Movie Review - Lemmy: 49% Motherfucker, 51% Son Of A Bitch

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and again, I LOVE what’s going on in Rock/Metal Media these days.  Books, Documentaries, DVD’s whether they’re home releases, VH1 exclusives, Palladia HD runs or works cool enough to screen in a movie theater…this is where it’s at. 

Last night was the one and only Chicago showing at The Music Box and despite it being a work night and a 9:45 start as well as a 45 minute one way ride into the big city, I had to be there.  True motivation was hard to come by after a full day and yet all it took were the words from a Old-Metal friend to get me on my merry way. 

For those of you living under or crushed by the rock, ‘Lemmy: 49% Motherfucker, 51% Son Of A Bitch’ is a film over four years in the making, profiling one Ian Fraser “Lemmy” Kilmister the iconic leader of Motörhead.  The band he founded in Chelsea, London back in 1975, and the same band he still fronts today.  

The directors of the film were granted all access to Lemmy’s world which by all accounts has never happened before.  It’s really fascinating to see this man, a figurehead of the entire loud music (Punk, Rock, Metal) generation ebb and flow his way through this thing we call life.  Obviously, his life is probably more exciting than yours and that’s a given, in fact I’ll guess it’s a shitload more exciting than yours so what we see on screen is pretty much his existence in a nutshell.  

We see Lemmy at his regular haunts, those being the Rainbow Bar and Grill, in the studio – either recording new Motörhead music or various sessions, one featured in the film shows Lemmy and Dave Grohl recording for the ‘We wish you a metal X-Mas…’ album, to backstage and on-stage.  The cream of the crop?  An in-depth visit to the Los Angeles apartment he’s lived in since moving to America some 20 years or so ago. 

It’s not what one would think it is. I really don’t think anything can prepare you for what this is like.  So I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s of interest.  

The movie is a homage to the man.  From his earliest musical exploits in The Rocking Vickers to the legend that breathes among us, if it’s important, it’s in here.  With some great archival footage interspersed with cameos -  each with their own take on what Lemmy as a musician or as a man has meant to them.  The film is Metallica heavy with all four current members given ample interview screen time as well as a full performance of "Damage Case" with Lem guesting with Metallica.  A rare Jason Newsted appearance is also in the film. 

As with any cameo heavy film there’s certain people, no matter what they say you just want to throw something at the screen. Those people are in here, but for whatever reason it’s somewhat tolerable. 

Some great time is spent with Lemmy's son, Paul. A level headed guy, super calm and enjoying the time with his father.  There's a true bond there, it's a strong point of the film.  But yes, Paul's participation is pretty vital to getting a slight insight to the interior of the hardened shell of a man one fan loudly claims "will survive a nuclear bomb...along with cockroaches!" 

The last thing I’ll say is I wondered how the film was going to portray the man.  With a few of the recent Metal Docs, despite what you thought of the featured band going in, you definitely thought more of them on the way out.  The Anvil movie for instance, how could you not root for that?  Even the Rush movie had people gushing about the trio’s off-stage demeanor, again it had people gravitating towards them.  Ending up in their corner.  

I’m proud to say the movie is as cut and dry as the film’s subject.  The filmmakers do not try to paint a pretty picture, it seems pretty accurate.  He’s no saint, neither are we, but for a multitude of reasons he comes across as even cooler than before. While not exactly a laugh-a-minute the deeper side of Lemmy is given a slight peek, it's not always pretty, but again, just pure.  

By now the free world has seen this on cable, so I’m done babbling.  The movie is kick ass.  The DVD comes out this coming Tuesday, Feb 15^th.  The BluRay is supposed to have some 4 hours of extras. '49% Motherfucker, 51% Son Of A Bitch' is a unapologetic, unflinching look into the life of a true original. Cheers to the filmmakers and to the first to pour a drink and always the last man standing, Lemmy.   

    

An Interview With Sean Yseult

One of the coolest things about this writing stuff is if you’re moved by someone’s art, be it music or writing or whatever, there’s a (sometimes, extremely) small chance you’ll be able to speak with the creator about it.  It almost adds a new personal dimension to the work you’ve already been moved by, it’s tough to explain.

