Posts Tagged ‘motorhead’
Remember Me Now…I’m Motorhead
In early 2004 my best friend and I started a Motorhead tribute band in SE Virginia called Capricorn USA. Capricorn is one of my favorite songs and it’s one of Lemmy’s songs that he wrote about himself. Always loved it because it sounded a bit unlike standard Motorhead. The USA got added because there was already a band called Capricorn and even though we were just a tribute band, I didn’t want any issues to arise. The original lineup consisted of me, Danile (Dizzo), Fast Chris and Filthy Fowler. We practiced a lot and we were tight when we played live. It was a pretty well-oiled machine. I liked playing as a 4 piece because of the full sound we could get live, plus Danile and Chris could split up the solos. They were both differently styled players and even though they both played solos pretty close to the originals, you could hear the differences in their techniques. I loved it. Chris and Folwer lasted for about 9 months before some differences arose and we parted ways.
Right before their departure, we were asked to be a part of an upcoming tribute album being put out by Steve Wensil of the Dead Kings. None of the bands were allowed to cover Ace of Spades so we kicked around doing Mean Machine or Chase or Bomber. With those two guys out of the band, I decided that instead of getting a drummer for the recording, I’d just do it. I’m historically a drummer but hadn’t really played in years because of hand injuries, but I got in the studio and we knocked out Bomber and Chase with me doing everything except guitars, which Danile handled perfectly. Steve let us use both songs on the CD but we had to do them under two different names, Capricorn USA and Phlemmy & Dizzo, because he didn’t want other bands getting mad for not being allowed to do more than one song. I think we paid $100 per song to be on the album which was to get us several copies for our own use and to cover copyright and printing costs…although it never got properly printed because of copyright issues. Bummer.
Danile and I decided to continue on and we found a guy named Juan who quickly became El Guapo. He showed up to audition with a huge double bass kit that had all the shells filled with foam and triggers on the heads. Playing-wise, we knew he was our guy but I told him the triggers had to go. We’re playing Motorhead songs, everything has to be loud. He didn’t like the idea but I offered to buy the heads and tune the drums and when he came back to start jamming, he knew it was the right decision. We did some shows within the next year and always had a great response with both versions. We were even listed on Motorhead’s website as the only USA tribute band, which was pretty sweet.
Danile parted in early 2005 and that was it until I moved to Texas and reformed with band with Fast Doug Morrison, Jason McWurzel McMaster and Filthy AJ on drums. We played some fun shows between 2008 and 2011 with some varied lineups because of illnesses, other gigs popping up or whatever. Stuart “Batlord” Laurence from Agony Column and Ignitor sat in for a few shows on guitar when Doug was dealing with some health issues and Mike Soliz, singer of the mighty Militia, sat in on drums for a show. The Texas version was a little more loose as we really only rehearsed if we had a show coming up.
Because of being on the Motorhead page, I was contacted by the producer of the forthcoming Lemmy movie and was asked if we’d film the band doing Ace of Spades. They were going to piece together clips from tribute bands worldwide but ultimately none of the tribute band footage never made into the movie or the DVD release extras.
We basically disbanded in 2011 just because of time restraints and I was just a bit tired of doing it. On the night of Lem’s death, a bunch of friends gathered at a local bar and drank all of their Jack Daniels. Through the haze of the whiskey, another good friend, Jason K, said we should do a show at the bar on New Year’s Eve since they didn’t have a band. He convinced his drummer, Chris, to do it and we did one rehearsal and knocked out 6 songs to a great crowd.
That’s the story of the band so far and click here to download the tribute album.
Lemmy.
December 28, 2015. That’s the day that Lemmy died.
Official Motorhead posted that he learned of an “aggressive cancer” on the 26th of December and passed on 2 days later. I’ve felt for well over a year of seeing him in photos and videos that he’d been suffering through it for quite some time. The weight loss and frailness reminded me of my gramps who had pancreatic cancer and that’s my guess as well. Not important, really. He’s left us.
I read somewhere yesterday that most people have a Lemmy story. I’m fortunate to have a handful of them, and all of them good. You never really heard unkind words about Lemmy, even from people who weren’t Motorhead fans.
To say we were friends or even mere acquaintances would be a pretty big stretch of the truth, but the last few times I saw him face to face, he did recognize me and always made the joke, “How many times have I told you that you should have picked a better album cover?” referring to the Another Perfect Day tattoo on my back. One of those times being at The Rainbow. I’ll hold on to that.
I’m glad I got to see them 9 times since 1992 and I’m pretty sure some hearing loss is because of a few of the shows.
There will never be another one like him, you can count on that.
