Buy This Song on Amazon
Suggested by Wendy.
Oh SWiLL. My dear, dear, SWiLL. This particular blog entry could go on for days, I tell you. This song, this BAND, is a HUGE part of my life. But let me start at the beginning...
In August 2003, one of my favorite L.A. bands, the Peppermint Creeps, came to play in Kansas City. They played a club called the Bunker (after that day, and until its demise, became my "Cheers"...damn, I miss that place...) and played the show with SWiLL. At that time, I had heard of SWiLL, but had never seen them. Peppermint Creeps got done with their set, and I was hanging out with a few of their members at the bar, chatting, when SWiLL began their set. "Dope Train" in particular was the song that made me stop mid-conversation to walk into the main room to watch their set. I was in awe, and I instantly loved the band.
A few days later, both bands played in Detroit. I made the crazy, 15-hour drive (after a 10-hour work shift... I'm definitely too old to pull that off now!) and went straight to their show with my friend Alison, and met up with some other friends there (Leigh, Ann, Stefanie and Julee). I ended up selling Peppermint Creeps' merch, but not before drinking half a bottle of Goldschlager and dancing in a cage to SWiLL's set. I was WASTED. I ended up drunkenly conversing with all of the SWiLL guys after their set. They then stayed at Alison's house and we often talk about that night to this day.
That was the beginning.
From that day forward, I literally went to EVERY SWiLL show they played for the next 3 1/2 years, save for one (I went to Sturgis that particular weekend), even the out of town shows in Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa, right up until the week before I moved to Texas.
Yet, all of this does not even begin to describe this band's influence on my life. Because I went to show after show after show, I became friends with the band...and their girlfriends and wives...and their crew...and their friends... I was even part of their crew for awhile. SWiLL, and everyone in their entourage are my family. To this day. Not even being 750 miles away will change that. When I go "home", it isn't to see my real family. It's to see them. They were there for me when my real family shunned me and threw me out like yesterday's garbage. When I was at my lowest, my SWiLL family made life worth living again. I am beyond this band's biggest fan. They are my lifeblood.
When I think of my closest and most dear friends, three-quarters or more of the people I consider as such are people either in SWiLL or that I met because of SWiLL. I don't know where my life would be right now if I didn't go to the Bunker that fateful night...
Thursday, September 23, 2010
"Crazy Bitch" - Buckcherry
Buy This Song on iTunes
My friend Cher also suggested I write about "Crazy Bitch". Ah, "Crazy Bitch". Everyone knows that song. Everyone is sick to death of that song. But boy, does it bring back a lot of memories.
When the song was new, when it was only a single in the US and the album 15 was only out in Japan, Buckcherry was doing a club tour (yes, clubs). I went to Tennessee to visit my friend Ann (who has since severed ties with me, but she still holds a special place in my heart, and is part of MANY of my best memories) and we were going to a few Buckcherry shows around Tennessee.
One of the shows we went to, in Chattanooga, was in an old, converted church. Yes, a church. Stained glass, crosses, pews, paintings of John The Baptist, etc. We didn't realize it was a church until Ann went to buy drinks at the bar and discovered that the club did not serve alcohol. When Ann came back to tell the rest of us this, we looked up from the pew we were sitting in to see the religious paintings on the wall. We then realized it was a church. We then walked into the main auditorium and laughed at the absurdity of Buckcherry playing songs like "Crazy Bitch", "Whiskey In The Morning", "Lit Up" and "Lawless and Lulu" while singing out toward stained glass art of Jesus.
As "Crazy Bitch" became more and more popular, it became known as MY song amongst my friends. I'm not sure if that's a compliment or an insult! lol However, it was almost tradition for awhile that when my friends and I were hanging out at One Block East, a bar in Grandview, MO that I used to frequent, my friend Jim would request that song and have it dedicated to me. Bastard! I still can't hear "Crazy Bitch" without thinking of my friends and One Block East!
My friend Cher also suggested I write about "Crazy Bitch". Ah, "Crazy Bitch". Everyone knows that song. Everyone is sick to death of that song. But boy, does it bring back a lot of memories.
