SongoftheDay: ECHOES (Live at Pompeii) by PINK FLOYD

“Echoes” is a song by Pink Floyd including lengthy instrumental passages, sound effects, and musical improvisation. Written in 1970 by all four members of the group (credited as Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason, David Gilmour on the original release), “Echoes” provides the extended finale to Pink Floyd’s album Meddle. The track has a running time of 23:31 and takes up the entire second side of the vinyl recording.

It also appears in shortened form as the fifth track on the compilation album which took its name, Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd. “Echoes” is the third-longest song in Pink Floyd’s catalogue, after “Atom Heart Mother” (23:44) and the combined segments of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” (26:01). Unlike those pieces, it is not explicitly divided into separate parts; however, the composition was originally assembled from separate fragments, and was later split in two parts to serve as both the opening and closing numbers in the band’s film Live at Pompeii. The first part was used to open the band’s 1987-90 A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour.

GrimSkunk is a rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with punk, rock, progressive and world music influences. Its style is self-described as “world punk” It is regarded as being part of the foundation of the Quebec “alternative” scene, having influenced many young musicians and bands.

The band integrates many languages into its songs, such as French, English, Spanish, Greek and Persian. It has also integrated many styles of music, including punk, hardcore, reggae, progressive and psychedelic rock, ska, rap and world music.

Over the years, the band shared the stage with many established acts such as System Of A Down, Meshuggah, Manu Chao and Suicidal Tendencies, as well as peers Anonymus, Vulgaires Machins, Deadly Apples and The Sainte Catherines.

GrimSkunk was formed in 1988 from a previous hardcore group known as Fatal Illness. GrimSkunk played its first show in April, 1989. The band’s first demo album, Autumn Flowers, was released two years later, in April 1991. Along with Groovy Aardvark, the band was among the first “alternative” bands to tour Quebec, thus creating a market for this genre.

In the first years of GrimSkunk’s career, cannabis was always very present in the band’s image. Hemp leaves were on their CD covers, and references to cannabis could be found in the albums’ names (Autumn Flowers, Exotic Blend), in their songs’ titles (Zig-Zag), and in their lyrics (“Pourquoi, pourquoi ne pas fumer? / C’est ben légal de boire”, Why, why can’t we smoke / Isn’t it legal to drink?). The band’s name itself is an allusion to skunk cannabis.

The band’s second album, Meltdown, was released in 1996.

In 1997, GrimSkunk members founded an independent Montreal-based record label, Indica Records. From then on, all of the band’s albums were released on that label, which also helped to promote local alternative bands.
In that same year, the band’s longtime manager and friend, Simon Gallipeault, was killed in a “hit-and-run” longboard accident involving a car. The band became self-managed with Franz Schuller as the main “mouthpiece”. The 1998 album, Field Trip, is dedicated to Gallipeault and his voice is sampled before the track “Live for today”.

The bass guitarist, Marc “Boris” Saint-Maurice, left in 1999 to become an activist in the marijuana legalization movement, founding the Bloc Pot[2] and the Marijuana Party of Canada. Todd Wircham replaced Saint-Maurice for a few years. He has since been replaced by Vince Peake, the former Groovy Aardvark singer and bass guitarist.

The band took a break in 2000 after the singer, Joe Evil, suffered serious burns from a fire in his apartment.

In 2002, the band released its seventh album, Seventh Wave, which was not well received by certain critics and fans who did not like the musical change in direction.

In 2002, GrimSkunk performed its first and only unplugged show in Saint-Roch Church in Quebec City.

In 2006, the band released Fires Under the Road, which marked a return to the sound of the earlier albums.

Podcast Episode XXX: JOE EVIL of GRIMSKUNK

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(You cannot have a week-long discussion of the keyboards in rock and not include Pink Floyd’s Richard Wright.  That psychedelic sound of the early Syd Barrett era ‘Floyd would never have been so genuine if it weren’t for Wright’s massive organ sound.  He would later develop the synth sounds that have influenced so many space rock acts, as well as many of the best electronic music projects.  After a long battle with cancer, the world lost this mammoth talent in September of 2008.  With the help of the folks over at classicrock.com, we bring you the top 10 Pink Floyd songs that heavily feature the genius of Richard Wright. – FATS)

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Pink Floyd’s Richard Wright, more often than not, was the guy keeping to himself while outsized personalities like Syd Barrett, Roger Waters and David Gilmour drew all of the attention. Still, he made a number of important contributions to the band’s space-rock legend over the years. Gilmour, in eulogizing the late founding keyboardist back in 2008, admitted as much: “He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognized Pink Floyd sound,” Gilmour wrote on his web site. “In my view, all the greatest PF moments are the ones where he is in full flow.” Here’s a list of 10 of them.

#10. ‘Great Gig in the Sky’

From: ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ (1973)

Wright’s ‘Great Gig’ is built on a ruminative piano signature, something egg-shell fragile and utterly beautiful. But, in keeping with his underrated presence in Pink Floyd, all anybody remembers is the shatteringly emotional vocal turn by Clare Torry. Her performance was a last-minute decision, replacing a series of liturgical readings from when the demo was known as ‘The Religion Song.’

#9. ‘Interstellar Overdrive’

From: ‘The Piper at the Gates of Dawn’ (1967)

One of Pink Floyd’s initial forays into psychedelic improvisation, this free-form 10-minute event — credited to Wright, along with Barrett, Waters and drummer Nick Mason — features a trippy organ line from Wright that moves from speaker to speaker in the stereo mix. Wright then intriguingly explores his keyboard while Barrett does unspeakably weird things to his guitar. As wild, and as explorative, as this take might sound, Pink Floyd later did a half-hour version in concert.

#8. ‘Wearing the Inside Out’

From: ‘The Division Bell’ (1994)

After a three-album dry spell, Wright returned for ‘The Division Bell’ with all of his creative juices flowing. That he could put together something so delicately moving as ‘Wearing the Inside Out,’ after having barely contributed to 1979’s ‘The Wall’ and 1987’s ‘Momentary Lapse of Reason’ while being completely absent for 1983’s ‘The Final Cut,’ made an out-of-nowhere gem like this all the more impressive.

