Foodeater!
I guess it was late 1987. I went over to my friend Don’s house to see River’s Edge on HBO. He had cable and I believe it was a Sunday night showing of the flick. Unfortunately it was a 9PM 
showing and it was also a school night. I only got to see the first hour of it because of my stupid curfew.
The main reason any of us wanted to see the movie is because we had read that Slayer and Fates Warning were in the soundtrack. I finally got to see it in full about a year or 2 later when I found it for rent on VHS…or maybe I bought it. I don’t quite remember. I just remember watching it several times; both then and now.
This is in my top 5 or 10 movies of all time. not only because of the soundtrack, but because of the movie itself. Crispin Glover and Dennis Hopper have some great one-liners. “I know, Feck. You had to kill her. Women are evil.” “You…know this?” and the greatest line delivered by anyone in the flick was by *gasp* Keanu Reeves (worst actor ever? maybe). The scene (shown below) is between Matt and Jim (Matt’s mom’s boyfriend). Really it’s the whole conversation, but when Matt replies to Jim calling him a “mother fucker” with “foodeater!”, it’s simply awesome.
But yeah, the whole movie rules. I think I have watched it at least 50 times and watch it at least twice a year. Really, Glover’s character makes this movie what it is and Hopper’s performance is right behind it. Daniel Roebuck plays a perfect role as someone who really doesn’t give a damn about anything. The character of Tony has a great line too. He’s getting interviewed by a reporter talking about how it’s hard to be subjective because he knew the perpetrator in question…then he stops and says, “Oh, by the way I play guitar.” hahaha. Awesome!
Glover has another great line when he’s asking for gas money for his baja VW…”What, do you think this car runs on God’s own methane?”
Here’s a list of quotes: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091860/quotes
If you’ve never seen it, please do so, especially if you were a metal kid of the 80s.
10/10
In memory of a legend…
Well, he is a legend to me. My Dad. 1942-1997.
Around the time that my Dad was dying of cancer, I was living at their house in North Carolina trying to help out a bit. My drive to and from work was an hour each way so I was listening to music for the drive. At that time I was really into Amorphis’ Elegy CD. It’s very folky, heavy, dark and moody and seemed to be the perfect enabler to the sadness I felt knowing that my Dad wasn’t going to be around much longer.
I absolutely love this record but even now, some 11 years after the fact, this album reminds me of my Dad. There’s no real lyrical connection or anything like that, just one of those things that reminds you of an era in your life, good or bad. I was also listening to Nocturnal Rites’ Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Both kept steady rotation in my minivan for months on end and both remind me of Dad.
So come now, children of the beast, be strong and…
Shout at the devil!!!
My first recollection of hearing Crue was probably on the radio (K-94 or FM-99) when they first played Looks That Kill. Maybe it was on Metal Shop? Not really sure. But I do specifically remember when I first heard the album in its entirety. It was late fall of 1983 and I was on a camping trip with the Scouts. Hunter March, one of the older guys in the troop, said, “Hey Sean, you like metal, check this out.” So I popped the Shout at the Devil tape in my Walkman and freaked out. The opening track sort of wigged me out. It was pretty evil for the time. Then they started singing about the devil and things seemed right in the world again. hahaha. I listened to the tape all that night and was hooked. This band had quite a different sound. A good sound.
Now, if you’ve been paying any attention at all to my older blogs, you know that my mom didn’t approve of the metal in general. She got swooped in by some other parents at my church that it was of the devil. You know, the whole KISS = knights in satan’s service type crap. We had to be subjected to some anti-heavy metal seminars from guys like Albert Long who would stand on stage in front of us showing metal videos, album covers and reading lyrics trying to convince us that rock and roll was going to send us to hell. Little did he know that he was opening us up to a whole new world of bands! Thanks Albert!
One weekend we took a church trip to somewhere in North Carolina to see one of his seminars. While there we visited some mall and I bought 2 7″ records…Huey Lewis’ Finally Found a Home (b/w Walking on a Thin Line) and Crue’s Looks That Kill (b/w Piece of Your Action). Funnily enough I am pretty sure Mr. Long was pounding on the Crue during his seminar.
That stuff was pretty jank, ya know, those seminars. Hearing him say that Angus Young was possessed by the devil was absolutely hilarious. One of my favorites was when he showed the video for Twisted Sister’s You Can’t Stop Rock and Roll. Satanic? Really? Dude. C’mon. Anyway, I wish I still had that Crue 45.
I really love this album except for Helter Skelter. I’m not a Beatles fan in the least and don’t really care to hear covers of their songs (exception being Sacred Rite’s Eleanor Rigby). Danger, Ten Seconds To Love and Too Young To Fall In Love are my faves.
There is a pretty funny and somewhat embarassing story attached to Looks That Kill. I went over to Kelz’ house as his band was jamming. They ripped into Looks That Kill and I grabbed the mic and started singing it (poorly, I’m sure). Kelz’ mom busts in the jam room and asks what song that was and if we knew the lyrics. Like a dumbass, I spoke up. D’oh. It’s not like it’s a bad song, but the fact that it was Crue sent her over the edge (again). She was pretty much the mastermind of the “metal is evil” campaign.
I guess they all meant well but at the time it sucked for us. Having to hide tapes and trade them secretly really sucked.
Anyways, Crue ruled on this album…not so much afterwards.
Too Much Blood…alright!
My fondness for the Rolling Stones has never been much of a secret and I have always chosen them over the Beatles (blech!). They are my #2 band of all time right behind Iron Maiden. My earliest memories of hearing them are through one of my older brothers. I can remember him spinning Sticky Fingers and Some Girls on the record player. I was pretty much a fan from day 1. Maybe 1977 or 1978? Doesn’t matter. I was pretty young.
