow Sugar collaborating with Willis on a song about Mr. T.  While there are plenty of both tragic and humorous moments throughout, there are also moments of great inspiration.  While too many documentaries have been created under the misguided belief that a subject alone can adequately carry an entire film, this one comes across as well researched and never feels exploitative.  Wesley Willis’s Joyrides is composed with great care, with an equal respect for it’s subject and honesty.  It’s definitely a recommended rental for anyone, however, if you are already a fan of Willis, you might as well just save the loot and put it towards buying the DVD.  If you’re anything like me, you’ll love it like a milkshake.

[Trailer #1]

Click here to view the embedded video.

[Trailer #2]

Click here to view the embedded video.

Wesley Willis’s Joyrides can be purchased through HERE

-Dead C

SXSW 2009

I hobbled onto the bus, got my seat and looked over at a kid holding a box of cd’s. He was either going to ask what happened to my leg or see if I wanted to hear some “good” music.

An older lady missing her front teeth got on the bus after me. The bus started moving while she was getting situated. She caught her balance and looked over at the box of burned cd’s.  She sat down and asked kid, “What you got there?”

“They just hip hop cd’s for sale”

“OH…he he, I thought they was chocolate bars, he he he!”

I nodded and smiled to myself, and thought, “South by Southwest really is here!”

Lots of bands come into town for SXSW. Great bands, alright bands, and really shitty bands.   By the end of the week I will have seen a good number of each.

There are day shows and night shows. Night shows usually cost money and day shows are always free.

I’ve been in Austin for 6 years, and that helps out a lot also. I don’t spend much money at SXSW. I usually rely on the day shows and personal hook ups.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 19TH

I started my musical adventure at 3:00 on a friend’s porch, drinking a beer and watching the local pimp smoke a cigarette on the street corner, while a customer used his bed and prostitute. We were waiting for another friend to show up.  After he arrived, we rode our bikes down town.  At a red light, we joined a bike pack of burly girlies and continued on together.  This was the first time I had ridden my bike downtown since I got hit riding to work in December.

Day shows start around noon and go until 6:00pm.  They are free and usually all ages.  Badges and wristbands don’t really matter during the day.  Everyone has to wait in the same line.   There are also lots of unofficial  shows. These aren’t listed on the SXSW website.  Showlistaustin.com has most of the official and unofficial shows listed, and it will also tell you if there is anything being offered.  Such things as free beer, free bloody mary’s, free tacos, free pop tarts, and more.

After locking up, we went to get free beer.  They were out of the free beer, so we paid $4 for almost cold beer and watched Black Joe Lewis.  Black Joe Lewis and the Honey Bees are a local band I’d wanted to see for a while.  It was like going to a revival and getting healed, without having to hold a snake.  Soulful enough to raise your hands, and rocking enough to not feel like an asshole while doing it.  I was even able to tap my fucked up foot to the beat.  It was a miracle.  Superdrag was supposed to play next, but they had broken down, so we went inside to watch M.ward.  While waiting for him to start, a girl was taking pictures of her friends with her iPHONE.  As it got more crowded, her butt touched the back of my hand, and then her purse shifted my penis.  She walked by me to go to the bathroom and said, “Excuse me, mustache”.  I thanked her for giving me a name.  After a few songs, we left to see Deer Tick, but apparently, while I was making acquaintances with the purse girl, they were playing down the street.

We’d met up with a few other friends and continue on our way.  I wasn’t moving so fast, so everyone was a ways ahead of me.  We heard The Thermals playing a NIRVANA cover from the street.  Then we waited outside while the Akron family finished their set.  They weren’t letting anyone in because the day shows where almost over.  It was a shame because I kept getting texts about free High Life inside.

Night Shows are a little different.  There are some free night shows, but most of them require a badge, wristband, or a cover.  It is a little like the caste system.  Badges get priority over wristbands and wristbands get priority over all the other peasants.  I was given a wristband a few years ago and had a really frustrating time waiting to get into a show, while watching folks with badges walk in and out with ease .  There is another way to get into night shows: relying on hookups.  Most places that are “official” SXSW venues have VIP passes that get given out to their workers and the very special friends of their workers.  With one of these golden tickets you can walk in through the back entrance with a guest.  You end up feeling better than the Royal Badge Holders because you didn’t spend much money and you didn’t have to wait in any line.  You got to go in through the secret entrance!  Just like you were guest starring on ALIAS!

That night I met up with another friend who had a pass to one of the venues.  While we were waiting to see Circle Jerks, we wandered off to see someone make music with Tesla coils.  This was a free show in a dirt lot a few blocks away.   The mid-grade band, which played before the coils got fired up, scared us off.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TkuCtutDAw

I’d seen Circle Jerks when I was 16 (15 years ago) and I got my collarbone stomped on by a skinhead.  It left a big bruise and I was really happy to tell people my story.  Now I’m 31 and waiting to see Circle Jerks again.  Guess what I saw when I looked to my left?  A lot of skinheads!  I was expecting this to be a wild crowd.  Instead, the skinheads remained pretty calm and two SXSW “moms” showed up.  These were two older ladies wearing khaki cargo capri’s and drinking pretty heavily.  I’m almost positive they’d never even thought about having the world up their ass.

That is probably the worst part about this festival; people surround you that are only there to be a part of SXSW.  Most of them are wearing badges.  A lot times they are clueless and don’t even know what they are watching. Ignorance isn’t a great reason to hate anyone, but when you have to take their picture for them because they’ve lost interest in the show that you actually want to watch, it becomes a little easier to get irritated.  Luckily, they left before the encore.  I got to hear “Red Tape” followed by 3 Black Flag tunes, with little annoyance.

I could have stuck around to watch Echo and the Bunnymen, but my foot was pretty swollen.  I limped to my bike and rode it pretty confidently, until reaching a hill. Then I pushed it slowly to the top, and rode home.

THURSDAY MARCH 19TH

Day two began with a slow walk from the bus stop to Daniel Johnston.  I work at a coffee shop that has a lot of homeless folk in the area.  To keep the drug use and unexpected urination to a minimum, there is a one-drink requirement.  I’d asked a homeless woman to leave the shop that morning that looked and talked a lot like Daniel Johnston.  It made me realize how lucky Daniel is that he didn’t become another homeless loiterer in Austin.  He was backed by Hymns, who played by themselves for a few songs before Daniel waddled up to the mic.

Listening to Daniel Johnston is great, but seeing him live adds a deeper level.  You see how broken he really is.  That night, someone told me “I don’t know… he kinda had a lisp, and he didn’t really play the guitar very well… I left after a few songs…” which was why I liked seeing him so much.  He has a lisp, he can’t play guitar very well, he showed up wearing his sweatpants, and made apologies for not practicing enough.  Seeing the reality of Johnston left me feeling, somewhat, emotionally drained, but still happy.

After Daniel Johnston and Hymns, I watched The Wrens while standing next to a lady and her bored boyfriend. Then I walked down to see Trail of Dead and finally found an open bar.  Four free High Life’s later and the day shows were over.  I bought a meat stick and walked back to the bus stop.  I had to pee as soon as I got there.  6^th Street is Austin’s version of a Bourbon Street knock off.  It is usually a row of shitty bars that is a little more suited for tourists, but during SXSW, it becomes a row of shitty bars that are also music venues.  I walked behind the 6^th Street bars to the ally, whicht smells like vomit and friend chicken.  This is normally a really great place to piss, but not this week.  There were bands loading equipment in through every back door, and police on every block.  I had to go inside one of the shitty bars and unload there.

That night, I found out from a friend that Dinosaur JR was playing a secret show at 12:45.  SXSW has a lot of these secret shows.  A few years ago (2006) The Flaming lips played one of them where they opened up with Bohemian Rhapsody.  I was waiting to see if I could get on the list, which would be pretty similar to the VIP treatment I’d gotten the night before.

In the mean time, I met up with some friends at a free night show.  This year’s big complaint was the expensive beer. Most venues were charging $4.00 for a $2.50 tall boy.  To get around the beer prices, we snuck beer in backpacks and avoided eye contact with any official looking folks.  After a while, it was pretty apparent that no one cared about outside beverages.  It seemed like everyone had their own outsourced 6 pack.