#7. ‘One of These Days’

From: ‘Meddle’ (1971)

Composed by Waters, Wright, Mason and Gilmour, this rumbling instrumental opened ‘Meddle,’ and served as a staple at Pink Floyd’s concerts in both the 1971-73 and 1987–94 eras. “One of These Days” has been described by Gilmour as one of the group’s most collaborative ever; Mason, the drummer, even gets a brief speaking part. As for Wright, his surging washes add just the right sense of portent.

#6. ‘See-Saw’

From: ‘A Saucerful of Secrets’ (1968)

Wright’s second original track on ‘Saucerful’ found his typically over-looked talents on full display, as a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. In fact, he’s featured on organ, piano, xylophone and mellotron — all in service of a whimsical, light-filled vocal that telegraphs the successes Wright would have on signature later tracks like ‘Us and Them’ and ‘Time’ (both of which follow on our list).

#5. ‘Astronomy Domine’

From: ‘The Piper at the Gates of Dawn’ (1967)

Co-written with Barrett, this freak-out instrumental crystallized everything that Pink Floyd was aiming for in long-form explorations like ‘Interstellar Overdrive.’ Wright provides a sweeping dreamscape for the song’s outer-limits theme, something he got to show off all over again when ‘Astronomy Domine’ served as the early-tour opener behind his Floyd comeback ‘The Division Bell.’

#4. ‘Us and Them’

From: ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ (1973)

Long associated with Gilmour, who voiced it, this song actually began as part of Wright’s work on the 1969 film ‘Zabriskie Point.’ With new lyrics from Waters highlighting the project’s theme of isolation, and a more jazz-oriented structure from Wright, ‘Us and Them’ would became a critical element in Pink Floyd’s biggest album ever.

#3. ‘Echoes’

From: ‘Meddle’ (1971)

This 23-minute song is, of course, filled with instrumental wonders — not least of which is a surging organ solo from Wright said to be inspired by the Beach Boys’ ‘Good Vibrations.’ But ‘Echoes’ also stands as a testament to the every-day miracles that happened when Wright and Gilmour shared the mic. “The blend of his and my voices and our musical telepathy,” Gilmour said in his Wright eulogy, “reached their first major flowering in 1971 on ‘Echoes.'”

#2. ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’

From: ‘Wish You Were Here’ (1975)

A nine-part composition with additional contributions from both Waters and Gilmour, ‘Shine On’ is Wright’s virtuoso musical moment. The song’s subject, a loving tribute to the by-then quite mad Barrett, often takes a backseat to co-writer Wright’s lengthy turns on the mini-Moog. Later, he adds ARP String Ensemble Synthesizer, piano then Hohner Clavinet — and Pink Floyd’s last truly collaborative project is made complete. “Without his quiet touch,” Gilmour said, “the album ‘Wish You Were Here’ would not quite have worked.”

#1. ‘Time’

From: ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ (1973)

Wright once again shared vocals with Gilmour on the band co-written ‘Time,’ as they explored the idea of lost opportunities. Consistently performed live during Floyd’s 1972-75 and 1987-94 tours, this would often be Wright’s most memorable showcase, though his turn at the mic was — of course — often forgotten amidst Gilmour’s eruptive soloing. Still, from his request that its now-iconic cover image be something “simple and bold,” to notable contributions on this cornerstone track, Wright’s fingerprints are all over ‘Dark Side of the Moon.’

The UFC will likely go another year without a trip to New York after the state assembly failed to bring the MMA bill that would legalize the sport to a vote during the final legislative session for 2015.
Mixed martial arts has faced an uphill battle trying to get sanctioned in New York for the past eight years, but it appeared a path was cleared after former speaker Sheldon Silver, who opposed the bill, was ousted on corruption charges.
Unfortunately, despite having the votes when the final voting session began, the MMA bill never made it before the assembly to officially pass the order and legalize the sport in New York.

“My big challenge today is that a number of members who are counted as supporters were just unavailable today because of the scheduling, that we weren’t expected to be here this long,” Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle told the Albany Bureau on Thursday.
“So we’ll keep working, and I’m confident that the next time we reconvene, I’m going to redouble my efforts.”
The New York State Senate has already passed the MMA bill — as they’ve done for the past six years — but the assembly still has to vote on it before Governor Andrew Cuomo could officially sign it into law.
On Wednesday, UFC supporters, fighters and celebrities all took up the cause to try and get the bill on the floor of the assembly so representatives could vote to make MMA legal in the state. UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman penned a passionate letter to the assembly via The Players’ Tribune to make a final plea so he could potentially fight in his home state this December.
“For me to be able fight in my home state of New York would be a dream come true,” Weidman wrote. “Ever since I got started in mixed martial arts, I’ve dreamed about walking into the Octagon at Madison Square Garden. After fighting so many fights across the country, I can’t even begin to imagine what it would feel like to finally come home€” to have my Uncle Jimmy and the rest of my family, friends and supporters in the seats watching me, and to have my dad in my corner with me when I fight. I get chills just thinking about it.
“I’d like to live that dream this winter. I’d like the first-ever professional MMA fight in the state of New York to feature one of its own, and I’d like it to happen in the most famous venue on earth, Madison Square Garden.”

The timing of the assembly session was supposed to end last week, but several days were added on to get a number of issues settled before the legislative season game to an end.
As each day passed, more and more representatives were called away from the voting session for personal or business reasons and in the end, the MMA bill just didn’t have the votes necessary to bring it to the floor where it could be officially legalized.
New York stands as the only state left where MMA is still banned.
It didn’t take UFC president Dana White long to hear about the news and express his displeasure about New York once again failing to pass the bill to sanction MMA in the state.