Undercover (1983) was the first one of theirs that I owned on my own. I remember buying it at Murphy’s on vinyl after hearing Undercover of the Night and She Was Hot on the radio. It was a bit of a different album for them, yet it still retained the feel of a real Stones album, unlike Dirty Work (terrible).
This album gets dissed by a lot of hardcore Stones fans, probably because of their MTV sirplay. No me importa. I love it. Even though I wouldn’t consider it their best album, it’s my #1. Songs like Too Much Blood, Pretty Beat Up, Undercover of the Night…great songs.
I love Mick’s ‘rap’ in Too Much Blood: “Did you ever see the Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Horrible, wasn’t it. You know, people ask me “is it really true where you live in Texas, is that really true what they do around there, people?” I say, “yea, every time I drive through the crossroads I get scared, there’s a bloke running round with a fucking chain saw. Oh! Oh! oh No, he’s gonna cut off, Oh no. Don’t saw off me leg, don’t saw off me arm.”
Good times.
Odd to think that this video was banned from MTV for a long time.
Who’s behind the Door?
I’ve always loved Zebra and considered them a severely underrated rock band. I first heard them on the radio when I first heard Who’s Behind the Door on Norfolk’s K-94 in 1983. I was instantly hooked
That debut album is pretty righteous from beginning to end. Randy Jackson has a great vocal range and is a solid guitar player. The album flows very well.
A year later they release No Tellin’ Lies which was not quite as strong of a release. They had some minor success with the slightlygoofy song Bears (worst video ever?). Sure, I like the song but it was a bit silly.
For me they struck gold again with their third album 3.V in 1986. I bought the cassette at Roses department store for $6.99 and was immediately hooked. It’s a very polished album and pretty radio friendly, but the hooks are there.
Zebra IV came out in 2003 and again they released another quality album. Highly recommended if you’re even mildly a fan.
I was fortunate enough to see the 3.V tour in 1986. I’ll never forget it. Cold rainy night…torrential rain even…A former friend from high school didn’t want to go out in the rain and get his hair messed up(just kidding) so i went alone. I already had really bad hair back then so it was no big deal to me. Plus it was $5! FIVE BUCKS! (Ren and Stimpy reference). The lineup Alcatrazz (post-Yngwie/Vai era), Rough Cutt (Duke Fame!) and Zebra headlining. I think there may have been 100 people there if that. It was at the Boathouse in Norfolk, VA which held about 2000 I think. For some shows there they put the barricade up so only prople in the beer garden could stand in the area in front of the stage. This was one of those shows. So there I was wedged up in the front stage right corner between the speaker mains, the stage and the beer garden barricade. My buddy Kirshon was standing behind me and was the only other person there that I knew.
Alcatrazz came on and was quite possibly the most boring band I have ever seen. i swear I fell asleep standing up during their performance. Some squid woke me up. Then comes Rough Cutt supporting their Wants You! album. I had that cassette and their debut and liked them a lot so I was familiar with their material. They kicked ass. Royally. Amir Derakh was great. He’s a killer guitarist, plain and simple. They rocked from beginning to end and got a great response from a crowd that had no idea who they were. Then comes Zebra. Perfectly refined, in time, in tune. They played a seemingly flawless set and mixed up the harder stuff with some acoustic songs. Unfortunately they played a Zeppelin song or 2 but I suffered through it. It was a great show.
Years later (1996 I believe) by wife at the time and I went to the va Beach Amphitheatre to see the Virginia Symphony tribute to Led Zeppelin. Yes, I don’t like Zeppelin but Randy Jackson was fronting the band so I had to go. We got 4th row center and got there pretty early. of course I brought all of my Zebra CDs and Randy’s solo album CD. Before the show started, I saw a woman walking around on the stage and she obviously was someone “in charge”. So I left my seat and walked up to the stage and asked her if there was a way for me to meet Randy before or after the show. She looked at me for a second and just said, “Wait here.” Ten minutes later she came back out and said to come to the back stage gate after the show and Randy would come out. Eureka! During the show, Randy did a fine Robert Plan imitation. It was a fun show, Zep fan or not.
So afterwards my wife and I are waiting for about 20 minutes by the backstage gate and out comes Randy, freshly showered. I shook his hand, introduced my wife and me and talked with him for about a half hour. It was an afternoon show so no one seemed rushed to get out of there. I told him that I saw the 3.V tour and he said he remembered that particular show because of the rain and poor crowd attendance. he signed all my stuff and was very appreciative of my “fanboyness”. haha. He stated that I was the first person out of the 20 or so shows to recognize him and/or bring stuff to get signed. He was super cool.
In 2000 my former guitarist and I went up to Jaxx in Springfield, VA to see them. Moderate turnout and a great show. I got to meet Felix and Guy before the show and got permission to film it. The picture came out great. Unfortunately, something screwed up on the camera and no sound was recorded. I was pissed. I got to meet randy again afterwards and reminded him about the symphony gig from a few years prior. He remembered talking to us and asked where my “pretty little wife” was. I just said, “Ancient history, man.” It was cool seeing him and the band again. I hope to catch them again sometime. On the way home (3 hour drive), Reggie fell asleep…and so did I. He just happened to wake up right before me and yell. I woke up just in time to steer away from hitting the entrance wall to the Monitor-Merrimac Tunnel. Scary shit!
It’s unfortunate that they won’t allow their studio vids on YouTube.
The Metal Files 
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