After getting a “you’re on the list!” text, I rode my bike downtown, told the back door man my name and walked inside in time to see the second half of the Akron Family’s set.  The crowd cleared out a bit and I walked pretty close to the front and watched the stage get loaded with J. Mascis’ Marshall stacks.  There were a few guys in nicer shirts than mine at the front of the stage.  I figured that they were pretty big fans until I overheard them asking each other if they knew who was on next and expressing how they had hoped that it would be “something good”.   Behind them was a short excited guy who kept jumping up on their shoulders fscreaming,“DINOSAUR JR! Can you believe it?!”  After a while, one of the nice shirts turned around  and told him to calm down.

After the extensive loading, the original lineup walked on stage, J. Mascis, Lou Barlow with his taped up ears, and Murph. I’d always wondered what a stage full of speakers and three old guys could do.  One of those abilities is clearing out folks in nice shirts who aren’t fans.  It took half into their set, before I was surrounded by folks my age and older, singing along and pushing each other over.

The first thing that I ever remember hearing about J. Mascis was that he is a very lazy person.   It usually went hand in hand with how great a guitarist he is.  “He’s AMAZING! And he’s lazy!” I think I heard that said as many times as I’d heard that Neil Pert is the “3^rd greatest drummer in the world“.  It was really interesting to see the band and put that paradox together.  I don’t really know if he’s “lazy”, but he plays really effortlessly.  He resembles a big witch that looks beyond everything in front of him.  Every note that he plays is like an afterthought.  A really hard-to-play afterthought.  Lou and Murph play like machines who were programmed to play with J.  To keep my foot from getting shitty from the crowd, I stood in front of the right speaker.  I left with my ears shaking and rode to the same hill I couldn’t ride up the night before and pushed my bike up again.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5ddhYThwW8

FRIDAY MARCH 20^TH

I woke up Friday and noticed my foot was still swollen.  I went and sat on my shower stool and rubbed around the scars for a while.  For the past two days, I’d been doing a lot of walking.  I had only gotten off my crutches the week before.  After a short period without them, I gently grazed my rocking chair and fell to the ground swearing in pain and convinced that I wasn’t going to be able to walk for a while.  I managed to make it to a bar and stayed until I dropped two drinks.  The next morning I was nauseous and puked through out the day.  I went back to crutches for a day and ate lots of ibuprofen.  I made a pact with myself that I would  not be bedridden by SXSW.

I took the bus to work and sat at the bar.  I looked over and saw Miles from Akron family walk in.  I told him that  I liked the show from the night before and bought him an espresso.  We talked for a while; we have a lot in common.  We both have family in Washington, we both like Ballard, and we both like making espresso.  I didn’t tell him this, but Miles is cool shit.

I took the bus down town to see The Thermals and The Hold Steady.  I’ve never really understood The Hold Steady.  Every time that I bitch about their spoken word approach to song writing, I get hit with, “Have you ever seen them live?!”  This was my week to see them.  They were playing every day and, I think, every night.  I had no excuse.  I now understand why people like them so much.  There are a lot of people in The Hold Steady.  Every one of them performs as if  they were playing in an arena instead of a crammed outdoor stage.   It’s clear that they all love what they are playing.  Most of the folks around me were singing along to every word, which is weird with their songs.  Its like listening to a lot of people reciting the same monologue.  I don’t like listening to fans sing at concerts, but with these guys it felt alright. I think it had something to do with the amount of fans singing, maybe also the heat.  However, my foot started hurting and there was a show on the other side of town that I wasn’t going to miss.  I hobbled to the bus stop, sat on a potted plant and spelled the alphabet with my ankle.

The Evaporators were playing at The Hazard House.  The Hazard House is in West Campus; an area that is full of student housing, both fraternal and non.  Going to school in Olympia, I have probably seen The Evaporators over 10 times.  When I moved to Austin, I figured that I wouldn’t get to see them again.  I was pretty surprised when they played here in 2004.  I saw them with Comets on Fire at an Alternative Tentacles showcase.  Jello Biafra stood behind me for most of the show.  I looked at him and felt we both appreciated “Woof Woof I’m A Goof” for the same reasons.

When I heard that they were playing this year at The Hazard House, I was really happy.  The “venue” looks like it’s held together with sweat and rotten wood.  The stage was the front room.  You could watch from inside or from the porch.  It felt like Texas’ equivalent of seeing a concert in somebody’s moldy basement in Olympia.  I smiled for the whole set and noticed my friend who had the VIP pass had called.  The Sonics were playing, and I really wanted to see them.  My friend had promised her VIP pass to two other friends, which I was finally beginning to accept.  I had figured that I would return to my shower stool and call it a night.  She said that, if I still wanted to see The Sonics, I should get down town as quick as possible.  I had 10 minutes to get there.  By now I was walking very slowly; I could only take quarter steps.  I had just missed my bus and was failing at hailing a cab.  I got a “they’re about to play” text when the next bus finally showed up.  I was dropped off near 6^th Street and I took a petty cab the rest of the way. I made it in time for most of their set.

The Sonics were the most well preserved band I’ve ever seen.  They stopped rock and rolling pretty early on, and it showed.  They had been frozen in time.  They looked older, but they still sounded young.  If I had to guess, I’d say they all became real estate or insurance agents.  Something that would have allowed them to raise families and play in cover bands on the weekends.  I was really happy to see how well they were received.  A guy wearing a badge and a nice hat stood next to me and told me that every band who is trying to play garage rock should go back and listen to The Sonics and study “those three chords and learn them well”. At  the end of the show, the lead singer, Gerry Roslie, (who had a music stand in front of his keyboard for the whole set), told us to “… go over to the merchandise booth, buy a shirt, go home and tell your dad, ‘I don’t care what you say! I’m wearing my Sonics shirt!’”

After they finished, the club cleared out.  I sat on a railing, took my shoe off, and waited for Black Lips.  I first saw them at SXSW 3 years ago during a day show.  They looked like crusty kids and they played like they had studied the right three chords.  The Black Lips are dirty and simple.  Their ugly, yet still in tune, voices always make me smile.
There were three bands between The Sonics and Black Lips, so it gave me plenty of time to look at how fat my foot had gotten.

They walked on stage and the lights went down.  I heard, “we got the Gza in the house.”  Then I heard “yeah yeah, black lips in the house.” And then the GZA joined them for a jam.  It was a great contrast between them. The GZA is very tall and black and Black Lips are short and white.  He apologized for them having not practiced, and kept telling the band to “drop it” and just play the drum and bass.  After doing that for a while, they played “Triumph” and everyone was really excited for the killer bees.  It was sloppy and last minute and I was a little annoyed.

I’m in full support of hip-hop folks getting together with rock and roll folks.  I even saw SUbSET in their hay day, (Sir Mix-a-Lot and The Presidents of the United States of America’s collaboration).  I would have liked to see them do something more intentional than just a jam.  My foot was also hurting and I wasn’t feeling very patient.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bsfpho7awtI

After 20 minutes, The Gza left the stage and Black Lips played a few songs and it was over.  I left feeling great about The Sonics and okay about Black Lips and The GZA.  On my way out, I heard Karp being played over the PA.  I frantically looked around to find the soundman and asked if it was he who was playing my favorite band.  He smiled and said, “all night long, nothing but.”  I gave him an enthusiastic “thank you so much!” and walked outside.  I bought a hot dog on the street and watched hipsters and industry people walk importantly in front of clubs. I hailed a cab and went home.

SUMUP

I worked at a wedding on Saturday, and that was alright.  I’d already had a fulfilling SXSW, even with being gimpy.  I didn’t get to see Kylesa, Jucifer, or The New York Dolls, but that’s how it goes.  Every year, something falls through the cracks and it could have been a lot worse.  I spent last year’s Saturday wetting my sheets with sweat and dirtying my toilet with puke, so I felt a little ahead of the curb.  Besides that, I was ready for everyone to leave.

Before the wedding, I went with a friend to a store down the block.  I wandered to the back of the shop and found more live music and more free beer.  You can’t escape it.  Everyone cashes in on SXSW, and they use the same tools.

