It's All Their Fault No.2.....VOIVOD

This is the second in an irregular series of blogs dedicated to people who have helped make me what and who I am today AND will, hopefully, continue to shape and influence me in whatever I do into the future.

This is a BIG one. One of the biggest musical influences/obssessions throughout my life thus far.....VOIVOD.






I first clapped eyes and ears on Voivod one school dinner-hour sometime in 1988 when I was watching a tape of the ITV 'rock' TV show 'The Power Hour' that I had recorded the previous night. The show was on at some unholy hour of the morning so I used to programme the video to record it while I slept, and then I would watch it - mostly on fast forward - the next day. If I remember correctly, I had come home from school at dinner-time, and was eating and flicking through the previous nights recording when I decided to watch a video that had just been announced by Jacqui, the presenter, as being a track called 'Tribal Convictions' by Voivod.
Now, I had seen the name mentioned in passing whilst reading through 'Metal Forces' magazine, so I felt I ought to give them a chance, I mean, their name and song title didn't sound like the usual LA Glam/Sleaze horseshit that was the usual fodder of the show, so I let it play.

I was completely mesmerised. I had never heard anything like it.

Since discovering Metal via ZZ Top, Dio, Metallica and Slayer a few years earlier, I had progressed into heavier, louder and generally more extreme territory, into Thrash and Death Metal. I was always searching for the next band, the next link in the chain, and was always drawn to musical individualists. Along with my love of metal, I also liked the 'odder' sounds of bands such as the Cardiacs, Butthole Surfers, The Pixies and Talking Heads, as well as electronic music by Jean Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk, so when I heard Voivod, it seemed to bring EVERYTHING I liked together into one raw, weird slab of psychedelic metal.
The pounding tribal drumming, the odd noises, the chainsaw guitar, the discordant riffs, the weeeeird throaty vocals, the odd time-signatures and the rough psychedelic look of the video all just totally pulled me in, and I was in LOVE!

I went into Liverpool the next weekend and managed to get a cassette version of the latest Voivod LP 'Dimension Hatross' and a vinyl copy of their first LP 'War and Pain' from the legendary Penny Lane Records.









I must have listened to that cassette of 'Dimension Hatross' at least three times before I even got home that first day, and I knew that I had discovered something that was 'MINE'. THIS was MY band. I was a little taken aback by the raw bombast of 'War and Pain', playing the LP later, but it still sounded like NOTHING else I'd heard. The massive riffs of tracks such as 'Nuclear War' and the title track indelibly etched themselves into my mind, as did near enough every track on 'Dimension Hatross'. The artwork on both releases was so unique and individualistic, right down to the calligraphy used for the inlays and track-listing, and I was surprised to find that the man responsible was Michel 'Away' Langevin the band's DRUMMER, since we tend not to think of drummers as being 'thinkers' or 'artistic' types. It seemed that EVERYTHING about Voivod was unusual and interesting.

I read as many articles about the band and interviews with them as I could find, and thanks to Away and bassist Jean-Yves 'Blacky' Theriault, I picked up on a number of other bands and artists that I found I had a great liking for. Voivod really did broaden my musical horizons exponentially.....particularly after hearing their next record.



'Nothingface' was released in October of 1989, and completely and utterly blew my mind wide-open. It was simultaneously like nothing that Voivod had done before, AND like nothing that any other 'metal' band had done either. It was a whole new frame of reference for me. As far as I'm concerned, 'Nothingface' STILL stands alone today, and is categorically my favourite LP, full stop.
I could rhapsodise over its tonal nuances and intricate riffs 'til the cows come home - hell, I've listened to it so much that I have even memorized the double bass-drum parts - BUT that isn't the point of this article. The overarching point is to share my LOVE of Voivod.