(We hear at rockandrolljunkie.com are saddened to hear of Chris Squire’s passing today.  As much as YES may not have been my favorite prog rock act, they sure were legends in their field.  The following news was broken over at classicrock.com.  We keep losing the legends – it’s seems even faster than ever. – FATS)

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Chris Squire, stalwart co-founder of Yes, has died, bandmate Geoff Downes confirms via Twitter. The 67 year old had announced a hiatus from the band in May, following a diagnosis of acute erythroid leukemia.
“Utterly devastated beyond words to have to report the sad news of the passing of my dear friend, bandmate and inspiration Chris Squire,” says Downes, who appeared on three Yes studio albums with the bass-playing legend – 1980′s Drama, 2011′s Fly From Here and 2014′s Heaven and Earth.
Squire was the only constant in a band that began evolving almost as soon as it was founded in advance of a self-titled 1969 debut. Yes’ Aug. 7 concert with Toto will mark the first-ever without him.
Yes later released a statement that marks Squire’s sad passing:
It’s with the heaviest of hearts and unbearable sadness that we must inform you of the passing of our dear friend and Yes co-founder, Chris Squire. Chris peacefully passed away last night in Phoenix Arizona, in the arms of his loving wife Scotty.
For the entirety of Yes’ existence, Chris was the band’s linchpin and, in so many ways, the glue that held it together over all these years. Because of his phenomenal bass-playing prowess, Chris influenced countless bassists around the world, including many of today’s well-known artists. Chris was also a fantastic songwriter, having written and co-written much of Yes’ most endearing music, as well as his solo album, Fish Out of Water.
Outside of Yes, Chris was a loving h usband to Scotty and father to Carmen, Chandrika, Camille, Cameron, and Xilan. With his gentle, easy-going nature, Chris was a great friend of many … including each of us. But he wasn’t merely our friend: he was also part of our family and we shall forever love and miss him.
Squire’s final work on Heaven and Earth helped that project to a Top 20 finish on the UK charts. Yes’ best-selling albums include 1983′s triple-platinum 90125 and 1971′s double-platinum Fragile.
Born at the right time, on March 4, 1948, Squire’s quickly developing musical genius was matched stride for stride by technology. He’d use a distinctive Rickenbacker 4001 electric to help redefine the role of the bass, even as he became Yes’ undisputed leader.
“Our second album Time and a Word was where we first started to work with [new Yes engineer] Eddy Offord,” Squire once told Ultimate Classic Rock. “He liked the way my tone was coming out of my Marshall 100-watt that I’d used ever since the beginning really, and the thing that he added to that by [using] certain compression and certain settings that he liked in the studio, so we just developed it really, from Time And A Word onwards and I suppose you could say that by the time we got to Fragile and “Roundabout,” he’d really finessed the production of my bass sound.”
Chris Squire’s focus, beyond a lone 1975 solo effort called Fish Out of Water, was always on his band, as Yes released a total of 21 studio albums. He remained steadfastly in place, until today, while the group went through a series of lineup changes.
“It’s really more by default than design that that situation has occurred,” Squire once told Ultimate Classic Rock. “I think that in a lot of those instances there has been a lot of members of the band who have decided that they wanted to leave mainly to pursue solo projects and in the case of Rick Wakeman, that happened three or four times where he’d leave and come back and with Jon Anderson, that’s happened in the past that he has gone off to do solo things and then come back to the fold. We must remember also that, of course, Alan White has also been there since 1972 when he came in, so he’s been a constant compadre of mine ever since then.”
White is now Yes’ longest-tenured member. Guitarist Steve Howe joined in 1970, beginning the first of what would become three separate stints. Billy Sherwood, a ’90s-era contributor, has already been announced as Squire’s replacement on the upcoming Yes tour.

As some of you might know, we all got some terrible news recently that Supersuckers frontman Eddie Spaghetti had been diagnosed with stage 3 cancer.  That fuckin’ sucks, and we wanted to go to them and see what we could do. Well, Dan had the chance to speak with Eddie’s wife Jessika, as well as Eddie himself on this subject.  As much as Dan and I are the kind of folks that find that humor is the best cure for all ailments, we feel from the bottom of our hearts for this family, and with all seriousness want to do our bit to help bring Eddie back to the spot we love him most; the stage.

All week long, we will bring you fond stories and memories about seeing and listening to Supersuckers, but will also talk about cancer awareness, as well as dig a bit deeper into the bullshit professional performers have to deal with when they get sick.  As we say on the show, perhaps instead of heading to the bar this weekend, or blowing a lot of cash out on dinner somewhere, we can all click and donate a few bucks so we can get Eddie back on the road where he belongs.  It might seem glamorous to some, but playing night and after night in town after town is a lot of hard work – hard work that rarely has medical benefits.  When shit goes wrong, as it has so sadly here, it takes the love and generosity of those of us who love the art so much, especially if you’re a working musician yourself, to come together and help make it work.  Please donate today.  If you can, donate tomorrow too.  Tell your friends.  Let’s get Eddie back on the stage.

Podcast Episode XXXI: EDDIE SPAGHETTI – Part Two

CLICK HERE TO DO WHAT YOU CAN TO HELP EDDIE SPAGHETTI BEAT THIS SHITTY CANCER AND GET BACK TO THE STAGE WHERE HE BELONGS.

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SongoftheDay: SADDLETRAMP by SUPERSUCKERS

Supersuckers was formed in November 1988 as The Black Supersuckers in Tucson, Arizona. The original line-up was Eddie Spaghetti on bass guitar, Dan “Thunder” Bolton and Rontrose Heathman on guitars, Dancing Eagle on drums, and Eric Martin as the lead singer. In 1989, they moved to Seattle, Washington. Here, Martin left the band. The song “Marie” was allegedly dedicated to Martin’s mother after his death. The remaining members decided to continue as a four piece with Spaghetti taking over the vocalist role. They recorded numerous singles for various small labels before being signed to Sub Pop. A sampling of these are collected on the 1992 release The Songs All Sound the Same.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE ‘EDDIE SPAGHETTI CANCER FIGHT FUND‘ AND HELP EDDIE GET BACK TO THE STAGE WHERE HE BELONGS.