Most festivals end up costing a good amount of loot.  Tickets, beer, and food add up pretty quickly.  I never spend much money at SXSW.  Taking the increased beer prices into consideration, I spent between 50 and 60 dollars for my three days of music. That was mainly on beer and food. Plus, it’s citywide. You aren’t gated and stuck in a park for three days.  You get to see the city; you can buy beer at a gas station and drink it on someone’s porch while waiting between shows.

Living in Austin and having access to a few VIP passes gave me a pretty big advantage, but even without the local hookups, I would have spent the same and still found a few free bottles of High Life. It’s a lot like the wave pool at the local water park.  Every year you go, you understand a little more of how it works, you have a better time and wind up a little less nauseous.

-Dr. Radical

]]> http://www.monsterfresh.com/2009/04/26/sxsw-local-guide-review-free/feed/ 0 http://www.monsterfresh.com/2008/08/10/for-all-the-detox-tea-in-a-chinese-democracy/ http://www.monsterfresh.com/2008/08/10/for-all-the-detox-tea-in-a-chinese-democracy/#comments Sun, 10 Aug 2008 08:24:50 +0000 Mac Dawg http://deadc.wordpress.com/?p=334

Although River of Dreams was not like Beethoven, as Billy Joel desperately wanted me to believe back in 93, Snoop Dogg and Guns N’ Roses were actually a little closer to the genre.  I’ve been thinking about all of the reunions, repackaging, or horrible new releases from the likes of Aerosmith, Queen, the Dead Kennedys (minus Jello), Madonna, and The Police. It makes me freak out that the likelihood of the new music being listenable are slim to none. There is still some wishful thinking on the internet that Dr. Dre and Guns N’ Roses may release albums that have been years in the making but that is where their similarities end.

Dr. Dre has had quite the career since he started out with the Strip Club Anthem group World Class Wrecking Cru. I remember playing “Turn Off The Lights” all the time when I was a DJ at Déjà vu.  After his mid 80s success as a booty jam maker, he produced NWA’s Straight Outta Compton. The late 80s and the early 90s had Dr. Dre producing most of the popular gangsta rap music to come out of the era and, after NWA broke up, Dr. Dre came out with The Chronic. The original Chronic was a West Coast soundtrack to the early 90s and, once it dropped, Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Nate Dogg, Kurupt, Tha Dogg Pound, and more carried gangsta rap through its first wave.  Eventually, Dr. Dre decided to come out with his own label, Aftermath, in which he released a horrible album also titled The Aftermath. After The Aftermath disaster, fans waited for years for the Chronic 2001, which eventually came out in 1999. About a year after the Chronic 2001 came out, Dr. Dre began talking about what was to be his next album, “Detox“.

“Chinese Democracy” is the urban myth of an album that was suppose to be Guns N Roses’ follow up to Use Your Illusion 1 and 2.  GNR milked Use Your Illusions 1 and 2 from 1991 until 1993.  At that point, they released an album of covers called The Spaghetti Incident, which was their attempt to make their own Garage Days Revisited.  Around this time frame (1993-1994), Guns N’ Roses transformed themselves from one of the greatest rock bands into a band that did not create new music for their fans.  Axl wanted to sound like the industrial music at the time. Rob Halford from Judas Priest had a band called Fight that was short lived.  Axl Rose never let up on his dream to make Guns N’ Roses the next Fight and, in his quest, he fired every original member of Guns N’ Roses and recast them with bizarre replacements. He spent millions of dollars recording tracks that, somehow, started to leak on to the internet around 1999. The tracks that were leaking out way back then are actually the very same tracks that are leaking out now in 2008. These tracks were to be the next Guns N’ Roses album called Chinese Democracy.

Snoop Dogg is one of the talking heads of credibility that leak information about Detox. Even though this has happened in the past, there is still a ray of hope amongst the die hard fans of Dr. Dre’s lyrical genius and flow that he will return with a sequel to the Chronic that is way better than Cheech and Chong’s Still Smoking. I was reading on a Rolling Stone blog about Snoop Dogg was proclaiming that Detox was coming out.  People got bent out of shape because the article tried to compare Chinese Democracy and Detox. Chinese Democracy is far less likely to come out than Detox, even though it has been floated around since 2000. It floats around like a drifting release date. I recently read that Detox that is scheduled for late 2008, but each year seems to have some new news about what is claimed to be Dr. Dre’s “last rap album“. Maybe he’ll produce Coldplay and My Chemical Romance and the release date will be postponed until 2010.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If and when it is released, Detox cannot be like The Aftermath album that came out after The Chronic.  1996 was a bad time for gangster rap.  Tupac died and Mr. Cee from RBL Posse died.  I remember listening to The Aftermath in the parking lot of Tower Records in Sacramento when it came out and I was so bummed out. It is hard to recreate how much it sucked hearing that tape upon first listen. The Chronic 2001 was pretty good though and I can even still rock that album as much as the original Chronic. It was pretty lame of Death Row to release an album called The Chronic 2000 before Dr. Dre could finish Chronic 2001, but the Death Row album was actually even worse than The Aftermath, and by far. I just assume that Death Row does Christian R & B Praise music nowadays and that none of the Death Row people kick it with Dr. Dre anymore.

Whereas Axl is the creator and the executive producer of the Chinese Democracy project, he lacks that raw talent of other musicians to sing on his album. The Talking Heads did it without David Byrne on “No Talking Just Head“, which happened to have the late, great autoerotic asphyxiation superstar Michael Hutchence.  Sebastian Bach is no Snoop Dogg, hell no, but he is Axl Rose’s buddy that happens to sing a song on Chinese Democracy.  Sebastian Bach and Buckethead cannot pull an album together.  Instead of going through conflict resolution training, Axl decided to say “To hell with everyone” that thinks his new music sounds like a bad demo that’s going to an indie rock label to get signed.  Bach sticks up for Axl and is his main advocate.  With a friend like Sebastian Bach, who could go wrong?  I think that Skid Row lacks any of rock’s thunder in this millennium; they are probably touring with Winger.  I actually think that Winger is probably even more likely to release an album than Guns N’ Roses.  I heard Chinese Democracy cuts on the Internet in 2000 and the exact same songs are up.  Not much has changed.  I snuck a video camera into the Tacoma Dome when Guns N’ Roses played there in 2002 and it was some of the worst video footage I have ever shot in my life. You cannot recognize anything, but you can hear the audio. The songs that were on the Internet in 2000 were played at the concert. I know that industrial music was kinda big in the 90s, but it has lost its flavor among the listening public.

I interviewed Mr. Brogger, an avid fan of Dr. Dre, about the “upcoming” album.  He had more to say about it that shed some light on the current fiasco.  He mentioned that Dr. Dre is always in the public eye putting out music for other musicians and explained that Dre often gives away his awesome Detox tracks to other artist like 50 cent and The Game.  This means that we might have already heard what Detox was going to sound like.  Mr. Brogger further told me that “In Da Club” and “Hate it or Love it” were originally beats from Detox.  I get the same ideas in my head about sampling David Lee Roth and inserting his vocals without background music-to-music samples from 5150.

Dr. Dre has the potential to cut his Thriller or to release an album as successful as Snoop Dogg’s Tha Doggfather and I’m hoping that it will be great. It is hard to find songs from Detox on the Internet but I did find one with Mary J Bilge and The Game.  It was o.k but I didn’t jump out of my seat.  The Guns N’ Roses stuff, on the other hand, has been leaked and identified as crap by the majority of those who have listened to it.  “Good” albums just don’t hang out in the studio indefinitely.  Let’s hope that Axl wakes up tomorrow, holds everyone’s hand from the original Guns N’ Roses (prior to Matt Sorum) while singing Chicago’s “It’s Hard For Me To Say I’m Sorry” and puts the video on the internet, in turn, prompting Dr. Dre to call him up with an offer to produce the new Guns N’ Roses tracks.  Michael Jackson and Billy Joel will sign up and Dre will produce everyone including Outkast.  This would then push the Detox release date to 2016.

