FDF Volume 3: Issue 219: Butthole Surfers - Independent Worm Saloon

By: March

Album - Independent Worm Saloon
Artist - Butthole Surfers
Key Players- King Coffey - drums. Jeff Pinkus - bass. Paul Leary - guitar, vocals. Gibby Haynes - lead vocals.
Produced By - John Paul Jones

Release Date - March 23, 1993

What caused me to blow off the dust? - I wonder what sort of traffic the first word in the band name will bring to this blog. All that aside, there is a time and place with me and the Surfers..just felt like it was time.

Overview - The sixth studio album from San Antonio, Texas based Butthole Surfers. The band had singed to Capitol records and this was the second release for the label. The band would ride a little big of commercial success in to the follow up (Electriclarryland). The band blends hard core, heavy rock with psychedelia to create one of the most wild and non traditional music that would be heard on mainstream radio. This album would crack the Billboard top 200, peaking at 154.

FDF Comments (aka the songs) - The album opens with a blistering track called "Who Was in My Room Last Night?". After a swirling vocal of "I'm Flying...away" the machine gun drums and chugging guitar. Haynes vocals are heavily distorted and compressed at the same time. Leary gets to toss out big guitar riffs at the close of each verse while Coffey keeps everything locked in. Around this time "industrial" metal was finding small cracks on MTV and radio so this tune fits right in with its urgency. A sudden change of pace...(acoustic guitars??!) start off "The Wooden Song". It is a much more laid back affair with rolling drum fills and a very relaxed overall feel to the song. Pinkus gets to shine on the bass, with a clean few bars before Leary comes back in with a little more of a distorted guitar solo. The solo is short and to the point, so much so he replays it later in the song. Not a song you'd associate to the Surfers. The chaos comes back on "Tongue" a far more frantic intro has your head spinning. Pinkus runs some heavy effects on his bass and then Haynes comes in. His vocal style is complimentary to the music. As the song takes form he shows good sense in singing rather than screaming fills. The music actually gets a little complex and twisted between the verse. Its a very short track as well. I don't give a fuck about the FBI is sung along to a car radio as a "skit" "Chewin' George Lucas' Chocolate" starts with a car being pulled over. I'll leave the surprise as to what is said to you the listener (its not that shocking, but lets have you dust the record off!). "Goofy's Concern" has Leary using his buzzy guitar once more and the track seems to open up with a more rock feel to it. The lyrics used are the same as the background in the previous track (the band sings along to their own tune...clever eh?). Coffey continues to hammer the drums and roll across the kit as Leary grinds his guitar. "Alcohol" is another swirling and chaotic track. The vocals at the start surround the listener before the band hits down and gets things rolling. It will keep the listener on task with the heavy tonal shifts. The heavy feel from the lead of song comes back on "Dog Inside Your Body". Vocals are compressed and the band is just waiting to explode, but when the time comes Leary takes a short solo. The urgency is there on the song and it has you waiting and waiting for it to really open up but it remains in check. Leary gets a few short solos.
"Strawberry" is another Pinkus lead track. From the start the bass has a real bright and punchy ring to it while Coffey hammers out the back beat. Haynes is a little more laid back, but the track is still a rocking affair. "Some Dispute Over T-Shirt Sales" the vocals on this track are similar to the track "Jesus Built My Hot Rod" by Ministry. Haynes had sung on that track for the band and this could be some sort of homage. The music is quick and to the point, with the band using big fills. Haynes sings about as fast as possible on the track, and it really is an extension of "hot rod". "Dancing Fool", yes it is a Frank Zappa song and this is a cover of the track, but with the bands own twist. The bass from Pinkus finds a solid groove as Leary and Coffey settle in to place. Leary seems to want to hold the song from starting a little, but before you know it, the band is off to the races. Pinkus is still high in the mix and his clear bass lines can be heard slicing through the chaos. In the end, to these ears, it only shares the same song title. At the start the track "You Don't Know Me"becomes a very focused track. The band has almost a rock-a-billy feel as they get rolling. Leary has a clean and clear guitar part while Coffey puts the back beat in motion. The vocals are clear and pointed. This is a real strong track, show casing another side of the band few would realize even existed. "Annoying Song" starts with some of the most compressed and somewhat silly vocal effect on the voice (sounds like a heliumed' up chipmunk). The vocal portions are just with drums and after each the full band plays. Musically I like this song a great deal, but the goofy effect on the vocals gets old quick. "Dust Devil" swings back with that crunchy overall sound with Haynes chanting lyrics over the tight foundation laid by Coffey, Leary and Pinkus. The band gets some time to solo and run off one another. Leary has the longest and most distorted solo on the whole record here. "Leave me Alone" is another track that really jumps off the speaker with a driving back beat. Again the vocals are very compressed, live Haynes often sings through a megaphone so this could very well be the vocal trick done here. Leary gets to shine again on the solos. Coffey rolls across the drums as "Edgar" begins. Pinkus and Leary fight for attention and Haynes swirls in. Musically its heavy and driving but the vocals are more "drone". "The Ballad of Naked Man" is very different with the intro being acoustic guitar and banjo. The percussion seems to be more hand/conga based and the there are some high harmonies sung by Leary, that feel a little campy, but also add a nice touch. The album concludes with "Clean it Up"a track with someone simulating vomiting..and violently as well. With guitars and drums crashing all around. Shouts to "clean it up" and an extended spoken word part hard hard to dissect but the music never seems to change in the heavy feel.


Where are they now? - The band has been active since 1981. They have not been very active as a recording or live band over the last few years. Their last album of new material was in 2001. The entire band listed here were all early members (since 81) and only Pinkus left the band from 1994 to 2008 where we worked with a band called Daddy Longhead.

FDF Personal Comments (aka the Live experience) - The only time I saw the band as part of Lollapaloosa. It was August 9, 1991. They were very early in the day (second band if memory serves me correct) and the wild stage show seemed to lack something in the daylight. Still the band was wild and fun and most notably singer Gibby had a shotgun that he kept firing over the audience. They'd NEVER get away with that these days.

FDF Overall Take - There are some confusing moments, but some really great industrial, metal fused rockers. Tracks like "Who Was In My Room Last Night" are easy stand outs and at the time of the release it was about as heavy as anything heard on commercial radio at the time. Some of it can be harder to take, but there is some good rocking moments too.

Links
Official site is here.

Curious? Check out some MUSIC!

This is the official video for "Who Was in My Room Last Night?"



mp3's have been removed..

Tongue
You Don't Know Me

Tracks are from the album that you can buy here.

Disclaimer - For the most part songs listed you can find on iTunes or your local cd shop. The idea is to give you a little taste of the music. Please support the artist buy purchasing some of their work. Songs are posted for about 1 week but can and will be removed at the request of the artist, band, band management etc. If you are one of those persons contact me via the email link in the profile and they will be removed as soon as we are made aware of the