Not long after 'Nothingface' came out I actually started writing to Away, and I still treasure his letters in return. The penmanship is unmistakeable, and I hold them very dear. It was another few years before I actually got a chance to see them live and meet them in the flesh (on the 'Outer Limits' tour, by which time, sadly, Blacky had left), but when I did, Away remembered me well and I felt very honoured to be able to spend some time with him.
I got to the venue - The Marquee, fact fans! - very early, in hopes of meeting the band beforehand and managed to do so and get all of my vinyl signed and chat to them. They were kind enough to offer me a guestlist spot and give me a free shirt too, which I was bowled over by. Amusingly, when I first spied them coming out of a pizza place near the venue, I pointed over at them in open-mouthed awe, and they responded by looking behind them to see if someone more famous was there. They were very surprised to see such a big fan in the UK, and just couldn't have been nicer.
For the record, Voivod are THE only band I was ever 'starstruck' over, apart from feeling nervous the first time I met Elvis Costello - of whom I am also a great admirer.
The show was literally like a dream come true for me, and I was ecstatic for the whole thing. It was even worth not being able to get home from, and being stuck outside Sheffield trying to hitchhike back from. Looooong story.

It was sad to see them decline, to some extent, following 'Angel Rat'- which I have always LOVED - and the departure of Blacky followed by the subsequent departure of vocalist Denis 'Snake' Belanger just after the significantly more 'mainstream' ROCK sound of 'The Outer Limits', but I resolutely stuck by them throughout the years with Eric 'E-Force' Forrest on bass and vocals, and saw them several more times. Again, every time I saw them Away was a perfect gentleman and always had time for me, and Eric was a very nice guy too. I remember his being touched at my concern over the near-fatal car accident he was involved in, when last I saw him with the band.

I was given the opportunity to study in the US for a year in 2001, and chose to study in Plattsburgh, upper NY state, mostly due to its proximity to Montreal -'hometown' of Voivod. Even though things had been quiet in the Voivod camp for a while and there were stories of legal issues following Eric's injuries, I still harboured hope that they would continue to exist, and I was rewarded when I found out that not only had Snake rejoined, but that they were playing with Motorhead and Morbid Angel in Le Medley in Montreal, on April 28th 2002 - whilst I was still in the country! Naturally, I went without a second thought, braving the snow because, IT WAS VOIVOD, DAMMIT!!
Unfortunately, I was unable to pin Away down to talk, but the show was still outstanding and I was so happy to have Voivod back in my life again. Not that they'd ever left my heart, mind you.

The next year, following Jason 'Jasonic' Newsted taking over on bass and releasing the solid but not exceptional 'Voivod' LP, I was just glad they were still HERE. Sure, it would have been great to have seen them live again and for them to have made more 'challenging' music, but the fact that they still existed was good enough for me! Sadly, things were about to change......



Towards the end of August 2005, it was revealed that Denis 'Piggy' D'Amour was very ill with colon cancer. I was devastated, but still hopeful since he had already beaten cancer of the hypothalamus back in the eighties. My hope was shortlived, and it was announced - maybe 2 days after I first found out about his illness - that he had died on August 25th 2005.

I freely admit that I was inconsolable. I was so very upset at the death of this man whom I had met only briefly on a couple of occasions but had touched my life in such a positive and thrilling way, I did not know what to do. I felt that my reaction was a little OTT, but then, when I actually considered it, it WAS a lot like losing a friend. It meant that there would be no more of the music that I loved so much.
The knowledge that he had left behind already recorded guitar parts for songs that he had written at home was some small consolation, but following the release of 'Katorz' in 2006 and 'Infini' in 2009, there was nothing left save the recordings - to paraphrase William Burroughs.




Yes, Voivod continue - in tribute to Piggy - playing live, with new guitarist Dan Mongrain but if they DO record again, it will NOT be 'Voivod' - No disrespect to Dan. I'm sure I will enjoy it - Dan is a great guitarist - but the band will have a different spirit without Piggy.



VOIVOD will, however, ALWAYS live on in my heart and soul.






http://www.voivod.com
http://www.myspace.com/voivodband
http://www.voivod.net
http://www.voivodfan.com

Is thinking about Jesus a sign of mental illness? It IS? UH-OH!

