Maybe this is a bit dated (from 2001) but this is a really interesting (if not somewhat boring) interview with Axl Rose in an unlikely situation – following a Lakers / 76ers playoff game. If it weren’t for the tattoos, I might even think that the person being interview wasn’t Axl but somebody pretending to be him. (Credit to the Metal Sludge message board – warning: NSFW avatar in this thread – for digging this up).
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlkK5NSJr48[/youtube]
DOWNLOAD: “Sweet Chariot” from Dead Child’s Attack
Though he’s played in indie rock bands far removed from the metal scene (Slint, Tortoise, Stereolab, Royal Trux) and served time in Billy Corgan’s short-lived post-Smashing Pumpkins band Zwan, guitarist David Pajo is really just a shredder at heart.
During the Slint reunion tour in 2005, Pajo, Michael McMahan, and Todd Cook started talking about putting together a metal band that paid homage to the bands they grew up listening to (Maiden, Priest, Motorhead) and shortly thereafter they hooked up with other Louisville, Kentucky musicians Tony Bailey and Dahm to form Dead Child.
Dead Child’s debut full-length, Attack, was just released on Quarterstick Records and the band is currently in the midst of a short run of tour dates.
I sent Pajo some questions last week and here’s what he had to say:
Message boards are lame, anonymous users with the freedom to say what they want without being held accountable. That being said, you’ve been taken to task by a few posters on the Donewaiting message board essentially as being a “fake” metal musician. And Dead Child has been mentioned in the same breath as bands who supposedly previously wouldn’t claim their “metalness”, if you will, but now are perceived as jumping on the bandwagon. So I ask you, Mr. Pajo, would you care to silence your anonymous, hiding behind a name, “critics”?
This is a bummer but I anticipated this kind of backlash. It’s a risk for us to call ourselves a metal band and it would be just as easy for us to drop it. But we set out to form a metal band so why refer to it as anything else? I’m trying to get away from this elitist bullshit! Besides, aren’t there more fruitful efforts to pursue while we orbit on this tiny pebble than sorting out what’s metal and what’s not? Metal is a broad fucking term – ultimately, it’s just music and attitude.
I understand the sentiment though – poser metal (hair metal) was a real problem in the 80s and I used to hate those guys/bands. But these days it’s not so much of an issue, except for that nu metal shit. Hot Topic metal. I think you’ll see more and more people like me coming in (or back) from other genres that have finally ‘seen the light.’ I think this should be welcomed because it will help expand and fortify the genre. It’ll be interesting to see what develops from these new influences. What I’m trying to say is, I understand that metal is precious to you and you have every right to be suspicious but please judge us on our music. Not our recorded history (which only tells a fraction of the story). If it’s not your cup of tea, we are easily ignored.
I don’t know why people would think we’re jumping on some sort of bandwagon, it’s not like I’m milking the market dry. I’ve had prominent people in the indie rock world, people who I thought were friends, turn their back on me for “committing career suicide.†Quarterstick is pushing the record as hard as they can but we’re all still broke, sleeping on floors, averaging $100 a show, playing to tiny crowds. I’m 40 years old, We got $0 the last two times we played out and they were legitimate shows! I’ve been doing this shit for a long time. Yes, I gave up a successful career in the indie rock world and my old friends don’t talk to me any more. But I can’t deny where my heart is, and I can’t help that it’s 100% in metal.
To those anonymous critics that never experienced life before cell phones, internet, MTV, and compact discs:
Continue reading “Dead Child – David Pajo proves he’s “metal””
Featuring Kenn Jankowski (formerly of Golden Republic), The Republic Tigers have secured the opening slot on Nada Surf’s upcoming spring tour. As Sea Wolf can attest, playing shows with Nada Surf can do nothing but help The Republic Tigers awareness amongst the blog nation.