Motorhead, Saxon & Crobot Concert Review, Austin, TX, September 1, 2015
“Heart of a lion fight to the end
Run like the wind
Champions of champions, best in the land, you always win
Don’t fade away, don’t fade away
Run with your dream right to the end
Your spirit flies on eagle’s wings
Never coming down”
– Fallen Heroes by A.S.A.P. (Adrian Smith)
Since last night this verse has been running in my head.
We all know the story by now that Motorhead stopped during their 3rd song, Metropolis, and that was it.
I’ve seen them 7 times in the last 12 years and each has been just a little more depressing than the previous. I noticed in 2003 that his hand was shaking when not holding a jack and coke or playing his guitar. It was more than just the shakes. It looked like Parkinson’s disease to me, not that I can diagnose anything on anyone. Lemmy’s health in recent years has been spoken of often…pacemaker, diabetes, altitude sickness, etc. He has looked awful and in the last 5 years has gotten so skinny and more frail than ever.
There was tension in the air before the came on stage. Anticipation of what was coming next based on recent events with the band in Salt Lake and Denver.
The band hits the stage and Lemmy gingerly walks on stage playing a few notes…”Alright?” The crowd is excited…”We are Motorhead…” Roars from the crowd. “…and we play rock and roll!” He sounded so weak…and old. He’s 69 and looks every bit of it and more.
And then they went in to Damage Case. It was slow. So slow. Lem’s voice was quiet. He was barely playing the chords. Stiff. He looked like he was in pain. They played Stay Clean next. Phil and Mikkey more animated than normal, likely trying to draw attention from the elephant in the room. Both songs were about 20% slower than recorded.
Then Lemmy is announcing Metropolis. He mentions that he’s been sick. Before the second verse started, Lemmy stops playing and says, “I can’t do it” and the band quickly exits the stage.
There were cheers for the band but there was also a hush over the crowd. Chants of “Lemmy” and “We love you” were started. A few minutes later, Lemmy comes out and says, “You are one of the best gigs in America, and I would love to play for you, but I can’t… So please accept my apologies. Next time, all right?” Class act all the way.
Until next time is right, Lem. Hopefully Saturday in Houston.
By the way, Crobot and Saxon also played.
Odin Live @ The Whisky 8/27/11
What a weekend! As has been discussed on this site ad nauseum, I am a huge Odin fan. I love their debut Don’t Take No For An Answer and the subsequent albums all had some killer tunes on them. When I found out in the Spring that Odin was doing a show, I had to go. I’ve wanted to see them since 1986. I had a chance to see them 3 or 4 years ago but stuff came up and I couldn’t go. It almost happened again this time too. I had purchased my concert ticket right as they went on sale but waited on buying my plane tickets as right around the time of the show announcement, I was told that I’d be getting laid off soon. So I held off as I didn’t want to spend the extra money. Fortunately I was only out of work for a month and was living on the severance pay that my former company had given me. As soon as I got a new job I booked my flight to LA.
Twenty-five years is a long wait to see a band. Sit tight, this post may take a while. Maybe not.
The original plan was to stay with a good friend out there but with my flight getting delayed because of Hurricane Irene and some other 
unavoidable happenstances, I just decided to get a hotel in Hollywood. Good move. As soon as I landed in Burbank, I got my rental car and headed straight to Hollywood and my hotel on Santa Monica Blvd. I checked in, freshened up a bit and headed out for the night. It was about 10:15PM or so when I hailed a cab and headed straight for the Rainbow Bar and Grill. Again, good move. As I was having a few drinks at the inside bar, the guy next to me was talking to the bartender about Hurricane playing at Key Club just a few doors down. Hurricane! I always liked the song Hurricane and a few others of theirs. While they were a pretty boy type of band, they were definitely a cut above bands like Poison, Warrant and much of the other terrible glammy sleaze that plagued LA (and the world) in the late 80s.
I used to own Take Want You Want and one shaped EP on vinyl. In the late 1990s I started selling off my record collection. They were listed on eBay and Kelly Hansen, the singer for Hurricane, had gotten in touch with me to work a trade for those records. Of course I
Robert Sarzo – Hurricane
was skeptical, but after he called me and we talked, I knew it was legit. In trade, he sent me some unopened tapes and CDs and signed one of them for me. Hard to believe that some bands don’t have their own material…same thing happened one other time with Frankie Banali. I had a WASP EP that he didn’t have from the Headless Children album. I had 2 so I gave him one.