I don't know about you, but I have a tendency to ponder over the nature of Jesus when left to my own devices. In fact, I probably think about Jesus a lot more than any non-christian really should. More than most schizophrenics even.

However, I feel I really must clarify what I mean when I talk about 'Jesus'.
I'm not LITERALLY referring to that guy from the New Testament with the beard, hair and sandals, and I don't believe that 'he' was the LITERAL son of God. Not for ONE minute. I'm not even sure that I believe that 'he' was an actual living figure from history, per se. SO what DO I mean?

Well, I think - or more correctly, FEEL - that the life and figure of Jesus Christ as laid out in the Bible are actually a way of discussing the human condition and the nature of OUR relationship with what is known as 'God' (which is in ITSELF a term that refers to something OTHER, a convenient name given in order to codify and simplify something into a form that can be more easily digested by our linear brains) in a veiled and abstracted way.

It occurred to me some time ago that the crucifixion can also function as a way of desribing the pain and trauma that comes with descending from a spiritual existence, into a physical, fleshly one. This also ties in with the multiple references to 'The Fall' throughout christianity - theres the 'original' fall of man into sin, and Satan/Lucifer's fall. I think that both of those are attempts to describe the same thing as the crucifixion - the 'imprisonment' of a being of SPIRIT in a body of dull, barely sensitive FLESH. The nailing of Christ to the cross echoes the feeling of being imprisoned in the fleshy suit of armour that IS the human body. To descend from the boundless freedom of life as a spirit, into the restrictive, sluggish leaden existence of 'life' as WE know it MUST feel exactly like having cold iron driven through the body and to be tethered to an immovable bulk until death comes.

So, the descent from spirit into flesh of the crucifixion is echoed in the idea of 'the Fall from Gods grace' of humanity, and that of Satan/Lucifer. To 'fall from the grace of god', is to descend from pure spirit into dense, corrupted matter - like a liquid or a gas congealing - downwards from Kether, the 'Godhead', to Malkuth, Earth, on the Qabalistic Tree Of Life. The Tree functions as a perfect glyph to express HOW the 'seed' of 'God' filters down through existence to cohere into matter. THIS process is what is hidden behind the crucifixion and 'The Fall(s) from grace'.

Interestingly, the fall of Satan/Lucifer opens up ANOTHER can of worms in relation to the nature of 'soul' and 'spirit', as there was a belief amongst the gnostics that 'humanity IS 'The Devil' - that when Satan/Lucifer fell from heaven, he shattered into pieces, and those pieces entered into the 'souls' of, then-nascent, humanity - forever tainting them. Now, my own personal theory on this is that the taint of 'evil', or hubris maybe, from this event - whatever it may be a cloak for - manifests most strongly when humans gather together for something. A crowd is generally not very smart en masse, and can turn nasty VERY easily, thus showing the taint of 'evil'. I have other thoughts in this area, but I feel its something for another time, as I've gone off on a tangent already from my original subject.

Jesus. I've established that the story of the crucifixion could serve as veiled way of referring to the pain of the descent from spirit into matter - or pure energy into form, correctly - but what about all this 'son of God' talk? Well, I believe that when Jesus said HE was THE son of God, he meant that, by extension, WE are ALL 'sons' of God - Don't forget that HE is supposed to have made us in His own image - and that Jesus basically functioned as 'paragon' of humanity, he was what WE should ASPIRE to. He was, to quote Alan Moore, the PINNACLE of humanity....and we trampled him down. We, the dull, prisoners of the flesh with our tainted 'souls, destroyed our own paragon.

Clearly there is a deeper meaning there, and an esoteric one too. I choose to read it as a warning that to be 'like' Jesus - spiritual and 'ascended' - is to open yourself up to the hatred and jealousy of those around you (This is ALSO parallelled in the idea that Satan/Lucifer 'fell'/was pushed from heaven due to his pride and jealousy over Gods position AND the respect given to 'man' over 'angel' - ANOTHER digression!), which is something that those who choose to follow the path of magick must beware of - friends and family WILL try to dissuade you from the path. This happened to Jesus also, he was mocked and ridiculed by those i positions of religious authority who felt threatened by his ideas. In many ways, Jesus was a terrorist - something i cannot see going down well with our American friends as a concept - when you think about it; He was in opposition to the ruling powers, he actively spoke out against them, and he was not afraid to physically act for his cause, OR to die for it.

