Dear Friends,
I’m going to have a lot to say about my friend, Mike “Bam Bam” Sversvold for awhile. He was more than just “one of a kind.” He was a complicated guy wrapped up in a simple disguise.
It’s hard to think of him not being out there somewhere, even though he is and always will be. Mike was a legend. Stories will be told of him in this town for a long time.
From a health standpoint, I am surprised he lasted as long as he did, though. He was never one to show any real concern for health from what I observed. He was also open with me about these vulnerabilities and I will miss that.
Mike was not without friends and he will be missed. I will miss him.
More to come.
*****
On a brighter note, another wedding is in the history books. I a few thoughts on this, but they are going to have to wait for processing. Much too late in the morning to sort through it all. Lots of thoughts and feelings…but lovely, as always, to be with friends I love.
*****
The weather in Prescott, though…wow. I remember why I used to like it up here before it became the blatant playground for backwards ass MAGA scum. Bless their hearts.
*****
With any luck, today will be the day that tiling begins. It's so close, I can feel it.
*****
(Note: Bam and I got to be the rhythm section for Blanche Davidian for one show. We had a great time playing together.)
When Pinky Tuscadero’s White Knuckle Assfuck was going pretty strong in 2002 and 2003, there was a few local bands we really enjoyed sharing the bill with over the years. Hillbilly Devilspeak had our favorite bands to rock with, too, but it was harder to really match up with someone for that project. With Pinky, it was a bit easier.
One of the bands I liked to play with a lot was Blanche Davidian. They had it all, as far as I was concerned. They were fucking good, had a following, and are excellent dudes. I switched tenses there, I know, but the ‘excellent dude’ part is still a current thing. To say I enjoy the guys in Blanche Davidian is an understatement, but that’s not why I want to write about their record, Orange Sunshine.
Over the years, Blanche Davidian shows just got more and more amazing to watch and listen to in the venues around town. It was fun to be part of those shows as both a spectator and sharing the bill, but I really enjoyed watching them. As with many of the bands/records I’ve written about this year, these guys made me want to be better.
I was very jealous of the way they wrote and performed the songs. To me, I often felt like I was watching a “real” band when I saw Blanche Davidian play. This is probably just the insecurity of being an artist and seeing someone else do really good art. The grass always seems greener, ya know.
While I love their first record, Attack of the Killer from 2002, I just love Orange Sunshine a little bit more. It’s got Nikki Seven, for one thing, joining Mike Hawk on guitar, and their twin lead guitar attack is about as mighty as they come. Jamie Monistat VII is on fucking fire lyrically, too, on Orange Sunshine. Then you have the rhythm section of Zeb and Joel and it’s just fucking butter.
It’s hard to pick a favorite song from this one. It’s so solid from top to bottom. “The Five Muscatels” is just one killer riff after another and like much of the record, just rife with innuendo and Monistat’s keen way of weaving the catchiest lyrics of classic songs with his own.
“Rod Swallows” shows off Zeb May’s nimble bass lines. I can’t remember what Zeb’s stage name was for Blanche Davidian, sadly, but I should. That’s how I had known him for years. I so enjoyed watching him play and sing back up when the band played live. My respect for Zeb grew when I found out that he was the one responsible for making the records sound so good, too.
“Chlamydia Schiffer” has that great bass sound to start it out, too. After Zeb moved out of state, I got to take his slot in the band and that was one of the first ones I learned. I don’t think I ever quite did it justice, perhaps only a reasonable facsimile, but I really wanted to make this one sound good for him. It’s so fun to play.
Jamie’s words on “Queef Action” always make my day, too. If you know, you know, I suppose with this one. It’s brilliant, though, and a great song. I don’t think we ever played it when I was in the band, nor did we ever do “Brimstone Jannie.” The latter has that whole Burroughs-esque cut up lyrics thing working really well.
Now, “Rottweilers Keep Following Me” is another of my favorite songs to play. Motherfucker slays and just has the greatest ‘mean’ sound. I love rotties, too, so it is special for many reasons. Standing on the stage with the guys rocking this one is always a treat. “Upside down and backwards” all the way.
“Reveille” is another scorcher. It just sort of soars. The chorus is one of my favorites. Listen closely and you’ll learn the secret of how to entertain yourself.
Here I am listing the songs one after another again. I could go on and on…but it will all start to sound the same. What you should really do is just listen to this great, unsung record that is out there just waiting to find an audience.
Orange Sunshine is one of those records that will be discovered by the right group of friends someday and they’ll hang out and get wasted listening to it and wonder what Blanche Davidian must’ve been like. Good for them, too.
Viva Orange Sunshine.
And yes, I’m down with Robo.
*****
See you tomorrow.
Is that a bidet?
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