As for Billy Joel, he decided not to make Disney music throughout the 90s, as it seemed like he was destined to do.  Instead, he went straight to the bottle.  I saw him perform with Elton John at the Tacoma Dome a few years ago and he was haggard.  He did not have any new material, but had no problem doing Beatles covers with Elton.  Joel played after Elton John, but he lacked the energy of what Elton brought to the stage.  At least Billy Joel can still say that he never sang “Circle of Life“.  I guess that’s why it might be better not to release anything than to release a song that would be the equivalent of a “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” or an I “Don’t Want To Miss A Thang“.  Personally, I don’t want to miss Nuthin’ But A G Thang 2.

I have expected Dr Dre to make an album back in 2005, when 50 Cent and The Game were still on the radio non-stop.  With gangster rap starting to lose the heat that it once had back when Straight Outta Compton or The Chronic came out, Dre is going to have to put out something that is not completely gangster. Perhaps he could get Josh Groban or John Mayer to sing a hook or maybe Dre could get Steven Tyler hooked on pain pills again and record his record while he is detoxing. He could use the samples to drive the album to the top of the charts and Aerosmith could be the backing band of the Up In Smoke 2 tour that is planned to follow the Detox album release. A Guitar Hero game featuring Dr. Dre and Aerosmith would come out for the DS.  It would only be a matter of time.

I found this list of so-called tracks for Detox on a site called Nobodysmiling.com:

1. Intro
2. I’m Back(D.R.E.) ft. Snoop Dogg
3. Rendezvous ft. Busta Rhymes
4. Compton’s Finest ft. The Game
5. Lyrical Dynamo ft. Rakim, Hittman, Ms.Roq
6. That The Way ft. G.A.G.E., Stat Quo
7. Real *****z ft. Kurupt, Ms.Roq, Hittman, Defari, Knoc-Turn’al
8. *****s And b*tches(Skit) ft. Eddie Griffin
9. Raindrops ft. Mary J.Blige
10. Kick Yo Ass ft. Ice Cube, Mc Ren,
11. Pass The Torch ft. Eminem, Nate Dogg
12. Devil’s Gun ft. Kokane
13. You’re Nasty(Skit) ft. Jake Steed
14. Bottles Up ft. 50 Cent
15. Runnin’ Thang ft. Knoc-Turn’al
16. Phone Call(Skit) ft. Eddie Griffin, Traci Nelson
17. It’s Not A Game ft. Bishop Lamont, Xzibit
18. Do It Again ft. Eve, Ms.Roq, Kokane
19. She On The Pole(Skit) Eddie Griffin
20. Cycle of Dre ft. Eminem
21. Things Fall Apart ft. Mary J.Blige, The Game
22. Angle’s Revenge ft. Truth Hurths
23. Inside and Outside ft. Time Bomb T, King T, Mc Ren, Hittman
24. The Sick Bastard ft. Busta Rhymes, Eminem, Kurupt
25. Last Party Tonight ft. Xzibit, Warren G, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg

In conclusion, you will hear that Detox is coming out.  People have been coming on 106 and Park, this entire decade, claiming that Detox is coming out in “the Fall“.  I was watching BET a week ago and they said that Dr. Dre is getting ready to drop a new album.  I felt like Matthew Fox from Lost and had a flashback and a flash-forward.  In the flashback, I saw the same information on 106 and Park from a year when Mike Jones or Lil John were still relevant.  In the flash-forward, a saw an interview with Dr. Dre about how close he is to dropping Detox.  It was in the next decade. I’m not going to go as far as saying that I’ll buy Dr. Pepper for everyone in the United States if Detox comes out this year, but I do not have enough faith in gangsta rap that it’ll come through on its word.  May gangsta rap fade away once again only to make yet another comeback?

On that point, I thought about ways that gangsta rap as a genre could make another comeback in about 2-3 years.  In the current climate, it is not profitable to make a gangsta rap record for the mainstream.  If you pay over 1/2 million dollars to make a video for a song that you only wrote the rap for and did not make the beat or do any of the production, you will barely be able to repay the video costs after everyone downloads your hit tracks off of the internet for free. I do not realistically see gangsta rap artists going on tours that heavily promote their singles and, without the touring and strong concept albums that attract money, gangsta rap is unsustainable. If gangsta rap gets real gangsta, like Brotha Lynch Hung gangsta, and artists make thug videos on camcorders, it could lead to a media revolution of the genre. It would be more about crime, drugs, and thugger.  That is, it would be more about what is really happening on the street.  The videos will be so low budget and the beats will be low budget too.  It’ll be a little like Master P, but more on the side of embracing the streets through hand held camera movements.  Real thugs would be filmed in their element, the songs would be about a real struggle, and it would be the next generation of gangsta rap.

-Mac Dawg

The Kids of Widney High
July 12th, 2008
Northwest Film Forum
Seattle, Wa

I was recently on the Ipecac Recordings website looking through upcoming Melvins tourdates.  Ipecac is a label co-founded by Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Peeping Tom, etc)  and is home to projects for Hella drummer Zach Hill, Mickey “Dean Ween” Melchiondo’s band The Moistboyz, super heavy musical onslaughts from San Diego’s The Locust, and the Patton/Melvins side projects Fantomas and Tomahawk.  Scrolling down through the various Ipecac tour dates, I was shocked  and amazed to see listings for a handy capable vocal group known as The Kids of Widney High.  They were coming to Seattle and it was only two days away.

Widney High is a Los Angeles based High School catering to special needs children from the ages of 13 to 22.  The Kids of Widney High is a group of disabled prodigees and recording artists which stemmed from a songwriting class at the school.  In 1989, after teacher Michael Monagan helped the students create and arrange their own music, the kids released their first original album called Special Music From Special Kids on Rounder Records, which included liner notes from both Smokey Robinson and Tiffany.  It had to have been around 1995 or so when I finally first heard the album and I was immediately sucked in.  At the time I was already beginning my infatuation with the late great Wesley Willis, and the energy and enthusiasm behind the music fit right into my scope of interest at the time.  The first track off of the album, titled New Car, had notes of Rain Man as former student Robert Ross sang about the glory of having a new car in his garage.  “I wash the windows, I vacuum the floors.  I wash the motor, I dry the doors.“  The song Insects warned, “Bees will sting you very hard, all over your body. Bugs are in the trees and they’re watching you” and the song Throw away the Trash discouraged littering wih lyrics like, “I wanna feel proud about my clean school,  If someone throws trash ‘I pity the fool!!’ “.  These songs and their catchy ass hooks have been stuck in my mind for the better part of the last decade and a half.

In 1999, 10 years after the original release, I began to hear about the second KOWH album, Let’s Get Busy.  This album was released on Ipecac and featured the track Every Girl’s My Girlfriend.  Although, Let’s Get Busy had a different lineup of students vocally, the transition was smooth between the two albums.   I had only heard the album a few times but I liked it and was glad to know that the music project had remained productive.

The new tour dates that I had stumbled across recently were for what was to be the Kids first ever real tour and was being presented by Sony Playstation.  Although they had never toured, KOWH have been plenty busy, since the 1999 recording, in ways that I was completely oblivious to.  About half of the students from the Let’s Get Busy sessions were joined by new students in the rotating lineup for the rock heavy 2003 album, Act Your Age.  Later, the group played a spot on the Vans Warped Tour in California, have opened up for The Melvins and Mr. Bungle, and have released a live album.  The Johnny Knoxville film, The Ringer, featured two appearances by this most recent Widney crew performing tracks from Act Your Age.  Videos have been produced for songs like “Pretty Girls” and the Kids have even broadened their interests to include the production of films and their own Better Bacon clothing line.  The Kids of Widney High tour would now bring them to The Northwest Film Forum to perform their music and to present some short films that they had worked on.

The ticket fees went to charity.  We paid ours online and took a bus out to the Film Forum.  When we arrived, I checked in with will call and then confirmed the photo policy.  Once I knew everything was legit, I hit up the merch table.  I bought a blue shirt that had the white handicap wheelchair logo except, on this shirt, the upper logo morphs into a music note.  We entered an auditorium 1/3 the size of a small movie theater and it was only about 20% full.  There were microphones set up and one acoustic guitar. Someone took the center microphone and explained that there would be a few readings before the musical performance and then finally a few films would be shown.