(As you may or may not already know, true savage of rock and friend of the show Eddie Spaghetti has been diagnosed with stage 3 throat cancer.  We are dedicating a full week to getting the world out, as well as blabbing our friggin’ heads off about cancer and the frightening battle that it can be.  Musicians, like many independent contractors of work, have a tough time because of shitty health care benefits issues.  As musicians ourselves, we here at rockandrolljunkie.com feel it necessary to stand together with Eddie and his family to help these road warriors get passed this mess.  Here’s how Jessika, Eddie’ wonderful wife, explains the situation. – FATS)

On the afternoon of Monday, June 15, after five long days of holding our breath, the phone finally rang, from a number we have all too soon memorized. “Eddie,” he said “you have stage 3 oropharynx cancer and you should come in for surgery as soon as possible.” I was driving the car, heading to Portland, OR with the whole family and even though we knew the call was coming, I had to pull over. I couldn’t breath, he was scrambling for paper and a pen and I just felt my arms get weak. I saw his face become tense and scared. This was the news we waited impatiently for, it was the call that would change everything.

Like E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.

It is so hard to write this not only because of what is happening, but to whom it is happening to. I’m talking about my husband of nearly 16 years, who is a son, brother, nephew, uncle, friend and amazing father to our three kids Quattro, Elvis and Zeke (ages 14, 5, 3). I am talking about a man who chose his career path the minute he first heard The Knack play “My Sharona”. The guy who started a band, the Supersuckers, with his best friends and has played stages, big and small, around the world for the last 30 years. A man who has been doing just that thing that made him so happy as a kid. A man who is more important, influential, and crucial than he will ever know, to so many of us.

To say I’m crushed is the understatement of the century. To say we have had a tough year is the only truth I know.

Eddie Spaghetti of the Supersuckers, is now facing surgery to remove the cancer that was found in a neck mass during a biopsy in NYC. After a persistent, what we believed to be allergy related, swollen lymph node in his neck turned up squamous cell carcinoma while our family was traveling across the country on a year long journey, we were forced to seek an immediate Pet-scan in LA (where the band was meeting to start a tour). Knowing you have cancer cells in a neck mass is one thing, hearing that they need to scan your whole body to find out where it originated was too much for this guy.

Learning about the process shut him down for awhile. Unable to hold many conversations with me in those days we had to wait for the scan and then the 5 to wait for results. I was scared for him but I just kept asking “how are you doing?” everyday. Every 30 minutes probably. I was annoying. Seeing someone actually afraid of dying (or worse, his words, “not being able to sing…”), well, if it weren’t for our three kids, I’m just not sure how either of us would have survived. Keeping the news quiet and strictly with the closest of family (band included) was just an added bonus to the intense pressure that was building.

It is true what they say, that it takes a village. We would be in a dark, dark place without “our village” but thankfully, we are not. My best friend has cancer and there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it. There’s no amount of money that would rid him of this horrible disease so many suffer from. There is no one I can call to make things better but the support that we already have felt from everyone knocks us off our feet.

After Eddie recovers from surgery (scheduled for Monday June 29 in Los Angeles) with his family by his side at our friends guest house, he will undergo radiation- everyday for at least 6 weeks. They are hopeful there will be no chemo but until the results come back, we will not know. In that time of his surgery recovery, I will be looking for an apartment and employment (writing, social media, personal assistant) in the LA area.

On June 18, Eddie plays his last show with his band for awhile, making it bittersweet as he will be one step closer to getting this shit over with but he will have to put on hold the very thing he has always done; put his guitar strap across his shoulder, walk up to the mic and play his heart out. There will be no income after the last show before Eddie’s surgery while The Supersuckers have had to cancel their summer European tour and plans to release the next Supersuckers album are in jeopardy.

– Jessika

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE ‘EDDIE SPAGHETTI CANCER FIGHT FUND‘ AND HELP EDDIE GET BACK TO THE STAGE WHERE HE BELONGS.

(Word is a new Supersuckers record is done, in the can, ready to hit our ears, and once Eddie gets past this little hiccup with his health, then it shall be unleashed in us.  I can’t wait.  That last country album they did rules, and if this thing is half as good as that was, we are in for a real treat.  Until then, we have the records we have.  As part of our ‘Let’s get Eddie back on the Stage’ week long telethon of sorts, we’re going to bring you a pile of reviews from past and present about a bunch of their records.  This first installment brings us to their latest effort, Get the Hell, released in 2014 on Acetate Records out of Los Angeles.  We’ve compiled a few reviews kicking around for this rocker of an album.  Enjoy. – FATS)

Okay, so listening to this record won’t make you any smarter. Supersuckers have been around for 25 years now, a hard rock/punk band whose stripped-down brand of rock & roll has never gone completely out of style. Here’s hoping it never does. Get the Hell is their ninth album, and it keeps the good times rolling along. Even if opening tune “Get the Hell” is the strongest track here, with it’s tongue-twisting lyrics and chest-thumping chorus, there are enough blistering little nuggets of fuck you to make the album a keeper. “Something About You”, “Fuck Up” and “Pushin’ Thru” are all first-half highlights, high-energy workouts built around slamming guitar chords, rock-solid drumming and the unvarnished but capable vocals of Eddie Spaghetti. The back half hardly flags, with the politically incorrect “Gluttonous” taking the prize for tasteless lyrics (“I did you sister and her best friend – and then I did your mother”) and the twanging guitar of “Bein’ Bad” motoring the listener along to the final high-concept cuts of “Shut Your Face” and “Rock On”. Listen, you can save the musical poetry appreciation for the likes of Bon Iver. Sometimes you just want to rock on, maaan. At those times, Supersuckers are here for you. They want to help. They’re your friends. – David Maine for popmatters.com

GET THE HELL by SUPERSUCKERS

Supersuckers. Look, some things are just true and this quote from the Lemmy one is about it: “If you don’t like Supersuckers, you don’t like rock ‘n’ roll.” So if the name up there means shit all to you go off an get yourself one a them there ‘edyacayshuns’ an’ listen to ‘Sacrilicious Sounds’ or ‘Evil Powers Of Rock ‘N’ Roll’ and then we’ll talk some.

