Grifters: C er D?

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The thinking person's Flaming Lips or inchoate New Southern rock?

― lee g, Friday, 8 February 2002 01:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

Are they still around? I figgered that the "official group" status of Those Bastard Souls sealed the Grifters' fate.

Once upon a time, I was infatuated w/ the 2nd-to-last Grifters album (the one w/ the Jim Woodring cover, their 1st on Sub Pop - I can remember everything but the album's name, and I'm too lazy to bother looking it up). And then I saw Those Bastard Souls live, and all the fun cheekiness of the Grifters (their best quality) was replaced by this stiff earnestness. Boo hiss. (Yeah, it was only 1/4 of the Grifters - Mr. Dave Shouse, if I recall correctly - but, still, guilt by association can still bring about a conviction.) After that, my taste for the Grifters slowly faded. I have their last album around here somewhere, but it didn't leave much of an impression on me.

― David Raposa, Friday, 8 February 2002 01:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

Crapping You Negative throws up a terrific unholy racket of guitar fuzz and drunken vocals. It was their last album before moving to Sub Pop. I didn't care much for the album David described, Ain't My Lookout, nor Those Bastard Souls, especially their 2nd LP. The more buried and inaudible Dave Shouse's dodgy free-associative words and delivery the better.

― Curt, Friday, 8 February 2002 01:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, I tend to agree--that is, that other the occasional outstanding song, they lost the plot once they jumped to Sub Pop. And despite TBS's glammy charms, they were a poor substitute for prime Grifters. But I guess that's why I launched this thread: Prime Grifters (the Shangri-La albums and singles) is really, really prime. Godlike melodic fuzz spazz--with a heart. But people seem to have forgotten about that one brief shining moment since their music went South and the band up and dissipated.

― lee g, Friday, 8 February 2002 01:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

That's funny, I was thinking about starting this thread yesterday.

While FULL BLOWN POSSESSION, their second Sub Pop CD, does little for me, I must give "mad props" to ONE SOCK MISSING, CRAPPIN' YOU NEGATIVE, AIN'T MY LOOKOUT, and the EUREKA EP. They all have moments that would have best been left on the cutting room floor, granted.

And the live show! Man, they would suck now and again, but on an on- night they were just a terrific live band. And they did a great cover of "Rainin' Babies" as well.

Their best moment, IMO, was the version of "Junkie Blood" that came out on 7".

― doug, Friday, 8 February 2002 01:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

They were truly a fantastic band to see live. Everyone stopped talking once they realized that the Grifters were far more than they had bargained for. The show I saw at the Met Cafe in Providence was a) badass b) heartfelt but also c) creaky. Like it was on the verge of some smoldering collapse of iron and timber.

"Bronze Cast"
"Confidential"
"Junkie Blood"
"Holmes"
One Sock Missing

― Tracer Hand, Friday, 8 February 2002 01:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

Favorite Grifters live experience: I saw them play in DC at the Black Cat. Versus opened, and they were, well, Versus. The Grifters come on, and go right into "Felt Tipped Over", and right from the point the full band crashes in on the song (like 3 seconds in), until two days later, I forgot that I had also seen Versus that night.

My friend saw them play in Tuscaloosa for 2 1/2 hours. They were going to play every song they knew, but one of them got too drunk or something to go on. Surprise.

― doug, Friday, 8 February 2002 01:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

4 months pass...

I always thought that Crappin You Negative and Eureka were better than anything Sebadoh or Pavement ever did (except maybe Slanted/Enchanted is as good). At least for me, they were my favorite band of that time.

My first experience of The Grifters was seeing them open for Fugazi on freaking hot race day in Indianapolis a couple of months before Crappin You Negative came out. One of the best shows I ever saw, it was in this old run down theatre and it was so damn hot you could see clouds of steam rise from the crowd, when you were at the back.

I saw them a couple of years later in Lexington after Ain't My Lookout came out in a small club. Another good show. The drummer was so loose and could drive the band where he wanted.

I think getting all of the side projects and the fact that they were together for so long before anything really started to happen for them hastened their departure. There are some good songs on the frist Those Bastards... record that would probably have been even better as The Grifters with some live dynamics and not just tracked together.

On another note, I was always impressed with the sound of Crappin You Negative and Eureka for being pretty good for being done quite a bit with 4 tracks.

― earlnash, Sunday, 23 June 2002 00:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

10 months pass...

Did they do anything else as good as Crappin' You Negative?

― Nordicskillz (Nordicskillz), Tuesday, 6 May 2003 15:19 (10 years ago) Permalink

the grifters' became more and more terrible the more david shouse moved to the front and scott taylor moved to the back. scott taylor was a far better songwriter than shouse.