Hehehehe. I can see THAT one going down well....'Jesus was a terrorist'........

The End-times Approacheth!

The end is nigh people, and I thought I'd knock out a frivolous 'end-of-year' post for the sake of self-indulgence. I'm not gonna do a 'list' or a 'round-up', I'm just gonna mention a bunch of things that I have loved this year in no particular order aside from the order in which they enter my addled mind. As an arbiter of taste, I DO expect you people, my loyal, loving, public, to pay attention and think things along the lines of "OOOOoooh! Paul says that Bobby BeauSoleil is fantastic, so therefore he MUST be so I'd better go check him out!", just so's ya know. SO, here it is, some things what i have loved this year......



Angela Peak -

For being fantastic and awesome beyond the call of duty, AND for being my all-time favourite sexy assassin.














Bobby BeauSoleil -

Now, if you ask ME - which you ostensibly ARE - 2009 has been very much Bobbys year. We've had 2 high-quality vinyl releases of his music this year, BOTH of which are very much worth tracking down - The Complete Lucifer Rising Suite 4xLP box-set (released by The Ajna Offensive) and an archival 2 x LP release by Bobbys mid-60's 'electrified chamber orchestra, The Orkustra (released by Mexican Summer). I've had a thing for Bobbys music ever since I heard the expanded version of his Lucifer Rising soundtrack, but it took me until this year to track down a copy of the 2 x CD version. I won't bore you with proselytising on his behalf about his crime and his life, but suffice to say he has been thoroughly WRONGED by the US Justice system. He DESERVES freedom.



The Blackest Night -

For those of you that don't really know me, I am a comic book fan and have been since I was old enough to recognise spandex and capes (apart from the period between 1991 - 1999, which was a period of loooooow quality thanks to Image Comics, Rob Liefeld, multiple bagged versions of new number ones, and a general proliferation of unfeasible tits, stupid guns and fucking BANDOLIERS AND POUCHES). Over the years I've seen a fair few 'crossover events' happen - Secret Wars II, Crisis On Infinite Earths, Invasion, Civil War and, of course, The Secret Skrull Sleepover - and most of them have been basically a weak excuse to sell more comics and make the fans buy titles that they normally wouldn't touch with a ten-foot Boom Tube, BUT, I can honestly say that The Blackest Night is the most enjoyable crossover arc that I have EVER read. Add to that the fact that the prelude to the event, Green Lantern (vol 4) #43 is one of the GRIMMEST comic books that i have EVER read - containing, as it does, patricide, matricide, filicide, necrophilia, suicide and some kind of zombie-ism - and you have one HELL of a good read. I won't summarise the whole thing here, I just expect you to Google it as I am LAZY, but suffice to say that the arc as a whole has been gripping, brutal and thoroughly enjoyable.





Shroud Eater -

I hear a lot of bands in my capacity as a reviewer for The Sleeping Shaman website and Bad Acid zine, and just generally being a consumer of 'eavy music, but I find myself non-plussed a lot of the time - mostly down to the sheer MASS of bands out there. However, when Lee Shaman sent me a 3 track CD by the Miami-based band Shroud Eater I was BLOWN AWAY. Seriously, 3 tracks is NOT enough for me....in fact, hell, read my review below;

HEY YOU! Yeah, you with the Melvins t-shirt and the High On Fire LP under your arm...wanna hear somethin' new and totally killer? Wanna hear some dude cavemanning the fuck out of his drums, while depth-charging bass rampages under dirty, nasty FILTHY dark fuzzed out guitar? Wanna hear some of the ballsiest female vocals these ears have heard in many a year? YOU DO? Then you NEED to hear SHROUD EATER!