The Readings

Next a duo of hispanic students stepped up to the microphones.  There was a female student, Elisa Delatorre, with a backwords pink baseball cap and a fanny pack slouched off to one side.  She was there to read excerpts from her autobiography and opted against using the microphone stand.  She held her reading material incredibly close to her face while reading and the mic in the other.  This meant that everytime Elisa needed to change a page in her little book, she actually had to hand off the mic and pause, often mid-sentence, to do so.  The other student, Luis “Peewee” Fernandez, stood by her side and held the mic for her during her page changes.  He wore a self-designed, Velvet Underground inspired T-Shirt that had “Out of Shape Banana” printed on it and acted similar to a hip-hop hype man or Ed Mcmahan by her side, by chiming in at the end of sentences or cracking wise with some sarcastic outbursts.  Elisa’s reading went something like this,
“We have our ups and downs but we don’t let it get-”
*hands mic off to turn page and gets it back*
“-to us.”
Then Pee Wee would say something to the effect of.  “That’s right, we’re people too“  or threatening to deliver something along the lines of an ”organic beating“.  Content-wise, Elisa’s reading was very similar to Shelley’s.  They both referred to the alienation that people feel and, due to the serious nature of the subject matter, it was hard to know how to react at first.  Pee Wee really began to effect the vibe in the room early on and made me feel more comfortable about laughing.  At one point, Elisa’s cell phone began ringing in her pocket and Pee Wee helped bring attention to that.

The Music

When the reading was done the rest of the crew stepped side by side up to the microphones and a faculty member, whom I assume was Monagan, stood to their right with his acoustic guitar.  There were five students total now.  The two new additions were a black girl with braided hair and glasses named Tanesa Tarvin and Cain Fonseca, a hispanic student sporting a straw cowboy hat.  As soon as the guitar riff hit, the super crew went at the vocals full force.  The first song that they performed was the track Doctor Doctor and it was the fucking jam.  Everyone in the group was giving it their all and singing along to the lyrics “Please don’t hurt me Doctor, Doctor, please don’t hurt me“.  The next song they performed was a song from the album Act Your Age called I Make My Teachers Mad, which begins with the lyrics, “I wake up every morning, listen to Howard Stern.  I think about things I can slash and burn“.  It began to look like they may have just gotten some of the serious readings and messages out of the way early but, when it became time to rock, this crew tore the stage up like a goddamn collections letter.  They did not seem concerned in the slightest with the lack of audience turn-out which, in my opinion, is how it should be.  I’ve played more than a few concerts like that myself before.

The kids work as encouragement to all those who have disabilities but they also show the rest of the lazy bastards out there what is possible.  The work they do is an accomplishment for anyone not just, “Amazing for a handful of retards.“  Films like Brokeback Mountain and Philadelphia are hailed for their edginess and out of the box approaches that have heterosexuals portraying characters that represent unsung voices of society, but where are the gay actors?  Sean Penn gets a pat on the back for playing someone who is mentally challenged but, in my opinion, it seems like these are just roles taken from disabled people and minorities that could have used those opportunities.  Angelina Jolie played a fucking black woman for chrissakes!  I don’t know if anyone with dwarfism will ever have the opportunity to play a character that is not a robot, a leprechaun, or does not consistently bring attention to their small stature, but I do love that KOWH take the responsibility of their fates in their own hands.  What I love about films like Dinner Time is that they are commentaries on how they see those those of us “without disabilities“.  Profound messages are woven in their dialogue and mannerism relating to relationships, egotism, and how we treat one another.

The applauses that we gave at the end of the event were not patronizing but had come from an honest appreciation and gratitude for what was equal parts entertainment and enlightenment.  The real accomplishment and message is not that severely disabled people can work hard and become inspirations by emulating “the rest of us” but that they are actually the same as “the rest of us” and have their own accomplishments that are equally amazing as anyone else.  They may always be referred to as the “Kids“ of Widney High but they are growing and have become adults in their own right who do things that other adults enjoy.  Pee Wee likes to get his drink on and where it refers to the tours stop in Humboldt on the KOWH site it follows it up in parenthesis with ”where Peewee is sure to have a smokin’ time“.  The programs have not only helped those with disabilities with their self-esteem, learning, and with inspiration but are also working as reminders of important messages to everyone else out there from the art that they have yielded.  This is why it is such a tragedy that much of the funding for these programs are being cut in California by established ex-pot smoking and group sex enthusiast/governer Arnold Schwarzenegger.  In a brief video interview with Pee Wee about the KOWH’s Better Bacon clothing line, he explains why he feels that it is important for them to express themselves to the public in an extremely poignant way that sums up the message that the kids represent and that the governator could benefit from listening to.  ”That way we are known throughout the world that we’re out here…. People will call us retards.  I guess all of us in general are retards too at some point.  Yes we have things that might seem abnormal to regular people or, so called regular people, but in reality we all have issues.  Now, let’s stop playing games, that is the truth.”

-Dead C

I hand Kim a DV camera and inform her that she will be filming the interview and then ask her to watch all of my equipment and notes while I run to QFC to get film. I found out the day before that I would not be recieving the Digital SLR camera that I had ordered weeks prior (this situation will be covered in another article) and so I brought an old manual Cannon AE1 for which I had accidentally bought the wrong film, in my frenzy to reach the venue on time. I purchased new film and rushed back to the bar only to find out that the Camera battery was dead anyway, so I was fucked. No camera to go with the photopass. Another opportunity lost, but such is the way of MonsterFresh.

As soon as we walk across the street to the venue, Neumos Crystal Ball Reading Room, I spot Daniel’s brother/tour manager, Dick Johnston whom I recognized from the documentary. I shook his hand and he led me around the building so that we could get things rolling. If you have seen the film The Devil and Daniel Johnston, you may remember Dick as the brother who’s ribs were broken by Daniel on Christmas. He set up the interview for me and is working as Daniel’s tour manager. Their father is Daniel’s manager and their sister Margie Johnston has been known to help with the management of his art. The family is very involved in Daniel’s finances in such ways as insuring that he is paid sufficiently, that his rent is paid, that he has groceries, etc.

We turn the corner and I see Daniel with his head lowered to the ground and smoking a cigarette. The front of his hair is yellowing from nicotine, he is wearing a faded black Spiderman T-shirt and a windbreaker, and he seems to be oblivious to who he is and what that actually means. He is standing very nonchalant outside of the building, as if he were unnoticible, when we approach. An employee of Neumos asks Daniel if he and/or Dick need anything in the way of food. Daniel has mentioned in the past that he is trying to lose the weight that he has gained over the years, no doubt due to his medication, so he makes sure to specify a “DIET” Coke in his request for a cheeseburger and fries. She says that she will go get some from a place down the street and, when Daniel implies that he will go up there himself, his brother/manager reminds him that he has a sound check to do and ushers him into the building as I follow behind.

At this point, I haven’t said shit and I am holding a vinyl copy of a live radio broadcast of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. I picked it up at my favorite local record store for Daniel, knowing his infatuation with monsters, and figured that I could use it now as an ice-breaker, considering that he didn’t even seem to react to the fact that I was there or wonder why. I say hello, inform him that I was there to do an interview, and give him the record. He responded with something to the effect of, “Man, this is really cool. I love Frankenstein!“. Dick informs Daniel that it will take a minute for soundcheck and that now would be a good time to do an interview, so Daniel agrees and finds a round table in the corner of the venue next to a bunch of trashcans to sit at. As I walk across the room to find a chair of my own, I notice that a couple of fans have lurked in but are standing back respectfully. I pull up my chair, sit down in the Chip & Peppers I scored at a thrift store, and immediately realize that I’m sitting in gum. Not old hard gum, mind you, but fresh sticky warm gum and it’s all over my ass. Fuck it! Just hit “RECORD“. We’re already in it. Let’s do this thing.

Daniel Johnston: Hey Dick, could you get me a Diet Coke?

Dick Johnston: She said she’s working on it Daniel!

Oh, I mean, do they have anything to drink at the bar? Soda Pop or something?

She said she was gonna get you one Daniel.

*Laughing* Where is she? I mean, at the bar. I just need something to drink right now, that’s all.

*towards me*

Okay. Sorry.

DEAD C: That’s fine.