After I finished ‘I’m In the Band’ by Former White Zombie and current Star & Dagger Bassist Sean Yseult it was like I had to speak with her.  I think the book is killer and you get a feeling she’s got a great story to tell and she does.  If you haven’t yet checked it out, go to her official site and check out book previews, music, photos, art and more.

 

After a successful weekend at the 2011 Namm Convention where she unveiled her Schecter Coffin Bass Sean was back to business and also promoting, which is where we start.      

None But My Own: I made mention in my review that since the sales of CD’s and what not are totally on the decline, I hope more people do these kinds of projects.  Be it movies or books, things the kids can’t readily steal. But I was blown away by ‘I’m In The Band.’

Sean Yseult: Cool, thank you so much.  

When you were working on ‘I’m In the Band,’ what type of response did you think you would get?  Did you think it would be just the White Zombie fans?  I think it’s deserving of a broader scope because there’s so much in here.   

Well I definitely knew the White Zombie fans would gravitate to it. Over the years I’ve definitely seen my share of internet chatter and received emails regarding everything from “why there wasn’t more information in the box set” to just about anything else related to the band. I just really wanted to get the story of the band out there because it’s never really been told. So I knew the fans would be into it and I also thought it would appeal to a wider female audience as well.  So outside of that I wasn’t too sure who it would speak to. 

I’m not sure why, but I wasn’t expecting some of the “Rock N’ Roll” aspects of the book.  White Zombie, from afar didn't seem like an "out of control" kind of band.  In my review I wrote something like, “yeah the band ended with a thud, but you [Sean] had some FUN!” 

(Laughing) Well, I made damn sure I was having a good time!

I mean you really lived it and while things could seem bad at times I don’t think you could document things the way you did if you really didn’t love what you were doing.

Well we weren’t like Motley Crue with the strippers and drugs, but yeah, I made sure to have fun with it!  Having all the photos and tour diary’s to back up my memories helps (laughs)! 

When you started as a Rock Musician, were you a bass player first then a song writer or vice versa?   

  

Definitely a songwriter first.  My classical music training goes back to when I was five or six, so I was trained to read, write, compose and improvise music…it was some hardcore training.  By the time I was eight I was writing five page pieces on piano, some pretty intricate shit too (laughs)!  Bass came later, it wasn’t until high school and getting into hardcore bands like The Cramps, Black Flag and Dead Kennedys and so on.  That’s when I knew I wanted to be in a band.

As soon I got to New York I met some hardcore kids at a Bad Brains show and they we like “we’re gonna start a band and we need a Bass player!” so I got a bass for fifty dollars, a Global was the brand and it was horrible but it was all I could afford.  But I don’t think we ever practiced, we just sat around and talked about having this “band”!  So as soon as I started playing bass I was writing riffs, I practiced to build my strength but always was writing stuff.  

I can’t profess to being the biggest White Zombie fan, but from my point of view WZ always seemed to be Rob and then the band.  All important in the public eye, but definitely an emphasis on him, especially, seemingly more when the band “broke.”  I liked reading just how important each of you were to the absolute foundation of the band. 

That was definitely something Rob and I wanted from the start.  It wasn’t like the members of the band fighting for quality, he (Rob) was really into that. He was like “I only like bands where every member’s important.” So we really tried to stress that from the beginning on all our early records too.  All members were prominently featured equally, that was important to us.  

I liked how (former WZombie drummer) Ivan DePrume was given the spotlight.  I really never knew how vital he was both as a drummer and as a band mate.

Oh Ivan was incredibly important to White Zombie! I don’t think we would have gone the direction we went without Ivan.  Ivan played on six of the eight White Zombie records, only the first 7” and the last album, but he was there for most of the ride. 

Knowing how much he meant to WZ and thinking of his departure, which you don’t go into in the book, but he left just before things blew up, didn’t he?

Yeah…it was real upsetting.  I don’t know if it was just a misunderstanding between him and Rob or whatever, but they kind of got into a fight on stage.  Ivan felt he wasn’t going to put up with whatever and said he quit and Rob said “Good” and it was just a bad scene.   The next thing you know Rob’s holding him to it and got him a bus ticket home…

No shit, he got Mustained?!…

Huh?

Nothing.

Yeah, so we were in the middle of a tour, I think we were supporting Testament and all of a sudden this kid from Wisconsin shows up and he knows our tour manager.  His name is Phil…I can’t remember his last name.  But he shows up the very next day and our tour manager say’s “well this guy can fill in” and we’re needing someone, right?  So we start playing with this guy and he knows all the songs!?  