Formed in Miami, Florida, earlier this year, and comprising of Jeannie Saiz on guitar and vocals, Janette Valentine on bass and thundering powerhouse Felipe Torres on drums, Shroud Eater follow in the proud tradition of heavy as lead metal merchants from the area such as Cavity and the mighty Floor, adding a touch of the darker side of grunge and a hint of AmRep style noise-rock into the mix to create a tasty stew of scorching-hot filthy ROCK.

Straight out of the gates, Shroud Eater grab you by the balls and rock the shit out of you. Opening track 'We Are Beasts' sure makes it SOUND like we're dealing with ravening wild beasts, such is the ferocity of the attack. These songs have a sound and a feel that just totally GRIPPED me from the first listen, and continued to do so on the 10th listen. Hell, I'm still listening to 'em NOW, and wanting to hear MORE.

When I mentioned High On Fire at the beginning of this li'l screed, it was mostly down to the totally RIPPING rhythm section that both HOF and Shroud Eater have – Torres gives us that total rolling, pounding Motorhead-style THUNDER-MACHINE that Des Kensel also gives to HOF. I am in LOVE with the drum sound here – none of that 'clickety-click' triggered double bass horseshit, this is low-down NASTY pummelling, as is the sub-sonic low-end bass groove emanating from Valentine. No-nonsense, no frills BASS. Its one HELL of an engine room for Saiz to riff and rile the fuck out to.....and riff and rile she DOES. FEEELTHY fuzzed-up angular, DARK, stoner-rock riffage and ballsy, throaty yelling are Saiz's forte here, and she delivers in SPADES. Aces, even. Heh.

As for the actual songs themselves, MOLTEN opener 'We Are Beasts' manages to combine a groove similar to that of HOFs 'Cometh Down Hessian' with a grungy, discordant, angular edge reminiscent of Voivod (Yeeeeeeah, I KNOW, I always manage to get Voivod into every review somewhere...let it GO guys!) and even a touch of the whirlwind guitars of Sonic Youth circa-'Death Valley '69. Second track 'Vesuvius' gives us more of that dark discord, MORE of the CRUSHING drummage and a lurching feel that just really floats my boat in a BIIIG way.

Now....track 3 is where I have one, and only one, minor niggle with the band. Jean, Jan, Felipe – WHY did you have to put an instrumental track on a 3-track demo??? Don't get me wrong, its a good track, a little speedier than the other 2, riff-wise, but I just never feel like I'm getting what I want to hear from a new band when they include an instrumental on their debut release, if you know what I mean? Maybe its just me, but HELL, I wanted more of Jeannie's KILLER vocals. But, FUCK IT, Its still a solid track.

When all is said and done, I am LOVING the FUCK out of this band and this EP in general, despite the minor niggle – which is clearly one of personal taste. Oh, and mention must be made of Jeannie's fantastic artwork also. Seriously, this band has EVERYTHING right now, but mostly it has my undivided attention. Lets hope that some of the more tasteful record labels out there are ALSO paying attention, GREG ANDERSON, I'M LOOKING IN YOUR DIRECTION – RELEASE A FULL-LENGTH SHROUD EATER LP.

NOW.

You heard me.

If music be the food of love, put that piano in batter #2

Well well well....its been a while. Sorry, life gets in the way too often. Did you miss me? Thought not. Bastards.

So, what I'm doing here THIS time, rather than banging on about some new release thats floating my boat right now, is banging on about a more obscure release that may have slipped under most peoples radar but that I think NEEDS to be heard, AAAAAAND I'll upload 'em and put a link in for you good people too, so you can check 'em out for yourselves*
Y'know, what with my being an arbiter of taste and all. Heh.

First up, and (tentacles crossed) there will be more up VERY soon, is the CRIMINALLY overlooked Edgar Allan Poe double-CD tribute 'Closed On Account Of Rabies' - so named due to the theory that rather than dying of alcoholism, Poe died of rabies - which was released back in 1997 by Mercury Records to pretty much NO fanfare. It features quite the motley crew and was put together by Hal Willner, who also put together FANTASTIC Disney, Weill and Mingus tribute records.