When the song was new, when it was only a single in the US and the album 15 was only out in Japan, Buckcherry was doing a club tour (yes, clubs). I went to Tennessee to visit my friend Ann (who has since severed ties with me, but she still holds a special place in my heart, and is part of MANY of my best memories) and we were going to a few Buckcherry shows around Tennessee.
One of the shows we went to, in Chattanooga, was in an old, converted church. Yes, a church. Stained glass, crosses, pews, paintings of John The Baptist, etc. We didn't realize it was a church until Ann went to buy drinks at the bar and discovered that the club did not serve alcohol. When Ann came back to tell the rest of us this, we looked up from the pew we were sitting in to see the religious paintings on the wall. We then realized it was a church. We then walked into the main auditorium and laughed at the absurdity of Buckcherry playing songs like "Crazy Bitch", "Whiskey In The Morning", "Lit Up" and "Lawless and Lulu" while singing out toward stained glass art of Jesus.
As "Crazy Bitch" became more and more popular, it became known as MY song amongst my friends. I'm not sure if that's a compliment or an insult! lol However, it was almost tradition for awhile that when my friends and I were hanging out at One Block East, a bar in Grandview, MO that I used to frequent, my friend Jim would request that song and have it dedicated to me. Bastard! I still can't hear "Crazy Bitch" without thinking of my friends and One Block East!
"Bitch" - Naked Beggars
Buy This Song on iTunes
My friend Cher suggested this song for this blog, and it's a great one.
I first saw Naked Beggars sometime in 2003 at the Hurricane in Kansas City. It was advertised as featuring Eric Brittingham and Jeff LaBar from Cinderella, so I jumped at the chance to see these guys in a club setting. But honestly, those two didn't really have to be there for me to really get into this band. Frontwoman Inga Brittingham (Eric's wife) sealed that all on her own.
I loved how she had such balls and such swagger onstage. She reminded me of some of my favorite "take no shit" females in rock like Pat Benatar and Joan Jett. She really brought that image to the forefront when they closed with "Bitch", a song about a woman not letting her man order her around.
Their first CD was released in 2004, around the time that I split from my long-time fiance, and I was very angry for awhile. "Bitch" became my go-to song for venting that anger, and I can remember sitting in the car with the song on repeat, driving around, alternating screaming, crying, and singing along. It's a bittersweet tune, not only because it brings back those memories, but also because it is very empowering.
I've since seen Naked Beggars around a dozen times, and even so, "Bitch" and also "No More" from their first album still remain my favorite tunes of theirs. I've also since gotten to know Inga and Eric and they are both sweet, awesome people. Naked Beggars is on a hiatus at the moment, as Inga is pregnant with her second child, and the Brittinghams are focused on their family (with Eric taking some time here and there to tour with Cinderella), but I eagerly await their return.
My friend Cher suggested this song for this blog, and it's a great one.
I first saw Naked Beggars sometime in 2003 at the Hurricane in Kansas City. It was advertised as featuring Eric Brittingham and Jeff LaBar from Cinderella, so I jumped at the chance to see these guys in a club setting. But honestly, those two didn't really have to be there for me to really get into this band. Frontwoman Inga Brittingham (Eric's wife) sealed that all on her own.
I loved how she had such balls and such swagger onstage. She reminded me of some of my favorite "take no shit" females in rock like Pat Benatar and Joan Jett. She really brought that image to the forefront when they closed with "Bitch", a song about a woman not letting her man order her around.
Their first CD was released in 2004, around the time that I split from my long-time fiance, and I was very angry for awhile. "Bitch" became my go-to song for venting that anger, and I can remember sitting in the car with the song on repeat, driving around, alternating screaming, crying, and singing along. It's a bittersweet tune, not only because it brings back those memories, but also because it is very empowering.
I've since seen Naked Beggars around a dozen times, and even so, "Bitch" and also "No More" from their first album still remain my favorite tunes of theirs. I've also since gotten to know Inga and Eric and they are both sweet, awesome people. Naked Beggars is on a hiatus at the moment, as Inga is pregnant with her second child, and the Brittinghams are focused on their family (with Eric taking some time here and there to tour with Cinderella), but I eagerly await their return.
