Dear Friends,
I get to see Redd Kross today. This is kind of like a holiday because Redd Kross came to Phoenix so rarely back in the day (and even still kind of rare) that it always seemed like a really special event to see them. I have a tremendous respect for the McDonald brothers because they make great music and are just sofa king hip.
Tonight, I get to take Q-man and TQ to the show. That’s pretty rad, as well. I hope they enjoy it as much as I will. The new Redd Kross record is excellent, so I have high expectations for their set list. I’m sure it will be a nice mix of new and old, but if they only played new ones, I would be completely satisfied.
It would be nice to get to say hi to the boys, too. I genuinely like Steve and Dale as they are excellent to interview and the one time I got to talk to Jeff, that was great, too. You can read my most recent interview with Steven on the New Times site.
*****
Yesterday, I was mistaken about Shelton’s memorial service. It is not until September. I edited the blog, which I rarely do, but I didn’t want anyone to feel like they had missed it. I was all ready, too, to get up and say a few things about my friend. For some reason, I feel like I need to share about him.
*****
I’m also going to go and see Granny for a bit today, too. She’s been battling some painful mouth issues, so I haven’t gotten to see her since before I left for Maine. I wanted to play it safe when I got back just in case I got exposed to the Covid.
It will be short and sweet, but it will be great to see her.
*****
Getting high on my own supply, part 6 (or is it 7?).
After joining the band in 2002, Organizing Our Neighborhood was the first of two North Side Kings records I played bass on. Honestly, a lot of this one is kind of a blur to me. We recorded it at Villain with Byron Filson, who is just spectacular to make a record with in my eyes.
I want to say we recorded it towards the end of 2003, which was during the time I was pre-divorce and separated from my first wife, so that could explain the haze in my mind about this one. I was in a pretty bad spot emotionally in those days and music was a full-on escape for me as I was playing bass in NSK and fronting (and playing bass) in both Pinky Tuscadero’s White Knuckle Assfuck and Hillbilly Devilspeak. All three bands were gigging and making new songs, too.
For me, NSK was just fun. I just had to play the songs and make faces when we played while singing a few backing vocals here and there. It was a nice treat to just be a bass player for once. To this day, I still like that a lot.
Sure, I do have a natural inclination to take charge of situations, but with NSK, I definitely didn’t have to do that. Danny Marianino led the band because it was his band. Even Luke “Bugs” as he was known on the records, was always comfortable (at least I think he was comfortable) with Danny leading the way. Danny wrote the majority of the songs and sang most of them, so he was doing a lot of the heavy lifting.
Richie Gallen played drums on this one. He had been the bass player, but wanted to switch to drums, so that’s where I came in. Richie could certainly play the hardcore drums pretty well, but he was a little bit all over the place tempo-wise in the studio. Thanks to Byron, though, the record ended up sounding pretty great as he fixes errors as well as anyone I’ve ever seen…and quickly, too.
Bryon did a lot of moving when it came to Richie’s drums, but it was fun to watch him work. If I remember correctly, I wasn’t able to be there on the day they did backing vocals, so I really was Tommy “Quiet” for this one. It was kind of fun, actually, to play on a record at that point in my life and not have to sing on it.
The songs on Organizing Our Neighborhood are really fun to play. Danny comes up with some great stuff and his songwriting style is in the Lou Reed school of riff making. What I mean by that is that Lou Reed was a master of reinventing his riffs by making a few small changes here and there and, voila! There was a new song. Much of the NSK sounds familiar because of this, but it works.
The album has some bangers on it. “Low Life” is such a fun song and great fun to play. It really gets people moving, too. “My Reflection” is heavy as fuck and “Right Or Wrong” and the “Bad Guy” were staples of our sets for a long, long time. We made some fun videos, too.
I think the record gets even more interesting in the middle with “Holding On,” “Empty Life,” and “Point The Finger.” The latter of the those three was definitely a favorite of mine to play. There is just something about that one that speaks to me. It’s a joy to be in a band and also be a fan. Before I joined NSK, I really liked them and I remember thinking on a few occasions, I hope that bass player (this was before I met Richie) quits.
I’m still a fan, so it’s kind of weird to write this one. It almost seems like I’m on both sides of the fence. Of all the records I’ve made, this one is a bit blurry when I think of the studio experience, but I was very excited about it at that time.
It came out about three months before the “Danzig Incident” and we were full of hope for it. Thorpe Records put it out and we wanted to do some more touring and such. As popular as Pinky was at the time, it was even more fun to play NSK shows because of the energy of the crowds. I enjoyed people getting into the band I was in, although there was a fight at just about every show.
Aaron Coleman’s art is pretty darn great, too.
Great (almost) memories and a smile on my face.
*****
See you tomorrow.
I kind of love AI's concept for "A Tricycle Made for Two."
Comments