Shot To Hell

It is not everyday that you see a band fly out of the starting blocks like Shot To Hell.  Their enthralling version of Psychobilly has been burning the boards throughout the Midwest, uniting fans of multiply genres and age groups.

After a trying year that included three different drummers and a van fire, Shot To Hell has finally (hopefully) put their bad luck behind them with the addition of permanent drummer by the name of Daphna Ron, who also contributes backing vocals.

Shot To Hell has two full albums worth of songs to release, which they will record at their own Psyclops studio in La Crosse. Next month they are going to have a remix version of their song (If you) Think I’m Dumb on the Georgia based Illbilly Records compilation “Dropped On The Head - Vol. 2”

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Slayer

In the past 25 years, Slayer have become more than a band; they have become a right of passage. From the first unholy alliance of frontman/bassist Tom Araya, guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman and drummer Dave Lombardo in 1981, through the release of their “Show No Mercy” debut two years later, and beyond the onslaught of last year’s “Christ Illusion,” they’ve embodied the very essence of heavy metal’s macabre roots, and become the lightening rod for bands that hope to prey on the genre’s unearthly future. It’s been a quarter-century, but even time can’t temper the band whose history has been set ablaze by such legendary releases as “Hell Awaits,” “South of Heaven” and “God Hates Us All.” Maximum Ink sat down with Araya on the eve of the band’s upcoming North American tour, a tour that promises more than just bringing Satan back…

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Slipknot

Ten years ago, the Limelight was a landmark for bands who performed in New York City. Women danced in cages suspended from vaulted ceilings, stained glass surrounded a stage elevated on what used to be an altar, and men and women mingled in lines for unisex bathrooms. Built as a church decades earlier, the site had since been deconsecrated, converted to a nightclub, and angel-shaped disco balls hung where a crucifix was once suspended. It was the perfect not to mention haunting and eerie setting for the inspired debauchery of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll that made the late ‘80s and early ‘90s such revered times.

And almost a decade later, recently reopened, it was the perfect venue to host the live chaos that is Slipknot.

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Slipknot 2004

Did you ever open a garbage can on a hot summer day only to be greeted by the offensive stench of a larva of freshly hatched maggots? While this image is enough to make your skin crawl and your nostrils flare, this summer will most definitely bring a new host of maggots to a mosh pit near you!

Slipknot is back and better than ever as each day brings us ever closer the release of their third album and several summer tours to get their army of maggots back into battle. I was contacted by one of the maggot leaders from their snow covered base in Iowa. He was simply called # 3 (aka Chris Fehn). We discussed Slipknot’s plans for world domination in 2004.

I often wondered what was behind the name Slipknot in the first place and since this year is really a rebirth for them as a band, I wanted to know where the idea for the now infamous moniker came from. “Basically, Slipknot was just a song title that we had at the beginning. And we were looking for a name and we just stuck with that. As far as any real significance, it’s definitely not the stupid noose thing. I don’t have a glorified answer for you about what it actually means.”

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Southern Culture On The Skids

From white trash and trailer homes to the toe sucking geek rockers touring the world and eating delicacies. Where did it all begin? Who came up with such a concept? “Me,” states Southern Culture on the Skids (SCOTS) founder, guitarist and singer Rick Miller in a recent phone interview. “When we started the band in the early to mid 80s in the Chapel Hill, NC area, every band was an REM cover band, and that pretty much sucked. We wanted to be more of a rockabilly, “Cramps” type band. So we were just looking for something. Some kind of name that would get us some attention, ya know? We were listening to the UNC radio (station) there and they were playing an REM song. I like REM fine, but at the end of it, the DJ says, “Ya that was REM, the sound of the new South.” I looked at my roommate and we said, “Gawd, if that’s the sound of the “new South,” I preferred it when it was on the skids.” That’s how we got the name.”

SCOTS’ new release is called “Mojo Box.” It was produced by Miller and recorded in his Kudzu Ranch recording studio. SCOTS lineup consists of Miller along with bass player and singer Mary Huff and percussionist Dave Hartman. What’s new on “Mojo Box?” Miller says “I think there are a few more surf sounds. Less of the white trash shtick. I think on this album we worked harder on our harmony vocals and that kinda countrified delivery. I think it’s kind of a transitional record for us. Our other records are a lot of concept type stuff. Like “Dirt Track Date,” and “Plastic Seat Sweat.”I know that sounds kinda funny for something that probably a lot of people consider kinda low-brow.

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She Might Have A Gun

My dog Zeus always sits in the same room as me when I write.  He is my barometer to gauge the intensity of music.  Although my Michigan Shepherd didn’t run out of the room like his ass was on fire like he did when I wrote about “Kill Switch…Klick,” he did become highly agitated and restless when I put on the She Might Have a Gun CD, Live Drugs. In fact, I haven’t seen him this distraught since I fed him leftover Sloppy Joes last summer.

Rising out of the debris like bum in Tenny Park on a Sunday afternoon, She Might Have a Gun is the end product of too many Madison bands [Magic Seven, Horizon 90, Last Crack, Autumn’s Dance, One Day War, Breath of Life, The Lotus Band, Krash Holiday].  Curiously, much like Green River/Mother Love Bone/Pearl Jam a decade before them.

Formed in the summer of 98, by Trinity James Mellon and Jamison Downing after they both found themselves without a band. Scraping together other musicians to fill the hole, She Might Have a Gun was born. Dispensing with all regards to the current trends, She Might Have a Gun blazes it’s own way, distributing its sonic barrage with tribal abandonment.  She Might Have a Gun’s music bites you in the ass like a beer soaked squirrel in your sleeping bag. The band consists of Jamison Downing and Noah Rickun on guitars, Trinity Mellon on vocals, Chin on bass, Hooch on congas and poetry and the multi-talented and infamous Buddo on drums. I spoke with the band while they were trying to decide what limo company to hire for their next show.

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The Siegel-Schwall Band

The Siegel-Schwall Band first emerged in 1966 on Vanguard Records in the height of the Summer Of Love blues boomlet. Young Corky & Jim were students of the Chicago Blues and could be found cutting their chops in the Windy City’s clubs with legends like Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Hubert Sumlin on an average Thursday evening. Siegel-Schwall released nine studio albums and collaborated with conductor Seiji Ozawa and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra before parting ways in 1974. Their traditional routine of yearly reunion shows since their 1988 Reunion Concert album on Alligator Records has finally been broken, and the group has released Flash Forward, their first studio record in 32 years featuring all originals, and their most polished effort to date. Maximum Ink spoke with Jim Schwall and drummer Sam Lay about what lies ahead for them.

Originally starting out as a duo for small club gigs, Jim would play guitar, Corky would play piano, harp, and percussion, and they both would sing. A rotating rhythm section was added when bookings for larger gigs became standard. When they were signed to Vanguard Records, Siegel-Schwall released four records: The Siegel-Schwall Band, Say Siegel-Schwall, Shake and Siegel-Schwall 70. The group moved to RCA/Wooden Nickel in 1971 and released Sleepy Hollow, 953 West, Last Summer and the aptly titled R.I.P. before breaking up in 1974. Siegel went on to pursue a solo career intertwined with a fusion of classical music and blues and Jim Schwall earned a PhD in Music.

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