Among the contributors are Christopher Walken (reading 'The Raven' and backed by the guitar feedback of the MC5's Wayne Kramer), Iggy Pop (reading 'The Tell-Tale Heart), Jeff Buckley (reading 'Ulalume'), Diamanda Galas (reading, of course, 'The Black Cat'), Gabriel Byrne (reading 'The Masque Of The Red Death'), Marriane Faithful, Debbie Harry and a slew of other notables. Frankly, its worth it for Walken ALONE.

You can download disc 1 here, and disc 2 here


*Incidentally, it goes without saying that I am not actively encouraging folk to download music and not buy it, I only put these links up for download so that people can HEAR the music and then if they like it, go out and BUY it - if they can find it!

I put out some mouldy bread for the birds, but an alienate it....

AT the risk of sounding like a My Chemical Romance fan, I feel very alienated most of the time. I'm in a tricky position. I have a condition that I am advised makes it difficult for me to feel connected to others, BUT I've ALWAYS felt that way ANYWAY, even before I was informed I'm officially a mentalist.
Also my interests mark me out as someone not of the mainstream persuasion, and even within the sub-cultures I am ghettoised in, I'm in another sub-culture of a sub-culture in some cases. Boy do i make life harder for myself, hahahahaha........

The thing is that I feel little to NO kinship with the vast majority of the other people that I'm supposed to have things in common with. Which saddens me greatly. Don't get me wrong, I make attempts to communicate and join in their li'l reindeer games, but i always get the sense that they can TELL I'm only going through the motions.....people just don't seem to warm to me. I don't know what i project, or if I keep people at arms length without knowing it, or WHAT I'm doing.....but in the end, I STILL feel alone.

The major interests in my life are music, magick, comic books, art and literature. A nice broad sweep of everything that encompasses the kind of things that fucking weirdos and nerds really dig (aside from computers and games, which i have always had ZERO interest in, and roleplaying games, which I stopped doing yeeeears ago because they were no fun anymore thanks to CCGs and other people). BUT, I'm a weirdo amidst the weirdos! Oy vey.

The music that appeals to me is generally very individual, or visceral. I like it hyper-complex or caveman simple, faster-than-light or slower than a no-legged tortoise. I'm all about extremes, baby.....BUT I can spot a poser or a fad-follower a MILE away - both in art AND in real life. I hear things that others don't, make connections that others don't, and generally pay more attention to things than most. Consequently I get the impression that people view me as some kind of creepy weirdo. Whether they do or not, their reactions to my conversations or my observations make me FEEL that is the opinion directed at me. So I feel alienated MUSICALLY.

First door closes.

The world of magick is full of people who subscribe to new-age philosophies - liberal humanists, basically - borderline christians, people with a massively overinflated sense of self-worth and their own eruditition (is that a word? well, it is now!) and utterly delusional 'satanists'.....and, again, I do not fit in with any of them. Every time I come across anyone connected with magick, I find that I just flat-out don't like them. The prevalent attitudes I come across are either one of pretension, a 'stance' or 'pose', an attitude that THEY know something, or just MORE, than YOU do, and YOU are wrong and will NEVER attain THEIR level of knowledge and aptitude, OR the previously mentioned 'liberal humanist', hippy, attitude, and I do not connect with any of them. In fact, they flat-out make me want to set fire to them. I want to LEARN, I want to EXPERIENCE and I do NOT want to have my attitude adjusted or have my errors pointed out to me as a feat of mystical one-upmanship. I once mentioned this problem to the denizens of internet community Barbelith, wjho promptly told me that I NEEDED to get over it and learn to love others and work with groups, and some went so far as to suggest that I was mentally unbalanced and needed to get some help due to my lack of interest in other people - especially after I expressed a wish to make contact with a non-human intelligence. Basically I was made to feel like a failed shut-in weirdo basket case. Nice. Way to support someone asking for help and advice.

Another door closes.

