Took a trip to Santa Cruz last night to see Agnostic Front. While waiting for the show to start I stopped in a record store and picked up a Youth Of Today “Break Down The Walls” press un opened from 1992, when digging through my records to see what versions I have, I realized I have these two gems…
Super stoked when I pulled out the LPs to see a ton of stuff packed in there with it. Amazing lyric sheet, stickers, mini-zines. Took me back to 1991, getting home from school to a package and I would pour over every detail of every piece that was inside the package. Awesome!
Jonas, notice that all that was added here is a wig…
Old Jawk Records Winter Solstice cards.
I posted most of this in 2005 but as I love Halloween, The Misfits/Samhain, and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy so much I am re-posting my re-post.
Unholy Passion
By Will Oldham
I got to listening to the Misfits around the time that Samhain started up. Many of us in Louisville were what is known as “rabid fans” of both bands, and there wasn’t a day went by we didn’t talk about the records, about Glenn. Initium is a great record, unique. At one point, I put together a huge collage of images pulled from school encyclopedias… voodoo and gargoyles, lots of blood and nastiness. I sent it to Glenn, along with a cow skull and ten dollars, hoping against hope for something to come back. Well, not too long after, the mailman brought me a package from Lodi, and in it was a “Cough/Cool” single and a beautiful pale-yellow Samhain t-shirt.
I think I saw the second show that Samhain played at Newport, K.Y.’s Jockey Club; it was an amazing night, the first time I stayed up all night. Everyone in the band signed my yellow t-shirt. This was probably during the “Unholy Passion” trip. When the November-Coming-Fire trip came around, a Louisville band called Maurice was asked to open. I went along for the trip, taking pictures.
So Samhain was Glenn, Eerie, Damien, and London May, with roadie Tom. We went to Ohio, Indiana, Michigan. I remember Detroit, the show was at Corey Rusk’s place; at one point, after soundcheck, there was a buzz that Glenn was upstairs with Corey and Tesco Vee. A jaw-dropping summit! London, I am pretty sure, was a vegetarian, and the others constantly ribbed him in Jersey boy fashion; when we would stop at a Denny’s, say, to eat, Glenn and Eerie would tell London that there was some shrubbery outside… really idiotic stuff, but hilarious. Britt Walford played drums in Maurice, and he and I entertained Samhain with our impersonations of people with cerebral palsy. They got a big kick out of that. High-minded all around, we were.
In Bloomington, something occured that we were told was a remarkable event: Glenn drank some of a beer, maybe a whole beer. I remember sitting on a porch at a party after the show. Glenn had someone’s acoustic guitar, and he started to play the John Cougar song “Small Town”. Only he sang it like this: “Well I was born with no dick… and I am a lesbian…” and he giggled hysterically.
The shows blew my mind, every night. “Death Comes Ripping”, “Bloodfeast”, and “Die! Die! My Darling” thrown in with the songs from the three Samhain records. Powerful, awesome. Always front and center we were, screaming, sweating, singing along with every song. The band was a united front. I have never seen such great songs played so fiercely just for the audience that was right there.
I got to see the Samhain tour a couple of years ago. The set was brilliantly structured, with line-up and costume changes to reflect the evolution of Samhain. And with tension, and joy; it was as great as it was in 1985, because Glenn had changed it and made it as great as our memories would have had it. After the show, London re-introduced me to Glenn. Glenn stared at me blankly, then smiled and thanked me for coming. His voice was hoarse, he had a cold. He didn’t remember me at all from 1985. I think about him all of the time.
Musician Will Oldham currently records as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and has just released, via Drag City, a full-length collaboration with former Chavez and Zwan guitarist Matt Sweeney titled Superwolf.
I found this amazing article here.
Today is my last day of work before I head back to Boston to pack all my shit. Feels like I have been here forever. Here is what got me through the summer. Let the shit talking begin.
Download
Stopped by Liberated Images today and picked up this fucking amazing Nachtmystium hoodie..
I met Rob just over 15 years ago in March of 1993 in Dayton Ohio at the More Than Music fest, when his band Endpoint played. Over the years I spent lots of time in Louisville and the Louisville crew made many a memorable trip to Atlanta. Rob was in Boston for a conference so we got to catch up and grab some amazing vegan sausage and pineapple calzones from TJs.
By The Grace Of God and Atlanta crew in 2000 after some Soul Vegetarian