― jack cole (jackcole), Tuesday, 6 May 2003 15:57 (10 years ago) Permalink

Nordicskillz all the songs I list I think are better than Crappin You Negative. But that might be because I've never heard the latter.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 6 May 2003 15:58 (10 years ago) Permalink

I'll vote for One Sock Missing being better than Crappin'. But it's probably because my favorite song on Crappin', "Junkie Blood", sounded better on the single.

― doug (doug), Tuesday, 6 May 2003 16:02 (10 years ago) Permalink

I think Ain't My Lookout is at least as good as Crappin You Negative, if not better. One of the best releases from the year it came out in, whichever year that was..........

― John Bullabaugh (John Bullabaugh), Tuesday, 6 May 2003 16:02 (10 years ago) Permalink

I like the Eureka e.p. as much as Crappin' You Negative, but I like all of their records.

Ain't My Lookout is quite good, a bit better than Full Blown Possession, which I have grown to like with time. The biggest change of their last couple of albums is that their sound is pretty high gloss and doesn't have nearly the weird exploding guitar sounds like their first two albums, but the songs are all pretty good.

I never heard that very first ep before One Sock Missing, but it is supposedly not all that hot.

One Sock Missing has some good songs but with much less fidelity than Crappin' You Negative. "She Blows Blasts of Static" is a great song and the title fits how it sounds so very well.

― earlnash, Tuesday, 6 May 2003 16:06 (10 years ago) Permalink

FBP will grow on you in the same way that their first CD So Happy Together will. But they are both pretty weak compared to the run of One Sock Missing, Eureka, Crappin' You Negative and Ain't My Lookout. Those were all wonderful recordings. And having grown up on the Grifters I wanted not to like Ain't My Lookout---- it was so clean-sounding, so nearly poppy. But there are moments when they sound like a chorus of drunken rock & roll angels. So nice. The first Those Bastard Souls CD 21st Century Chemical is, for all intents, a Grifters record. It's mostly Dave, but Stan played drums and Tripp plays here and there. But it's like a glammed up Grifters minus Scott's angst. An awesome record at that--- it's what Bowie would sound like if he was from Memphis. Too bad the major lable thing crushed the second TBS disc. Whoever made the claim that Scott was the better songwriter of the two is WAY off the mark. Now I love me some Scott, and I'll admit that Scott's Shark is about as good as it gets, but Corola Hoist, Bronze Cast, Founders Day, Junkie Blood, Get Out of that Spaceship and Fight Like a Man, Black Fuel Incinerator---C'mon, that's awesome stuff too. Sure, Dave may have a little Bob Pollard syndrome---- writing so much that it's hard to separate the sense from the nonsense. But for whoever made the post--- it's not as earnest as you might think. Listen again, maybe you missed lines like, "we walked into the liquor store like we knew what we were doing...." His new project The Bloodthirsty Lovers is GREAT electronic rock BTW. The thing that was extra nice about the Grifters was the tension between Dave and Scott because they came at the music from totally opposite poles--- both trying to learn from the other (while secretly believing the other, while talented was also somewhat full of crap). A lot of that has to do with their ages. Scott was just out of high school while Dave was hitting 30-something when A Band Called Bud started playing. Neither is better---- they are just unique. And putting two players with totally unrelates aesthetics together is what made the Grifters special. There was a point where Dave stole and hid Scott's effects so he would learn to be a better guitar player. So the tension wasn't just creative, it was REAL honest to gosh tension. I'm from Memphis, so maybe I'm biased, but I think it's pretty classic stuff. It 10 years I'm guessing that audiophiles will be hunting down recordings by The Grifters and The Oblivians [their trash-rock contemps) the same way the collecters went after Big Star recordings in the mid-80's. I listen to a little bit of everything that comes down the pike and have yet to hear a single that blew me away like She Blows Blasts of Static & Soda Pop Pop. And I can't listen to that first Radiohead CD without wondering, "hey, which one of these guys is the Grifters fan?". They had the right sound at the right time, but ended up on the right label at the wrong time. And the conflicts that made them great were too great to sustain the band without some commercial success to buffer the growing discontent. Great, smart, wonderful people who really deserved to make it. They will be playing a reunion show here in Memphis on May 16 at the Hi-Tone cafe for any true-believers who might want to take a road trip. With all their other bands this is an increasingly rare event.

― Pesky, Tuesday, 6 May 2003 19:02 (10 years ago) Permalink

I take it your from Memphis. Oh wait. I see it now "I'm from Memphis." Yessir, some of the best rock shows I've seen were Grifters shows. A friend of Tripp's told me that there was new record in the works (this would have been 2+ years ago) but I never heard anything else about it. Ah, well, reunion gigs will have to suffice. And peoples, if any of their current projects make it to your town, GO! Shouse-Bloodthirsty Lovers, Scott- Porch Ghouls (check their release Bluff City Ruckus on Joe Perry's(!) Roman Records), & Tripp- Paper Plates. Three bad-assed bands that could not be more different.