So I didn’t know if this was planned or what but at the time it was just uncanny.  He was in and we just carried on, there may have been a day off in there but I don’t think we missed a show.  But you know, it was never the same after Ivan.  We were like family, he was like my little brother and it was upsetting.  So it was like we have this new guy in the band that we’re not friends with and…but that’s why I didn’t really go into it.  Too unpleasant.  

Still though, his contributions are great moments in the book.  The stories of you guys rehearsing in his basement are fucking hilarious! 

(laughing) Oh god, I don’t even go into half of it, man!  Ivan grew up in Park Slope, New York.  Park Slope now is all nice and expensive now, totally yuppied out, right? But back then his family had this building and there were like hookers on his block and it wasn’t all that great.  His Mother was Russian and she’d yell at Rob and I all the time, like “what is wrong with your hair?” because we had dreadlocks and she just thought we were freaks.  

At one time there was a raccoon loose and it was living in the drop ceiling, but then we found out the raccoon was the pet of a Vietnam vet who lived upstairs and it was like every single person in that house was, a real character (laughing) and I guess we fit in there too, in a weird way. But all in all his mother put up with us making all that noise in the basement for years.

Ivan’s influence by way of Metallica’s ‘Ride the Lightning’ plays a role in the story of White Zombie.  Both Metallica and Cliff Burton were sort of name checked in the book around the time the “Metal-morphesis” of WZ was taking place.  Ivan mentions he took a lot of heat for liking Metallica and Slayer in 85/86.

Oh well, Ivan was always with the boots, the bullet belt, I mean he was a serious Brooklyn Metal head, he was sixteen when we first met him; still in high school!  But yeah, he got made fun of quite a bit.  All those drives we’d take to play The Rat in Boston or Toad’s Place in Connecticut, well Ivan would have all his cassettes and he’d be blasting Slayer and Metallica and the three of us would be like “oh god, what is this?”  But the more we heard it, the more it sunk in and the more we liked it and it definitely rubbed off on us! 

Was Cliff Burton an influence?  Both Bassists - your classical background, his classical background.. 

Definitely an influence, huge influence, his style, and headbanging, total original, just one of a kind.

Your description of the two scenes in which WZ in existed early on was pretty fucking funny.  From “art student drop-outs with vintage guitars, dressed in sixties garage style trying to play it cool vs. high school drop outs in leather and mullets, ready to fight, fuck or get fucked up.” 

Which was the difference between say CBGB’s and other NYC gigs and L’amour’s in Brooklyn.  The Metal kids took to you fast; they embraced you, how awesome was that?

Exactly! We were just so happy to have an audience that liked us.  Because at CBGB’s or anywhere in the East Village, you know only a smattering of people would even come and bother to see you.  If they did they were also in a band so they’d be feeling competitive so they’d come out but for like all the wrong reasons.  Not to support, but to check out the “competition” or they wouldn’t even pay attention, it was very strange.

So we get out to L’amour’s in Brooklyn and people were moshing and going ape-shit, it was like “Wow! This scene is alive, alive and kicking!” (laughs) and they embraced us.  I don’t know if I mention this in the book but we definitely owe a lot to Biohazard and the Cro-Mags for inviting us to open for them because that was kind of our entrance to that whole Metal scene. 

After that show we go to open up for Pantera at L’Amour’s on their ‘Cowboys from Hell’ tour, Slayer invited us to open a couple of shows.  That was incredible and we didn’t get booed off stage!  We actually had a pit by our second song, and this was back in 89 when we were still pretty noisy!  I think we were still chaotic enough for them to like it.            

Continuing on the subject of New York, the way you describe the East Village back then, the horror/porn theaters and just the sleaze/danger element…it reminded me of the book ‘The Evolution of a Cro-Magnon' by John 'Bloodclot' Joseph.  The way he described New York growing up, the streets, the vibe, the whole culture of a neighborhood come to life was. 

But he also said the New York City he grew up in is dead to him.  From the changes and the way it’s all cleaned up, he just sounded disheartened.  Is it the same to you when you go to New York now?