DOWNLOAD: Buildings and Mountains
Republic Tigers with Nada Surf
June 1 – The Social (Orlando, Florida)
June 2 – Studio A (Miami, Florida)
June 3 – State Theatre (St. Petersburg, Florida)
June 5 – Mercy Lounge (Nashville, Tennessee)
June 7 – Bluebird (St. Louis, Missouri)
June 9 – The Music Mill (Indianapolis, Indiana)
June 10 – The Basement (Columbus, Ohio)
June 11 – Beachland Ballroom (Cleveland, Ohio)
When I launched AtomicNed.com last year (first post – April 4), I wanted to start out with a bang. I had been sitting on an unreleased Fig Dish CD for a few years, one that I knew people were dying to hear and by putting it up as one of my first posts, I suspected I could drive a lot of traffic to this new venture of mine. A year later and over 350 of you have downloaded the CD that David Cobb and I refer to as Onanism (look it up for yourself!).
So what could I do to reward you, fair readers of AtomicNed.com? Well, in 2006 the mighty Fig Dish reunited for a handful of shows, one of which David and I went to at Schuba’s in Chicago (David flew in from Houston, I flew in from Columbus). We were fortunate to run into a fellow Fig Dish fan – Dave – who recorded the entire show and was kind enough to pass along a copy to David and I.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, as my gift to you on AtomicNed’s first birthday, here’s the March 4, 2006 “reunion” show in it’s entirety.
DOWNLOAD: Fig Dish – Live at Schuba’s (3/4/06)
Many, many thanks to Dave (who actually posted this link just the other day in the comments section of the Fig Dish post I made year ago) and to Blake, Mike, Rick and Andy for putting on a helluva reunion show two years ago.
Now, I’ve got 365 days to convince the guys to record some brand new songs for AtomicNed.com’s 2nd birthday!
The Billionaires debut, Really Real Forever, came out last week on the Too Soon label and it’s a wonderful pop-infused summertime album with really sweet boy/girl harmonies. There’s a lot of nostalgic lyrics and music – check out “Eighties Movies” with it’s ELO-style keyboards – and I thought to myself, “Here’s a band that I bet would do a great job writing a ‘Soundtrack of My Life’ feature.”
Download: Eighties Movies (The Billionaires)
Download: End of Summer Song (The Billionaires)Â
Just a few hours after I pitched the idea, Laura Jordan (vocals/keyboards) sent back a story about why hearing Blind Melon‘s “No Rain” reminds her of being a teenager with a crush. (What is it about Blind Melon posts this weekend? Merely a coincidence, I promise!):
“I think I was fifteen when Blind Melon put out that record with ‘No Rain’ on it – or maybe they had already but that’s when I first remember it.
I was living in a small town called Ancaster with my grandfather, about an hour outside of Toronto … there was a bonfire in a field that night, it was probably a Friday and all the girls got together at a fiery red-head girl called Sandra’s house cause we could smoke in her garage.
Sandra and my birthdays are two days apart, I’ll never forget that … every few years we manage to call each other up around that time. But in those days we would get drunk before going to an actual party to drink more – the pre-drink and getting ready was key and in retrospect probably the most fun. We only drank Labatt’s Blue or way-too-sweet pink wine … was it called Vincent and Gallo? And smoked Player’s filters.
I had a crush on a boy and he was going to be there. I remember putting on what I would have thought was a sexy top but then it’s Canada so of course you have to wear a big-ass coat and he probably never saw the top cause the party was outside and in the dark.
I remember that walk through the fields, we had done it many times before but I remember this one because of “No Rain”. Because when we got to the party I probably talked to everyone except my crush. That feeling is amazing, when you know someone is there and they know you’re there and you’ve somehow established you like each other without speaking and now you don’t look or talk to each other … brilliant. When that song came on it was like … instant. You felt part of something instantly, you felt buzzed, you danced with your arms outstretched and your face to the sky. It was magic. Ha, I haven’t changed much. But that night I got my kiss about ten feet away from the fire behind a bush and whoever’s Jeep the music was coming from played ‘No Rain’ again and again cause no one could get enough of that fucking song.”