― Will (will), Tuesday, 6 May 2003 20:11 (10 years ago) Permalink

3 years pass...

Did the Grifters reunion shows actually happen? The website shows some from December, I guess 2003.

― zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Wednesday, 4 October 2006 10:22 (6 years ago) Permalink

Tripp's wife told me they did a one-off gig last year at some festival in Las Vegas. I didn't get the impression they'll ever do it again. Shouse is still doing the Bloodthirsty Lovers thing, I guess. Albeit sporadically. They play maybe one show a year (locally) and put out a record on Frenchkiss a couple of years ago. Tripp plays in Dragoon and with Staff (Tim Prudhomme, ex-Fuck, etc.). No idea what Scott's up to, but check out his wife!!!
(also, was I stoned on May 6, 2003?? wtf?)

― Will (will), Wednesday, 4 October 2006 12:01 (6 years ago) Permalink

3 months pass...

you guys have got a lot of stuff wrong about the grifters. You got a lot of stuff right too.
but..

we never played in Las Vegas. I've never even been there.

Stan and I both play in Dragoon. Check us out. You might hear where some of the grifters' patented chaos came from. Also if you check out our myspace page click on BOB on our friends list for a look at me and Stan's ( and John Stivers) high school band. the impetus behind much of the grifters improvisational nature (though right now, all that's up on the page are selections from our goofier side)

Scott is playing with Memphis Babylon (Choppergirl backed by a rock band)
and he runs Hoodoo Labs which has been producing a lot of great Memphis rap.

I'm not sure what's up with Dave's projects. I know Kevin March left to do a project with Craig Wedren (Shudder to Think).

There's been talk of reunion shows but I'll go ahead and say that I'm the hold-out. I'm finally in a band I really love and frankly Dave left us in the dust on his quest for whatever and I don't particularly relish the thought of returning to that situation. So.... sorry but the only time Dave wants to work with us is when his other projects hit a lull and I loved the band too much to watch it be reduced to some kind of fall-back position.

And I have to say this. Every single article or online discussion or blog or whatever that I've ever read about us describes it as being the songwriting team of Shouse and Taylor. That's not the way it was.

Yes, there are some songs that are completely Dave, like Eureka IV, X-Ray Hip, Queen of the table Waters, Felt-Tipped Over, #1 to name a few.

There are a few songs that are completely Scott's like, Sain, 10,000, Hours, Piddlebach, Shark.

And there are some songs that are completely mine like, You be the Stranger, Fixed in the Sky, Here Comes Larry (all instrumentals. in fact, You Be the Stranger was performed by me, Stan, and John Stivers. So there's a performance by BOB on our last record truth be told.)

BUT the grifters were mainly a collective. MOST of our songs were written by commitee. There are a lot of songs that I brought in as basically instrumental guitar rock that would end up having lyrics written for them. I brought in Corolla Hoist, Maps of the Sun, Covered With Flies, passing Out, Mysterious Friends, Wreck, Holmes, Happy, Casual Years and Contact Me Now and they became grifters songs at practice. Which was sometimes a gut-wrenching experience. I was pretty bummed out by the way the song Happy became 'Bastard Soulsified'.

Songs like Rats or Side were things that Scott had that we worked up at practice. Those songs are so chaotic sounding because of the way we would drunkly eviscerate them. (grifters practices were usually a buffet of beer, weed, acid, liquor)

There were songs like Bummer which started as a jam on one of Scott's riffs then Dave took it home and came up with a verse and some lyrics.

There were some songs that started with John Stivers giving me a riff that I brought to practice and they became grifters staples like, Founder's Day Parade and most notably Junkie Blood (which started out as a BOB song)

So I'm sorry if I ruined some of the mystery surrounding our stuff but I often feel like even though I did some of the best work I've ever done with the Grifters my contribution was completely nebulous. Nobody knows what I did and as a result, most of what I did is attributed to Dave or Scott.

I never wrote any lyrics (not many anyway) but I'm all over those records. I usually played as much guitar on any given record as Scott or Dave. Covered With Flies, Corolla Hoist, Maps of the Sun, Mysterious Friends all have a whole lot of my guitar playing on them.

I know I've attained McCartney-level pettiness with this post but it drives me nuts. Really. Do you like it when someone else gets credit for your work?

And for what it's worth, I truly feel that Scott is the most under-appreciated lyricist of the 90's. And my favorite songs of ours are X-Ray Hip and Felt Tipped Over (both Dave tunes)

-Tripp

sorry for nerding up your board

― Tripp lamkins (trippl), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 21:13 (6 years ago) Permalink

also if you go to Dragoon's myspace page (link above in Will's last post) you will find Scott in our friends list as Sticky Icky Icky

― Tripp lamkins (trippl), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 21:25 (6 years ago) Permalink

wow. awesome.

