No Spyz thread yet. They were relegated to the outer reaches of radio/MTV play during the glorious funk metal revolution. Not surprising either, considering their lead singer's name was "Peter Fluid"; the horny hippie vibe that Fishbone cultivated so well on tracks like "Bonin' in the Boneyard" failed miserably on Spyz cuts like "Culo Posse."
However, after half the band left in the early 90s, they released an ep of much tighter and more soulful material - "This Is ... 24-7 Spyz" - that was one of my favorite joints of '91.
I haven't listened to these guys in over a decade, but I'm considering trying to stock up. Are they worth digging around in the $0.99 bins for?
― kingkongvsgodzilla, Thursday, 19 July 2007 20:57 (seventeen years ago) link
They were pretty killer live. I wouldn't mind hearing the first two full-lengths again. Didn't much like that EP, though.
― unperson, Thursday, 19 July 2007 21:01 (seventeen years ago) link
"glorious funk metal revolution"
― Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 19 July 2007 21:06 (seventeen years ago) link
Are Rage Against The Machine basically funk metal? I think they are.
― Matt #2, Thursday, 19 July 2007 21:07 (seventeen years ago) link
yes
― Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 19 July 2007 21:13 (seventeen years ago) link
Tongue-in-cheek about gloriousness of funk-metal revolution, btw. But when I was 13, I identified fully with it and am trying to go back and separate the duds from the crap.
― kingkongvsgodzilla, Thursday, 19 July 2007 21:17 (seventeen years ago) link
Uh, you know what I mean. I never really got RATM.
― kingkongvsgodzilla, Thursday, 19 July 2007 21:19 (seventeen years ago) link
Infectious Grooves haha
― Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 19 July 2007 21:26 (seventeen years ago) link
"I sang with Aqueduct Pocket! I sang with Relaxed Atmosphere! I sang with Third World Lover! ... You ever heard of them?"
― kingkongvsgodzilla, Thursday, 19 July 2007 21:31 (seventeen years ago) link
Heads Up!
― Matt #2, Thursday, 19 July 2007 21:32 (seventeen years ago) link
these guys were pretty dope back in the day
― chaki, Thursday, 19 July 2007 21:54 (seventeen years ago) link
esp. live as was mentioned
― blunt, Thursday, 19 July 2007 22:37 (seventeen years ago) link
yeah, i used to love these guys
― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 19 July 2007 23:41 (seventeen years ago) link
damned if i can remember a single song but i recall a fishbone/faith no more/urban dance squad vibe
― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 19 July 2007 23:42 (seventeen years ago) link
which is probably way off - those were other bands i liked back then, though!
It's spot-on, maybe add Living Colour too
― blunt, Friday, 20 July 2007 00:07 (seventeen years ago) link
why Bad Brains even
― blunt, Friday, 20 July 2007 00:09 (seventeen years ago) link
Yeah, maybe it's because I actually saw them live (where they didn't have any horn players), but I think more Quickness-era Bad Brains + early Kool & The Gang (the Spyz covered "Jungle Boogie" on their first album) + maybe thrash-era Suicidal Tendencies (Rocky George = forgotten black rock hero).
― unperson, Friday, 20 July 2007 00:51 (seventeen years ago) link
Rocky was the man. I know that the Spyz counted Nuclear Assault/Scatterbrain among their contemporaries, by way of John Connelly. There was definitely a strong thrash element on the first two records.
― kingkongvsgodzilla, Friday, 20 July 2007 00:58 (seventeen years ago) link
rocky is in fishbone now btw
― chaki, Friday, 20 July 2007 01:02 (seventeen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYBFIT8_jLA
― kkvgz, Thursday, 21 October 2010 00:46 (fourteen years ago) link
I wish the funk-metal revolution worked better than it did.
― Remember the Dayne! (u s steel), Thursday, 21 October 2010 10:54 (fourteen years ago) link
I was thinking about this band this morning for some reason. Listening to Harder Than You now and while it definitely sounds like 1990 to me (it came out in 1989 but I didn't hear it until '90) but I'm digging it.
I think I put "Spyz Dope" on every mix tape I made during college.
― carl agatha, Wednesday, 5 November 2014 13:44 (ten years ago) link
I saw them live & fell asleep :/ but it was because I moshed so hard to the opening band, Follow For Now, who were so fucking good that night
― droit au butt (Euler), Wednesday, 5 November 2014 13:46 (ten years ago) link
Aw man, this sucks. RIP P. Fluid. https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/01/14/bronx-man-found-beaten-death-ambulette-was-groundbreaking-rocker
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 15 January 2025 06:35 (three weeks ago) link
Damn. That's sad news. Not what I was hoping for when I opened the thread. R.I.P. Peter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUMmHTcYeSU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjl2vBHn5E8
― peace, man, Wednesday, 15 January 2025 12:35 (three weeks ago) link
An update:
https://www.stereogum.com/2293662/man-charged-in-murder-of-original-24-7-spyz-frontman-p-fluid/news/
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 20 January 2025 19:36 (three weeks ago) link