*noticing my notes* I see you’ve done your research, huh?

*Holding up the record I gave him*
Thank you for the Frankenstein album. I LOVE Frankenstein.

I know.

*He laughs*

I saw that today and I was like, “I better pick that up“. I know you’re a big fan.

So, it’s kind of interesting; when you were recording your Yip/Jump album, you were doing that at your brother Dick’s, right?

*He nods as the woman from Neumos places a can of Diet Coke on the table in front of him*
Thank you.

And, so back then, your family wasn’t as supportive.

Uh, huh.

But now, your family’s really, really involved in everything you do?

Uh, huh. Uh, huh.

Is that, to you, kind of like a poetic irony?

I really don’t know. I really don’t know what you said. But, y’know… *shakes head* I don’t know.

Your family’s really supportive of you now though, right?

Mmm, hmm.

…Of your music?

*he nods*

I heard something about you maybe doing something with Alternative Tentacles and you were also talking about a Christmas Album. Did anything happen with either of them?

Uh…what was the question again?

I read something where you just talked about possibly doing an album with Alternative Tentacles and…

Mm hmmm. Yeah, well we’re working on an album called Death of Satan with my group called Danny and the Nightmares. We’ve been working on it for about a year and we’re looking forward to, y’know, eventually releasing it this year.

And that’s gonna be on that label?

Mm hmm. That’s the label we’re shooting for, so we hope we can get it, yeah.

You’ve mentioned a Christmas album, are you still thinking about doing that?

Yeah, a Christmas album. We were were thinking about doing a Christmas album. Well, I had the fantasy of doing a Christmas album with The Butthole Surfers but, it never came around. But one of my producers always wanted to do a Christmas album.

Do you still talk to Gibby (Haynes from The Butthole Surfers)?

Yeah, I’ve seen him around. Yeah, I’ve seen him.

Um, I know you’ve made a lot of films a long time ago…

Uh, huh.

…a lot of short films. And you have a lot of interest in art and music; do you do anything with the films still?

Uhhhh…. Yeah, well we have been making some videos with the group and stuff. And y’know, the movie came out… last year, I guess. But, other than that, we’ve been doing a few videos that haven’t been finished yet.

After you saw the movie- I know you’ve seen it (The Devil And Daniel Johnston) quite a few times now.

Mm hmm.

Did it make you want to keep documenting your life or did it make you, kind of, want to slow down? Because they had so much of your life at once. That must have been a lot to watch.

Just happened, over in an instant. It’s like my life is over the minute they put it on the show. *laughing uncomfortably*</span Sure was embarrasing.

Was it?

But it was kind of funny. I think it has a sense of humor. It’s more like me sitting right here talking to you now. you’re probably thinking, “Oh, what an idiot.“-

No

I was an idiot in the film. That’s how I felt, y’know. But I thought it had a sense of humor. Even though they’re laughing at me, at least they’re laughing.

You see, I didn’t see it like that. It was really exposed but, as far as if you see it that way… I’ve been in a mental ward too, y’know.

Yeah, yeah. I know… boy was that hard to do. I was in a mental hospital for 5 years of my life. And I wasn’t writing, and I wasn’t even drawing that much. It was just a desperate attempt to have a cigarette by the (end of) the whole thing.

*both laugh*

We had cigarettes when I was in there-

Yeah, Yeah.

So that was nice.

They provided cigarettes?

Uh, no. They had a little room… a little area.

Yeah. Well, I didn’t smoke until I was staying in one place and they said, “Here’s a cigarette- Smoke break.” And they would give us cigarettes. So-

That’s how I started too.

-I started smoking just for the heck of it. And then when I went to a different one, no cigarettes. Y’know? And I was like- Every time I’d get a carton of cigarettes, I gave everybody cigarettes. I was like Mr. Popular. And then when I ran out of cigarettes NO ONE would give ME a cigarette. So that just goes to show you… *laughs*

Yeah, they told me I was borderline narcissistic and hypomanic.

*He nods and takes a swig off of his soda can*

And um… the medication. That must have made it difficult for you to write. When did you finally-

Well, they were just experimenting on me like a guinea pig. I mean they didn’t even talk. The doctors never talked to me. They just kept shoving pills down our throats, y’know. When I finally did get out and get the right medication- It’s been the longest time… and I am a manic depression. I have severe- (or) HAD severe depression. But because of the right medication, it’s been about ten, fifteen years now, and I’ve been on top of things and haven’t had to go back to a hospital. So I really am grateful for that.

Yeah.

It’s pretty good stuff I get. I get some anti-depressants. The first time I got it, I was bedridden for a year, thinking I was damned by god or something. Right? And then they gave me the Elavil anti-depressant. I was up the next day, climbed up the hill to my old piano and I started writing songs right away. And, first thing I knew, I went to New York and recorded my album 1990.

That’s a great album too.

Thanks.

‘cuz I listen to a lot of the early stuff…

Uh, huh.

Were you recording those albums, like Hi, How are you?, Were you just recording them on a tape recorder.

Mm hmm.

Because it sounds like on 1990, the production changed and you could hear everything really well.

Mmm hmmm. *nods*

Is that the moment that you felt like you just broke through the medication? When you went up there and played.

Yeah. You mean… to New York?

Well, yeah. I mean, you call it a “Lost Year“, right?

Uh, huh.

After that… (I’m wondering) what that moment is where you felt like you could do that again.

Yeah. I just started writing again *snaps* You know, right away. It comes down to medication. And I tell everyone in the Rock N Roll business that do drugs- Speed, and everything else… get high on marijuana and everything. If they really want to be a Rock N Roller, they outta go to a doctor and ask them for some antidepressants, or different kind of pills, for whatever their ill is. And you get a lot better buzz off prescription medicine. More than smoking marijuana all the time, y’know.

Yeah.

But it’s the truth. I feel great a lot of the times and I don’t get depressed anymore like I used to, which is a real miracle.

I also read something about a film that wasn’t a documentary. You had some people (who) were talking about making and actual… like… a movie.

Right.

And you had said that you would maybe want to star in it? What’s the deal with that?

Yeah. I hope to make more movies and I wanted to direct my own movie, y’know, for fun. That’s what I plan to do.

You’re also into a lot of comics. Are you interested in the Iron Man movie that’s coming out at all, or are you not even into Iron Man very much?

Oh, I love Iron Man. They wanted me to draw the drawing for the movie.

Oh, really?

*nods* For the poster. Y’know? So I did a bunch of them. I don’t think they’ll be able to use ‘em. I mean, if they like them, they could but I’m sure they could get someone to do better than the ones I did. I don’t know, but… it’s like a new Iron Man movie. And then, on top of that, they designed a shoe-

*I stare at his plain white shoes*

*smiling* These aren’t it

*Laughing* Oh, Okay.

But they want me to design a shoe with my drawings in it.

*We both laugh*

What will they think of next?

Who’s that?

Converse.

Oh, okay. Nice.

*reaching into his pocket* I can’t smoke right here?

KIM (GF): Yeah, I think you have to go outside.

Okay….okay

So, I know you’re a huge Beatles fan.

Mm hmm.

Songs like Greivances kind of sound a little more like Bob Dylan. Do you listen to a lot of Dylan?

Oh, Bob Dylan’s right up there with all my heroes. That’s for sure.

So, when you talk about Jack Kirby, you talk about someone whos work wasn’t as good as his other work-

Uh, no

-but you could still see the-

Oh, I’m a die hard fan of Kirby. I just got back, I had almost $500 worth of Kirby comics and books I bought at the comic book store here in town (Seattle) and uh…. so I do love Kirby *laughs* It’s like the Beatles too, y’know. I can’t get enough. I got all the bootlegs and stuff, and I can never get enough.

Do you think it’s the same kind of thing with your early recordings? ‘Cuz I still listen to ‘em and even though they’ve become digital and are on CDs.

Right.

Even though you don’t have the studio, you can still hear the music come through. And then you get to something like 1990 where the production shows what you were doing with a little bit better sound.

*reaches for cigarettes again*

And then nowadays, when you do songs like your song The Beatles it’s really confident and the production is up there. Do you think you have the same quality (as Kirby) and that’s why people still want to listen to those old recordings, even though they were made so lo-fi?