― Mr. Que (Mr.Que), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 21:35 (6 years ago) Permalink

You guys got me so high once in Columbia, Missouri.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 21:39 (6 years ago) Permalink

hah. was that at the house party?

― Mr. Que (Mr.Que), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 21:40 (6 years ago) Permalink

hahaha
grifters thread revives, next 3 posts are by kc0uers

― dmr (Renard), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 21:42 (6 years ago) Permalink

hahaha KCOU COLUMBIA MAKES ME WANT TO PEE

― Mr. Que (Mr.Que), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 21:44 (6 years ago) Permalink

[bong hit breaker]

― dmr (Renard), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 21:45 (6 years ago) Permalink

i liked your band tripp.

― M@tt He1g3s0n: oh u mad cuz im stylin on u (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 21:45 (6 years ago) Permalink

the house party in Columbia where we didn't get to play?
that was fun.

naw, Columbia was always a bright spot on tour.

from what i can remember.

― Tripp lamkins (trippl), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 21:49 (6 years ago) Permalink

well fuck me, for some reason I thought S. told me that you guys did one last gig in LV for some festival? Or maybe I made that up. Sorry for the mis-information dudes. did I dream the potential re-union from a few years back, too? (I would guess this info would've been filtered thru JET and/ or A.J0nes)

― Will (will), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 21:50 (6 years ago) Permalink

I was at that one
also I stayed at your place in memphis one new year's
thx for the good times

xpost

― dmr (Renard), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 21:51 (6 years ago) Permalink

(j3ff br33z3 to thread)

― Mr. Que (Mr.Que), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 21:55 (6 years ago) Permalink

BREEZE? Is that you?

― Tripp lamkins (trippl), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 22:00 (6 years ago) Permalink

nope, just trying to summon him.

― Mr. Que (Mr.Que), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 22:00 (6 years ago) Permalink

We reunited in 99 after TBS got dropped. Dave said it was because Joan left the band and V2 decided their 'sex appeal' was gone. Take that story with a grain of salt.
So we got the band back together and in May 2000 did a show in memphis where we played for three and ahalf hours straight, no opening act. And it was great. Maybe the best show we ever did.
We did a couple of small tours though the one in Chicago at the Empty Bottle was less than stellar because everyone was giving us shots. They wanted to see a 'fucked-up grifters show'. So I was maybe a little too drunk. I didn't fall off the stage or anything but it was a pretty sloppy show.
We came back for the Flower ten year anniversary and did a much better job.
BUT at some point me and Scott had said that we wanted to do one last album together cause we didn't want FBP to be our last record. Scott had a few songs. I had a few songs (one of which was Crashing Jet. the grifters version was about 1000% better than the Champ! version. In fact there's a live recording of it out there somewhere) But Dave never brought in any new songs. He said he couldn't get into grifters' mode. But we plowed ahead. We went into Easley/McCain's with the wonderful Stu Sikes and recorded Crashign Jet and Scott's song There's A Man. But Dave pretty much steered clear of the proceedings. THEN it turns out he had a new deal for BTL and they were leaving for a tour in the next couple of weeks (this would've been fall of 2001 believe it or not) So we realized we'd been played (hence the 'fall-back position' remark).

The analogy I always use to describe it is... it's like a girlfriend you use to have. The sex was incredible and it was a wild time BUT you fought a lot and she was always flirting with other guys. So you break up and it's a nasty break-up.
But a couple of years later you run into each other and enough time has passed that really all you remember is the great sex and it turns out you're both available at the time so you jump back in the sack and give things another try. Then sure enough, a week later you realize you have all the same problems you use to have and you kick yourself for being stupid enough to get back together.

― Tripp lamkins (trippl), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 22:13 (6 years ago) Permalink

oh yeah... that was the New Year's Eve the Clears blew us off the stage.

did you move to NYC with all the other Columbians?

― Tripp lamkins (trippl), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 22:15 (6 years ago) Permalink

oh yeah the Clears. Wasn't that Alicia's first band? I heard a tape of that record. but i never got it after it came out. i should get it.

― Mr. Que (Mr.Que), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 22:17 (6 years ago) Permalink

haha yeah eventually. I lived a couple other places first. now I'm in Brooklyn. still see a bunch of those people.

xpost

― dmr (Renard), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 22:21 (6 years ago) Permalink

Breeze! Here's how you summon Jeff Breeze!

KCOU KCOU 88.1 BIG STAR ALEX CHILTON JODY STEPHENS GRIFTERS MEMPHIS GREG DULLI VAN DYKE PARKS ROAD TRIP TO CHICAGO ROLLERBLADES KCOU JEFF BREEZE UP AGAINST THE WALL MOTHERFUCKER.

