Last Week...Paul, Chris and the Hall....

Let’s talk about Last week….

I saw the full R&R Hall of Fame 2013 Ceremony, and it was great. It pains me to say that, really it does. I spend a ton of time bashing them, but they actually gave props to fallen heroes in bands they don’t recognize. In particular, they actually said goodbye to Jon Lord (Deep Purple) and Bob Welch ((Fleetwood Mac – Solo Artist (read: welching out on a legacy – previous blog)) in a video tribute to fallen stars. I have to say it was very classy.

BUT…. Why the hell Deep Purple is not carved in every hall of your dumb house is amazing to me you stupid hall of fame. I digress… I guess you have to go with the devil you know and they finally got Rush right. I could have lived without Alex flubbing the acceptance speech, but hey, I‘ll take it even though I was embarrassed for him.

Along with the HBO Hall of Fame coverage, I went and saw Paul McCartney and Wings “Rockshow” at the I-Max in Pittsburgh Mills. It was awesome and I was very impressed with the re-master/re-release of the film.

I blog about the Beatles from time to time, but I do love me some Wings. Not everybody would go to the theater to see a show like that from 1976, but given the opportunity, I’m there. I forgave the studio overdubs about 5 minutes in, and just sat back and enjoyed it for what it was. I am sure it will be out on DVD very soon, and it is worth the price, so check it out.

Beyond that, I saw Soundgarden last Sunday. I love them, but I will not spend another dollar on Chris Cornell. I saw him last year at Carnegie Music Hall, and it was not great. I loved hearing Sunshower live, but I actually left early out of boredom after that. The Soundgarden show could have been better if they would just realize that they could benefit from actually playing hits and not deep cuts… That hurts to say, but they have an amazing catalog of songs we actually know. Just an observation, so take it for what it is.

Was it a good music nerd week? Yes it was!!! I hope that they all work out like that going forward. On the immediate radar is Frank Turner at Smalls, BARONESS at Smalls (so stoked), and Peter Frampton/Robert Cray at Stage AE.

If you actually read my blog, thank you… I know that my opinion is not always the most unbiased, but 2300+ views is not bad for a music nerd from Western PA.  Feel free to leave feedback.

Walking in Memphis.

Q. What do Elvis and Nago have in common?

A. We both have small houses.

I had some downtime this week between meetings while in Memphis. Consequently I found myself twiddling thumb and unwilling to stare at a hotel wall any longer. In an effort to keep occupied I rented a car and went to Graceland. I mean, why not? I am not a huge fan of Elvis or anything, but I understand that without him, my favorite band (The Beatles) never would have greased their hair and started playing Rock ‘n Roll. They all drank a steady diet of Elvis Kool-Aid, so certainly I could offer up one afternoon to my hero's hero. It only seemed right.

Is Elvis the King of R&R? I know it to be true that perception is reality, so why not? He was a cool alternative to the Light Jazz scene my grandparents dug, and he really did bring black music to the white popular culture of the day. He was puppy dog dangerous enough to break through to the kids, and also probably the first tabloid star (save the royal family). My generation listened to Slayer and Prince. In comparison, Elvis’s controversial gyrations were about as dangerous as chewing too much Big League Chew, but parents hating their kids music had to start somewhere.

 

Here’s what shocked me: Graceland’s main house is relatively small for a Kings mansion. Seriously, I know people with kitchens that make his look like it belongs in a single wide trailer. It’s just not that big. He had a bar and pool table in his basement, but in my town, a lot of people have the same. Elvis owned several TV’s, but so does everybody I know, so no big deal there either. I can say with 100% certainty that none of my acquaintances have a wall fountain in their jungle room though.

 

 

 

 

The Elvster bought into the 70’s like nobody’s business. Shag carpets, dark drapes, fabric covered ceilings and hardwood tongue & groove abound. I am sure all of his comforts were top luxury during his residency on this estate, and in his defense, the property surrounding the house was very impressive.

 

With all of the above stated it really is a tourist trap. Across the street from the mansion you can tour his planes (which were super cool) and visit all of the Elvis novelty shops complete with souvenirs galore. I purchased 5 postcards and 2 books of matches, spending a whopping $2.97 including tax on memorabilia. I fully intend to mail the postcards when I get back home. I am hanging on the fat Elvis meets President Nixon card though. I find it funny.

 

 

Musically, I like fat Elvis. His band was twangy and had a sound all its own, plus they fit the 70’s decade like a glove. Steven Tyler wishes he had the swag of the fat man back then. I digress…

I hope to find myself with nothing to do in London so I can mess with traffic on Abby Road, but it’s not likely this year. However, I will be back in Memphis soon, and if I again find myself with disposable hours I will visit Sun Studios, Gibson Custom Shop, and Stax. Beleedat!

One final note: Westboro Baptist Church is planning an Elvis protest at Graceland this Friday. God hates Elvis? It's a shame they weren't there the day I was, for you might have seen me on the news throwing postcards and matchbooks at them. Losers.

Deuteronomy 4:42

That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:

When I was 12, Slayer was scary to me. That was some real demonic shit right there. It was blistering fast, by far the fastest of the Thrash bands in the day. It was poorly produced, which I knew back then as I struggled to hear any bass guitar in the mix, but man they were awesome.

Who doesn't remember the first time they heard Hell Awaits? It was then, and remains today, one of the best, if not the best, Metal openers ever. Da da da.

My bro Hinkle really loved Slayer. He was a huge fan. He would spend hours playing any Slayer riff he could muster on his crappy little one knob Charvel which plugged into a Boss Metal Zone pedal and amplified through a 1x12 bass amp. It was cool. We would practice Slayer riffage all day. I was still attempting to play drums back then, and asking me to play anything from Slayer was equal to asking me to break dance. It was above my pay grade, so we just stuck with the basics. The main drum pattern in Seasons in the Abyss was 4/4 easy (minus the fills), so we rocked that mostly. We even kicked around starting a thrash band. Jason Blake, who went on to sing for Domicile MK1, would scream his face off trying to sound like Tom Araya. We sucked bad, but it was fun. We called ourselves “Cheap Whore”.

Chris was not the only Slayer fanatic in my circle. John Muroski and I would write entire verses about dog food to the tune of Angel of Death. Kibbles and Bits, march through the kitchen to the bowl...Infamous, Supper, KIBBLES AND BITS! We used to make ourselves cry with laughter writing the silliest shit you could imagine. I never laughed so hard in my life. I miss that dude sometimes. If you see him, tell him I said ‘sup.

I have written about the Clash of the Titans before: how a bunch of high school kids piled into vans and headed out to see Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth. The sad part is, it remains the one and only time I have seen Slayer.  I took them for granted. I figured I would see them again eventually.

I was talking with an old friend yesterday morning that went with me to the Titans show. He too never saw Slayer again after that show. He said that it was ok though, as it punctuated that period of his life and he can look back fondly on it. I am adopting that mindset as my own (thanks Seth).

It has been a week since we all learned the news of Jeff Hanneman’s death. It is an unbelievable story. A weird spider bite  in 2011 that caused necrotizing fasciitis, a Slayer fan Doctor that recognized the venom for what it was, a constant state of recovery and therapy that kept Jeff off the road and unable to play. A brief appearance at the Big Four, then not much news at all…. He was recovering, or so we all thought.

In the end it was liver failure that killed him.  It's safe to assume that the spider bite was the cause. He was 49. Not gonna lie, when I heard, I welled up. It took the wind out of my sails for a moment.

 

RIP Jeff. Thank you my brother.