Dear Friends,
Had such a good day yesterday I forgot to get my post ready. Will have to add later today.
I’ve only done this a couple times in three years. I suppose that is a good thing. The will was there last night, though, as I wrote a New Times article for a couple of hours after getting home from A Place To Bury Strangers.
What a good show that was!
The band was noisy and great and didn't seem to give two fucks about anything but having fun. I will definitely go see them again and I'm kicking myself for not picking up the latest record from them while they were here. I don't know what I was thinking.
Well, that's not true. I do know what I was thinking. I have a ton of records and would I really listen to that one if I had it on vinyl. The honest answer is probably very rarely, although I would have liked to have spun "Bad Idea" if I was DJing.
*****
I really would like to DJ more. I should do something about that. Who do I know...?
*****
1987 was a big year for me. A lot of things happened in my life from graduating from high school to joining the Army to falling in love with a wild woman. It was also the year that my favorite local band was some dudes who called themselves Rabid Rabbit.
Rabid Rabbit was something of a super group. It featured Vince Bocchini, who I looked up to in a major way, on vocals and rhythm guitar. Mike “Bam Bam” Sversvold from JFA was on drums, Tony Karaba was on lead guitar and vocals, and Alan Anderson was on bass. Three of those guys would later become my friends, but at the time, I thought they were about the coolest dudes walking around town in tight black pants and cool boots.
We would go see Rabid Rabbit every chance we got. They were are local version of “the next big thing” but it never really happened for them. It’s weird to listen to this record now. On some levels, it is not as good as I remember thinking it was when I just had a cassette copy that someone made me back in 1987, but in other ways, it is still quite amazing.
For one thing, Bam’s drums are world class. If only the mix was a bit better. “Psycho” totally works, but then “Mr. Ed” is way too hot vocally and the guitars sound a little tinny. If someone could just make it a little warmer, it would be so much better.
Anderson’s bass lines are fucking great, though. The guys could all really play, which is why they really were a super group and phenomenal live. The record has a ‘live’ feel to it too. It’s also got a really big sound at times. “Green” is a song that begins with such big aspirations. Bam’s drums are propelling it to some high heights. Vince’s 12-string guitar sounds great, too. If you would have asked me back in 1987, I might have said that “Green” was my favorite or the song that came right after, “Owen Dolka.” I loved both of them so much.
“Owen Dolka” is a song that has been in my consciousness for a long time. It hasn’t aged as well as I would like, but I’m not 17-years-old anymore. I am much more jazzed about the song that comes after it these days, “Inside.” What a great ender to the first side of the record.
When I listen to the vocals from both Vince and Tony, I am reminded of how great the two of them were together. I had the honor of jamming with the two of them, Bam, and my friend, Chris. We rocked a few of these Rabid Rabbit songs. I faked my way through it and tried to conceal the erection my soul was sporting the whole time. Both Vince and Bam told me after that day how much they enjoyed rocking with me and that meant a ton to me. Tony, too, but we could still jam together if the mood struck. I don’t have the chance to make music with Vince and Bam again.
Before Vince died, he approached me about playing in a band with him and I was all for it. I’m very bummed that band never got a chance to happen. It would have been epic.
Bam and I played together in Blanche Davidian for a set at Hollywood Alley. That was so rad. I have written about it before on here.
“Is God My Father” is such a great riff. It’s probably the best song on the whole record. It has that “Godfather” breakdown, too. Instrumentals can be super powerful. What a great cover that would make.
Side two starts off with a bang and the power continues with “Why Am I Here” and “White Horses.” Both songs come off a little overblown to my middle-aged ears, but they are still great. I can’t help but smile while I listen. The girls used to swoon over the song “White Horses.” I remember that much.
Hell, the girls would swoon over these boys. I remember being a little jealous of the guys on several occasions. On second thought, “White Horses” is not overblown. It’s just right. The mix is what kind of blows on it. If only someone would remix this record. I bet the tapes are long gone.
“Drag Girl” foreshadowed the work Vince would later do in more garage-oriented projects like Van Buren Wheels or Thee Unfortunates, I think, but it’s a great song. I liked it back in the day because it had a definite punk vibe. There is also a blistering lead from Tony on this one, too.
“Shiny Finger” finishes things off. It’s the most blatantly Phoenix sounding song on the record. It mixes the garage sound with something akin to a groove that would fit in more with Victory Acres or Sun City Girls. It’s weird and groovy.
Damn, I miss those guys.
*****
See you tomorrow.
Found this in the bathroom of the club we played in Colorado Springs on 10/19/24.
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