You know, I’m not really bitter about it, but mostly because I didn’t grow up there like those kids, I know a lot of New Yorkers who are really hateful about how cleaned up it is.  I see it but you know?  It is a shame how everything got bought out and it’s almost like a big shopping mall. 

I remember when the first McDonalds came into the East Village, people were like ”whoa” and when they built a Gap on St. Marks Street…people threw rocks at it and kept breaking their windows.  Nothing like that was accepted, but now you walk around Soho or the Village and it’s all corporate.  Back when everything was Mom and Pop stores and independent and places you’d only find in New York. 

So that part is a bummer.  But I have to say, I don’t mind that it’s cleaner and safer!  I’m not going to lie, as a female if I’m walking alone I like that I don’t have to feel like I’m going to get knifed or mugged.  Back then I definitely found myself in some dicey situations, but it also seems these days some of the grit may be coming back…

Some of the what?

The grit.  Since the economic downturn a few years ago I’ve heard a few things about the area.  You hear and see some people and things, some places going under and things like that.  I’m not saying it will ever get as bad as it was in the early 80’s, but it’s definitely there.

Part of it’s original charm was it was nurturing to artists.  These days there’s just no way someone could live there and try to start a band or be a painter or photographer.  Back then you’d see all sorts of freaks in the street, not anymore.

Speaking of freaks, how funny is it the photos you took with Kyuss on the Danzig tour (1992) and Glen’s bodyguard was Jesse James…the West Coast Choppers guy?  He’s like a tabloid freak now.

Yeah! That was mind-blowing!  I mean, first I kept hearing about him from different media things and I’m thinking, “no way that’s the same guy.”  But then again, how many guys are named Jesse James (laughs)?  But he was a really nice guy.  Funny guy, we hung out a lot with him on that tour.  In the pictures he’s got a broken arm, he broke it in Detroit at Harpo’s on the last night of the tour! 

But yeah, I hadn’t seen Jesse since touring days and that was very strange. When I saw he had a TV show I was like , “Oh, cool for him.”  The he married Sandra Bulloch and I was like “Wow, great for him…”

Great for his bank account as well.  

(laughs) But strange to see someone you know, or knew totally swept up in the Hollywood world! 

Not to bring up a bummer, but there’s quite a few Pantera tour mementos in the book.  There are words and some great photos of two bands that seemed to really enjoy each others company.  After the events of December 8, 2004 the tributes and memories were massive.   Did you ever get a chance to release a statement, either something personal or on the part of White Zombie? 

I went to his funeral, and Rita had asked me to go up and tell a story or something…(long pause) but I didn’t have the heart to.  It was really, really upsetting…I don’t know, just so senseless and so terrible.  You know some people, when I think back about them like Kurt Cobain and others; I can’t even listen to the music. 

But when I hear Pantera it makes me happy, you know?  Darryl was such a good soul [and a] great person with such good energy it feels like he’s still here, not to sound corny.  It’s hard to put into words because it’s not like he took his own life or OD’d or something, but it was sudden and I only think of good things when I think of Darryl.

(Talk about Lead Singer’s Disease, one totally doesn’t wanna be there and the other totally doesn’t even know he’s there.)

How’s the book tour going?

Great!  It’s been keeping me really busy and they keep selling out of books, so that’s been telling me it’s going good! 

What type of reactions have you been receiving?  Me, personally I can see people gravitating to a few different things with it, of course the visual stuff is fantastic.  But I also really enjoyed the writing too. 

It’s funny; there are some people who thought it was going to be all writing and not all that visual, not a coffee table styled book.  Then there’s the other half who thought it was going to be all visual and were surprised at all the stories, so (laughing) it’s this hybrid kind of book, but yeah the response has been great. 

http://www.seanyseult.com/

HELL AWAITS: Tiger O'Stylies, Berwyn, IL. 02.05.2011

I can't remember the last time I saw a tribute band.  I've never been a huge fan of going to bars and can't think of may other places where one would run into a band that solely exists on playing the music of others.  Now this isn't always true, some tribute bands are just another paying gig for the working musician, however to devote yourself and your talents to the works of others, you damn well better enjoy the music.  When one mentions "tribute" or "cover" most people just roll their eyes or try to change the subject.  We've all seen them and they usually suck.  But what is it about the small percentage of tribute bands that truly "get it"?      

