Time for the underrated gem of the week. The Jelly Jam is about as awesome a side project as one can get. Ty Tabor, Rod Morgenstein and John Myung. That's King's X, The Dixie Dregs and Dream Theater. I mean, c'mon. Two records of superb quality and some incredible jams. Wally Farkas' (Galactic Cowboys) label Molken Music, will be reissuing both albums digitally in early 2011, as well as some unreleased bonus content. Oh, and a NEW record is also apparently in the can. Tis a good morning!
In the meantime, sample these tasty nuggets and support this band and incredible label HERE.
I've been on a big Galactic Cowboys kick lately. If you're not familiar with these Texan/Missourian (?) dudes then spend some time digging into their amazing catalog, which spans a decade, releasing albums both on Geffen Records and Metal Blade. Six LP's and one awesome EP complete the GC catalog. Get all of it. It's either on clearance or out of print but easy to find for a few bucks a piece.
Think King's X, with 4-part harmonies instead of three. Think Dream Theater without all the wanking. Think Beatles-meets-Metallica with more than a hint of sarcasm and a sense of humor. Think awesome.
Their catalog (and sometimes fan base) is split into two factions: Before the hiatus (Geffen) and after (Metal Blade). Danie Cnoier or Wally Farkas. Fuck the haters. I love it all. Space In Your Face and The Horse That Bud Bought are my favorites but they're all amazing records. Name a few bands that never wrote a bad song. It's harder than you think. Sure, there has been some filler/intro/avant garde cuts, but I still find them enjoyable. Sometimes.
The band unfortunately called it quits in 2000 after their swan song Let It Go (featuring Jerry Gaskill from King's X on drums). Bassist/vocalist Monty Colvin went on to start Crunchy, a pop-punk-metal project. Vocalist/guitarist Ben Higgins started Gristle with some Texan dudes and his son. Former drummer Alan Doss still produces records (Jambi's Revenge, etc) and still plays. Dane Connier started The Connier Brothers Band, with guess who else? Wally Farkas started Molken Music, an independent label only releasing music from his friends, which include Dug Pinnick, Ty Tabor ("Balance" is his finest record to date, by the way), King's X DVD's and unreleased and live music and this year, his first solo LP, "Past Due".
I love this band. I always come back to them and get on a huge GC kick for a few weeks. Fucking awesome band.
"Fear Not" (from 1996's Machine Fish LP):
"Nothing To Say" (from 1998's At The End of the Day):
If you consider yourself any kind of self-respecting musician, you bow to the altar of King's X. The are THE musicians band. I think 14 people that don't play an instrument faintly know who they might be, but all the others are die-hard fans. Power trio? Check. 3-Part harmonies? Check. Beatles/Sabbath worship? Check. Inventing Drop-D Tuning? Fucking check. That's right, these dudes invented it and Page Hamilton perfected it. Recognize.
All that aside, the soul of King's X is Doug (Dug) Pinnick. The man is 58 years old and looks barely a day over 30. It sickens me as much as it makes me happy that he'll be making amazing tunes for well over another 50 years. His many many side projects run from simply unbelievably amazing (Supershine, Poundhound) to mind-blowing (working with 24-7 Spyz, Jeff Ament and Living Colour). For a truly ass-kicking experience, go pick up Supershine and the two Poundhound albums (all our of print but not hard to find at all).
His latest (besides KX's opus XV, which fucking owns your sorry little life) is called Strum Sum Up, and displays a very unique way of recording. One track will be the ass-shaking track and the next will be a free-form jam based on the riffage from the previous tune. Brilliant.
This is Poundhound and it is amazing...
"Hey" (Houston, 1998: Live Bootleg VHS) "Music" (Same show, 1998)
"Go Tell Somebody" was the working title of the brand new King's X record before it was changed to XV. These three Texans meant that shit. XV is not only their best record in 10 years, it might be their crossover record. Don't get me wrong, KX has been promised the brass ring so many times it's not even remotely funny anymore. From the hopeful MTV support of "It's Love" to the Headbangers Ball play of "Dogman" and on to their switch to be Metal Blade's #1 Priority in 1998, this band can't could never catch a break and ride that wave to mainstream success. Fortunately, their music took on different shapes and forms and made them the #1 band on the planet for musicians to be fans of. Just as Pearl Jam, Chris Cornell (not today, maybe seven years ago...Douche bag), Alice In Chains, Dream Theater, Iron Maiden, Porcupine Tree...Shall I go on?
I discovered King's X a bit late. It was 1996 and they had just released Ear Candy, still one of my favorites. i went back and discovered their earlier records but was really a fan of the Dogman and Tapehead LP's. So raw and detuned, yet so beautifully harmonic (three-part harmonies).
Without me going off about how many times I've seen them, following the band around the South in 1998 and 2000, and hanging out with the amazing Dug Pinnick, the bottom line is that King's X are what their new album ad says they are: "Rock Royalty".
The new LP is unbelievable good and fresh and sounds like a band that is hungry once more. Check out Ty, Jerry and Dug's solo and side project material (Poundhound, Supershine, The Mob, Platypus, Jughead, The Jelly Jam, Galactic Cowboys, and the forthcoming Montana w/Jeff and Mike of Pearl Jam) and go tell every motherfucker you know about XV!