Supersuckers. I came a bit late to their party but, shit, it was an entrance. Laughing my ass off at the goddamned happiest Satanic country punk rock ‘n’ roll song ever (‘Born With A Tail’). They’ve written songs with rolling rock lyrics that clatter and twist brilliantly about; neutered cats (‘Ozzy’), wrestling (‘Dead Meat ‘) and two of the greatest rough ‘n’ romantic songs ever (‘Stuff and Nonsense’, ‘Sleepy Vampire ‘) and rhymed Satan with Mistaking (try it). In short, Eddie Spaghetti and his cohorts are kind of genius. Drunk an’ stoned off their asses, losing barroom brawls, gone bowling genius but genius nonetheless.

Mind you they’ve also dropped a couple of clunkers in their nine studio album careers, but we forgive ’em ‘cos like a drunk falling off a wall they just get on back up.

So what is ‘Get The Hell’?

We’ll it don’t hang about. The title track is just big, catchy Supersuckers riffing at its very best; all punk rock crash and rattlesnake winding lead breaks that crackles more than a fetishist in a nylon factory. “When you’re staring down the mouth of this unruly beast, you might crap your pants or wet ’em at the very least… ” snaps Eddie in his dry but deceptively tuneful drawl. Ah, it’s a joyful thing. Music this fucking fun doesn’t even need a beer to lift your mood (but it’d be crime not to have a bottle in your hand too, y’know). Country, punk, metal and rock ‘n’ roll just get tossed in, swirled around, shaken and tossed out off the ragged cuff and all ridiculously, beautifully formed. ‘Something About You’ just proves that they couldn’t write a song without deep, delicious hooks even if their beer tab depended on it and ‘Fuck Up’ brings bottom of the glass, blues harp honesty in a slower nicotine drag. And with the tambourine rattling ‘High Tonight ‘ they hit that gorgeous Supersuckers bittersweet, weirdly chemically dependant romantic streak. And that’s four out of thirteen.

Y’see the thing is that for all their drunken antics, their songs have a huge heart and a soul that can both enjoy the self-destruction while still seeing it for what it is. With their talent for real barroom-and-bowling-alley poetry, one foot on the stage monitor and one in the trailer park, they are still head and shoulders above most of the bands of their ilk and ‘Get The Hell’ is a fine, fine platform. A couple of surprises lurk here too in covers: ‘Never Let Me Down Again ‘ is a weird Supersuckered Depeche Mode song that a) you would never guess if you didn’t know it and b) just works.

Maybe they could have dropped a couple of tracks as albums like this really need to be as short as possible: Rock On and one of ‘Being Bad’ ‘Shut It’ or ‘Disaster Bastard’ could have been shed. For length, not quality you understand. All three rock as viciously, catchy and noisily as the rest.

End result? It’s a good ‘un by their standards. So that means sell your granny time, you need it in your rock ‘n’ roll soul sonny. Grab a beer, grab a partner and get the fuck on the dancefloor, Supersuckers are back. Hell yeah!! – Gizmo for avenoctum.com

FUCK UP by SUPERSUCKERS

After a few years of touring and two Eddie Spaghetti solo albums, Supersuckers return with the mightily rawking Get The Hell. The Greatest Rock n’Roll Band in the World pull out all the stops for their ninth studio album. After a short Intro of alarms and people rioting, Supersuckers kick out the jams with the title track. Guitars blazing, Spaghetti and company in crackling good form, you’ll be nodding your head and raising your fists and voice for the chorus “Gotta run for cover!“.

Six strings wail for the stomping Something About You, which sounds like a 50’s pop song with amps to 11. Fuck Up follows with some sick-ass harmonica and a grooving rhythm. Buzzing bass and a lighter feel buoys High Tonight, another singalong about the simple supersuckers252pleasures of altering minds with good company. Pushin’ Thru is another in a long line of Supersuckers classics, full of positivity in the face of adversity. The band has been doing their thing since 1988 and behind their swagger they also have humility and compassion for their fellow rockers. Spaghetti sings “I’m hoping the wind starts blowing my way…I’m hoping my friends have a place to stay“.

Supersuckers know how to cover a song, their version of Outkast’s Hey Ya a standout, and their barn-burning version of Depeche Mode’s Never Let Me Down Again will surely be a live favorite. That’s What You Get For Thinkin’ is a cautionary tale about being too cock-sure, thinking you’ve got your shit together. Closing out Get The Hell is Supersucker’s take on Gary Glitter’s Rock On, expressing the sentiment in true celebratory fashion, new drummer “Captain” Christopher Von Streicher pounding the skins in a rocking march sure to get your ass on the dance floor, Dan “Thunder” Bolton and “Metal” Marty Chandler wailing on their guitars.