OK, let’s get back on track here. The dude at the bar was the show promoter. He gave me his card and told me to hand it to the door guy and I’d get in for free. I offered to pay my way in but he insisted. Cool! I finished my drink and went right over to Key Club as Hurricane was getting ready to go on. I go in with no troubles, grab a beer and hit the floor. Hurricane comes on and they open with Hurricane. Sarzo and Cavazo were still in the band and I think Kelly’s brother was on drums. Of course Kelly sings for Foreigner now. The new singer is Andrew Freeman who used to play guitar for theOffspring. He sounded great and played some guitar as well. I was really impressed with them overall. I caught a little more than half of the set and then made my way back over to the Rainbow. Luckily for me Lemmy was there (of course). I got to say hi again. He remembered me from Austin. We only spoke for a minute as he was only taking a short break from the video game machine. I love the Rainbow. Such a cool place with so much history.
Being almost 2AM California time, it was almost 4AM my time, so I was pretty worn out. I grabbed a cab and went back to the hotel. I watched the weather channel’s coverage of the hurricane until I fell asleep.
After only about 4 or maybe 5 hours of sleep, I got up and muddled around town for a bit before driving out to San Bernardino to meet an old friend for lunch. It was great to see her and the Thai food was tasty. From there I headed back into Hollywood to catch Odin’s 
soundcheck and to get Randy O and Aaron Samson to sign the book. I got to watch them do 2 or three songs, got my signatures and hung out with Shawn and Jeff Duncan for a little bit before they left to go back home. I became friends with them a few years back when their band DC4 played here in Austin. What a band and a great bunch of guys! I really wanted to have dinner with Shawn and his fiance but I was so wiped out and just wanted to go take a nap. So we parted ways and I headed back for an all-too-short nap.
When I originally bought my ticket, I went ahead and bought a spare as I figured a friend from Austin or someone I know in LA would want to go. Luckily I happened to meet Regina in Austin a few weeks prior to the show through some good friends of mine and I mentioned that I’d be out there for the show. I asked her to go and she graciously said yes. So after waking up from my nap, I took a quick shower and grabbed a cab for the Rainbow again. I wanted some of their pizza. It’s my favorite ever. I get there and the door guy remembered me from the night before. He waived the cover and gave me 2 drink tickets. SCORE! It was still a little early so seating was pretty wide open. I sat at the outside bar as it was a nice evening. The bartender remembered me and even what I had been drinking the night before and automatically poured one for me. Peroni on draft by the way. I ordered a small pizza and it came out pretty quickly. The small is huge. I met a few people while waiting for my food and we were having a great time talking shit. They were super fun and luckily helped me eat the pizza. After the beers and pizza were done, I paid out and headed over to The Whisky 
to see the reason I made this trip…ODIN. Regina met up with me shortly after and we went in. I ran into some folks that I knew, mainly the other DC4 guys, Matt Duncan and Rowan Robertson. I love Rowan. He’s such a nice guy and we always have a great time hanging out. (Your arrow, siiiir.) Saw a few other folks that I knew and we hung out upstairs until Odin was about to come on. Luckily Regina didn’t mind getting in the crowd. We were about 2 or 3 people from the stage in the center.
The lights go down and Odin comes out to a loud roar from fans, including me. This show definitely brought out something in me that doesn’t happen that often. I see a lot of shows…A LOT. But very few bands actually get me “juiced”. Iron Maiden, Testament, Motorhead and a few others do. Odin did. The music nerd in me came out completely. Poor Regina. haha. Odin opened with 12 O’Clock High. It was great. Their setlist was great and Randy’s voice was in good shape. A lot of the guys who used to hit those high notes back in the old days can’t do it now. Randy hit a lot of his. And the ones he knew he couldn’t hit, he didn’t try. While they played most of the EP, The Writer and Solar Eye weren’t played. Well, a piece of Solar Eye was played which gave Jeff some solo time.
It was a great show. They were awesomely tight. I really can’t put into words what it meant to see them. It was a very special night for 
sure.
I love California, or at least SoCal. Never been that far north, but the LA/Hollywood area sets me right every time I am there. It’s beautiful. I almost moved there in 1997 and still do the “what if…” game sometimes.
After the show, Regina and I head back over to the Rainbow for a final drink. It was fun closing it down. The valet brought her car around and we drove around and foraged for food around town. We grabbed some fast food and headed back to my hotel. She dropped me off, I went to my room and went straight to bed, completely wiped out again.
The next morning was checkout, a drive around Hollywood for a bit and then off to the airport. Absolutely one of the best weekends I have had in a long time thanks to Odin, DC4, Hollywood, and my LA friends, new and old. Good times. If/when Odin plays again, I’ll try to be there for sure.
Last view before hitting the airport.
Hurricane setlist
Andrew Freeman – Hurricane/theOffspring
Odin Setlist
Shawn Duncan
The Odin Guitar!
The Odin bass!
!
Thank you and goodnight!
RIP Mick “Würzel” Butcher
Published reports are stating that former Motorhead guitarist, “Würzel” has passed away. He was a damned good guitarist and during the brief time I met him in 1992, he was very nice and very quiet.
RIP
The Metal Files 
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