Chicago's HELL AWAITS is a Slayer tribute band that gets it.  They perform album tracks from 1983's 'Show No Mercy' through 1990's 'Seasons In The Abyss' and do it for the drunken brotherhood of it.  Consisting of current and former members of CorpseVomit, Yakuza, Cumchrist, Nachtmystium, Kommandant and more, their obvious Metal pedigree is there as is the natural vibe of jamming together as a band.  Having ALL four or five guys firing on all cylinders is of the utmost importance. 

 

This vibe is what's going to make or break any band, one playing 100% originals or an average everyday cover band.  If the band doesn't gel on stage, it's going to be a very long evening.  Because HELL AWAITS has been such a formidable unit over the years, the feeling is there.  When they play the Slayer material they feel it, they believe in it and they conquer it.  Because of that, this gig was like like having a live Slayer "Greatest Hits" album with only the best cuts present.   

My entire review of the show can be summed up with - I had a fucking blast!  I can't believe I'm writing about a tribute band, but this was so fucking good I'd feel guilty if I didn't. The thing I wrote about all members firing at once?  It was obvious these dudes connect on stage, they played these songs with an absolute urgency, when was the last time you heard Slayer play "Fight Til Death" and not only nail it, but give it 100% and BELIEVE IT? 

Setlist was:       

"Hell Awaits"

"Kill Again"

"At Dawn They Sleep"

"Altar of Sacrifice"

"Die By The Sword"

"Necrophiliac"  

"Silent Scream" 

"The Antichrist"

"Captor Of Sin"

"Chemical Warfare"

"Ghosts of War"

"Piece By Piece"

"Fight Till Death"

"Live Undead"

"Angel Of Death"

"War Ensemble"

"Jesus Saves"

"South Of Heaven"

"Raining Blood"

and more.

Talk about money well spent, $5 cover and a two hour set of album quality live Slayer on an ice titan like Saturday night in Berwyn. 

Paul Baloff 1960-2002

R.I.P. Paul Baloff

Old Metal Mag: The Four Horsemen

Blame it on my iPod.  I was never much of a "shuffle" guy until maybe six months ago.  Now I can't stop.  So one of the things that kept popping up was music by The Four Horsemen.  Especially tracks from their debut album, 'Nobody Said It Was Easy.'   Back then when the album was released (Def American 1991) and even now I don't think there's too many people who like or liked em or even really knew they existed.  

They were a good band with shit luck.  Shame really as the 'Nobody Said...' LP as well as their first, self-titled EP were kick ass slabs of AC/DC meets the Rolling Stones meets Lynyrd Skynyrd...a band wanting only to rock you, fuck you or fight you. 

Here's piece from Kerrang! that ran in 1992.  Pretty funny, shows the characters they could be and represents em the way I remember them.  Especially Frank.  

Great interview with 'Horsemen Guitarist Haggis can be found here.  

 

(Click Image to Enlarge)

From the collection: 1991 promo for 'Nobody Said It Was Easy.'  It's songs have aged well, this is a classic album. A true flash in the pan due to all their personal problems, their peak was about as short lived as they come, but at least they got to do it.  Their follow-up the 1996 released 'Gettin Really Good At Barely Gettin' By' was another solid but definitely less memorable and lacking the impact of 'Nobody Said...'  

Book Review : I'm In The Band by Sean Yseult

Welcome to 2011.  I'm liking this format and judging by the number of you who stopped by last year, we're on to something.  Thanks.

Following another year of declining CD sales I'm hoping the trend of "Media" continues for many years to come.  Documentaries, DVD's/Films, Books and other tough to steal media should do some damage this year with the long awaited Lemmy documentary coming on DVD as well as cinematic premieres.  The Malfunkshun documentary was shown at film festivals in 2005!  It's to be released in the first quarter of 2011.   

Speaking of 2011, what a way to kick things off...

For you to have “been there” you must be at least 31/2/3 years old or close to it.  You would remember, amongst other things - black and white television, MTV showing videos, the 3-D television premiere of ‘The Creature from the Black Lagoon’ sponsored by 7-11.  You remember when “Freddy Krueger” and “Jason” weren't franchises, you get extra points for knowing Greg got the Johnny Bravo gig because he fit the suit. If you remember this stuff, not only are you “old,” but you'd fully remember when White Zombie exploded!  Not imploded, that came later, but when the band really hit.  To the World at large they seemed to appear out of nowhere.