And nah, Tripp. It was up in the rafters of the Blue Note while Seam was playing. Grifters are still in my top five Memphis bands.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 22:24 (6 years ago) Permalink

sooooo, who are you guys?
if you don't mind me askin'

yeah, the Clears were Alicia Trout and Shelby Bryant and Brad.... something.

Alicia is like the queen of memphis now. she's awesome.
if you go to myspace look for River City Tanlines or Contaminated Records.

Shelby put out some stuff on Steve Shelly's label . Look for
Cloud Wow Music.

― Tripp lamkins (trippl), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 22:27 (6 years ago) Permalink

I forgot about the rollerblades!

― Mr. Que (Mr.Que), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 22:27 (6 years ago) Permalink

oh yeah, that show with Seam was when we first met you guys.
I believe you guys smoked us out that day.

― Tripp lamkins (trippl), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 22:32 (6 years ago) Permalink

d@ve r3nard
I was PD for a while at kcou
I think the time I came to memphis it was with kristen and jennie

― dmr (Renard), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 22:33 (6 years ago) Permalink

Grifters, Club Soda, Kalamazoo, 96? Amazing. You guys and Royal Trux were my most very favorite bands during my college years. I still dig ya hard. Crappin is my fave, with One Sock Missing and Sub Pop 10" close behind. I thought the last two records were just a little too clean sounding.

― QuantumNoise (Justin Farrar), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 22:33 (6 years ago) Permalink

We didn't mix FBP which I think was the problem. But Aint My lookout is unanimlously the band's favorite. It seems Crappin' is unanimously the fans' favorite.

but yeah, FBP is sorely lacking in the chaos department.

― Tripp lamkins (trippl), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 22:37 (6 years ago) Permalink

we got the band back together and in May 2000 did a show in memphis

LPOE? If so, yeah that was on time. I tried to make the Murphy's show w/ Wallendas the other night, but was road worn. (Juicy J was, up until a couple of months ago, my boss. I know S. from when Yvonne B used to make me go to yoga with her. Ok, she didn't make me.)

― Will (will), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 22:48 (6 years ago) Permalink

If any of you guys ever see Jenny (can't remember how to spell her last name..) Tell her I said hey.

Kristen found me via the grifters myspace page so that was cool.

Stan's 15 year old son runs the grifters page but I give him stuff for it all the time.

I'll try to put up that live version of Crashing Jet sometime.

Also, if you look on our friends list and go to Flecton Big Sky that's our old friend Miche Jette. the songs on his page are from his record that features der grifters backing him up (as well as Califone). Those recordings represent the last time the grifters recorded together.

we did record 2 songs later that year but the tape was lost forever so the Flecton recordings are it.

― Tripp lamkins (trippl), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 22:57 (6 years ago) Permalink

http://www.myspace.com/flectonbigsky

― Tripp lamkins (trippl), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 23:00 (6 years ago) Permalink

the songs on his page are from his record that features der grifters backing him up (as well as Califone).

rad ... I will check that out

I saw Kristen a couple years ago at (drumroll) ... an nyc Bloodthirsty Lovers show. ha.

― dmr (Renard), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 23:02 (6 years ago) Permalink

i had one of the grifters records in college that i don't remember too well except i really liked Red Red Meat at the time and i make a connection in sound in my head w/the two bands. now that there's a califone mention, am i not making this up?

― jaxon (jaxon), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 23:12 (6 years ago) Permalink

grifters and red red meat toured together, jaxon. i booked them (with rex) in college.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 30 January 2007 23:26 (6 years ago) Permalink

Skipping 109 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

"Not really in the know with the Grifters split but kind of surprised that Scott and Dave are performing together again? Any good?"

I was surprised too. I think they were maybe hoping that the grifters would have returned by now and be out on the reunion circuit. Which is something I really don't want to do. For one thing I don't have time. So I guess they're going for the next best thing. From what I hear from friends NMJ supposedly sound a bit like BTL but y'know, with Scott on guitar.

I just think it's good that Scott's back into doing something again.

― griftertripp, Wednesday, 7 May 2008 14:50 (5 years ago) Permalink

i got there too late for NMJ when they played, but I did see The Simple Ones follow and that was pretty ace!

― will, Wednesday, 7 May 2008 15:01 (5 years ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

wanna hear Dragoon performing Grifters songs with vocals by audience members? We call it Grifteroke.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6odQieEKcY

this is from a recent show at Sluggo's in Pensacola Fla.

― griftertripp, Thursday, 26 June 2008 19:08 (4 years ago) Permalink

Trippster

get Dragoon to the Hull Adelphi or even the Lincoln Imp in Scunthorpe and I'll play Grifteroke.