The final 'community' I 'should' feel part of but DON'T is the comic book fan community.
I've been a comic book reader since a very early age, starting with typical kids comics, through to early 70's reprints of horror/mystery comics by Steve Ditko et al, through to the Claremont/Byrne X-Men and early runs of The Defenders, then on to 2000AD and then back onto the US comics right through until the early 90's. I took a break for most of the 90's and started again in earnest in 1999 with Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch's The Authority and continue to read and enjoy them to this very day............BUT.........I have never liked the company of my fellow fans very much. In fact the vast majority of them make my flesh crawl.

The general view of comic book fans as smelly autistic virgins wanking over copies of 'Tarot, Witch of The Black Rose' in their mothers basement whilst dressed as elves and cultivating a Warcraft addiction is NOT a stereotype, it is VERY much a REALITY....and it is a reality I just cannot stand. These losers obssess all day over the integrity of their collections and debate endlessly over the minutae of the continuity in whatever their book, or company, of choice is on internet forums. They have NO ability to take a step back and understand that opinions are SUBJECTIVE, and that someone disagreeing with them need not descend to the level of a personal attack.
Having spent some time working in a comic book shop I have met these people in the stinking flesh and noted more than trace amounts of autism and repressed sexuality, homo or OTHERWISE, in their behaviours, these people either CANNOT make eye contact, or else are OVERLY physically friendly to an inappropriate degree. I have seen grown men reduced to throwing a TANTRUM over the possibility that they may not get a particular issue or giveaway on the day of release, I have seen people argue to the point of TEARS over who is stronger, Superman or The Hulk. THESE are NOT people I want anywhere NEAR me...and don't get me STARTED on Anime and Manga fans.
Now, I must stress the point that I'm NOT saying that ALL comics fans are like this, BUT, in my experience (which is the only experience that I can talk from) a vast majority of them ARE. I HAVE met people who are very pleasant, but I've STILL never felt much of a connection with them for some reason or another. Maybe its ME, maybe not......

Another door closed.

SO, now you see my problem. My interests have driven me out of the mainstream into an underground populated with people I cannot stand and have NOTHING in common with aside from ONE, maybe TWO, shared interests. I have a very wide range of interests and I am constantly seeking new input, new sounds, new sights, new IDEAS, and I LOVE to communicate and throw ideas around with others.....BUT.....I just find that most people fixate on one or two subjects, and then only on one level.
I find most conversations I have soon start to bore me and I start looking around for a way to bow out without causing offence. So I tend to keep to myself now and that saddens me greatly, and I am sure that in time it WILL damage me, but i feel that its an act of self-preservation on my own part in order to protect my own self and sense of sanity.
I find people in general to be cumulatively TOXIC to me - I cannot stand to be around them for vast amounts of time, and en masse I avoid them as much as I can. I wish it wasn't that way, but I fail to see any evidence that things will improve.....if anything, people are getting DUMBER and MORE emotionally and intellectually disconnected from reality.

I'm opting out while I still have my sanity and no blood on my conscience.

It's all THEIR fault...No.1 - WINO

Inspired by my last post AND by a need to impress upon as many people as I can exactly HOW massively underrated yet UTTERLY fantastic they are, I'm starting an irregular series of blogs dedicated to people who have helped make me what and who I am today AND will, hopefully, continue to shape and influence me in whatever I do into the future.



Scott 'WINO' Weinrich. One of my favourite guitarists and vocalists...hell....favourite people. Period. Soulful vocalist, ELECTRIFYING guitarist, a great songwriter AND owner of the firmest handshake that I have ever experienced. Whatever the man does is worth taking the time to listen to or look at. He is THE real deal, and a MASSIVE influence on my guitar playing. Not that you can always tell, but trust me, he is.