Well. *slams back and tosses soda can* I’m trying to get better production, y’know.

Mm hmm.

I recorded with Paul leary and we did the album called Fun, on Atlantic. We’re thinking about doing another album: Fun 2. Y’know, the second Fun album. And I’m planning top do some recording with Mark Linkous again of the band Sparklehorse. I’ve been working on that for a few years too, so…

So that’s a sequel to the first Sparklehorse album…

That’s right. That’s right, there’s a lot of different projects in the making.

*grabs cigarette out and puts it back into the pack*

It’s just what the medication was, right? Because when you were doing shows for a while you would go off of the meds.

Right.

Is that because you didn’t feel like you could do ‘em without them?

Uh….

But when you got the right ones you felt like you could?

Uh… *shrugs* yeah….I don’t think I’d ever like, re-record. Unless I did like a greatest hits and then I’d like to make some new arrangements, y’know.

Fan (behind me): Yeah, fucking awesome.

*laughing* That’d be cool.

[At this point, Daniel is holding his smokes and is shaking a bit again, so I know it's probably time to wind down]

I know you work on comics and you work on maybe getting comic books. But your art- You sell it so fast.

Uh, huh.

So you don’t really have these steps or back catalog. But you have a lot of, you know…the devil in your pictures. Do you look at that (Satan) as the opposite of art? Do you look at art as your spirituality? Or as just like a medium to express yourself?

*tapping Kools on table & nodding contemplatively*
I agree.

Is that how you see your artwork?

It’s the same kind of thing. You know, I’ll draw cartoons for a while, then I’ll play music for a while, then I’ll watch a movie or two, then I’ll… eat a bunch of food. Then I’ll play some more music. Then I’ll draw a little bit. Then I’ll watch another movie. That’s my day, all by myself. Except, unless my band gets together to do some recording on the weekends. And then we go off on little tours like this. We’ve got 3 more shows and I’m having a pretty good time, y’know. I just hope that everything can work out right so I can record the albums that I want to, and stuff like that. And we get some pretty good crowds too. Sell out crowds too, y’know, so… *shrugs again*

Well, yeah. You sold out Portland and I don’t think that people are just coming to see you because of what you used to make. From what I’ve heard, your material is still really good, it’s still vital.

Well, it’s getting ancient. I’ve come along way from playing the chord organ. But, I really like working with Brian Beattie. He’s got some really cool music.

So do you have a lot of stuff lined up for the next couple albums then?

Yeah. Yeah, we have one more album with Brian Beattie called Rarely with some rare tracks and each tracks is gonna be like, super produced. Real- Something tricky about it. You know, something really cool. He’s got a lot of it done already and that might be the next release, with Brian. And like I said, the new album with Danny and the Nightmares, the Death of Satan (that) we’ve been working on for a long time. It’s kind of a scary album.

In what, with just like, the lyrics or the music too.

The lyrics AND the music. There’s like overdubs and the wrong lyrics and all kinds of things about it… and y’know, fragments of Beatles songs and stuff like that. It’s pretty scary
*giggles*

Well, thanks for talking with me.

Yeah, thanks a lot. I sure appreciate it.

*we shake hands*

Yeah.

Thanks for the album.

I know you want to get a cigarette.

Yeah, that’s right.
*heads out towards door*

I sat in a piece of gum there.

Kim: Did you?

*laughing* Yeah, I totally did.

*overhearing* You sat on a piece of gum?

That’s right.

Oh, sorry about that.

Oh, it’s all good.

I follow Daniel back outside but I leave the camera turned off. I thought of moving the interview outside just minutes into it, so that he could smoke but I don’t know if that really would have made much of a difference beyond adding the distraction of swarming fans into the equation. We did talk a little more outside, however. When I brought up his appearance on Kimya Dawson’s Hidden Vagenda album, Daniel said that he loves her stuff and when he signed my 100 Deadliest Karate Moves book, he said, “I prefer Kung-Fu myself”. He invinted Kim and I to go hang out after the show backstage and we let him get back to smoking and talking with fans.

I researched quite a bit before doing this interview but Daniel is still always going to be a bit of a wild card. I also tried to intentionally avoid entering into certain areas of conversation that I felt may be “too safe” because many of those topics have been adressed in other interviews. I quickly became aware that his answers to these same questions, however, often seem to be inconsistent. In an interview he did with Mondo 2000, while he was in a mental ward, Johnston said the following: “Captain America will return. In the flesh. In the Great Tribulation there will be a great Captain America who will save many from total doom.” Later, however, in another interview with Crimewave, when asked about his claims that Captain America is “real“, he attempted to clarify by saying, “In my theory what I mean is that… they exist on sort of a realm, especially for children… imagination. You know, cartoon characters and things children believe in, they exist. Just like Santa Claus I guess.” He was obivously more lucid and analytical in the later interview and even clearly articulated and reflected about his alternate states of mind and opportunities lost. “I turn down Elektra. It was really stupid and it was because I was afraid of Metallica. And that’s the truth, I was dumb…..Steven Spielberg tried to get me to sign with him and I told whoever it was on the phone that I didn’t want to be ET and that was the end of that… I could’ve been on Steven Spielberg’s label and I was so stupid and they never called back either…that’s two chances I’ve ruined for no good reason.” In reference to his thoughts on the movie Daniel has said “I think it’s funny enough for anybody that has a sense of humour. If there was a laugh track on there it would’ve helped out.” and even, “I’ve seen it about 10 times. I really do like it.” but the response I received was, of course, quite different.

It turns out that the two guys who were lingering behind us during the interview apparently went to highschool with me, so we all went next door to get some drinks before the show and talked about the whole situation that just went down. One of them mentioned that they were glad that I ended the interview when I did, because they were picking up on the same uncomfortably restless vibe from Daniel that I was. They, however, assured me that the interview went really well despite the awkward moments. I, myself, have mixed feelings about the interview and, more specifically, in how Daniel may be percieved through it. It was good to talk with die-hard fans who had witnessed it and have respect for him that let me know that it’s important to show Johnston “the way he is“.

James McNew of Yo La Tengo said, “I once visited him in a mental hospital and it was difficult to have a conversation but when he’s playing he comes alive. We’ve done gigs with him and it’s like performing with Santa or the Easter Bunny, this mythical creature that’s only existed in your imagination.” I feel that this quote really sums up my own experience with Daniel. He got quite a bit of help with the instrumentation in his performance but he still put his soul into the vocals. He performed classics like Walking The Cow and finished the show off by first, playing True Love Will Find You In The End, and then having the entire crowd sing along with him to his acapella classic Devil Town. I realized, after viewing my interview with him repeatedly, that my feelings are very similar to Daniel’s feelings about his documentary, in that they often change. I first viewed it as a trainwreck and I felt like an asshole but now I am more positive than ever about getting the chance to to have this experience. I am now aware that this interview, like all of the others I’ve read, is like a sample of Daniel in a little capsule and I actually encourage everyone to continue on and read the interviewers done by others out there. Just like his music, in the respect that each little song exposes something new about Daniel, it seems that each and every moment captured in his life tends to do the same. I am proud to contribute something new, no matter how small, to help archive his life. There are many expectations that have been put on the artist by others before me and even more expectations placed by him on himself, but I believe that his art is so authentic that it mirrors his personality directly. The greatness of Daniel’s work doesn’t come from the fact that he’s dealt with so many emotional battles, but despite them. Much like a large portion of his musical recordings, there is also a low-fi static around who Daniel really is and, once you get to the center of them both and witness what is beneath, the previous barriers actually dissipate. If you believe as I do, that physical art is really just amanifestation of the intangible into the tangible, no one is more successful than Daniel Johnston. Daniel Johnston writes timeless songs with no perservatives.