Are you insured?

Long live Grifters.

Fuck you doubters.

― Fer Ark, Friday, 27 June 2008 19:32 (4 years ago) Permalink

Hull and Scunthorpe.

Nowhere can compete.

Fuck you doubters

― Fer Ark, Friday, 27 June 2008 19:34 (4 years ago) Permalink

shame no one caught the grifteroke at the Bucc a couple of weeks before. it was a thing of beauty, y'all. Also, Greg Ginn in attendance(!)

― will, Friday, 27 June 2008 20:05 (4 years ago) Permalink

caught on video

― will, Friday, 27 June 2008 20:05 (4 years ago) Permalink

Greg Ginn!!!!I have visions of him with a guitar permanently strapped on. Shooting atonal randomness 24/7

Was he wigging out? Did Dragoon play 'Rise Above'? A crime if they didn't. Or maybe a note 'perfect' 'The Process of Weeding Out'?

― Fer Ark, Saturday, 28 June 2008 08:26 (4 years ago) Permalink

Where's the vid Will?

― Fer Ark, Saturday, 28 June 2008 08:26 (4 years ago) Permalink

typographical error. i don't think it was caught on video, unless tripp knows something i don't.

but Dragoon's playing tonight, for anyone in the vicinity of Mem!

― will, Saturday, 28 June 2008 15:50 (4 years ago) Permalink

Fuck - wish I was in Memphis right now. Will never forget my trip there. Overton Square?

Shangri La records had a big hand painted sign outside- 'Big Ass Cds'

And then we finished up at the Antenna club to see some dodgy Ohio hardcore band. But, saw at least two homemade Grifters shirts in there.

Sun studios and Graceland were a limp second

Cheers.

― Fer Ark, Sunday, 29 June 2008 20:22 (4 years ago) Permalink

Since I have all the Grifters albums (huge fan), I'm trying to get The Blood Thirsty Lovers - self titled and Hot Monkey - Lazy (something or nother). Amazon.com has good used prices

― CaptainLorax, Sunday, 29 June 2008 23:08 (4 years ago) Permalink

Don't forget Grifters singles...lotta good stuff that's not on album out there!

― dlp9001, Sunday, 29 June 2008 23:12 (4 years ago) Permalink

2 weeks pass...

check Shangri-la for Blood Thirsty etc and Hot Monkey, Champ!, and other Griftage. Call the store (901) 274-1916

― Scott Monkey, Thursday, 17 July 2008 05:27 (4 years ago) Permalink

excellent

now we're 2 for 4, when will Dave or Stan post

― dmr, Thursday, 17 July 2008 13:33 (4 years ago) Permalink

superb!!

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 17 July 2008 15:28 (4 years ago) Permalink

hey scott it's mcgonigal. how you doing? grifters still rule my world.

when stan introduced me to his wife as "the fifth grifter" -- why i have no idea i'm so musically inept and etc. -- it was seriously a total highlight of my life. hah.

― Mike McGooney-gal, Friday, 18 July 2008 00:30 (4 years ago) Permalink

So I've seen 2 different interviews now with Bruce Pavvit and Jonathon Poneman where they describe the grifters as being at the center of 'the dark years' at Subpop. That they signed us for too much money (even giving out numbers.. which I thought was an industry no-no) and that we were pretty good but not deserving of that kind of money..

well, first off, Bruce was barely even involved with the label the whole time we were there. All the employees at Subpop described Bruce as being this crazy guy who lives out in the mountains and every now and then he would send them some band and say 'sign these guys, they're great' (anyone remember Chixdiggit?) and then everyone at the label had to do so, apparently begrudgingly. They essentially described it as being saddled with him. 'but he's the co-founder of the label so what're you gonna do?'.

secondly, maybe Subpop could have made a return on their investment in us if they, oh I dunno, TRIED! They barely did any advertising. I told them they should take out an ad for us in some Fantagraphics comics (which they used to do all the time) but they didn't. I think they maybe bought some tiny ad space in an issue of Magnet.
They chose Last Man Alive as the 'single' from the record. And we had a big fight with them about it. Well, I had a big fight. Dave seemed pretty pleased with the decision. They tried to placate me by saying that it didn't really matter because nothing we chose would ever really get any airplay. If thats the case why NOT pick a song that is maybe at least SOMEWHAT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE BAND'S SOUND! And why then spend $50,000 on a video that will ALSO NEVER BE SEEN OR HEARD.?