This colorful, disturbing, shredded, out of place, can’t take your eye off em cartoon existence come to life.  Kinda funny- the word “life” was never really associated with the corpse-y skinned  White Zombie klan.  Which weirdly enough their biggest shot of “life” was administered through both a legendary A&R guy and later the opinion of two cartoon morons.  In the years 1985-1997/8 White Zombie went from art house noise mongers to bona fide worldwide arena headliners. From the day the band started, Co-Founder, Bassist, and new author Sean Yseult was there.  

In her recently released coffee table book, ‘I’m In The Band’ (‘Backstage Notes from the Chick in White Zombie’) Yseult opens the crypt and what she unveils is quite the bible for fans of the much missed and at times horribly imitated band. I mean, a more thorough documentation on the band won’t be found, no need to look, it’s all here.  

From the day she was born Sean Yseult was involved in some sort of art, her fate was sealed early on and digging into the story of not only the band’s meteoric rise it, but her own development from a North Carolina outcast to a global Bass Monster - it almost seem fitting she’d end up on top.  A true rags to, uh, nicer rags story! 

Featuring over 2,000 images, everything from the very first photos of Sean and the then Rob Cummings as a couple, pre band in 1985 to their final tour itineraries not to mention all the personal journals, mementos, photos, memories and scars too.  Yseult is a lifer; her time spent in New York City’s Lower East Side definitely helped condition her to the rather rough lifestyle of a musician, especially a “Metal” musician.  She definitely absorbed the rigors of touring and life in general and really shares it ALL with you. 

However, if it were just Sean’s POV on the decade plus romp around the world the story might be a bit one-sided.  Yseult, who knows a thing or two about being excluded from decisions, has really gone the extra mile in compiling the text for ‘I’m In The Band.’  By getting written contributions from some of the key souls who participated in creating the White Zombie beast the story goes from strength to strength in a way a single (usually) author just can’t compete with.  Key moments with former members J. Yuenger, Ivan de Prume, Johnny Tempesta and the aforementioned A&R guru Michael Alago as well as many others who help paint the picture of the band from every step in their career.

There’s some really great early stuff where the band had their own fanzine where’d they had total control to get whatever information they wanted out and about, sell merch and music.  The zines are fucking COOL to see.  These documents show what it was like “back in the day.”  Before ANYTHING we currently rely on, Zombie created their own world from day one and it was just a matter of time until people landed on it. When people finally land they’re carrying Grammy Nominations, A-List Hollywood Screenings, the ability to hold court with your heroes, trips to exotic locations, planes, trains and automobiles and of course flesh and party favors.  Lots of both.  

So it’s unfortunate how quick Planet Zombie (it’s main moons at the time of it’s demise: rz, sy, jy, & jt) implodes.  That’s in here too.  While it’s true, White Zombie was an unconventional band from the get-go, the inner workings after the success hit is some really good reading.  Brutally honest in not only her band mates and management, she’s also that way with herself.  All the mental and physical scars are shown and at times they’re not pretty, but they’re very real and very human. 

Don’t get me wrong, there’s no doom and gloom here.  I’m happy to say Sean Yseult had a fucking BLAST!  I mean, she lived her life to the fullest during those days and thankfully still has the pictures and memory to do something like this!  The stories of the band’s Brooklyn rehearsals to their Geffen signing to relocation to California to the David Letterman Show and on and on and on!  I cannot say enough good things about this.  It’s definitely one of those “you always find something” books.  Great memories from tours with Danzig, Kyuss, Pantera and tons more. There’s just SO MUCH stuff.  It’s killer.       

As great as the visuals are the writing is right up there too.  Straightforward and easy to digest, it’s a definite great addition to the world of Rock N Roll books.  A real unflinching all-access pass into the life of a Zombie. If you were letdown (as many were) by the information (or lack-there-of) included in the ‘Let Sleeping Corpses Lie’ box-set, this is your retribution.  

White Zombie was an interesting entity.  The way they "made it" was the old way. Total D.I.Y. (running their own label, booking their own tours, making their own merch etc. etc) That hard work and a pinch (or punch) of luck will allow them to go down in music history.  This book ties everything together and is a great way to start the new year.