Now time to check for that book to see if anyone’s done a reprint or if it’s still 100 bucks . . .
Check your message inbox sir :-p
Yeah, I want to get that book, but it’s always out of print and outrageously expensive.
I find the “normalcy” of GG a fascinating topic of its own. With the cult that he’d kind of created by default and the deity that he’s become post-mortem, so many of these mindless goons just seem to think that all he did was roll around in his own shit 24/7 and look for things to punch. But that was just a small part of his life (well, no, it was a HUGE part of his life, but a tiny fraction of his daily existence).
The home videos of him hanging out with his family and joking or doing in-store signings and talking to shop staff and such really show how “regular” he COULD be, and how in control of his persona he was.
One of my favorite albums he did was an accoustic country album called “GG Allin and the Criminal Quartet – Carnival of Excess”. It’s really great.
I don’t know how true this is, but I’d read somewhere that he was really tired of the punishment that he was enduring on tour as a result of what he’d kind of created of himself and the uncomfortable box that his “fans” expected him to be in. He was supposedly hoping to kind of get a break from that and reinvent himself a bit as a country act or something. Like I said, I don’t know how much, if any, weight that holds, but I could empathize with him if there’s truth to it.
Now time to check for that book to see if anyone’s done a reprint or if it’s still 100 bucks . . .
Yeah,I saw a video once of him at home lounging around the pool with his family…just being a regular dude doing normal shit…
His version of Warren Zevon’s Carmelita is incredibly good…
That pool video is amazing. It’s captivating because of how mundane it is. It’s just the same as any backyard family BBQ. There’s some easy flowing radio station playing, there’s some good-natured horsing around, followed by GG’s cousin or aunt chasing him around the pool. His mom admonishes “Kevin” and the boys to behave nicely. There’s a few children, not at all threatened by Uncle GG. It’s just a snapshot of a perfect American family get together.
I felt the same way when a family photo of Michael Jackson and his children was posthumously released and he was just wearing a regular suit like any other dad.
His version of Warren Zevon’s Carmelita is incredibly good…
THIS.
In 1987, they looked like this . . .
Lemme guess.
They went all “grunge-y” in '92, right?
Am I right?
Touch me I’m sick…
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Pfffft!
And to think this is the same band who once shat on the stage before setting the whole club on fire while some chick danced in the nude.
Even worse when you learn that none other than Kid Rock himself wrote the only “smash hit” that came from this electro-pop abortion.
!!!
Pfffft!
And to think this is the same band who once shat on the stage before setting the whole club on fire while some chick danced in the nude.
!!!
You know you’re losing relevance when, instead of engaging in behavior like that - which most people outside the ‘scene’ would charitably call ‘weird’ - you have remind people of your weirdness via an album title. The difference between the ‘weirdness’ of the 80s material and this stuff is like the difference between “kids, stay the hell away from those guys if you know what’s good for you” and “look, kids! Weird people! Let’s get a picture with 'em!”
Luckily, the Butties didn’t end up making a full-on Ministry-like metamorphosis in which they viewed this kind of style as what they wanted to do all along, and disowned their previous triumphs. I think they just more or less petered out after this, didn’t they?
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Pfffft!
And to think this is the same band who once shat on the stage before setting the whole club on fire while some chick danced in the nude.
!!!
You know you’re losing relevance when, instead of engaging in behavior like that - which most people outside the ‘scene’ would charitably call ‘weird’ - you have remind people of your weirdness via an album title. The difference between the ‘weirdness’ of the 80s material and this stuff is like the difference between “kids, stay the hell away from those guys if you know what’s good for you” and “look, kids! Weird people! Let’s get a picture with 'em!”
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When RevCo opened for Ministry in 2006, at one point Al asked girls to get up on stage to dance, and proclaimed, “Come on! Let’s put the FUN back in dysFUNctional!”
I just looked over at my friend who was groaning at the same moment and said, “That’s it. Let’s go hit the bar.”
The Surfers went out easy, “Pepper” was a top 40 hit and got them a lot of money. Anything after that was not meant to be an artistic achievement, they all practically disappeared after that LP
I used to work with a lady who was a bartender when GG lived in Atlanta. Said he was a perfect gentleman. But she always wisely refused offers to go to his performances…
I think they just more or less petered out after this, didn’t they?
Yes. And just at the right time too. They were well on their way to getting their own Saturday morning cartoon variety program and making cameo appearances on albums by either Toad The Wet Sprocket or The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
Is Pepper that song where Gibby says “comin’ down the mountain” that then leads into the chorus?
Is Pepper that song where Gibby says “comin’ down the mountain” that then leads into the chorus?
yes
I HATE THAT FUCKING SONG!!!
I think Peligro pointed out that it totally sounded like they were ripping off Beck, and I’d have to agree. Luckily, it was left off the set when I saw the Butthole Surfers a few years ago.