Recorded at Willy Nelson’s Arlyn Studio in Austin and mixed by Dwarves’ Blag Dahlia and Andy Carpenter, Supersuckers’ Get The Hell is focused on boots kicking, middle fingers raising, and singalong anthems sure to please the most jaded of music fans. – Bret Miller at highwiredaze.com

PUSHING THRU by SUPERSUCKERS

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Some people are simply morons.  As much as parking may be a bitch to find in busy cities, take your time, show up a bit early, and find a spot.  Folks that need ‘handicap’ spots need them for a reason.  Until you have a serious problem getting from point A to point B, dealing with significant pain to do so, don’t be a dick and just assume you can park in these spots.  I know some of the right wing idiots out there think this is all a bit of entitlement whining, but those folks just may need a broken leg or arm or back to get a clearer idea how much these parking spots mean to these folks.  This video went nuts on the interweb last week, and as much as there were multiple candidates for Idiot of the Week this time ’round, this douchebag wins simply for his suck attack.  Hilarious. – FATS

DON’T BE A DICK AND PARK IN THE ‘HANDICAP’ SPOT – IDIOT OF THE WEEK

SongoftheDay: ALONE AND STINKING by THE SUPERSUCKERS

In the midst of the grunge revolution, The Supersuckers released this largely unnoticed album, The Smoke of Hell, which begins with a song that can not only be praised for its muscle but also for its psychic prediction — “Coattail Rider.” The band perked things up a bit since their dreary early singles. Songs like “Luck,” “Caliente,” and “Hot Rod Rally” rapidly surge with electric power chord fury, while the band brings it down some for the blues ramble of “Hell City, Hell.”

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Say what you want about Freddie Mercury and Queen, that dude had a serious set of pipes on him.  And, as much as the world seems to just love Kanye West right now, and maybe he can rap real well, but what was he thinking trying to sing a Mercury bit?  His fans are like, ‘it’s how he rolls’, or ‘we love his voice, it’s so raw’.  No friend, his voice is shit and out of key.  Yeah, you can talk the lyrics all you want, but keep that shit in the same key as the song man.  Oh yeah, Kanye West is the main headliner for the 2015 edition of the Royal Bank Bluesfest in Ottawa.  Well done.

I’ve seen Supersuckers when they were right rippin’ and tearing the friggin’ house down.  I’ve seen them when they were sitting behind the barricade playing their awesome country music.  And shit, I’ve seen them do both in the same night.  The one thing you can be guaranteed at a Supersuckers show is that they will give it their all each and every night; and there’s a good bet someone will start with the whiskey shots and then it’s game over.  Some of the best poster art has been done up for their shows, including a pile done by friend of the show Frank Kozik.  I don’t think these two are Kozik posters, but they’re just a sampling of how wicked gig posters can be if you just take the time and use your creativity, and well, your band kicks some serious ass. – FATS

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There are far too many great talents who have left us all too soon. Fame can be hard to tame, and its satisfaction can sometimes only last so long until you’re looking for other outlets, like drugs or alcohol, to keep that emotional and mental high going. Such was the success and ultimate tragedy of Saturday Night Live cast member Chris Farley.

Now the life and legacy of the late comedy star is examined in a new documentary called I Am Chris Farley, featuring interviews with those who knew him best. Fellow SNL stars like Mike Myers and Adam Sandler chime in, comedians like Bob Odenkirk and Bob Saget reminisce, and his best friend and frequent co-star David Spade has plenty to say too. If you’re a fan of Farley, this one is going to be tough to watch without shedding a tear or two.

This Was Supposed to be a Fury Road Review and I Fucked That Up Good.

Mad Max: Fury Road is about as perfect a Hollywood film as you can hope for in 2015. It has everything you want: characters you give a fuck about, a minimalist story that works for the film; and it doesn’t rely on over-scripted bullshit to get the characters over. It’s what you want from a Mad Max film. Haven’t seen it? Fucking go. It’s fun. Don’t see it in 3D. You want to see the set pieces and the amazing attention to detail (because this movie exists in the details).

You know what isn’t a perfect Hollywood film? What’s actually the drizzling shits and kinda the beginning of the end for a Billion dollar franchise?

Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Oh yeah, spoilers alert. The movie’s been out for months anyway, so fuck it. Also, I am gonna assume you have some knowledge of the Marvel Universe. If you don’t, it doesn’t really matter, as this is barely a film review anyway.

After the opening 20 minutes of heroes kicking ass, everything about this film sucks. Beyond that initial action sequence, the movie devolves into a disjointed mess searching for tone – and failing miserably. Ultron’s origin is almost as stupid as his character. They’ve re-written him as a fucking huge, menacing, killer robot with the personality of Spike from fucking Buffy (the Vampire Slayer, in case you didn’t know). The trailers do a fantastic job at completely avoiding this. But once Ultron cuts off a dude’s arm and starts wise-cracking you can’t help but ask yourself: “Who writes this shit?”

Joss Whedon, that’s who. Fuck you, Joss. Oh yeah, and just so it’s out there, fuck Firefly. It didn’t even deserve the one fucking season it had. I’ve got nothing personal against Joss Whedon. He comes across as a nice dude in interviews, and I will be the first to admit he’s done some terrific stuff (his run on X-men – the comic – and Cabin in the Woods). But this movie was ruined by him being him.

The film carries on like this for another 2 hours: nothing but screaming, explosions, and bullshit character arcs. There is an entire movie’s worth of characterization that is completely missing between the first and second installments of the franchise. Characters have changed with no fucking explanation. The entire picture fails on every level, because the viewer has zero investment in any of the changes. They just kinda happened off-screen and make no sense. So when horrific/tragic events fall on the heroes, no one cares but the fucking soundtrack, which obviously swells to the same minor key strings bullshit you hear in every film now. Fuck Hans Zimmer for making film music boring.

So what you end up with is a villain who makes no sense, characters that make no sense, and a story that makes zero fucking sense. Actually, I’m not even starting on the story. It was the Avengers film no one wanted, and it’s set the next series of films up to fail.

The main issue is that, at this point in the franchise, they’ve barely established Thanos as a villain. If you don’t know, Thanos is the baddest motherfucker in the Marvel Universe. He’s in love with Death. Not Death the concept but the physical entity of Death in the Marvel Universe. This drives him to do some pretty crazy shit, like killing half the universe to try to please her. In the movie world, all we know is that he’s a purple dude with a cool space Lazy-boy, a really big Glove, and god awful teeth. This was the film to start building that character, but now they’re left with just one entry (the second Guardians of the Galaxy) to get Thanos over as a monster heel.