Johnston went from making remarkable low-fi tape recordings with his nephew’s toy chord organ to becoming one of the most repected songwriters of his generation, with various incarcerations and mental breakdowns and delusions thrown in, of course. His music has been covered and/or cited as an inspiration by fellow musicians from Tom Waits to Kurt Cobain and he has even worked with the likes of Jad Fair (Half Japanese) and members of Sonic Youth. I first became aware of Johnston, myself, through a Built to Spill album that contained a cover of Some Things Last A Long Time and , although his legend and music continued to spread and, although that is a wonderful and magnificent thing, Daniel has lived through some of the most nightmarish hells and, for years, did not recieve much of any financial compensation for his work or for the pain and soul that he pours into it. Finally, in 2004 Gammon Records released a 2-disc compilation of Daniel’s music called Discovered Covered. One Disc is of Johnston originals while the other disc contains covers from musicians such as Beck and The Flaming Lips. The proceeds from the double album went into building Daniel a home of his own next to his parents residence in Texas and Yo-La Tengo’s cover of the track Speeding Morotcycle was used in a Target advertisement for which Daniel recieved $40,000.

If you are planning to purchase any Daniel Johnston music or merchandise, I strongly encourage you to try and buy it through HiHowAreYou.com or download it through the site YipEyeTunes.com. This is the one sure way, aside from buying directly at his concerts, to make sure that your money is actually going to support Daniel. The official fansite, RejectedUnknown.com is another great source for anything Daniel Johnston, inlcuding updates, interviews, links, etc. If you have gum stuck to your jeans a)heat up some vinegar in your microwave b) apply to effected area of denim c) remove by rubbing spot with a toothbrush in circular patterns. No shit… it works!

-DEAD C

November 8, 2007
Double Door, Chicago, IL

The Meat Puppets
Ha Ha Tonka
Balloonatic

Hello, my name is Slug, and welcome to my first article for MonsterFresh.com. It is a humble article, but it had ambitions to be so much more. Originally, this article was going to be a big, garish piece of writing, throwing around big, garish quotations by the Kirkwood Brothers of The Meat Puppets, one of the best psychedelic rock bands ever, revealing all their drugged-out splendor firsthand. They were the first band I ever saw perform live on stage when I was 16 back in 1994, and I had goose bumps I was so excited. However, instead of my great big garish expose, I am left with only one quote by one band member, which I will get to momentarily, and a lesson learned, which I will close this article with.

After trying for weeks to schedule an interview with The Meat Puppets before either of their shows at the Double Door here in Chicago on November 7-8, I was at least able to get on the guest list for the second show on the 8th. Once there, I figured I would be able to work my way backstage and attempt a spontaneous interview, and I was off to the show, recorder in tow.To start the evening, two bands opened the show, Balloonatic and Ha Ha Tonka. I was too late for the Balloonatic set, but I did catch Ha Ha Tonka. They were okay, better than most opening bands, but still a little too polished and poppy (alas, not of the opiated sort) for my tastes. They had rough sketches of a Rolling Stones sensibility not short on bluesy power chords and cheesy lyrics, the type of style very popular with young rock bands trying to break the scene. While they did provide some rocking tunes for me to get drunk to, as soon as I looked at the stage, I choked on my Pabst, as they had the appearance of a post-indie radio band destined for one-hit-wonder status. To distract myself, I meandered over to the merchandise table.At the merchandise table is where the night gets interesting. Since I had not paid for a ticket, I decided to buy a concert poster for $10. However, there was no re-entry, and I did not want to hold onto the damn thing all night. I started schmoozing with the merch guy, who eventually said he would walk me through the backstage entrance to run to my car, drop off the poster, and let me back in the Double Door’s second door. Just as we turn toward the backstage area, the man himself, the infamous Cris Kirkwood walks into the bar and starts talking to my new buddy, the merch guy…

…Before I continue with the evening’s story, I would like to preface it by saying that the Meat Puppets originally split up in 1996, due in part to Cris’ raging substance abuse problems. It is widely known that he would partake in just about anything and everything, heroin and cocaine being his substances of choice. There are stories around the web detailing Cris’ rollercoaster life, including two possible deaths (one being his wife) at his Arizona residence where the band used to rehearse. Most recently, he was released from prison in 2005 following an altercation with a security guard at a post office. Apparently, he and a woman began arguing over a parking spot, and when the guard intervened, Cris grabbed the guard’s baton. In the ensuing melee, the guard shot Cris twice, sending him to the hospital, after which he would spend 18 months in prison for felony assault. In summary, Cris is one fucked up dude, at the same time both lucky and cursed. And his appearance told it all: his long, Scarecrow gray hair, his scruffy gray beard, the crazed look in his eyes, and enough wrinkles on his grizzled face for every drug he’s ever done, and probably for each day he spent in the clink. While Cris was dealing with his troubles, brother Curt continued to make stellar music. If you are not familiar, check out the self-titled album by Eyes Adrift, the short-lived supergroup Curt formed with the bassist from Nirvana, Krist Novoselic, and the drummer from Sublime, Bud Gaugh. It’s a wonderful album that any Meat Puppets fan is sure to enjoy. But I digress…

The merch guy nods in my general direction, but Cris was oblivious (as I had expected he would be). I am told to follow them, and proceed to the backstage entrance. Once there, they run out to the street to their van, and I am under the impression that I am about to get high with one of the biggest drug addicts in modern rock history. Unfortunately, all I got was my one quote for the evening…

“Hey, hold that door!“, Cris yelled at me.

There I was standing at the backstage door, turning street people away from the entrance, while the guy I wanted to meet was likely getting high in a van maybe 20 feet away.  I felt like a chump. Minutes later, they come back in, Cris breezes right past me, and the merch guy tells me to run fast to my car.  I drop off the poster, and return through the backstage entrance.  That was the last of my backstage experience for the evening, but not for a lack of trying.

Before the end of the Ha Ha Tonka set, Cris joined them on stage for a short collaborative effort that got the crowd excited. Shortly thereafter, the Meat Puppets show begins, Curt and the new drummer Ted Marcus (who replaced the retired Derrick Bostrom) joining Cris on stage. And to my pleasant surprise, they were tearing up the joint, rockin out like a bunch of high and angry teenagers who had gotten all F’s on their report card because they huffed too much Glade and got grounded for summer break.  In other words, they hadn’t lost a step.

I didn’t keep an accurate setlist, for I was much too drunk for that bit of obsessive/compulsive nonsense.  I do remember my own highlights, though.  I remember the first song I recognized was the title track from Up on the Sun, arguably their best album ever next to Meat Puppets II.  It was a great rendition, with Cris jumping around on stage, bangin his head, and laying down thick thumping basslines.  At one point, I turned to the merch guy and said, “Goddamn, Cris is playing like a madman, like a man who just got released from prison!” It was funny ’cause it was true, and we both had a good laugh.

The Puppets also played a number of tunes from Meat Puppets II, including the three songs performed with Nirvana during their Unplugged gig, “Plateau,“ “Lake of Fire,” and “Oh, Me.” From my hazy drunken memory, I also remember the songs off their outstanding new album, Rise to Your Knees, fitting in well with their past repertoire, a true sign that this band is not just playing the mid-life crisis/reunion shows, but that in this day and age of poser-wannabe major label indie bands and homogenized crap rock, The Meat Puppets are still a viable rock band, among the best in the business.  They encored with their only radio hit, “Backwater,” and I was blown away at how good it still sounds, even after all these years. Curt’s guitar solo in this song alone is worth the price of admission.

After the show, I was told to stick around and there was a possibility I could meet the band.  So I hung loose, downed a couple more Pabst, and waited for my opportunity.  As time continued to pass, I started to fear I would not get my chance. I decided to take matters into my own hand, and this is where I learned a hard lesson.  I found out where the band was, and tried to get past the doorman.  After me running my mouth long enough, he went back to ask the band if I could shake their hands.  And I quote, “I’m sorry, but the band is trying to get high, and they don’t want to be bothered. You don’t have anything to offer do you?” Well, unfortunately, I didn’t. I had spent the previous couple days leading up to the concert trying to score some combination of illegal substances, but as I’m new to Chicago, I only have a couple connections, all of which were unavailable. I hoped that it would not be an issue, but I was wrong. Instead, I was forced to walk away with my tail between my legs. I mean, what self-respecting music journalist tries to gain access to a backstage pow-wow WITHOUT drugs???? Well, my lesson was learned.

Morals of the story:
1) The Meat Puppets still rock
and
2) Never approach rock stars without a stash.

-Slug