Maybe it was because they were such amazingly inept business people? OR maybe they wanted us to tank. Why did they make SO MANY wrong decisions regarding Aint My Lookout? Why did they let Those Bastard Souls do a major tour with Sebadoh exactly when we should've been out touring supporting the record? Me and Scott and Stan were told that Sebadoh didn't want to get blown off the stage by us every night... I have to kinda think that blowing Sebadoh off the stage every night MIGHT'VE BEEN A GREAT WAY TO SUPPORT THE NEW RECORD!
But that was Dave dicking us over more than Subpop, they just let it happen.

And what happened right before Full Blown Possession came out? Almost the entire staff left Subpop and a lot of them ended up at Matador. There was a so-called mutiny supposedly spear-headed by Poneman. it seemed to us that they were trying to get out of their deal with Warners by losing a lot of money.

Like I said, maybe they could've made a return on their investment if they'd been better business people. Maybe they didn't want to make a return. From what I saw when we were with them they never worked anything. They had a hit with Sunny Day Real Estate but that was because SDRE did it themselves. They built their own fan-base and did all the hard work (as did we) and then all Subpop had to do was squirt out some records for them and they sold themselves. But we never saw them get off their asses and work anything. What I saw was the staff of Subpop flying all over the country and the world and staying at THEE most posh hotels in whatever city they were in. They friggin LOVED playing Record Company when it meant traveling with the gold card.

So lay off the effing Grifters Pavvitt. Not that you were there but we threw you a friggin touchdown pass with Ain't My Lookout and you fucking fumbled it ON PURPOSE.

And at the same time we had to contend with Dave's not so secretly-scheming to advance TBS. I've read articles where people are saying we'd run our course and that Ain't My Lookout was a bomb. Well let me tell ya it was really hard trying to eek out a little success when your label is sitting on their fat asses doing nothing and at the same time one of the band-members is plotting their exit and stealing tours from you.

And now years later we have to endure this bullshit rewriting of our own friggin history..?! IF YOU DIDN'T THINK WE WERE WORTH THE MONEY YOU SIGNED US FOR THEN WHY DID YOU DO IT? WHY'D YOU STEP INTO A BIDDING WAR IF YOU DIDN'T PLAN ON FOLLOWING THROUGH? DID YOU EVEN KNOW HOW TO?

― griftertripp, Thursday, 31 July 2008 15:27 (4 years ago) Permalink

I will say that Joyce Linehan was a great friend to us and I feel truly believed in us and fought for us.

― griftertripp, Thursday, 31 July 2008 16:13 (4 years ago) Permalink

daaammn!

― will, Thursday, 31 July 2008 16:32 (4 years ago) Permalink

hey Will, whassup mang?

― griftertripp, Thursday, 31 July 2008 16:45 (4 years ago) Permalink

what kills me about those interviews is Bruce is doing all the talking (about us) and Poneman is just sitting there. Why don't you let the guy who was actually there talk about it some.?

― griftertripp, Thursday, 31 July 2008 16:56 (4 years ago) Permalink

not much.. settling into new job. any ideas for entertainment tonight? ...cause i ran across VHS copies of Beaches and the Sabrina remake. j/k dude j/k

― will, Thursday, 31 July 2008 16:59 (4 years ago) Permalink

Tripp

Glad I never made it in a band!

I still love the Grifters!

You got to play the Hull aDELPHI TOO?

― Fer Ark, Thursday, 31 July 2008 17:09 (4 years ago) Permalink

Jeebus - looks like I've got my tongue stuck up your hole.sorry

― Fer Ark, Thursday, 31 July 2008 17:11 (4 years ago) Permalink

ain't my lookout is awesome.

― CaptainLorax, Thursday, 31 July 2008 18:17 (4 years ago) Permalink

Will, come on over tonight if you want. Sheri's making some kind of dip.

I read something else recently where some dude said that Ain't My Lookout was over-cooked and Full Blown Possession was a return to basics..!?!?

I'd say FBP was over-cooked and absolutely was not a return to basics. For one thing, Subpop made us hire a mixer so it was our first time doing automated mixing (in a House of Blues studio no less). It wasn't a return to anything.

Aint My Lookout was our favorite because we were firing on all cylinders
(and we mixed it at Easley's like we always had). We know the fans all like Crappin' You Negative the best. We really liked that one too but by the time it had come out about half the songs had already appeared somewhere else. There had been singles versions of Holmes, Junkie Blood, Bronze Cast, Spaceship. And Black Fuel had already been on a compilation as well as the first BUD tape.

So AML, to us, was the ultimate realization of what we could do. Maybe it was 'over-cooked' compared to some of our other output but to us we'd finally hit a stride.

And FBP couldn't be a return to basics because we never worked quite that way before. We weren't collaborating very well, we had to split the recording between two studios, and we didn't get to mix it. We helped with the mixing but the automation certainly took some of the weirdness out of it.