Putting this in classic Pro Wrestling terms, this is the equivalent of Andre the Giant coming out on WWF Superstars the week before Wrestlemania 3 to challenge Hulk Hogan to a match. Instead of taking a full year to build to this one huge fucking match, building mystery (can Hulk Hogan win? Can Hogan slam Andre the Giant? And so on…), they rush it in a week and no one cares. When you spend time establishing characters, building motives and exposing weakness in the heroes, people lap it up. This is why the crowd popped every time Hulk Hogan made his comeback, because they had a year of thinking “Can Hulk win?” He spends 90% of the match selling for the heel, then BOOM, the Hulk’s up, three punches, big boot, leg drop, 1-2-3 (Or in WM3’s case, Hulk’s up, body slam, leg drop, 1-2-3). Cue, “Real American”.

The same formula is what made “Empire Strikes Back” such a great picture. For all that we rag on George Lucas, he’s responsible for perhaps the greatest ending to a middle flick in a trilogy. The rebellion is on the ropes, Han is encased in carbonite at Jabba’s place, Luke daddy issues are in full effect, and everything is falling apart. You actually start to think that maybe, just maybe, they aren’t going to win. And this is exactly what the second Avengers should have been.

Here’s how it should’ve gone, the cliffs notes version: keep the same opening scene, to establish motive (recover Loki’s staff/the mind gem). Thanos, who we’ve seen collecting the gems in Guardians of the Galaxy, then sends a Lieutenant to Earth to get it, and the Avengers barely win the fight. They feel good about themselves. They feel unbeatable. Tony Stark is all “bring on the fucking universe, we can take ‘em, we’re the fucking Avengers” (because they assemble, and shit). So Thanos gets pissed at the incompetence of his troops and just starts doing it himself. Give him one of the Infinity Gems, just one (in GotG 2, show how he got it, and make it just fucking brutal for a PG-13 film.), and have him slaughter the Avengers. They don’t even make a fight of it. It’s just 15 minutes of them just getting fucking obliterated, and the film ends with the team licking its wounds, wondering who the fuck that was and what the hell just happened, and fearing the entire Universe even more than they already do.

So you’ve got a sudden, Empire Strikes Back-style ending, where the villain has been established as the baddest mother fucker in the entire universe, the heroes are crushed and living in fear, thinking there isn’t any way to win the war that has just started. The picture ends with Captain America and Tony Stark at each other’s throats and splitting the team, which then leads nicely into the next big Marvel Movie (Captain America: Civil War).

This pushes the entire MCU forward. It brings weight and meaning to the films coming up after it. It helps build and define the Universe and makes it feel more real. The reason why we go to see shit like this instead of art films is because sometimes all we want is escapist crap. There is nothing wrong with wanting better from that escapist crap.

So yeah, go see Fury Road. It fucking rules. – SHANE

(As much I think we live in a bit of a shit sandwich world these days, the one thing you will always see is people helping people when shit goes bad.  Communities always band together to deal with disasters, and folks get together to help friends in times of need.  Eddie Spaghetti and his family are dealing with a right shit sandwich right now, and the rock and roll community is doing what they can to help.  One of the ways you can help is by donating a few bucks via YouCaring.  This great non-profit organization was started to help kids get a decent education, but quickly became a place for unlucky folks to gain hope in terrible situations.  Here’s a bit more about this great group of people, as well as some testimonials of how YouCaring has changed (saved) a few peoples lives. – FATS) 

YouCaring was founded in 2011 by Brock Ketcher, Naomi Ketcher and Luke Miner in Redding, Calif., when they returned from two years of international mission trips. Deeply inspired by their experiences abroad, the three resolved to continue helping others when they arrived home. This resolution became YouCaring, a free crowdfunding platform designed to help fellow students fundraise for tuition and other costs.

Within months, word of the site spread and thousands of people began raising money for medical fundraisers and other charitable causes. Since then, YouCaring has grown to become the leader in free online fundraising, having raised more than $262 million in support of individuals, families, communities and nonprofits looking to save lives, remember loved ones, recover from disasters, fund humanitarian efforts and much more.

We believe kindness is powerful and that by leveraging today’s technology, we can help the world by making the best use of humanity’s most valuable untapped resource: compassion.

No one should have to face hardship alone. That’s why, day by day, dollar by dollar, we are working to create a global giving community on a scale unseen in human history. We are aiming to change the world for good.

And we’re doing this for free. By operating solely on donations, we ensure that no one is charged for fundraising on our site. This means that more money finds its way to the right places, doing more good for more people.

SUCCESS STORIES

The Riley Sandler Memorial Foundation Inc.
Nonprofit Fundraiser
$1,867,926 raised
“We were confident this was the right platform to go with. What drew us to YouCaring was that it was a good flexible site where we could get up quickly and reach out to a broad audience. There were no costs associated. We got online and the response has been tremendous. The outpouring from friends, family and people we had never and probably will never meet was very uplifting.” — Ian Sandler

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Still Kickin This!
Medical Fundraiser
$132,685 raised
“In life, we go through some difficult experiences. They are hard for people to experience, and I think we just have this tendency to want to put your head down, and close your eyes. When you do that, there’s so much that you can miss, and what you can miss is the fact that you are stronger than you think you are, and that people are better than you ever thought they would be, and that people are so kind and so generous. Our YouCaring page was a wonderful way to keep all of our family and friends informed about what was happening, and also give people a way to help.” — Nora P.