I HATE THAT FUCKING SONG!!!
I think Peligro pointed out that it totally sounded like they were ripping off Beck, and I’d have to agree. Luckily, it was left off the set when I saw the Butthole Surfers a few years ago.
Couldn’t agree more. I hate when people call out bands for selling out, but the first time I heard that song and it’s painfully similar vocal melody/cadence to Beck’s ‘Loser’ i was slackjawed. I’m from Texas. The Buttholes are a big deal round here. It was/is an abomination.
Couldn’t agree more. I hate when people call out bands for selling out, but the first time I heard that song and it’s painfully similar vocal melody/cadence to Beck’s ‘Loser’ i was slackjawed. I’m from Texas. The Buttholes are a big deal round here. It was/is an abomination.
Hey Texan what was the opinion of the band down there during the time when they were suing Touch and Go?
I remember when ‘Independent Worm Saloon’ came out and the calls of ‘sellout’ were already coming fast and thick, but I was still willing to give the guys a chance (not the least because of the many interesting side projects they were still involved in, like King Coffey’s Trance Syndicate.)
But I think Gunnar’s REVCO anecdote sums up why I couldn’t follow them into ‘greener’ ($$$) pastures than that: all their trippy / insane qualities seemed like some kind of affectation rather than something that just couldn’t be helped and which was inherent in their DNA.
Hey Texan what was the opinion of the band down there during the time when they were suing Touch and Go?
I remember when ‘Independent Worm Saloon’ came out and the calls of ‘sellout’ were already coming fast and thick, but I was still willing to give the guys a chance (not the least because of the many interesting side projects they were still involved in, like King Coffey’s Trance Syndicate.)
I don’t recall any major blow-back. At the time there were so many bands “graduating” from indies to major, I think it mostly go lost in the mix.
I actually enjoy, “Independent Worm Salool.” John Paul Jones may have a greater part on that album - at least toward overall cohesion. But, that ‘Electric Larry Land’ shit - oh I despised that - ‘Dark Side of the Spoon’ followed sometime around then right? I remember getting tired of the spoonerism.
But, ultimately, for me, the Butthole Surfers were a live band. And by live band, I mostly mean performance art. That’s where they were strongest and that’s what people talked about.
When I was in high school, the only time ‘Locust Abortion Technician’ was played was following ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ whilst shroomin’ balls bro.
When I was in high school, the only time ‘Locust Abortion Technician’ was played was following ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ whilst shroomin’ balls bro.
Too bad, since it can be a ‘music to take in place of drugs’ if one’s in the right frame of mind…but I can certainly remember a period where psychedelically fried friends would reach for a copy of ‘Locust Abortion Technician’ or ‘Hairway to Steven’ almost with the intention of completely losing their shit. Like, “you know, I’m tripping but still kinda coherent…let’s put on ‘Jimi’ and see how quickly we start thinking that we’re dog-headed glowing iguanas from Sirius B.”
I had one friend who, after jamming said Buttholes tunes during an acid-enhanced car ride, asked to be let out of the car at a ‘White Hen Pantry’ where he proceeded to angrily yell “What do you know about reality?! I AM REALITY!!!” at the occupants of a parked police cruiser. Never heard from the poor guy again after that, though he became an instant legend.
My best friend and I used to drive around in his car at like 1am STONED OUT OF OUR FUCKING MINDS during the heady days of the mid 90’s and the playlist was virtually ALWAYS the same: Locust Abortion Technician, Bug by Dinosaur Jr (trust me…you ain’t ever been freaked out until you’ve listened to “Don’t” on max volume while driving down the highway in the middle of the night, tripping balls) and Psalm 69.
Then we’d get the munchies and go to an all night McDonalds - before finally retiring for the evening at around 4:30.
Amazed we never got pulled over.
But them dayz is long gone…
My best friend and I used to drive around in his car at like 1am STONED OUT OF OUR FUCKING MINDS during the heady days of the mid 90’s and the playlist was virtually ALWAYS the same: Locust Abortion Technician, Bug by Dinosaur Jr (trust me…you ain’t ever been freaked out until you’ve listened to “Don’t” on max volume while driving down the highway in the middle of the night, tripping balls) and Psalm 69.
Haha yes I remember that playlist, although my local band of ne’er-do-wells preferred “Beers Steers and Qveers” in place of Psalm 69. I think the track “Get Down” was more or less tailor-made for pointless, stoned suburban car rides in which you only stop to double over with laughter at some very un-funny thing like the existence of rotisserie chicken or yellow caution lights.
It’s also just a terrific jam to be blasting when you pull up to the house of a potential co-passenger - who’s already in hot water with his parents over some other teenaged offense - and now has to explain to them that this gang of sleepless, guffawing freaks has his best interests at heart.