― griftertripp, Thursday, 31 July 2008 18:49 (4 years ago) Permalink

You know, if it weren't for Sub Pop, I wouldn't have gotten to hang out with the Grifters on a "junket" which led to two things - my discovery of Paines' BBQ and a week-long hangover. So, well, there's that.

― vaninadh, Thursday, 31 July 2008 19:19 (4 years ago) Permalink

Tripp- can I come over? I will wear tight Calvins for old time's sake ;-)

― Fer Ark, Thursday, 31 July 2008 19:46 (4 years ago) Permalink

just don't pee on anybody.

― griftertripp, Thursday, 31 July 2008 20:03 (4 years ago) Permalink

Jacko asks if scat is acceptable.
Does Mempho have canals?
Our longboat is a bit special

― Fer Ark, Thursday, 31 July 2008 20:15 (4 years ago) Permalink

Just been out into the cold ,grey, rainy gloom and it's dicking fucked flooded!
Advice to get Tennessee please?

― Fer Ark, Thursday, 31 July 2008 20:25 (4 years ago) Permalink

oh shit - i've done a wrong un again with my THUMBNAIL SKETCH

― Fer Ark, Thursday, 31 July 2008 22:45 (4 years ago) Permalink

FREEKOZOID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

― Fer Ark, Thursday, 31 July 2008 22:46 (4 years ago) Permalink

TWAT
sorry , night night

― Fer Ark, Thursday, 31 July 2008 22:46 (4 years ago) Permalink

wot a fuckin freak
care in the community haa failed again

― Fer Ark, Thursday, 31 July 2008 22:50 (4 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

i just got full blown posesssion yesterday

my first grifters record

i love it

scuzz blues are my favorite blues

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 18 April 2010 22:42 (3 years ago) Permalink

My fav band ever - get One Sock Missing, Ain't My Lookout and the first 2 EPs (The Doink Years). Those are my favorites.

― CaptainLorax, Sunday, 18 April 2010 23:58 (3 years ago) Permalink

that is about their least scuzzy record big HOOS, you've got some primo scuzz-blues discovery in store if you get some of the other ones

― dmr, Monday, 19 April 2010 03:02 (3 years ago) Permalink

crappin you negative

― dmr, Monday, 19 April 2010 03:02 (3 years ago) Permalink

Crappin You Negative is A++ scuzz, sounds like a rock band should.

― The Amy Misto Family Knife (Plasmon), Monday, 19 April 2010 04:01 (3 years ago) Permalink

Yeah but the end of "The Sweetest Thing" may be their most gorgeous moment.

― Evan, Monday, 19 April 2010 04:47 (3 years ago) Permalink

i am

the mambo king

― mookieproof, Monday, 19 April 2010 05:31 (3 years ago) Permalink

Wrapped tight in my tarantula skin

― CaptainLorax, Monday, 19 April 2010 06:45 (3 years ago) Permalink

their most gorgeous moment = gotta be something off the Eureka EP. maybe Founder's Day Parade.

― dmr, Monday, 19 April 2010 13:43 (3 years ago) Permalink

Dragoon (Tripp and Stan from the Grifters + Bobby from Trusty) has something out now:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003FF8860/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_mp3a

Dragoon is still slugging through.

myspace.com/dragoonmemphis

trying to get the first record done. Everything's recorded just need to mix a few things. And get it mastered. And do all the art.. it'll never get done..

― griftertripp, Wednesday, May 7, 2008 10:41 AM

― dmr, Tuesday, 27 April 2010 17:13 (3 years ago) Permalink

their most gorgeous moment = gotta be something off the Eureka EP. maybe Founder's Day Parade.[

Founder's Day Parade is indeed a gorgeous tune.

The Grifters are still one of my favourite bands ever along with Ramones, Buzzcocks,Du, Mats et al - 'famous' bands if y'like

― Fer Jessie the Drunk Dutch Mountain Ark (Mobbed Up Ping Pong Psychos), Tuesday, 27 April 2010 19:58 (3 years ago) Permalink

i think "wonder" is a pretty song

― 69, Tuesday, 27 April 2010 20:06 (3 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

friend of mine just ripped a Grifters live show from cassette

http://soundcloud.com/dan-lehr/the-grifters-cha1994

live in Chattanooga, November 4th, 1994, at the Barking Legs Theater

Snake Oil
Bronze Cast
Wonder
Maps of the Sun
Holmes
Sain
Dead Already (incomplete)
Side
Steam
the Casual Years
Tat
Skin Man Palace
Corolla Hoist
Ground
Return to Cinder
10,000
Encrusted
Felt Tipped Over
Shark (incomplete)
You Don't Miss Your Water
Love X (incomplete)

― dmr, Monday, 10 September 2012 20:50 (8 months ago) Permalink

I <3 this thread

― Colonel Poo, Monday, 10 September 2012 21:04 (8 months ago) Permalink

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