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The Blind Team Challenge – Running the Grand Canyon
Medical Expense Fundraiser
$10,329 raised
“Over the last 10 years I have raised money for a lot of different causes and this was my first time using YouCaring.com. I have been really pleased with how easy the site is to use to navigate. Both from the front end perspective of giving but also from the backend perspective of managing the website and figuring out how to edit our page so we could add press links and updates. So it was super easy to navigate. Most importantly, 100% of the money we raise goes to the cause and that is unheard of. I have worked with other sites before where you just feel sick that only $.95 is going to the cause and not $1.00. So I feel good when I’m sharing Youcaring.com because it achieves what I want and intend. Because when you are asking people to open their wallets and give money to a cause, you are hoping all that money goes to the cause you care about and that’s what I like about YouCaring.com.” — Alison Berna

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SongoftheDay: GOLD TOP by THE SUPERSUCKERS

La Mano Cornuda, or the horns of the devil, is The Supersuckers‘ most ambitious record to date as the intense guitar chord explosion first heard on The Smoke of Hell is joined with a more aggressive lead guitar attack that almost verges on The Supersuckers’ closet dream of heavy metal machismo. Every song on La Mano Cornuda (with the exception of the limp punk-pop slacker anthem “On the Couch”) embraces an overpowering rock jock attitude that will either disgust you or leave you rolling on the floor.

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Last Friday, Eddie and I went to City of Hope in Pasadena, CA to meet with new doctors and receive our much-anticipated second opinion. Much of the day’s news was scarier than we expected, but the people there were amazing. After eight hours at the hospital, talking with surgeons, nurses, financial advisors, and an outstanding coordinator (thanks Candy) Eddie has decided to have all future care at City of Hope.
The new plan is for Eddie to have surgery this Thursday, July 2. Honestly, thinking about the eight-hour procedure freaks me out. There are risks but the doctors say Eddie is going to be an amazing patient.
The tumor they found on his tonsils is on the top, which is touching the soft palate (I know way too much about the back of the mouth now), so in order for them to get all of the cancer and keep Eddie’s voice from changing they must open up the palate and take everything out (a radical tonsillectomy). Then they’ll repair the palate and move on to his neck, where the doctors will take out all of the lymph nodes on the left side.
Having never spent much time in a hospital, Eddie is naturally feeling uneasy. He just wants it all to be past him so he can get back to doing what he loves, which is banging on that big bass and throwing his kids in the air. Our family has been devastated by this, but because of you we’re still on our feet and fighting. Thank you.
Your support for Eddie and our family is so amazing, and we’re so grateful. That’s the silver lining to this whole rotten thing. Trust me, talking and thinking about cancer, surgery, and fear gets old. But you’ve got Eddie talking about the positive side of this, which is seeing the impact his music and band have had on you. Up until now, he had no idea no idea there were so many of you. He does now, and that makes me so hopeful he will recover and never ever forget how special he is to you.
Thank you to everyone who has listened to the music, sent messages, written articles, donated, thought good thoughts, and sent us good vibes. He feels it, he really does. You’re freakin’ amazing and we couldn’t get through this without you.
-Jessika (Eddie’s wife) & the Spaghetti Family

(Well frig eh, happy Canada Day!  I live in the worst/best city for this holiday, and after a few times out at the madness, my family has decided we will hide from it for the rest of our days in this place.  But, for those of you still with the spirit to tie the flag on like a cape or face-paint yourselves all red and white, here’s a fun recipe to hand out at your fancy BBQ party. – FATS)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (125 mL) cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
• 1-1/4 cups (300 mL) sifted cake and pastry flour
• 1 cup (250 mL) packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking soda
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) unsalted butter, softened

Chocolate Icing:

• 3/4 cup (175 mL) butter, softened
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) maple extract or vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) icing sugar
• 1 oz (28 g) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

Decorations:

• 24 candy-sprinkled dark chocolates, (such as pearls)
• 24 coloured quins or small candy
• 12 chocolate-covered cashews
• 24 blanched sliced almonds
• 12 small milk chocolate-covered digestive biscuits

Preparation

We’re gonna get serious here for a minute. As you’ve no doubt noticed, this week’s theme on rockandrolljunkie.com is the terrible situation Supersuckers frontman Eddie Spaghetti finds himself in after getting diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. That’s bad enough. That just plain old fucking sucks. I remember when my dad was told he had tumours the size of fists in his colon, and went under the knife two days later. I remember hearing the news that a friend of mine, just barely on the wrong side of 30, had lung cancer. That’s some real shit to deal with. Know what’s realer than that? Having to pay for the goddamn treatment.

Living in Canada, we take our health care system for granted. Sure, we’ve got a doctor shortage, and maybe treatment options aren’t always all that they could be. Elective surgery? Go to Chile or wherever the fuck, pay your money and take your chances. When it comes to some life-threatening shit, though, Canada’s got your back. You’re not gonna go broke trying to fight cancer. In the States, though, you’re on your own, unless you’ve got health insurance. I’m not even going to go into the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare), and the complexities of government-subsidized private health insurance; suffice it to say that a) the US of A are still a long ways away from a single-payer healthcare system (universal health care), and b) there are still 10s of millions of uninsured Americans who have to go completely out of pocket for any form of care.

Family doctors are a dream these people can’t afford, and emergency room visits and fees are unavoidable hardships for even the most routine of problems. But if you’re caught in an unimaginable position, like Eddie Spaghetti is now, you’re fucked. Well and truly. Your options are essentially charity and/or debt. People take out loans for fucking chemo, and they beg on the Internet for pills. It’s fucking sad. Imagine telling someone you have cancer, and they answer: “should’ve thought of that while you were smoking a pack a day. That’ll be 10 grand for today.” We call those people douchebags, but that’s essentially what the government of the United States is at this point. They’re selling this lie of death panels and government control over health care decisions because they’re all in the pockets of insurance companies, and there’s actually a portion of the population that buys it and keeps re-electing these cocksmokers!

You know things are bad when the most popular show on TV is about a man pushed to produce industrial quantities of crystal meth because his insurance fucked him on treatment. I’m not even putting this out there as a value judgment. When middle class Americans are finally tired of being sold a Dream they have no hope in hell of realizing, they’ll catch up. But we need to realize how good we’ve got it, and instead of tearing down a system that’s fundamentally right, be grateful you’re being looked out for. Seek and destroy is no way to govern. – JP

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