"Talk Dirty To Me" - Poison
Buy this song on iTunes
My friend Christian suggested I write about this song, and the fact that he suggested it brings up one particular memory that he was a part of.
This particular memory takes place on November 25, 2006. My 28th birthday, the last one I would spend in Kansas City before moving to Texas. At this point, I already knew that I would be moving after the beginning of 2007, so I knew this birthday would be bittersweet.
My friend Randy was at the time playing bass in a Poison tribute band called Talk Dirty, and they had a gig at Danny's Tavern on my birthday. So, I made it a point to call their gig my unofficial birthday party, and invited everyone I knew. It seems like everyone I knew DID show up, including a bunch of friends that normally wouldn't be caught dead at a Poison tribute band's gig. Christian and his wife were there as well. I believe on that night or shortly after that night, he and his wife found out that they were expecting their daughter Liberty, so I'm sure that's pretty memorable for him.
Anyway, the memory of this night is wrapped in what I don't remember. Lots of friends bought me drinks, and I was pretty plowed. It was pretty cool to have a bunch of people I love in one place, backed by the music of a band I literally grew up listening to (and being played by a band that did a pretty convincing imitation!). It was definitely a top-five birthday of my life so far.
Another memory attached to this song is from when I was first getting into Poison. In 1987, I was changing tastes from more juvenile pop bands to some of the harder bands that were popular at the time. I didn't have MTV, so my exposure to what was currently popular was pretty limited, and I "discovered" Poison around a year after they broke big.
Christmas 1987, I was 9 years old and had outgrown toys for the most part, so I got mostly money from relatives that year. A few days after Christmas, my dad took my brother and I to Bannister Mall so we could spend our money. I had only two things on my agenda: a portable cassette player, and the Poison "Look What The Cat Dragged In" cassette to go in it. I walked out of the mall with both of those purchases, and spent the next few months listening to that tape until it was worn out. Though I'm not as much of a fan of Poison as I once was, that tape definitely helped point my musical tastes in a direction that they still follow today.
My friend Christian suggested I write about this song, and the fact that he suggested it brings up one particular memory that he was a part of.
This particular memory takes place on November 25, 2006. My 28th birthday, the last one I would spend in Kansas City before moving to Texas. At this point, I already knew that I would be moving after the beginning of 2007, so I knew this birthday would be bittersweet.
My friend Randy was at the time playing bass in a Poison tribute band called Talk Dirty, and they had a gig at Danny's Tavern on my birthday. So, I made it a point to call their gig my unofficial birthday party, and invited everyone I knew. It seems like everyone I knew DID show up, including a bunch of friends that normally wouldn't be caught dead at a Poison tribute band's gig. Christian and his wife were there as well. I believe on that night or shortly after that night, he and his wife found out that they were expecting their daughter Liberty, so I'm sure that's pretty memorable for him.
Anyway, the memory of this night is wrapped in what I don't remember. Lots of friends bought me drinks, and I was pretty plowed. It was pretty cool to have a bunch of people I love in one place, backed by the music of a band I literally grew up listening to (and being played by a band that did a pretty convincing imitation!). It was definitely a top-five birthday of my life so far.
Another memory attached to this song is from when I was first getting into Poison. In 1987, I was changing tastes from more juvenile pop bands to some of the harder bands that were popular at the time. I didn't have MTV, so my exposure to what was currently popular was pretty limited, and I "discovered" Poison around a year after they broke big.
Christmas 1987, I was 9 years old and had outgrown toys for the most part, so I got mostly money from relatives that year. A few days after Christmas, my dad took my brother and I to Bannister Mall so we could spend our money. I had only two things on my agenda: a portable cassette player, and the Poison "Look What The Cat Dragged In" cassette to go in it. I walked out of the mall with both of those purchases, and spent the next few months listening to that tape until it was worn out. Though I'm not as much of a fan of Poison as I once was, that tape definitely helped point my musical tastes in a direction that they still follow today.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