I've been privileged to see him play with several of the bands he's been a member or leader of, and met the man himself on a few occasions. Musically he has NEVER disappointed me, on record OR live, and as a man he has impressed me with his strength of character, sense of purpose and his singleminded pursuit of his vision. I am, however, saddened by the fact that I never got to see him play live with possibly my favourite of his groups, The Hidden Hand. Their records 'Mother, Teacher, Destroyer' and 'The Resurrection Of Whiskey Foote' are WELL worth tracking down. If you aren't familiar with the man or his music, I kindly suggest you rectify this case IMMEDIATELY. Your ears and soul will thank you for it forever.




http://www.myspace.com/winoschopper
http://www.myspace.com/theobsesseddoom
http://www.myspace.com/stvitus
http://www.myspace.com/spiritcaravanmusic
http://www.myspace.com/thehiddenhandsound
http://www.myspace.com/shrinebuildergroup

If music be the food of love, put that piano in batter

Ok, so folks have been asking when I intend to update this here blog. I've tried a couple of times but I'm finding it hard to focus and reign in my 'all-over-the-shop' thought patterns, until this morning. I had my ass and ears kicked in by a band and it made me want to tell you all about some bands lately that have been rockin' my bizarro world.....

SHRINEBUILDER 'S/T'.......Need I say any more?

Wino. Dale Crover. Scott Kelly. That guy who was in Sleep but is now in Om. A veritable doom metal supergroup. I've been waiting for this one since I first heard about it baaaaaaaack iiiiin the miiiiiissssts oooof tiiiiiiime, and it finally dropped onto my doormat yesterday. I've been dodging people offering me downloads of the 4 track promo version of this since I wanted to experience the whole thing......and boy am I glad I did.
NOW, if there is ONE thing you should know about me, it is THIS -

I LOVE SCOTT 'WINO' WEINRICH.
I WORSHIP HIM LIKE A GOD.

He is to me what Clapton and Gilmour are to boring 'blues' obssessed pothead fucks. So I've been DYING to hear this, what with me ALSO being a long-time MELVINS lover, and it does NOT disappoint - despite what the naysayers are naysaying about it (since even before it was even recorded!). Sure I have one or 2 minor reservations about it, but they're really not enough to spoil my enjoyment of this hefty slab of solid ROCK.

I was in a baaad mood this morning when I got up, slapped this baby into my CD walkman as I headed out of the door........and was almost instantly grinning the shit-eating grin of an apple-happy idiot with a particularly crisp and shiny Granny Smith in his sights. 'Solar Benediction', the said opener, comes in on a particularly thumping set of drumb-clubbing from Mr Crover before alighting into a scorching Wino-led riff-fest, with Winos' soulful vocals providing the cherry on the top. WHOA. I was in LOVE baby! When Scott Kelly joins the fray, blends his gruff bark with Wino and the riffage turns COLLOSSAL, its like a fucking MOUNTAIN falling in on me.
The music ebbs and flows and then powers back into YUGE RIFFS OF DOOOOOM, with Wino giving us his tastiest licks with a guitar sound like an Assyrian Lion roaring its tits off.
'Pyramid Of The Moon', track 2, kicks in with another BELTER of a riff that had me particularly excited as it reminded me rather heavily of 2 riffs of my OWN, written for the late They Are Cowards. It even had a TONE like my own guitar sound, so as you can imagine, I was grinning THAT grin again.....waving at magpies and huge potentially murderous hounds and generally making like a Cheshire Cat.....and yes, I DO have a beard (private joke). In fact, as far as actual tracks go, all 5 present here are total killers............

BUT

........Al Cisneros. Why? Seriously. I mean, he's not a BAD bassist - far from it - but he IS nothing more than a one-trick pony. I mean, the guy has been coasting on the exact same vocal and bassline since Sleeps' Holy Mountain back in 1992!!
There is absolutely ZERO variation in what the guy does. ALL of his runs appear to be in exactly the same key, and his droning vocals just bore me rigid. Thankfully, he only gets to do a couple of solo vocal spots here and there, but I can HEAR his predictable bass runs WAY more than I'd like to. Y'know, I have nothing personal against the man, but if he NEVER made another record again I'd dance a fucking jig......rant over, back to the superlatives.....

So, yeah, just go get it. Really. I hope it kicks your ass and makes you smile like it did me. God knows you could DO with it.

http://www.myspace.com/shrinebuildergroup